Tag: Jesus

Profound Noticing

On By Codie WinslowLeave a comment

This week, I had an incredible experience of what I am calling “profound noticing”. While running back and forth between multiple locations for work and tending to meetings, an emergency situation, and my daily tasks, I received these beautiful flowers from a colleague. Christine works as the liaison in the lobby of our main building. She tends to many. Her daily work is persistent, and it requires a certain tenacity to navigate the myriad of transaction types, questions, and information she manages daily. And she noticed me.

She said it looked like I was having a tough day. She was right, and the fact that she noticed me brought me a great sense of belonging.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking of the way her simple act of noticing made me feel. It reminds me of the kindness of Jesus. He had a remarkable way of noticing people and responding to their needs.
Here are a few powerful examples:

  • The Woman with the Issue of Blood (Luke 8:43-48) – Despite the crowd pressing around Him, Jesus noticed when a woman touched His garment in faith, seeking healing. He stopped, acknowledged her, and affirmed her faith.
  • Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) – A tax collector who climbed a tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Instead of passing by, Jesus called him down, dined with him, and transformed his heart.
  • The Paralyzed Man at Bethesda (John 5:1-9) – Jesus noticed a man who had been waiting for healing for 38 years. He asked him if he wanted to be healed and then told him to pick up his mat and walk.

Each of these moments reveals Jesus’ deep awareness of people and His willingness to meet them where they were. His example reminds us to notice others and respond with love.

Thank you for noticing me, Christine! You were the hands and feet of Jesus in my life this week. May we all follow suit.

Words Matter

On By Codie WinslowLeave a comment

They knew her by name and greeted her. “Hi, Jen!” And she returned the welcome. “Hi, June. How are you, sweetie?”

“Good.”

“It’s nice to see you. Isn’t it beautiful outside today. I love it.”

I lost track of the rest of the short exchange. I was struck by her simple kindness. Her thoughtful conversation. The way she related…to the nail salon shop owner.

She wasn’t meeting her best girlfriend or interacting with a family member. She was kind. Truly.

As my superficial toes were being painted on, I considered whether what I truly value shows on the outside the way I want it to.

Am I kind? Do I extend kind words wherever I go…even at the gas station or in the break room or even the nail salon?

I value words. Words matter.

Jesus points us to this important lesson in Matthew 12:34-35. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (NKJV).

Words matter because they are an indicator of what’s in our hearts.

In James 3:1-12, the untamable tongue is described as “a fire, a world of iniquity” and an “unruly evil, full of deadly poison”. (NKJV)

Words matter because we can hurt people with them and in the process disqualify our example as followers of Christ.

Proverbs 18:21 says we can speak words of life. Or death if we are not careful.

I am convicted by my words. And the state of heart most days. I not only want to speak words of life and kindness, I want to be known as kind. A true representative of my Lord.

Thank the Lord, He is not only kind, he is also merciful so there’s still hope for me. And you.

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,“Therefore I hope in Him!” (Lamentations 3:22-24, NKJV).

Amen. Let it be so.

I am reminded of a ritual Bible verse I used often to teach this important point to my kids when they were small. If I began the verse…

“Let no…”

I bet they would still chime in today with…

“bad words come out of your mouth except for what is good for building others up that it may show grace to those who hear it.”

That was our kid version of Ephesians 4:29 (adapted from the NKJV).

Words matter. Let my words, even the ones I hold in my heart, bring you honor, Lord. Help me to build up rather than tear down. Guide me to words of life before they even escape my lips. May my words be a testament to the light and life found in You. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” ( Psalm19:14 NKJV) Hear my prayer. Amen.

Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Common Ground

On By Codie WinslowLeave a comment

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NKJV)

Image by Gisela Merkuur from Pixabay

I was typing away on my laptop lost in my to do list when I heard the exterior door to my office click open. I had no appointments scheduled and I was trying to meet a deadline, until a familiar voice I hadn’t heard in quite a while greeted me.

“Hi, Codie. Are you able to sign this purchase order?” Mark said.

“Mark. How are you?” I replied, “it’s so good to see you.”

Like many of us, Mark was among those who struggled to process the impacts of the pandemic, and as a result, I hadn’t seen him. He worked remote. He worked behind a closed door, limiting interactions. He insisted on a mask for as long as we have been navigating COVID. He was paralyzed by fear.

Today, not so much.

“I just got back from Orange County,” he said, knowing I am from Southern California.

“Did you go to Disneyland?” I asked, beaming a smile just thinking about the happiest place on earth.

“Three times!” he chimed, “and it was so much fun.”

We fell into conversation like old friends catching up at a high school reunion. We shared the highlights and challenges of the past year. It was common. Familiar. Comforting.

It is rare that we have experienced something every other human has experienced. The worldwide pandemic brought us so much closer together in this way. And today, I was able to comfort and be comforted by the comfort God poured into our lives in specific and unique ways.

It only takes a moment to find common ground when what we need most is to belong, to feel connected, and to recognize that we are not alone in our circumstances.

God also accomplished this for us when He sent His only Son to earth to understand life from our perspective. Hebrews 4:14-16 (NKJV) puts it this way, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

“My wife and I didn’t agree on vaccines at first,” he shared, “and it caused conflict. It was tough.”

“We struggled too since we have a blended family and have to share our decisions with my step-kids’ mom,” I reciprocated, “I think it was a struggle for all of us in some way.”

I signed the purchase order and Mark was on his way. But what stays with me is the sense of hope I feel knowing God sees us in our times of need. He is our great High Priest who understands. And He gave us each other as ambassadors of comfort, connection, and common ground.  

My Great High Priest, You knew I needed to be seen today. You knew I had words of comfort I could share. You orchestrated a moment of common ground that infused hope into what may have seemed like an ordinary day. Thank you for reminding us that You understand. Thank You for calling us to comfort one another with the comfort You have so generously given to us. May we maximize the moments You present to us. – Amen

Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved

Make Room for Hope

On By Codie WinslowLeave a comment

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4

There were no open tables at the food court the day I met Irene. I joined a group of twenty-somethings hanging at the mall on a sunny San Diego afternoon, and we paused the shopping spree for a bite to eat.  

“Is this seat taken?” she blurted.

“I can’t find anywhere to sit.”

She demanded attention with her loud print shirt and her east coast accent.

“Of course,” one of the guys responded waving his hand for her to join us.

And the conversation was as lively as her blouse.

She had taken the bus to the mall to get out from her small apartment, she had two sons who did not spend much time with her, and she was lonely. We obliged her, and she stayed so long visiting over lunch that she missed her bus back. We squeezed her into our Honda hatchback, along with the four of us, and gave her a lift back home.

A divine appointment. A flicker of hope. A moment of purpose with many to follow.

Irene’s hair was bright white like the light she saw at the end of the tunnel in her near-death experience. She did not take kindly to pastor’s preaching the week I invited her to church.

“God is not a white light at the end of a dark tunnel,” he stated as a matter of fact.

She whipped her head around and I could feel the laser beam stare melting my cheek like wax. Disdain dripped from her countenance.

“You told him my secret!” she yelled at me after the service, shaking her fists in the air.

“God knows all our secrets,” I replied with a smirk.

It took the entire forty-minute drive back to her apartment to calm her down and to explain that it was Jesus showing up in her world, inviting her to get to know him.

And she invited me to get to know her. I visited her often and we swapped stories about life, love, and writing. She was a poet.

I imagined her on stage at open mic night with her attitude, her doctrine, and her colorful shirt on full display like a soap box preacher. Animated. Intentional. Flamboyant.

 She knew the power of words, and it became a force between us.

We had in depth conversations about Jesus, and though she was Jewish and did not understand him to be the Messiah, the Word was there with us.  

Knowing Irene was a treasure to me. And when I spoke at her memorial service, I shared the power of poetry to honor her and I shared the Word of hope to honor Him.

May we notice and respond to the subtle, and flamboyant, invitations to share the hope of Jesus.

Make room at your table.