Tag: Christianity

Pentecost: Celebrating the Church’s Birthday

On May 23, we’ll celebrate Pentecost—Christianity’s one thousand, nine hundred and eighty-eighth birthday. One thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight years ago God ushered the church age into history.

But what’s so special about this birthday? Why do we celebrate it year, after year, after year? Why is any birthday special enough to deserve yearly recognition?

And what do you need to have a good birthday party?

Before we look closely at Pentecost specifically, let’s examine some birthday characteristics—

If you’re older you probably reminisce about past birthdays, or those of your children or grandchildren. You’ll remember what life was like back then, what you got, what was special in your life. You might even get one of those nifty cards that remind you that a loaf of bread cost a nickel, or a candy bar was a dime. And that triggers you to reminisce about the good old days.

When you were younger—a lot younger—you probably counted the days leading up to the birthday, especially the big ones – like ten – when you finally made double digits, and thirteen – when you could finally call yourself a teenager; and then eighteen         (when you thought you owned the world), and twenty-one (when you knew you did!). And then came 30 years, 50 years, 75…

And you may mentally gaze into the future to contemplate what awaits you next year, or make a list of “to do’s” to accomplish.

 

Birthday party basics—

You need to have a guest of honor

You need to set the place and time of the party – so everyone knows when and where to show up

You need an invitation list

Then you need to compile a guest list (noting the invitees that promised to join you to celebrate.)

 

The Pentecost party—

As I take you through Pentecost, you’ll see that the birthday celebration characteristics are present—reminiscing about the past, counting down the days, thinking about the future.

 

And we’ll recognize that we have all of the necessities for a really good party:

  • a pre-arranged place and time, (Jerusalem during a festival)
  • an invitation list, (the disciples and followers)
  • a guest list, (disciples, followers, and soon-to-be new believers)
  • and, most importantly, a guest of honor, (the Holy Spirit)

 

A little Pentecost history—

While the church celebrates Pentecost, Pentecost is not originally a church celebration. It was a Jewish celebration that had been going on since God dictated the Book of Deuteronomy to Moses. It’s a feast day, an end to the fifty days after Passover; where first fruits and thanksgiving are presented before God.

So, I want to take you back 1,988 years, when God had a big party and initiated the church age. I want you to view this event – this special birthday – through Jewish eyes.

 

The Christian Pentecost story—

Imagine you’re a Jew, a follower of Christ, sitting in that Upper Room with about 120 other Jewish disciples on that special feast day. You’re praying and singing psalms and excitedly anticipating what will happen. What Jesus promised would happen.

Ten days ago, just before you watched Him ascend into heaven, Jesus commanded you to go to Jerusalem and wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit – the Divine Presence of God. Jesus said you’d receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon you, and that you’d be a witness to Him in Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth. But how can that be? Then your mind retraces the last fifty days.

So much has happened.

 

First, Jesus celebrated the Passover with the small group of twelve disciples and then hours later you watched as the crowd called for Jesus to be crucified. When Pilate gave the order, you and Jesus’s closest disciples – besides John and some of the women – ran in terror to hide, fearing you’d be arrested too. You hid for two days, scared and confused. Your hearts were broken. You had all been so sure Jesus was the prophesied Messiah who would deliver you from the oppressive Roman yoke.

Then the Sunday morning after the crucifixion, stunning news came that Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared first to the women and then to some of the other disciples. Breathlessly, they told you about it. And you and the others reasoned together about the Resurrection.

It all started to make sense.

Now, fifty days later, you’re in Jerusalem where a multitude of Jewish pilgrims from a multitude of countries has gathered to celebrate.

 

Passover was one of the three great festivals God commanded the Jews to celebrate. Every year since you were little, your family made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to sacrifice the Passover lamb. Three days later, you were to go to the temple for the Festival of First Fruits – the festival that celebrated the bountiful harvest God had provided.

And to prepare for that festival, every spring you and your family carefully scoured the wheat fields looking for the first swollen grains of the season. Then you’d eagerly mark these stalks with a ribbon, these first fruits of the harvest that were to be given to God. On the third morning after Passover, the priests would wave one of your dedicated sheaves before the Lord in the temple. Then, you were to count forty-nine more days, and return to Jerusalem to bring the first fruits of the barley harvest to the temple on Shavuot, translated Pentecost in Greek.

It was always a time of great celebrating. Your mother decorated the house with greenery to remind you of Mt. Sinai and made special dairy meals – to remind you that Israel is the land of milk and honey. The rabbis compared it to a wedding between God and His people. And it was the day King David was born, and died. You knew it was the ultimate expression of the unique joy of the land. And your parents always had you repeat the Deuteronomy verse you memorized: “And you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given you.”

But this year, Jesus’s death threw you, your friends, and most of Jerusalem into an uproar. The Sanhedrin hadn’t wanted Jesus to die during the festival, but it happened anyway. Then the eleven remaining disciples told you and the others about the new covenant Jesus had initiated at the last Passover he ate with them. That shocked and confused everyone. His body and his blood given for them? That was a marriage covenant he had recited! Then Jesus was raised from the dead on the first day of First Fruits!

Following that stunning event, Jesus met with you and His other followers for forty days, to teach, to lead, to forgive. Then ten days ago he returned to heaven. You stood and watched Him bless you and the others while He was being taken up into the clouds. He promised again that he would not leave you alone; he promised that his power would come to you. He was adamant that you were to go to Jerusalem—and wait.

Now you’re doing just that, sitting in the Upper Room house. Waiting.

You know the celebration is starting. Just this morning you heard the temple official call out, “Arise! Let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God!”

It’s officially the day that the season of Passover ends. And you’re sure it will happen on this day – this final day of celebration of First Fruits; where the barley harvest will be baked into two loaves and offered before the Lord at the temple. You now know Jesus is The First Fruit of the harvest. And to send the Holy Spirit on this day – the day Israel recognizes as the day the law was given on Mt. Sinai – would also be a fulfillment of prophecy. After all, Jesus had said that He came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it!

Then you hear it! An enormous, deafening sound like a violent rush of wind. The air itself isn’t stirred; just a powerful sound fills the house. Then divided tongues, looking like fire, appear in the room; one resting on each person’s head. And King David’s psalm floods your mind, “The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness.” And someone else excitedly reminds everyone about the smoke and fire that appeared on Mt. Sinai the day God gave Moses the law!

This has to be it! The Divine Presence of God—the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised.

Suddenly you and the others speak in different languages. You’ve never studied another dialect, but immediately you’re given the ability to do so. What God started at the Tower of Babel, he has reversed on this day!

All of you run to the temple. It is crowded with Jewish pilgrims from as far away as Iran, Iraq, Rome, Turkey, Libya, Crete, Arabia, and Egypt. They are there to offer their first fruits barley harvest.

And it’s clear that they, too, heard the sound because they have gathered together, bewildered and astounded because you and the others are speaking to them as quickly and excitedly as you can about Jesus, and how his death and resurrection fulfill prophecy and give eternal life. Your heart burns within you as you share this good news.

The crowd listening to you is amazed and perplexed because they understand your words. Some of them get excited and ask you what it all means. They’re eager to know more. Yet others sneer and accuse you of having made some strong wine from your new crops and partaken of it this morning. Gotten drunk from the fruits of your field.

So Peter stands with the other eleven before the crowd and tells them that you aren’t drunk; it’s too early for the celebratory drinking to start. Then he reminds everyone of Joe’s prophecy, where God says that in the last days He will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, and everyone shall prophecy; that people will see visions, and even the old will have dreams. Everyone, slave and free alike, will receive this power from God.

Then Peter reminds us that Joel also prophesied about the future – where God will cause signs in heaven and on earth. Signs like flood, and fire, and smoky mist; like the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood, before the Lord’s final return on His judgment day.

 

Three thousand people believe the message they hear and receive the Holy Spirit. And they hurry back to return to their homes to share the good news of salvation and life through Jesus the Jewish Messiah. No longer will they have to live under the weight of the law. Now they’ll live under grace, just like you.

You know instinctively that it’s the start of a mission that will take all of you to the ends of the earth. The greatest mission the world has ever known.

The Holy Spirit has enabled you for Christ’s service – to share this good news with others, so that they might also know about Jesus and receive His joy of eternal life. It’s the most important thing Jesus calls you to do. And you must be obedient to him. You won’t be afraid because now He’ll be with you wherever you go.

Months later Dr. Luke interviews all of you, so he can make an accurate account of the church’s birth, for future generations to read, remember, and celebrate.

 

Keeping the party going—

And now, let’s come back to the present—to our celebration this year: 2021.

There’s still inviting and joining and celebrating and praising going on.

Every day people find or hear about the Messiah, and they want to share that joy and hope and promise with the world.

I pray you’ve been invited and said yes to Jesus’s invitation to join Him, received his gift—the power of his Holy Spirit—become one of His disciples, and have your name written on the official guest list.

In order for the party or banquet to happen, invitations are required and a guest list needs to be generated. Like Philip, people need to turn to their friends or acquaintances and say, “Come and see.”

 

May I ask how many invitations you’ve passed out lately? When was the last time you gave an invitation to someone else to join this party—Jesus’ party?

When have you shown someone the gift of the Guest of Honor?

Maybe the person at work who irks you. Have you invited him to meet the Savior? The complaining, irritating old lady next door? The single mother who’s struggling with everything in life and void of resources, or hope? The indolent teenager whose father is AWOL?

Is your heart broken enough over their lost condition to invite them?

Remember who Jesus invited to the party: the sinners – the poor, the downtrodden, the liars, the thieves, the prostitutes, the adulterers, the prisoners, the blind, the lame, and the lepers; the outcasts and the misfits. He’s still inviting them to come, to be set free. He invites them to come and live a full, joyful life in and through Him.

Or maybe you know someone who’s so nice and kind they don’t seem to need a savior. (That’s a fallacy, by the way.) They do. No one is ever nice enough or kind enough or good enough. No one matches Christ. Only He—and faith in Him and the grace He offers—saves. You’re not getting into the eternal party without Him knowing you and calling you His friend.

After all, He doesn’t invite strangers to that final heavenly banquet.

So be careful about thinking that you can always just show people your good works without saying anything to them about Jesus.

 

The fallacy of just trying to show someone your faith rather than speaking it and giving out an invitation—

I’d like to illustrate my statement with this true story: Years ago in Seattle a man named Sam was saved and became a Christ-follower as a result of a Billy Graham event. Sam was so excited about what God did in his life, he told his boss about his relationship with Christ.

The boss said, “That’s great! I’m a Christian too, and I’ve been praying for you for years.”

But Sam was disappointed, and his countenance fell. He said, “Why didn’t you ever tell me? You were the very reason why I haven’t been interested in the Gospel all of these years!”

The boss responded, “How could that be? I’ve done my best, by God’s grace, to live a Christ-like life around you all this time.”

Sam said, “That’s the point. You lived such a model life without telling me that it was Christ who made the difference, so I convinced myself that if you could live such a good and happy life without Christ, then I could too” (Don Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines, 111).

Thank goodness this story has a happy ending, but how sad this person didn’t get the invitation sooner.

His boss was negligent.

 

God seems to enjoy seeing His people party—

God instituted a lot of feasts. He seems to be in the celebration business. He still has a wedding feast awaiting us in heaven. He’s got more invitations to pass out, more names to gather on the guest list.

But whom does He send to deliver the invitation?

Us.

You.

His friends.

 

Professional marketers know from research that it takes about seven to nine letters of invitation before someone responds.

How many times have you invited? Do you give up after a single attempt?

C.S. Lewis called God “the hound of heaven” because God never gives up. How often have you asked?

Have you prayed that God would go before you to prepare the heart of the person you want to invite? Have you prayed for Jesus to give you just the right words to speak to them, and for their ears and hearts to be open to the reception of the message? Do you pray—often—for God to provide opportunities for you to share the Gospel?

Do you invest in their life, listen well and hear their hearts? When you do, they’re more likely to respond to the invitation. You can prepare the ground and then plant and water.

 

Who’s on your invitation list?  

Keep inviting. Keep sharing your story and the reason for your joy. Scour the fields; plant seeds. Prepare for God’s harvest.

Your family, your neighborhood, city, state, nation and world are your mission field. Go out and invite, taking the heart of God with you. As my former pastor said after one of his Sunday sermons: “Go fishing!”

When you’re having a party, you want people to come and share in the celebration with you.

When you’ve received a great gift, you want to talk about and share it. I’m sure there are special gifts you still remember and reminisce to others about.

Are Jesus and the Holy Spirit on that special gift list?

All of you have a special story to tell. Jesus has given you the power to tell it. But are you willing?

As John Wesley said, “I look on all the world as my parish, … I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it … my bounden duty, to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.”

I ask you: how special is Jesus to you? Do you find him worth sharing? Do you consider it your duty to share those glad tidings of salvation with others?

As Paul later wrote to the Roman church, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace. Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

 

We’re recognizing Pentecost May 23. Will you be celebrating the birthday of the church? Will you be giving thanks for Jesus, grace, and His Holy Spirit that gives you the power to live and to hope?

Will you be handing out invitations to others to “Come and see”?

Do you have your guest list ready?

 

For the believer, it should be the greatest celebration birthday of the year.

Invite some friends, and have a great celebration!

Blessings,

Andrea

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”

 
Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a health and fitness pro, speaker, award-winning inspirational writer, memoirist, and senior-ordained chaplain (IFOC). She helps people thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually and recover from grief, loss and trauma.

Ascension Day: The Antidote to Post-Resurrection Letdown

I’ll begin this post as I did the last one: I’m sure most, if not all of you have experienced what I’m experiencing right now: a feeling of hanging in limbo. As though you’re unsure of your next move and have difficulty planning your days.

Then I listed some reasons why that could be happening and expanded on the stress and sadness our family is experiencing with my mother’s decline in health and her journey toward the end of her earthly days.

And that was before I was blindsided (the day following the post release) that the memory care home where my mother lives will be closing its doors at the end of this month. That means finding a new place for my mom, at a time in her life that another transition will be very difficult.

Thankfully, God in His infinite goodness found another place for my mom, through my mother’s primary caregiver. We’ve moved her this last Friday.

But the stress of calling hospice and her nurse practitioner and new nurse and making sure that’s all coordinated has added to the blah feelings; and, I am sure, at this point, that I’m dealing with some sadness and depression.

Grief.

 

And that just amplifies what I was already experiencing.

Post-Easter letdown.

Which really doesn’t need to happen.

The emotional, spiritual, and often physical investment of the forty days of Lent, Holy Week, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and then the rousing celebrating on Easter Sunday can result in a kind of letdown feeling. As though it all happened, and now it’s over, and a feeling of “what now?” niggles your spirit.

But should I really be experiencing that post-Easter letdown? If I’m experiencing it, I can only imagine what Jesus’ disciples were experiencing on an order of magnitude greater than my doldrums.

But if we look at what happened after the Resurrection, which we started to explore on April 19 post, we see that there was a lot happening between Jesus and His disciples. It didn’t happen the way we often envision it to have transpired.

And that’s where we’re headed in this post. On an eavesdropping and sightseeing walk with Jesus and His followers. Experiencing the far-flung emotions they experienced—the shock, dismay, wonder, giddy joy and thrill of their encounters and the final goodbye that drove them to praise and worship their risen Lord.

As we walk with them, we’ll better understand just how generous and loving and patient and kind our Savior truly is toward us. Then, and now.

 

And once we understand and appreciate that, we’ll also experience that wonder, thrill and praise-filled joy ourselves.

 

What transpired with the disciples between Jesus’ death and resurrection?

 As far as we can discern from the four Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we get a picture of a terrified group of disciples in mourning. Hidden away in abject fear of the Roman authorities and Jewish leaders, who the disciples believe will be tracking them down and crucifying them too. The Garden of Gethsemane shows them running, after Peter cuts off a temple guard’s ear when trying to defend Jesus. Once Jesus is arrested and taken away, the disciples make a getaway.

But at some point Peter and John follow the group. (I can see them trying to follow the crowd, undetected, in the night.) Because John knows someone there, they gain entry to the Jewish trial proceedings and eavesdrop on that event. That’s where Peter is when he’s accused by a servant girl of being one of Jesus’ followers and does what he swore he’d never do: deny knowing Jesus. And Jesus hears him do it.

Scripture tells us that Peter ran away and wept. Probably bitterly.

John must have stuck around for the proceedings, though, because we get some great details about what transpired. And he seems to be the only one of the twelve that has the nerve to follow Jesus to Golgotha and stand beside the wailing women to watch the crucifixion and Jesus’ death.

Judas goes out in the field to commit suicide over his betrayal of Jesus.

The women disciples, always faithful and seemingly unafraid, station themselves at the cross to be with their Lord and mourn.

After Jesus’ death, two Jewish leaders—secret followers of Jesus—step forward to bury Him in the tomb.

And then the Scriptures are silent on what’s transpiring for three days, although we do know that on the morning of the Resurrection, ten of the remaining followers are assembled together. I can imagine what’s going through their minds.

Agony.

Heartbreak.

Grief.

Disillusionment.

Terror.

Dread.

 

A what-are-we-going-to-do-now feeling.

Things didn’t go quite according to their plan. Jesus didn’t fulfill all of their hopes and dreams—of conquering the Romans and freeing the Jews from oppression. He didn’t do the conquering king thing, as they expected.

They left their livelihoods and families and dedicated three solid years of their lives to following Jesus, being taught by Jesus, watching Him work, heal, preach, and pray. Now, in one devastating twenty-fours, it’s over.

They’re demoralized, devastated.

And scared to death.

 

Ever feel like that? When all of your hopes and dreams, all you’d worked for abruptly ended, and you couldn’t see past your pain, fear and disillusionment to think straight. To trust that all is going according to plan or will be worked out.

It’s a sick to the pit of your stomach feeling that sucks the life out of you.

But bless Jesus’ always-perceptive, loving heart. He knows this anguish, and He spends forty days after the resurrection appearing to, speaking with, eating with, walking with and still teaching His followers.

And forgiving them.

 

What transpires during that forty days following the Resurrection?
  1. The first thing that happens is Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene, who has gone with the other women followers to finish the anointing of Jesus’ body that they couldn’t do on Friday due to the approaching Sabbath, when all work was to cease for twenty-four hours.

Can you imagine this woman’s joy when she sees her Lord again? Pause for a moment and consider what might go through your heart and mind if you were in her shoes.

Shock?

Bewilderment?

Inexpressible joy?

Clearly, she and the other women are so excited that they hurry to find the other disciples, to let them know what they’ve heard and seen. And what do the eleven men think?

Unbelief. Because “[the women’s] words seem to them like nonsense.”

I can imagine the yelling and likely arguing that ensued. The anger at not being believed. The chastising and ridicule for such “nonsense” being spoken.

Ever have a heated discussion with someone that doesn’t believe you, or just dismisses what you have to say? It’s more than irritating. You feel patronized and belittled. It’s a horrible feeling.

But Peter and John must have a suspicion that what the women’s report has some merit, because they run to the tomb and take a look for themselves. Luke’s Gospel doesn’t say that what Peter sees immediately convinces him; it says he “wonders what has happened.”

 

  1. The next thing Luke recounts is that road to Emmaus encounter with two followers. The one we covered in the last post. Jesus teaches and opens their eyes to what the Scriptures prophesied about Him, reveals Himself to them, and then splits. Disappears, actually.

The two men are so overjoyed that they run seven miles back from where they had just come to tell the other disciples, who are likely chattering up a storm about the recent developments.

Can you imagine the two beating on the door to be let in and then busting out with what they experienced? How could you possibly contain yourself? The scene is likely happy chaos and breathless reporting.

 

  1. But before they can get out their fabulous story, the disciples burst out with their own revelation: “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”

So somewhere in that time frame on that Resurrection Day, between the appearing and disappearing, Jesus has appeared to Simon Peter. Alone. And if you know your Bible stories well, you can guess—or already know—why Jesus must have done that.

With his denial, Simon had sinned grievously against his friend and Lord. Scripture is clear that he mourned his sin. Can you imagine doing this to your best friend and then having to live with the agony of regret for the rest of your life?

In God’s mercy, He doesn’t allow Peter to suffer. I don’t know what the conversation was; it was a very private interaction. Scripture doesn’t elaborate, but I can imagine.

Peter is likely shamefaced when Jesus appears to Him. Maybe he falls at Jesus’ feet, weeping once again. Maybe he collapses into Jesus’ arms. Maybe he begs for Jesus’ forgiveness.

Whatever happens, we know that Jesus forgives him. And their relationship is fully restored. And there’s nothing quite like a restored precious friendship.

And that’s exactly what happens to us when we repent to Jesus. When we acknowledge our sins and ask God to forgive us. He’s faithful and just to forgive them. Now. Just as He’s been doing for thousands of years.

What relief and joy Peter must have experienced at the restitution. Can you relate?

You feel clean, restored, refreshed. Your heart is unburdened. Life again has meaning and purpose.

 

  1. Then, while the Eleven and the other disciples are chattering about all that has happened, Jesus appears. Just shows up. No knocking on the door to be let in. He just materializes and gives them a familiar greeting, “Peace be with you.”

And wouldn’t you know it, even though Mary and Peter and those two Emmaus guys have already seen Him, Luke says, “They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.”

Maybe Mary and the women, and the Emmaus walkers and Peter weren’t startled, but I suspect they were. At least a little bit.

How could they not be? While Jesus is real flesh and bone, clearly something remarkable has happened to Him to allow Him to come and go in an instant, to appear and disappear.

Have you ever experienced something that seemed just too good to be true? Something you saw or experienced with your own senses, but you kept second-guessing yourself? You just couldn’t get over the fact that it happened.

Imagine seeing a once bloodied, broken and dead body come back to life, and you get the idea. And who can blame them? I’m sure Jesus’ ability to just come and go like that took some getting used to.

But Jesus gently chides them when He says, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

Jesus provides proof. The nail holes haven’t disappeared. The lance-caused side wound remains. He actually invites them to look and touch and see. To be convinced.

To fully believe.

But, because they’re so overcome with joy (Wow! It’s really Him, isn’t it?); and amazed (How could He really be alive and back in our midst?!), they still aren’t fully convinced. Meaning, they probably wouldn’t stake their lives on it as they eventually end up doing.

Again, in His love and patience, Jesus asks, “Do you have anything to eat?” When they provide him with a piece of boiled fish, He took it and ate it right there in front of them. To further prove his flesh-and-bones existence.

 

  1. Jesus reiterates to them that He told them all about this when He was with them those three years—the prophecies about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. He opens their minds to understand all that’s been written. He says,

“This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sin will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

 

And then he gives them another promise, and directions:

 

“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

 

Power from on high? Who wouldn’t want to stick around for that!

 

Is there more in the forty days after the Resurrection?

In order to learn more about what transpires in those forty days, we need to jump over to the Book of Acts, where Dr. Luke expounds on the story.

In chapter 1 we read:

 

“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”

 

Verse six indicates by their question that they’re still hung up on the kingdom restoration to Israel thing, so He tells them, bluntly, that it’s none of their business when that’s going to happen. And then He tells them what they will be doing for Him:

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

 

In essence, He tells them that thy have a big job to do for Him. Others need to know about Him, and be offered salvation and restoration to God. And it’s going to be their responsibility to get evangelism kick-started.

 

Evidently that instruction comes on His very last day with them, after He led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, (as Dr. Luke reports in the last verses of his Gospel), when Jesus performs His final act upon the earth.

 

Jesus’ final act upon the earth—

Jesus has appeared. Jesus proves many times over—in front of a multitude of witness—that He was dead and is now alive.

He has forgiven. He has taught. He has given additional instructions. And now He performs His final, loving and encouraging act.

He lifts up His hands.

And blesses them.

 

What He said is not recorded, but we can be assured that His words were tender, loving, uplifting. Maybe something along the lines of probably the most famous benediction in Scripture:

 

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26)

 

Maybe He personalized it by saying “I bless you and will keep you. I will make my face shine upon you, and be gracious to you…”

 

But perhaps it was more personal. These are, after all, the closest and dearest, most beloved friends He had during His life on earth. The men and women He had spent an intense and busy three years with. The people He’d joked with, laughed with, ate and camped outside with. The ones who knew Him best.

At least as well as one can possibly know the One who is fully God and fully man.

And in the midst of that blessing, while He’s blessing them, Jesus is elevated into heaven. Slipping through what is likely a thin veil between heaven and earth; returning to the Father in glory.

The Magnificent Ascension.

He leaves them again, this time with that blessing on their hearts and minds.

A glorious memory of their Lord to take and carry with them.

 

Luke then tells us in his Gospel that after He disappears, His followers begin worshipping Him. And they obey His directions by returning to Jerusalem with great joy. Not just a little joy, or a general kind of joy, but GREAT joy.

Once there they head to the temple, where they continually praise God.

A jump over to the first chapter of Acts gives us the full picture.

While Jesus is disappearing into the clouds, the disciples stand staring up into the sky. I can just see all of them standing in a clump, mouths open, heads back, eyes fastened on Jesus, and then those clouds. Maybe they could still hear His voice through the opaque mist.

Luke says they “were looking intently.”

Can’t you just see them, heads bent backward; eyes straining to see. Maybe they’re waiting Him to come back down to the earth. After all, He disappeared once, and then reappeared and disappeared and reappeared. Perhaps He would do it again.

It takes two angels dropped down to earth beside them to get them to re-focus.

 

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into haven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

 

That’s good enough for them. Nothing like a couple of suddenly-appearing guys dressed in bright white to get your attention. The disciples hit the road and head back to Jerusalem. To wait, as their Lord instructed.

They’ve learned well enough now to believe and to trust, and do as they’re told.

And do it with praise and worship in their hearts and on their lips.

 

What does this story have to say to us?

This is an amazing story. A true and living story.

It’s not a story of an indifferent God who put in His ministry time, suffered, got the reparation job done and then promptly returned home.

It’s the story of a loving God. A compassionate God. A God who seeks, and takes the first steps to forgive and restore.

A God that loves and longs to bless us!

The crushing pain and devastating loss at the crucifixion has been lifted and erased. There is no more sorrow. Only joy and worship and forward-looking living.

Jesus’ physical presence will soon be replaced with His spiritual one. The One that’s busy in the world right now—working, teaching, healing, saving, and leading.

Just exactly like the physical Son did while He was on earth.

 

I would caution you to not let your imagination run amuck, in haste to fill in what isn’t said in Scripture, but can you see yourself in this story? Can you hear Jesus’ words and actions; imagine yourself as a disciple?

Let me provide a few questions to get you started.

 

Invitation—
  1. Close your eyes and imagine all that Jesus said and did during that forty days. Imagine Him blessing His follower friends, and then imagine Him blessing you.
  2. When was the last time you asked Jesus for His blessing upon you and your life? Upon your day; upon a significant moment in time.

Take the time to do it right now. Lift your hands to the heavens to receive the blessing. And praise and worship Jesus for giving it. Rejoice, just as the disciples did that day in Bethany and Jerusalem.

  1. Spend a moment considering the characteristics that mark the disciples at this moment in their lives, at the end of Luke’s gospel and the opening of Acts.

They praise.

They worship.

They obey.

And then ask yourself: How much of my day, week, year, or life is or has been marked by praise?

If you’re lacking that component in your life, begin today.

If you’re not sure how to praise, ask the loving Savior to show and lead you.

If you need forgiveness, repent and ask Him to forgive you.

If you’re on the outside of that disciple circle looking in, and want to know how you become a part of it, take the steps needed to break through the circle.

Acknowledge that Jesus is the Savior, the Son of God. The Messiah, who took upon Himself the sins of all mankind, suffered and paid a penalty that you owed.

Ask Him to forgive you of your sins. If you aren’t sure what they are, ask Him to reveal them to you. He will.

Tell Him you want to be a follower, a child of God.

Ask Him to send the Holy Spirit to inhabit your heart so you are counted as one of God’s children.

Then offer praise and worship to the One who restores you from death to life and prepares a place for you to live in Heaven. The One who has given you hope and a future.

 

And rejoice!

 

Why are we looking at the Ascension right now, this long after Easter.

Because this Thursday, May 13, marks Ascension Day, the commemoration of the end of Jesus’ forty days son earth following His resurrection.

Consider it anew and what it means for you.

NEXT WEEK: We’ll continue the story with a look at Pentecost—the event that initiated the age of the Church. We’ll celebrate the anniversary.

Until then, praise, worship and obey.

Blessings,

Andrea

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”

 
Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a health and fitness pro, speaker, award-winning inspirational writer, memoirist, and senior-ordained chaplain (IFOC). She helps people thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually and recover from grief, loss and trauma.

What Does the Cross of Christ Mean to You?

(This blog post is based on recent messages given by Parkside Church pastor Alistair Begg.)

 

How much does the Cross of Christ mean to you and your faith?

Not the trauma Christ experienced on it, but the cross, and what was accomplished there.

Your answer might divulge whether or not you comprehend what happened and the end results.

Your answer might divulge whether or not you are a true Christ follower.

 

The danger of focusing on the cross’s physical trauma—

When reading about the physical punishment Jesus endured before dragging his cross to Golgotha and being nailed to it to die, there’s no doubt the punishment was brutal and gory. Anyone with a speck of imagination could conjure up the slick sweat, the slashed flesh and exposed muscle, the streaming blood.

For centuries artists have tried to depict it, often with devoted and pained followers kneeling around the crucified Christ in the artwork. The art often projects deep spiritual agony of the devotees, the horrified countenances of the gathering crowd.

They seem stirred by the ugly scene. And often that’s what stirs us too. Often, that’s the only thing that stirs us.

We dive head first into the passion of Christ’s suffering; we feel the profound emotion. We can really get wrapped up in it.

But when we do this, we’re at risk of getting too involved in the passion itself. We identify Christ as the perfect sufferer and extend Him sympathy for that. And we miss what He says to the wailing women and gawkers. (There are always those types that relish watching an execution firsthand.)

Jesus looks at them from the Cross and says, “Don’t weep for me.”

 

Jesus wants something greater from us than our sympathy.

He wants us to acknowledge exactly what was going on and why it had to happen.

He wants something far greater from us. The Cross demands it.

 

What does the Calvary Cross demand from us?

Jesus doesn’t want our sympathy. That falls short of what the cross calls us to do.

Jesus wants our love and devotion.

That’s what the Cross, and what was accomplished on it, demands.

 

The Gospel writers and the epistle writers don’t focus on Jesus’ suffering. They don’t elaborate on the agony. They avoid any vivid descriptions of the suffering Jesus.

What they all emphasize is the sacrifice required for the world’s sins—yours, mine, everyone’s sins since time’s beginning—in order for us to be reconciled to God, have a personal, loving relationship with Him, and have a living hope to enjoy Him for all eternity.

The culminating goal of Christ’s crucifixion is atonement for our sins.

As Pastor Alistair Begg says, that no matter how long we live or how many good deeds we do “We can’t make amends for [our sins]. We can’t establish our own righteousness or our own atonement.”

We can never pay the expected price.

But Jesus could, and He did. It’s what He was born to do.

Make atonement.

Atonement accomplished on the Cross. Proof the debt for our sin was paid. The glorious Resurrection three days later the proof that He was who He claimed to be.

 

We don’t fall in love with Jesus and follow Him because we feel sympathy for Him. We fall in love with and follow Him because of who He is and what He accomplished on the Cross for us.

It wasn’t His suffering that saves us. It’s His sacrifice.

As Pastor Begg emphasizes, the solution to the world’s dilemmas is solved on that rough, ugly Cross.

 

At this point in your life, are you still asking Jesus to prove Himself to you?

If you are you’ve missed the sacrificial message of the Cross. The sin-debt-paid-in-full message.

The “It is finished,” message.

You’ve missed salvation.

Jesus has already done all He needed to do to prove Himself. He won’t need to do anything else, even if you ask.

 

Don’t the good parts of Christianity—the love, the justice, the mercy—save?

The good parts of Christianity—the mercy, the justice, the generosity, the love—are great outward manifestations of a God and Jesus-loving faith. Our faith calls us to do and demonstrate them.

But those good works count for zero toward salvation. No one can do enough good works to get to salvation on his own.

It takes that Cross of Christ to make it to, and over, the finish line.

 

The danger of removing the Cross as the centerpiece of Scripture—

There’s a church in San Francisco, which I won’t name. It’s a famous church, in a mainline denomination now hotly arguing internally about how they’re going to split over differing issues. A divorce for irreconcilable differences.

In 1967 the lead pastor in this church decided to remove the Cross from the sanctuary. He said he did it “to send a message of inclusion and love and to open his sermons and services to all.”

No doubt he thought he was being loving, kind, thoughtful and inclusive. Open-armed and open-doored. But I think he missed the real message of that Cross he thought others found unappealing, creepy and offensive.

And I’m wondering if in the process He missed Christ.

Or robbed the people who need it most from the salvation message the Cross declares.

 

To a true believer and follower of Christ, the Cross gives the deepest message of love the world has ever known. Removing it from the centerpiece, and along with it all that was accomplished that earth-shaking day on Golgotha, might prompt condescending sympathy from the masses but a convenient dismissal or avoidance of the truth.

Removing the Cross guts our faith.

We need the Cross because it is the stabilizing structure that supports our faith. The trellis supporting the vine branches. Without the trellis the vines collapse.

Without the Cross, our faith crumbles and disintegrates.

 

Yes, I know that throughout history the Cross has been used as a symbolic weapon to promote and do unspeakable things, causing many to be repelled by it. And for those horrors, Christians need to apologize and, if possible, make amends.

But those events do not change the facts of salvation truth.

The salvation truth is open to all and everyone who comes to the cross to confess and lay their burdens down there.

Let His breath be in your lungs!

Come to the Cross, and then worship Him!

 

 

 

 

Invitation—
  • Are you moved more by Christ’s suffering than the end result of the sacrifice? If so, turn your attention to what the Cross really means for the world. For you. Ask the Lord to reveal that truth to you. Let Him call you to faith and convince you.
  • Have you been trying to earn your way into Heaven with good deeds? Do you believe that’s what gets you there? Realize that you can never do enough good deeds, never measure up to God’s standards and Christ’s righteousness. Lay your good deed list down and kneel at the Cross. Find salvation and righteousness there.
  • I encourage—implore—you to stop holding Jesus up as only a good man or a wise prophet, and go to Him in repentance and faith.

 

Days before His sacrificial death, Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they rejected Him.

Do not let Him weep over you.

NEXT WEEK: I’ll provide you with a couple of resources to learn more about this marvelous story of redemption and hope!

Until then, sing hallelujahs to the King as we celebrate Palm Sunday and walk toward Calvary and the Cross.

Blessings,

Andrea

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”


Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a health and fitness pro, speaker, award-winning inspirational writer, memoirist, and senior-ordained chaplain (IFOC). She helps people thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually and recover from grief, loss and trauma.

5 Steps for Spiritual Health and Renewal

I’ll begin this blog post with the same question I asked last week: Does your spiritual life feel non-existent, bland, or in dire need of a spiritual revival?

Then I went on to discuss how living solely on daily devotionals can cause your spiritual life to degrade to blah.

But what else might be missing in your spiritual life? How can you improve your spiritual health and be renewed?

That’s what we’ll look at today.

 

Feeling Disenchanted with your Christian Life?

Many Christians find their initial fervor in the faith wanes after a few years, and their hearts feel a little dulled. If you find yourself facing that dilemma, rather than just consider it normal, or trying to brush it aside, or convincing yourself that your spiritual life is really okay, you should ask yourself the following questions:

 

  1. Are you consistently listening to or watching good, solid Bible preaching? The kind that challenges and stretches you; reinforces your faith. Gets you excited, or even convicted.

Just as daily physical nourishment is required for good health, you need to feed yourself with the solid word of God for your spiritual well being. No offense to the power of positive thinking crowd, but that kind of preaching doesn’t delve deeply enough into the meat of the gospels. The whole Bible. Find a good Christian radio station to listen to, a television or streaming program with strong, biblical preaching to watch.

 

  1. Do you have a circle of strong Christian friends you fellowship with regularly?

Iron sharpens iron, and this fact can’t be missed, or dismissed. Even Jesus had his twelve and then his inner three, although the joke is that He had Peter, James and John follow Him around because they were the most likely to get in trouble, and He had to keep an eye on them.

Belonging to a solid, Bible-teaching congregation is critical to spiritual health. Find one and become an active participant.

Find a Bible study group and be sensitive to others that you feel connected to. Seek them out. Join them for coffee or lunch. Get your hearts knit together. You don’t need an army of them. Two or three friends that stick together, lift each other up, make you feel safe and blessed are what you need.

I wouldn’t be able to survive without mine.

 

  1. Have you been baptized?

Getting Holy water dribbled on you as a clueless baby is a lot different than taking the full plunge in front of witnesses as an adult.

You’re making a statement, a formal commitment to Jesus Christ. Proclaiming yourself to be a follower. It’s a serious matter and incredibly joyful and freeing event.

Your church doesn’t submerse? It doesn’t have to be the Jordan River. Ask a pastor to join you and some friends in a backyard pool.

 

  1. Are you partaking of Communion?

Every time you gather with other believers to profess Christ’s body and blood given in sacrifice for Christians, you are remembering the Lord and what He has done for you, and everyone else gathered there. It is a community event. It means you accept Him as your groom as He proposes to you, His bride.

It is also a time of introspection, since no one should come to the Lord’s Table without a repentant heart.

And let me go out on a limb here and say that I believe it to be perfectly acceptable to pour yourself a small glass of grape juice, (or wine), and snag a small piece of bread or a cracker (as a side note: the bread Jesus used would have been unleavened, not some fluffy loaf we think of), open your Bible to the passages on the Last Supper or verses remembering that event, pray fervently, and partake of Communion on your own.

Or ask a friend to join you. My husband and I and another couple did just that a couple of weeks ago, as we sat in our living room watching a live stream worship service that included Communion. The pastor encouraged it. And it was a particular joy to celebrate it with dear friends in this continued COVID distancing.

 

I know. I’m going to get some flack on that one, especially from denominations that believe only a priest is allowed to bless the elements, and that they must be properly blessed before consumption. If you are horrified at what I’ve said, please leave a comment and tell me why you believe that to be true. And please back it up by Bible references, not extra-biblical writing.

 

  1. Finally, do you have an active prayer life?

After reading and studying His word, this is the primary way to connect with the Savior.

There is nothing like reading Scripture, praying it, praying for yourself, others, the body of Christ, your leaders, your neighbors, your friends and your enemies. And seeing those prayers answered, whether yes or no. It’s life changing. Like walking with God in the cool of the day. Pouring your aching heart out to Him. Getting down and dirty and honest about your life.

It’s how life is won—on your knees.

It gives you unexpected revelations, opens your eyes to truth. Helps you recognize and utilize God’s life-giving power.

It helps you understand just how deeply and profoundly and unconditionally you are loved by the Creator and Savior.

 

Invitation—

If you’re not using any of these steps to strengthen your spiritual life, I invite—and encourage—you to start now. You can jump into all five of them with both feet, or tread more slowly, selecting one or two to incorporate and pursue. But do pursue them!

And if you have another discipline that helps you strengthen your spiritual life, please share it with us in the Comments box.

And if you don’t yet have a relationship with the Savior and would like to know how to have one, text me at 520-975-6109 and leave a brief message. I’ll be in touch. Or email me at:

 

andreaarthurowan@gmail.com

 

Easter is a marvelous time to commit your life to Christ!

 

NEXT WEEK: As we approach Easter, we’ll look at the importance of the Cross. Without it, there is no Christianity.

Until then, take the next steps to deepen and solidify your spiritual life.

Blessings,

Andrea

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, jut as your soul prospers.”


Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a health and fitness pro, speaker, award-winning inspirational writer, memoirist, and senior-ordained chaplain (IFOC). She helps people thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually and recover from grief, loss and trauma.

Toxic Positivity 101

The term seemed to have erupted last year, when COVID was overwhelming everyone’s life and exhausting us mentally, physically and spiritually. A Google search will produce pages of articles on it. Maybe you’ve heard of it.

Toxic positivity.

It’s not an official psychological diagnosis or academic term, but it’s gaining ground and being used to push back against the positive thinking teaching running rampant, until COVID roared onto the global scene.

 

 

 

 

What is toxic positivity?

A simple definition of toxic positivity, provided by What’s Your Grief?” is:

“Promoting the ideal or goal that no matter the circumstances, one should always and only maintain a positive, happy, or optimistic mindset.”

 

In other words, always, and at all times be “Happy, happy, happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Examples of toxic positivity—

Have you ever expressed your grief, frustration or heart-felt pain to someone and had them respond with:

“Well, you need to stay positive!”

“Keep focusing on gratitude and being grateful.”

“Look on the bright side.”

“It was God’s will.”

These responses are pretty difficult to hear and take when you’re experiencing painful, complex emotions in grief, trauma or due to another deep hurt. And the comments are usually not helpful. In fact, they may cause you to retreat inward, feel guilty or disillusioned, and to avoid sharing your emotions with anyone. And that can stunt or hamper your healing.

 

Why the sudden positivity backlash?

2020 tossed all of us into the same suffering path, crammed us into similar shock, disillusionment, frustration and fear of the unknown. In one earth-sweeping stroke, the world was brought to its knees, we learned just how puny and helpless we really are, and we got stamped with identical suffering—alarm, and maybe a hefty dose of fear.

To be sure, all of us experienced different depths of emotions as we watched the world succumb, friends and family members—or even strangers—get sick and recover, or get sick and die. Or watched as our part of the world boarded up into a ghost town. Or we were sent home to quarantine and work, were told to stay home permanently, watched helplessly as our world imploded, were robbed of our livelihoods, or we drained our emergency savings accounts and nervously awaited relief checks—so we could keep the house lights on and purchase groceries. Or we took a number on the unemployment line.

Who among us didn’t learn how to ZOOM in short order, just to stay connected?

And this is where the pep talks started to beat some of us down, or rile us up:

When we were told to stay upbeat in the midst of it, sing, smile, and focus on hope.

It could all sound pretty tone deaf and shallow, especially when the media and government haves were telling the have-nots how to think, feel and act. And to stop living.

 

While this advice was well-meaning and had some merit, sometimes it came off as being toxic and unrealistic. And that’s what toxic positivity does. It encourages us to ignore the pain, the hard things, the gut-wrenching emotions that MUST be acknowledged and worked through in order for complete and satisfying grief and trauma healing to occur.

 

Benefits of positivity—

I’ve written extensively on my blogs about the benefits of positive thinking and gratefulness. I extol them and follow the advice of St Paul to bear all things and hope all things—the ways to put love into action. So I’m not advocating automatically rejecting and tossing all of the positive, gratitude-focus advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what’s the problem with being positive?

The problem arises when we’re too quick to offer unsolicited advice or cheerleading. When our mouths run ahead of our brains, and we’re trying WAY too hard to be helpful, even when we haven’t been asked for help.

As loving supporters of a grieving person, we need to be aware of and sensitive to the appropriate time to give positive comments and encouragement, like after the honest recognition of the agony or grief. We must not deny or ignore the suffering. It’s so important that we say, “I hear your pain. I see your agony.” Even if we can’t say, “I understand.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get the healing order right—

When we’re suffering, we’re usually anxious to get to the healing, the light at the end of the tunnel. We don’t want to hurt. And we don’t want others to hurt, either.

But as the good folks at What’s Your Grief? wisely point out: in order for a rainbow to appear, there must first be a storm.

You don’t get to bypass the storm or rain in order to enjoy the rainbow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toxic positivity to the extreme—

Can you imagine if you heard a friend say,” My husband is dead. Life is great!”

Wouldn’t that sound a bit wacky to you?

What she might want to honestly express is: “My husband is dead, and my heart is broken. I feel disoriented, lost. So alone.” In which case you can listen to her, hear her, weep with her.

As her healing progresses, she might feel more comfortable saying, “My husband is dead, and my heart is broken. But I know with the mercy and goodness of God, and help of loving, patient friends, I will heal and once again—one day—have a joyful, fruitful life.”

She’s not denying the obvious or its accompanying pain. She’s viewing life realistically, with a focus on her mental health, the present reality, and a healthy hope for the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be an honest griever—

As a griever, be honest with yourself, about what your heart and mind are going through, while recognizing there is a road map to a brighter future.

And remind yourself that a critical part of that roadmap is taking some time to think about, pray about and plan your grief journey, so it’s as effective as it can be.

Where are you now? Where do you want to go? How are you going to get there? (We’ll explore these questions in more depth in another blog.)

You might have some horrible terrain to slog over in the beginning of your journey. And, yes, you might experience a few breakdowns and stalls. But as you press on with constructive meditation, support, and purpose, the road will get easier or smoother, brighter, and look more purposeful.

And as your emotions are identified and worked through, the journey will get lighter. The luggage will be easier to carry.

Never forget there is purpose in your grief work.

But toxic positivity forces or requires you to rush through that journey. And when you rush through any journey, you’re prone to ignoring warning and danger signs, traveling when you’re exhausted, or ignoring the dashboard warning light telling you the car is overheating or the oil is dangerously low. You might grab the duct tape to patch things together, which means the journey will be tougher. And dangerous.

And maybe you won’t even be able to arrive at your desired destination.

You’re taking too many risks and not living honestly with your emotions.

And you’ll definitely miss what lessons God has for you along the journey.

It’s about looking to your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scared of those tough emotions?

 Others are frequently scared or uncomfortable of our grief emotions. They want them to go away, or be fixed. Fast. Hence, the toxic positivity statements.

But sometimes we grievers are prone to giving ourselves pep talks because we’re afraid of facing our difficult emotions. I encourage you not to be repulsed by the inevitable moments of desperation and despair. The deep sadness that accompanies grief.

These emotions are normal. They remind us we’re human. And humans need to embrace both the hard and positive stuff in order to be made whole.

 

In the coming weeks, we’ll dive deeper into the benefits of being positive and the negatives of being toxically positive. We’ll also learn coping techniques for dealing with our own and others’ too positive-too soon words and actions, and how to respond to others when they dish out that toxic positivity.

I hope you can join me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Invitation—

If you’re grieving, take time to journal and jot down the emotions pouring through your heart. Make note of how they make you feel physically and spiritually. Practice being aware of them without trying to talk them away.

Until next week, be hopeful in all things, but always give yourself permission to hurt and grieve, when it’s right to do so.

Blessings,

Andrea

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, jut as your soul prospers.”

Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a health and fitness pro, speaker, award-winning inspirational writer, memoirist, and senior-ordained chaplain (IFOC). She helps people thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually, and recover from grief, loss and trauma.