messymiraculousmommy

  Think about it- how many times has it happened that you did due diligence to plan for an important day/event/trip and then something totally different happened that day? Man proposes, God disposes, it seems. Some say, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. To me, that makes God sound like a sadistic person who enjoys disrupting our lives with His whims and fancies. So what if we don’t plan anything and just take each day of life as it comes? Then pretty much nothing that requires planning would get done. If you have a baby and wait till the last minute to buy diapers, you might get none because your local retailer also waited till the last minute to buy it from his wholesaler. If you wait for the school/college to announce the exam time table to start studying, you might find yourself studying to pass rather than excel. So, what do we do then? Keep investing our time and energy planning and then just be ok with it when something totally different happens? ...

  The look on the priest’s face as he begins to read the 3-page long wedding banns / announcements is priceless! It says it all: the wedding season is upon us! Watching young couples approach their big day with all the bustle and excitement really brings back memories of our 4-month long prepar ation for our own wedding day which happened 24 years ago!   Looking back now, so much of what we invested so much time, energy and resources into had little or no relevance soon after the wedding. After all, a wedding is just for a day, a marriage for a lifetime! I remember the day after the wedding, wondering what had to be done with the expensive wedding dress and painstakingly handcrafted flowers. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to step back and take an objective look at our wedding planning decisions and if I happen to step into a time machine that would take me back to 1998, these are the things I would change:   1.    Have my husband (who was the on...

God first laid this blogpost on my heart in Feb 2021. And since then, there have been many times when I thought about writing it. But last night, God clearly gave me the title and then the content came pouring out in under 20 minutes. I share this to glorify Him who gives me everything I have, including these learnings over close to 20 years of intentional discipleship.   M inistry is anything you do for Jesus with love. In the early years of following Christ, I thought that ministry meant what people did to lead me to Christ: lead a Bible study, worship God with music, listen and counsel people. As the years passed, I also wanted to do that, and I wanted to go really big for Christ. I wanted to do something grand, visible and reach many thousands of souls for Him. But through the last 20 years, God has redirected me consistently: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers/sisters, that you do unto me” . And “whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.” Every time I want...

  I am the  Lord  your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;    you shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:2-3 “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’    This is the greatest and first commandment. Matthew 22:38   Anyone who has experienced God’s Love for real, will know well enough to stay away from any idols that deny the Truth that God who created us all and everything that exists, revealed Himself fully to all humankind in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ. Idols that look like idols are easy enough to avoid. I hope you know that Sachin Tendulkar may be called the ‘God of cricket’ but he is no god at all. But I have fallen for the trap myself and witnessed other people falling too, for idols that are really too good to resist! Here’s my list of top 10 idols to beware of!   1.      A romantic partn...

  I know who I am The hushed whispers of gossip and slander The loud roaring of abuse and violence Neither can drown the sound of the song that springs from deep within me I know who I am The dust over those hard-won certificates The unseen glories of my current labours Neither can dull the light that is shining from deep within me I know who I am The tears over battles I have lost The sweat from the battles I have won Neither can dampen the touch of Him who lives in me I know who I am The bliss of the forbidden food I took from Satan's hand The bitterness of my tongue from all the medicines that had to follow Neither can disqualify me from tasting God's gift of His body and blood to me every morning. I know who I am The foul odour of death creeping up behind me The sweet fragrance of the flowers yet to bloom that will adorn my grave Neither can draw me away from the scent of His embrace today I know who I am I am the precious daughter of my Father, the Author of Life  I am th...

  Pain groans Patience sighs Prayer perseveres Presents distract Presence comforts Peace prepares Plans prompt Predicaments test People talk Politics go on Pressure builds up And love? Love does all of this... Love groans Love sighs Love perseveres Love distracts Love comforts Love prepares Love prompts Love tests Love talks Love goes on Love builds up And love does more... Love goes further... LOVE SUFFERS Love suffers along with me Love suffers along with us

In less than 550 words, the Master Teacher Jesus narrates a powerful redemption story. This story has a hero, a villain, a seemingly unimportant character with a critical role to play, an underdog and the one who reports the big news. This story has a painful beginning, a long wait, the climax and the thought-provoking ending. This parable is found only in the Gospel according to Luke and is never lost even among around 30 parables. At different points of my life, I have been able to relate to the 5 different characters mentioned: The father who made a decision to let go of something he could not keep forever, the son who sought out his own path, the unimportant character of the son’s employer who was critical in God’s plan, the older brother who resented being the responsible one and the servant who carries the great news! This story stands out poignantly, because even if you do not relate to anyone in this story, it still has the potential to be the story of all of us. 1. ...