christianity

Battlefield

~ mbard ~ Leave a comment

I’ve struggled writing this post because I cannot fathom how my words can possibly grasp and convey the glory and power of God. After wrestling with what to say to portray the way He revealed Himself in the small Haitian village of Source Matelas I came to this conclusion – they can’t. All I can do is channel the raw emotions I experienced and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

I’ve seen God do miraculous things. I’ve seen Him change hard hearts. I’ve seen Him heal. I’ve seen Him provide in perfect timing. And I’ve seen Him send down His Spirit in a way that makes it impossible to doubt His power, grace, and goodness. That’s the story I want to share.

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March 12, 2013:

The morning was physically, spiritually and emotionally exhausting. I have never seen more pain or a greater need for a miracle. It was our first village outreach day in Haiti and I expected to walk the streets, play with children, pray with people, share the Good News of Jesus. We did all of those things, but what I didn’t expect was the roller coaster of emotions and exhaustion I felt at the end of the day.

The first lady we talked to was a street vendor. After asking enough questions to know her name and make her feel comfortable around us we began asking her about her faith, her family and her struggles. Her eyes revealed the deep hurt she felt. She was barren after 20 years of marriage. Her husband left her to work in Miami. She was alone and desperately desired a child. Lindsey (one of our incredible adult leaders) related to her pain and so did I. Last year Lindsey and her husband, Joseph, wanted to start their family, but after miscarriages and a current pregnancy Lindsey worried about her son who was still in the womb until God spoke into her heart and gave her peace that John David was going to make it. Today their “little bean” is learning to crawl and hamming it up every time me and the other girls come over for a visit. John David is proof that God is bigger than barrenness. In that moment, as Lindsey shared her story, I lost it. I wept uncontrollably as I thought about how much Lindsey’s story related to my own parent’s. I am a result of God being bigger than barrenness. I thought about Hannah, who was barren and cried out to God for a child. God answered her cries and blessed her with Samuel. She dedicated Samuel to God and he became a prophet and judge of Israel (1 Samuel 1). Samuel was used for God’s glory, John David is being used for God’s glory, I am being used for God’s glory. The magnitude of those Truths hit my heart hard and the day had just begun.

Our group of 18 split into smaller groups of six and we continued our walk through the village. My group had trekked about 50 feet from the vendor before being summoned to a woman’s home. We were welcomed into her concrete home without hesitation. A puppy greeted us on the front porch as we walked through the front door. The only light in the home shone through the windows. The first room was the family’s dining and living room. We thought that was going to be where our journey ended, but then the woman motioned to a bedroom off to the right of the living space. I was one of the first to enter the room and stopped abruptly at the sight of a small, disfigured body lying in bed. Maxon-louie was 11 years old and had never spoken. The only noise he made was a quiet grinding of his teeth. His head was swollen to the size of a volleyball and His arms and legs were two to three inches in diameter.

Tears. I was speechless and felt completely helpless. When we asked his mother whether she had accepted Jesus as her Savior, she said she wanted to but needed to clean up her life before she could believe in Jesus. We followed up by asking why she asked us to pray for her family if she didn’t believe. She responded with a shrug of the shoulders. She didn’t know why she asked, but it was evident that she saw a Power in us that could heal her son. We laid our hands on Maxon-louie and prayed. We wept. And when we didn’t have the words to say, we sang.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
‘Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we’ve been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun.

I wish I could tell you that Maxon-louie spoke for the first time and got out of bed to walk. He didn’t. Although we fully believed that God could heal him of his illness, it wasn’t His plan for that moment. He wanted us to love this little boy and his family for that brief period of time and leave them with part of our hearts and our prayers. My heart broke for this family and for this little boy who has never known the joy of playing soccer with his fellow villagers. I left more broken than I came, but was hopeful that this family would realize they don’t have to clean up their lives before accepting Jesus. He takes us as we are and makes us new.

By lunchtime my emotions were on a roller coaster ride. Joy, pain, happiness, awe, hurt. You name it, I felt it over the course of a couple hours. I didn’t think I could take anymore. After meeting the vendor and Maxon-louie we played with school kids and prayed with a woman who accepted Jesus that morning. It was a beautiful sight to see her drop to her knees in awe of the grace and love she received from Jesus. We walked back to our canter along a stream. In Haiti, there are goats and chickens roaming freely throughout the villages, but on this walk we noticed a pig. When we got back from our lunch break our group marched back through the village along stream. We saw the same pig, in the exact same spot, but this time we noticed a huge tree the pig was resting by. How we didn’t notice the tree the first time is an act of God. Haiti is 98% deforested and this tree was GINORMOUS! You don’t miss this tree unless God really wants you to miss it.

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Naturally the five year old in all of us came out and we started climbing the tree. After a few minutes of climbing and taking this picture we heard a voice start yelling at us in Creole.

Crap. The jig is up.

In the yard next to the tree was a woman. Short ombre micro-braids fading from black to gold fell from her scalp. Two necklaces hung from her neck, one depicting an image of Christ. The atmosphere changed the moment she walked over to us. The cold look in her eyes instantly warned us that something about this place was dark. She came out of her yard and started asking us what we are doing. Our translators explained that we were missionaries from the United States that were praying for people and talking to them about Jesus. The translators informed us that she was a Voodoo Priestess and that the tree we were just climbing was used for Voodoo worship. The following conversation ensued:

Us: Do you believe in Jesus?

Voodoo Priestess: No.

Us: Why not?

Voodoo Priestess: I can’t. 

Us: Why can’t you?

Voodoo Priestess: Because I’m afraid.

Us: Why are you afraid?

Voodoo Priestess: There are evil spirits in the tree. I’ve lost seven children and every time I’ve tried to go to church I’ve fallen down and can’t make it.

Translator: Is it alright if they share a story about Jesus with you?

Voodoo Priestess: Yes.

Translator: Does anyone have a story about Jesus they would like to share?

Alicia, one of our group members, started sharing this story from Mark 9:14-29.

And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”

 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”

And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ All things are possible for one who believes.”

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Most of our group had started praying while Alicia was telling the story. It was evident that this woman had a battle between good and evil raging inside her. My eyes were closed until Alicia finished telling the story and when I looked up the Voodoo Priestess was gone. Our translator remarked that she had been moved. She gave Alicia an out-of-this-world look and stormed off after hearing God’s Word. We prayed over the tree and her home, began singing “Whom Shall I Fear” by Chris Tomlin and continued our journey through the village. The encounter frightened me, but by the time we made it back to the Mission of Hope campus, an afternoon of playing soccer in a skirt and racing with a small child on my back had successfully distracted me from my fears.

During our debrief that evening we talked about our experiences with the Voodoo Priestess. After the meeting, I was unsettled and sent a message to a few family members and friends in the States asking for prayer for the Voodoo Priestess. I had never witnessed such extreme spiritual warfare. I was afraid and wanted to stay as far away from Source Matelas and the Voodoo Priestess as possible. One emotion began to paralyze me.

Fear.

(to be continued…)

Life to the Fullest

~ mbard ~ Leave a comment

I know it’s old news, but I’m obsessed with Kid President. His optimism inspires me and his message is powerful (not to mention he may be one of the cutest kids ever). We can learn a lot from his pep talk about what God expects of us while we’re spending time in this temporary home. So often we get caught up in the negative things happening during the day and forget that we are like mist that appears for a while and then vanishes (James 4:14). Even on the worst days our hearts are beating and air is filling our lungs. These two truths are a gift because none of us deserve another heartbeat or breath. I deserve the death Jesus died. I deserve the beatings, the nails, the pierced side, but He took the pain for me and for YOU. That Truth should change the way you look at life when you wake up in the morning. Someone died for YOU so that you can live the fullest life!

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. -Jesus

I’d like to challenge you to look at the glass half full and live a life of freedom that is found only in Christ. Laugh until it hurts, dance like no one’s watching, play a part in making someone’s day a little bit better by making them smile, and live in a way that makes people wonder why you are always joyful. Whatever you are doing, do it enthusiastically as something done for the Lord and not for man (Colossians 3:23). Let Christ be your motivation to stay positive. Let every breath and heartbeat be a reminder of a future you will be spending in Heaven. Christ died, so that you could live. Do something about it!

This is life people. You got air coming from your nose!  You got a heartbeat. That means it’s time to do something!

Always Enough

~ mbard ~ Leave a comment

It was a little less than two years ago in a hotel room in Fort Smith, Arkansas after a volleyball game as I sat in bed across the room from one of my teammates, Elissa, when I knew I had met a lifelong friend. We had won the match against our conference rival, keeping an undefeated conference record in reach, but that wasn’t the center of our conversation. It was the first time we had roomed together and instead of getting caught up in the details of our recent victory, we started talking about playing for God’s glory. And that’s when it happened. A friendship blossomed. Fast-forward to today and we’re doing life together. We’ve reached the point where we can ask each other the tough questions that tug at the issues of our hearts. We pray through the hard times and praise at the smallest victories. This past Spring Break, Elissa went to South Padre Island for Beach Reach. After hearing about her experiences and seeing the twinkle in her eyes that clearly conveyed her awe of God’s goodness, I also had the pleasure of reading a paper she wrote for class about her trip. After shedding a few tears, I knew this was a story that needed to be shared.

 

Grab a cup of coffee, get cozy, and bask in the glory of God and how He is moving in some of the most unlikely circumstances. He is so good!

A Personal Essay:

Being at a party sober is like being that one confused puppy at the dog park that tries to keep up when out of nowhere the community tennis ball smacks him in the face and he’s nearly run over by the herd racing after it.

I guess that’s kind of how I felt standing in the middle of Coca-Cola Beach on the last day of Spring Break at South Padre Island. Surrounded by blaring music, erotic dancing, unusual partying mechanisms, and   hundreds of wasted college students, the party had nearly doubled in size since the day before.

“Hi, what’s your name? Where are you from? Oh, that’s cool” had been the introduction to my attempt at being friendly most of the week. As a natural introvert, talking to strangers is usually completely out of the question for me. You have your life, I have mine. Maybe I’ll smile at a familiar face while walking to class, but to actually have a conversation with someone of whom I know nothing about and appear to have nothing in common with. That’s a definite no.

As is turns out, people visiting South Padre during Spring Break are some of the friendliest you’ll ever meet. Especially if they’ve had a bit to drink.

At one point during my South Padre adventures, a couple of friends and I decided to start a classic game of “volleyball” with our new stranger-friends. In reality, it was more like stand around in a circle-like shape and attempt to keep the ball from hitting the ground by awkwardly punching at it while wearing a bikini and laughing uncontrollably.

As a collegiate volleyball player, I can assure you that’s not how you play volleyball. But regardless, this volleyball experience was one of the most fun and unique I’ve ever had. People would see us playing and jump right in, acting like they were going to compete in the Olympics or something. Then they swing and miss. Well at least you’re trying, right? Just when I was ready to give up, our circle managed to keep the rally going for more than 2 contacts. This remarkable achievement prompted an impressive cheer before one of the stranger-friend guys in the group decided to make the game a little more interesting. And the volleyball drinking game begins.

As if talking to a stranger wasn’t uncomfortable enough. Now I have to play with the fear that if I make a mistake I will be forced to take a lovely, or rather not-so-lovely, drink of vodka and backwash from the bottle in the middle of the circle.

Don’t mess up, Don’t mess up, Don’t mess up.

Crap.

The ball goes racing over my head as I reach up a second too late. Next thing I know the vodka bottle is being shoved in my face by the guy that came up with this genius idea. Everyone’s chanting drink, drink, drink. I stand there holding the bottle and mumble some lame excuse, but no one is listening. So with the cap still on, I tip the bottle up, set it back down, and fake a nice big swallow faster than you can say South Padre Island. I never tasted a drop.

I don’t like vodka. Strangers scare me. It smells like pot. What in the world am I doing here?

It all made sense before I left.

This spring break, I’m going to go to South Padre Island with a group of students from my church and we are going to make a difference. That was my plan.

Every spring break, groups of college students from universities all over Texas chose to spend their spring break helping others on South Padre Island rather than participating in the partying. We gave out free food and safe rides across the island. We hung out and played volleyball with people. We had conversations with people. We prayed for people.

But standing there in a sea of drunken chaos, I doubted my ability to make a difference. I doubted God’s ability to make a difference. Even after I got there, I was a little unsure of why I’d decided to go and throughout the week I struggled to see the good is such an ugly situation.

And then I met a girl named Stephanie.

It was the last night of the week and my group was scheduled to give van rides from 10 p.m. till 3 a.m. At this point in the week, most people recognized our vans and would call in if they needed a ride. But everything had become so crazy that most of the time we just picked up groups from the main club on the island.

After dropping off one particularly crazy group, I sat there in the brief moment of silence, thinking. Five minutes earlier our van had been packed beyond capacity with sweaty intoxicated strangers. One girl was practically sitting on my lap while another guy breathed heavily over my shoulder.  I smiled through the disrespectful comments. I laughed as they talked about partying on the beach. But after they got off my heart hurt.

Every direction I looked, I saw wild, out-of-control madness. The street was a parking lot of drunk drivers. Dancing, screaming, laughing people gathered in masses outside. People banged on our windows when we stopped and flipped us off when we couldn’t pick them up.

In that moment everything around me turned into a blur of slow-motion and I was left trying to figure out how in the world I had gotten myself into such an awful, dangerous situation. Everything in me wanted to give up, to pack and go home, to accept that I couldn’t make a difference. But, no, that wasn’t an option. We still had two hours left in our shift. So I pulled myself together and prayed for strength.

A few minutes later our van pulled up to a hotel and a group of about five students climbed into our van.

Louis’, that’s where they were going. It’s a five minute drive on a normal day, but at least 30 minutes in the traffic.

“Hi, what’s your name?” I asked the petite girl that sat beside me.

“Stephanie,” she answered.

That was the start to the most real conversation I’ve ever had with a complete stranger. We started talking about school, life, spring break, the usual small talk. But something in me told me to ask her about her faith. When I did, I got to hear her story.

She told me about growing up Catholic. About how she stopped going to church in college and had recently started going again. She told me about her family and about her struggles. She told me about how far away God seemed to be sometimes.

Her story wasn’t abnormal or spectacular, but it was real. She asked tough questions and I didn’t have all the answers. All I could tell her was how Jesus had changed my life. I didn’t preach a rehearsed version of my theological viewpoints. I simply had a conversation and allowed my faith shine through.

When we arrived at their destination I asked her if I could pray for her before she got off the van. She said yes and asked that I pray for her family and her safety. I prayed a short prayer, said Amen, and prepared to say goodbye.

But then something beautiful happened.

“Wait,” she said. “Sometimes I doubt that God is real and that he hears my prayers. But right now I know that he is real.”

So with all of her friends already standing outside, she asked me to pray again that we wouldn’t doubt. So I prayed. Not just for her doubt, but for mine. All week, I had doubted the power and goodness of God and in that moment I realized how wrong I had been. She had been able to see the goodness of God exactly where I had thought it impossible.

After she got off, I cried. I cried for the brokenness for the world. I cried overcome by the goodness of God. It felt so good to just cry.

I went there to serve people and help my peers, because I thought they were the ones that needed help.  But I realized that in reality, I need help just as much as the next guy. Sometimes, what people need most is simply someone to listen to their story and accept them for their mistakes.

I went there hoping to make a difference, but it wasn’t me who made a difference on that island. Alone, nothing I said would have made a difference. But with the power of Christ, my words had the ability to change a life. Not because they were coming from a moral person. Not because I had done anything good. But because I, a broken person, received grace.

Stephanie is a real person. Callie, Thomas, Cambria, Lauren, Brent, Morgan, Kendra. They’re real people. They have real problems. They feel real pain. But the good news is that there is a real God who knows that pain and died for that pain.

That truth will always be enough to make a difference.

-Elissa

The Least

~ mbard ~ 1 Comment

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Matthew 25:34-40

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose

~ mbard ~ Leave a comment

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39

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Five months ago I said “Yes.” Five months ago I committed to go to Haiti for eight days. In five days I leave with 13 others to serve and love like Jesus. I’ve never been more excited and I’ve never been more in love with people I haven’t met. With eyes clearly focused on the cross and hearts filled with the Holy Spirit, we are armed with the power of the Gospel, and we can’t lose. Victory was won over 2,000 years ago.

Compelled

~ mbard ~ Leave a comment

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” -Ephesians 5:1-2

Christ-like love is hard to accept because it goes against what we know. It’s unconditional, unending, and undeserved. As Christ followers we’re suppose to love like Jesus. It’s not an option. If we want to be obedient to our Heavenly Father, the sacrificial love of Christ has to be mirrored in our lives.

This simple truth has been on my heart lately and God has shown me practical ways to put Christ’s love into action. Here are a few examples:

  • Cook dinner for friends
  • Buy someone’s cup of coffee
  • Give $5 to the homeless
  • Hold the door for someone
  • Say “Thank You”
  • Wish someone a good morning/afternoon/night
  • FORGIVE
  • If you see something that reminds you of someone, buy it for them!

I know some of these examples seem like common courtesies, but many have been lost in the hustle and bustle of chaotic schedules and selfish desires. I have fallen victim to overcommitment, but God, in all of His goodness, has shown me how to intentionally love His people. It’s incredible to see how your view of people drastically changes when you realize each and every person you pass is designed uniquely in God’s image for relationship with Him and will spend eternity in one of two places. God could have chosen to share His love however He wanted, but He chose me, and He chose YOU to be His hands and feet!

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” -2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Step out of your comfort zone and love like Jesus! Yes, you may get some funny looks, but that just proves you’re doing something right! In the world’s eyes it wasn’t logical for Christ to die on a cross 2,000 years ago for people who constantly turn away from Him. If we’re to mirror the Love shown at the cross why should our lives and our actions look logical? Be radical. Love unconditionally, expecting nothing in return!

Praying Christ’s love compels you to love!

Meredith

P.S. This was a wish I made towards the end of 2012. Let’s make it a reality!

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What Christmas Really Means

~ mbard ~ Leave a comment

As we celebrate Christmas, I thought I’d share a story that my mom’s best friend shared with her. We get caught up in gift giving, decorating, and cooking and it can be easy to forget why we are celebrating – God made flesh through the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Enjoy!

Just last Christmas Eve I had a strange visitor. This is how it happened;

I had just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door of the front room, and to my surprise, I saw Santa Claus himself stepping out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed his fingers over his lips so I wouldn’t cry out.

“What are you doing here…” I started to ask, but the words choked up in my throat as I saw that he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know. As I stood there in my robe bewildered, Santa said, “We’ve done it all wrong. You need to teach the children.” My perplexed expression still showed in the near darkness.

Fumbling in his sack, he drew forth a bright shining gold star.

“Teach them the old meaning of Christmas – the meanings that Christmas nowadays has forgotten. Teach the children that the star was a heavenly sign of promise long ages ago. God promised a Savior for the world and a sign of the fulfillment of that promise was the great Star of the East. The star now reminds us of God’s love for mankind and of God fulfilling His promise. The countless shining stars at night now show the burning hope of all mankind.

Santa gently laid the star upon the fireplace mantle and drew forth from the bag a glittering red Christmas ornament.

“Teach the children, red is the first color of Christmas. It was first used by the faithful people to remind them of the blood which was shed for all people by the Savior. Jesus Christ gave his life and shed his blood that every man might have God’s gift to all, eternal life. Red is deep, intense, vivid. It is the greatest color of all. It is the symbol of the gift of God.”

As Santa was twisting and pulling another object out of his bag, I heard the kitchen clock begin to strike twelve. I wanted to say something, but he went right on.

“Teach the children,” he said as the twisting and pulling suddenly dislodged a small Christmas tree from the depths of the toy bag. He placed it before the mantle and gently hung the red ornament on the Christmas tree. The deep green of the fir tree was perfect background for the ornament. Here was the second color of Christmas. “The pure color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round,” he said. “This depicts the everlasting hope of mankind, and the everlasting life we can only get through His Son. Green is the youthful, hopeful, abundant color of nature. All the needles point heavenward – symbolic of man’s need to focus on heaven. The tree itself is a symbol of that other tree, the one that became a cross. The great, green tree has been one of man’s best friends. It has sheltered him, warmed him, made beauty for him, formed his furniture.”

Santa’s eyes were beginning to twinkle now as he stood there. Suddenly I heard a soft tinkling sound. As it grew louder, it seemed like the sound of long ago.

“Teach the children, that as the lost sheep are found by the sounds of the bell, so should it ring for men to return to the fold; it means guidance and return to God; it further signifies that all are precious in the eyes of the Lord. He left the 99 and went in search of the one.”

As the soft sound of the bell faced into the night, Santa drew forth a candle. He placed it on the mantle and the soft glow from its tiny flame cast an eerie glow about the darkened room. Odd shapes in the shadow slowly danced and weaved upon the walls.

“Teach the children,” whispered Santa, “that the candle shows man’s thanks for the star of long ago. It signifies the Light that shines within all God’s people. A light that should never be hidden. It’s flame seems very weak, but it chases away the darkness, just as the starts do. It’s small light is the mirror of starlight. At first candles were placed on the Christmas Tree – they were like many glowing stars shining against the dark green. Safety now has removed the candles from the tree and the colored lights have taken over in remembrance.”

Santa turned the small Christmas tree lights on and picked up a gift from under the tree. He pointed to the large bow ribbon and said, “Teach the children. A bow is placed on a present to remind us of the spirit of the brotherhood of man. We should remember that the bow is tied as me should be tied – all of us together, with the bonds of good will and love toward each other. Goodwill forever is the message of the bow.”

Now I wondered what else Santa had in his bag, Instead of reaching in his bag, he slung it over his shoulder and began to reach up on the Christmas tree. I thought he was hungry as he reached for a candy cane, purposely placed high on the tree. He unfastened it and reached out toward me with it.

“Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds crook. The crook on the staff helps bring back the strayed sheep to the fold. The candy cane represents the helping hand we should show at Christmastime. The candy is the symbol that we are our brother’s keeper. The red represents the Blood of Salvation, and the white the Purity that only comes from it’s cleansing flow.

Santa them paused. He seemed to realize her should be on his way. Later would be his big day. As he looked about the room, a feeling of satisfaction and relief showed in his face. He reached into his bag and brought forth a large holly wreath. He placed it on the fireplace and said, “Please teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of God’s love; it never ceases, stops or ends. It is one continuous round of affection. The wreath does double duty. It is made of many things and in many colors, It reminds us all of the things of Christmas. Please teach the children.”

As I gazed at the wreath, he slipped away, his job done…pointing people back to the real meaning behind this celebration.

I pondered and wondered and thrilled with delight, as I saw and viewed all those symbols that night. I dozed as I sat in the soft candlelight, and my thoughts were of Jesus and all He made right. To give and to help, to love and to serve, are the best things of life, all men can deserve. Old Santa Claus that jolly fat little elf, is not the best symbol of Christmas itself. Jesus gave us the gift of love and of life, the ending of evil the ceasing of strife. Santa’s message to me on the pre-Christmas night, has opened a treasure of deepest insight. The one thing on earth we all ought to do, is the teaching of children the right and the true.

Merry Christmas! God Bless!

Protection, Provision and Port-au-Prince, Haiti

~ mbard ~ Leave a comment

We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. -Hebrews 6:19

I’m just a product of grace spreading hope to the hopeless. In everything I do, I want to shine a glimmer of hope into people’s lives in their darkest hours. As a Christ follower, I want to help people realize better days are coming and have been promised by our Sovereign God. When we feel like the flood of life threatens to drown us, God is still sitting on His thrown making all things work together for our ultimate good. In the storms of life, He is the anchor of our soul keeping us afloat.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. -2 Corinthian 5:17

Over the course of my college career, God has transformed my heart and He continues to mold me into who He wants me to be daily. In the past four years I have served wholeheartedly for Fellowship of Christian Athletes at St. Edward’s University and throughout Texas at summer camps and retreats, and in Memphis, Tennessee over spring break. Every opportunity to serve has impacted my life and closer aligned my heart to God’s ultimate plan to make His name known across the globe. I’ve felt unworthy, uncomfortable, and fearful many times, but God has revealed to me that all of those insecurities are lies and has used these experiences to show me that my love story defined by His passionate pursuit of my heart has the power to impact lives for His kingdom.

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps. -Proverbs 16:9

Recently God has laid it on my heart to once again use my spring break to make much of Him and less of me. In the last month, I’ve been praying for discernment for where He wants me to go. All of the options were appealing (Memphis, South Padre Island, Haiti) and would require me to take a leap of faith outside of my comfort zone to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Internally and externally I’ve toyed with safety issues and the uncertainty of raising support for whichever trip I chose. After all, I’m graduating from college in a month, have no definitive plans, a dwindling savings account, and currently no place to live. So much of my life is up in the air, but oddly enough I’m worry free. Maybe, just maybe, this control freak is beginning to grasp what it truly means to let go, and let God determine my steps. Woah.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” -Isaiah 6:8

After much prayer, two weeks ago I made my decision. I’ve never felt more convicted or excited to share that I will be spending a week in Haiti with Mission of Hope. Serving in Memphis revealed to me what it’s like to have little in the United States and how God can make beautiful things out of dust. In Haiti, I look forward to seeing beauty amidst destruction, seeing joy in smiles of the children at the orphanage, and witnessing to the hope found in the Haitian communities.

As soon as I committed to the trip I had butterflies in the pit of my stomach in anxious anticipation for how God is going to reveal Himself to the Haitians I will be serving and to me. All the fears of safety and finances that consumed my thoughts have dissolved and as I begin writing support letters through tears of joy I’ve never felt more trusting of my loving Father. God has had His hand on me from the beginning of time and looking back it seems ludicrous that I ever feared for my safety or questioned His ability to provide for something that is apart of His will for my life. No, I have not raised enough support for the trip, but I have five months to watch God work and have complete faith in His provision. In the process, through conversations, support letters, and blogging, I get to share why I’m going to Haiti as another way to attest to God’s glory. How cool is that?!

Bondye Bon (God is good),

Meredith

P.S. If you are interested in supporting my trip, prayer is greatly appreciated. If you feel called to support financially, you can donate online at the link listed below. Be sure to include HAITI & MEREDITH BARD in the description line.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. -Matthew 28:19-20

 

A Game of Grace

~ mbard ~ Leave a comment

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” – Psalm 103:8

An act of grace that I experience everyday, but often overlook, blind-sighted me this past week.

I’m a collegiate volleyball player with only a handful of matches left before I join the NARP (Non-Athletic Regular Person – no offense intended) life. I have played 122 games under the guidance of my coaches before realizing their forgiving and gracious nature that so closely mirrors that of Jesus (If you’re reading this, thank you for doing way more than what’s required. You both are awesome!).

My coaches are disciplined. If you wear the wrong shirt to practice, or wear it inside-out in some of my teammates’ cases, you run. If the team falls short of a goal, we run. If you forget your team notebook, also jokingly referred to as the volleyball bible, you run. If you forget to collect grade reports from your professors, you run. And the list goes on and on. We have rules that we are expected to follow, and when we fall short – and all of us have – we run. After completing the fun-time (don’t let the name fool you), egg, or suicide, the incident is forgotten and we move on.

I don’t know if you’re catching my drift, after all it took me almost four complete years to realize it, but that is a pretty darn good example of God’s grace. In the Old Testament we’re given rules to follow, but we cannot live up to the expectations of those rules. Knowing that we couldn’t walk in righteousness without a crutch, God sent His son to follow all the rules in flawless fashion. What a stud. After 33 perfect years, Jesus died a criminal’s death on a cross that WE deserved as sacrifice for all of our sins – past, present, and future. All we have to do is declare and BELIEVE Jesus is Lord and that He resurrected from the dead and our sins are graciously forgiven.

Although my coaches display grace and forgiveness, our debt for breaking the rules still has to be paid. Here’s where God’s grace becomes an absolute steal for Christ followers. While my coaches say do *insert consequence* when we mess up, Jesus says our mistakes have already been forgiven at the cross. We don’t have to pay back our wages of sin because “the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Yes, God wants us to realize our mistakes, but He doesn’t want us to dwell on them. He simply wants us to repent and believe.

Although our debt has been paid, that doesn’t mean we won’t sin. Just like I have forgotten to turn in grade reports and my team has failed to reach a goal, in our walks with Christ we will face bumps in the road. During those hard times, and the good times, we’re repeatedly given God’s grace through Jesus as a crutch to help us limp through the pearly gates onto the streets of gold.

I can’t praise God enough for the beautiful example of His grace displayed through my coaches. As thankful as I am for their presence in my life, I am eternally grateful for the grace shown at the cross.

Grace and Peace,

Meredith

“But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved!”                       -Ephesians 2:4-5

Die Daily

~ mbard ~ Leave a comment

A cross – I wear one daily, but do I really live out the call of my life defined by the cross? It’s not an easy question to ask myself and really makes me examine the state of my heart.

Over the past two weeks Luke 9:23-24 has literally popped up in my life everyday, multiple times.

“Then He said to them all. ‘If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.'”

This is a little different message than the traditional “Jesus died for you! You’re saved by grace!” Although those messages are true, there’s a crux. We must DENY our flesh and CARRY A CROSS.

In Jesus’ time, a cross was a symbol of shame. Crucifixion was reserved for those the Roman government wanted to publicly humiliate in death. Jesus wasn’t just nailed to a cross, although that would be more than my pain tolerance could bear. He had a crown of thorns crushed into His skull, was tied to a post and beaten with a whip, and then forced to carry a 125 pound wooden post on his back – Remember that whipping? Yeah, that meant he carried 125 pounds on open wounds – along a road called Via Dolarosa (the way of suffering). After that, he was finally nailed to a cross and stabbed in the side with a spear to make sure he had taken his last breath. The cross was a symbol of death. A death he suffered for you. A death he suffered for me. They were bloody and back then we certainly wouldn’t be wearing one around our necks.

My challenge to us as believers is to not devalue the cross and the call to follow Christ. I’ve been reading a book called “Not a Fan” by Kyle Idleman. It is all about being a follower of Christ rather than a fan. Being a fan cost you nothing, being a follower costs you everything. Followers deny themselves and carry their cross daily. They lose their life to save it.

In evaluating the state of my own heart I’ve realized there are seasons in my life where I’m dying daily and following Christ. Unfortunately, there are other times when my flesh wins and I’m merely a fan. Following Christ five days of the week isn’t enough, He wants all day everyday for the rest of my life. I’m challenging myself to die daily and I’d like to encourage you to join me! I’m tired of just wearing my cross. It’s time for me to carry it. Dying doesn’t sound very appealing, but that’s what is amazing about our God. We die to ourselves and in return are given an abundant life. We aren’t committing our lives to misery, we are giving it up for a life we’ve desperately wanted all along!

Today is Good Friday. Today we wear a cross that reminds us of the love shown for us at Calvary. Today we remember the blood of our sinless Savior that was shed on a cross 2,000 years ago for the forgiveness of our sins. Today we remember that when only love could make a way Jesus gave His life in a beautiful exchange. Today we carry our cross and walk with Jesus down a road leading to our own death in exchange for an eternal crown.

God Bless,

Meredith 🙂

In the words of Lecrae: “Jesus saved my life, HALLELUJAH! “