Okay, so I know that I am on my little tangent here about Whitney Houston, but I must continue to share what the Lord is laying on my heart. And yes, I have gotten all of my old cassette tapes and CD's of Whitney's out, and listened to them.

With her recent interview, I have heard from both the scoffer and the skeptical, to the inspired and impressed. But what just kills me is when believers (can I say that one more time) BELIEVERS are the critics instead of the champions. The woman has borne her soul as to the heartache and struggles in which she found herself. She has authentically shared the gut-wrenching decisions she's made, and the extremely difficult battle to get back her life....herself. Things that many of us keep hidden, she has chosen to drag into the Light. Her tragedies have gone public, on display for the world to see. Yet she has handled them with grace, and has returned to the public who loved her to tell them what God has done. How can we do anything but applaud her? How can we do anything but offer praise where it is due? Praise God for His infinite love and grace!

Have you ever been through a dark time in your life? Things that you wouldn't want a soul to know, much less the whole world? Have you felt the judgment of others? Have you experienced the rejection of another who thought they were in some way superior to you? There are not words to describe the pain.

When Dale and I went through our divorce, I would walk into the grocery store and people would see me and turn their cart and go the other way. Those who once told me what I meant to them when I had taught them or sung in church were now not speaking and giving me the cold shoulder. I never felt more alone and yet it was when I needed people to love me the most.

I'll never forget going into a store one day during our divorce. As I went to get my buggy, another young lady was getting her's. I knew this girl. She was not a leader in the church I went to, just one that came and brought her beautiful daughters. We were not great friends, but I certainly knew her and she certainly knew me, and my situation. I remember the shame and fear of more rejection that welled up within me. I didn't know if I should turn and walk away or push through it and grab my cart and go. So I braced myself for the blow and went for the carts. When I got to the buggy rack, her eyes met mine and she walked over and gave me a hug and said "Hey Jena. How are you?" I melted. I cannot remember what I did or even if I cried, but the relief, the acceptance, the LOVE I felt was overwhelming. That was over 12 years ago and it still makes me cry. I do remember saying to her, "Thank you; thank you for not judging me, but being friendly." and her reply was, "Oh Jena, after all I have done, who am I to cast judgment on you?" I have never forgotten it. (Thank you, Amy)

All of us, and I have been talking to Christians here, have walked through hard times. We've been deceived by an enemy who is real and we have found ourselves in messes we never thought we'd be. All of us have chosen our drug of choice to numb our pain, instead of running to Jesus. Whether drugs, people, alcohol, affairs, busy-ness, cutting and even church activities, we have chosen our ways of coping with life. We are wounded people, sometimes even angry people, and we all need God's grace. We all need His tender mercies to cleanse us. We desperately need His love to come and rescue us and heal us. And we need His people, believers, to love us too.

God's Word speaks a lot about grace. It speaks a lot about judging others. It goes as far as to say that with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. Ouch! But what I think we miss, are the Scriptures that talk about perspective: seeing someone's life from God's vantage point. He tells us to consider others over and over again....to put ourselves in their moccasins. When God looks at people, what does He see? His bride that He loves so deeply and wants to save.....rescue.....cleanse......and walk with.....hand in hand......forever.

So today, I ask you, will you be judge and jury over Whitney Houston and others who are struggling? Or will you remember the heights from which you've fallen, the God who picked you up and rescued you, and praise His Name for doing it for Whitney and others. Will you be their biggest champion, cheerleader and support for boldly proclaiming God's power to change, heal, and mend? And for those in the midst of struggles: will you turn and walk away? Ignore? Reject? Or will you embrace them with the love of Jesus and help them to know that He stills loves and still cares. The choice is ours, believers....fellow disciples.....followers of Jesus. John 13:35 says, "This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples: when they see the love you have for each other."

For me, I choose to praise my Sweet Jesus for loving me enough to rescue me, pursue me, and relentlessly loving me back to Himself. I praise our great God for not giving up on me or Whitney Houston. And for you who may be reading this blog who is in the midst of deep addiction and struggle and pain, God has not and will not give up on  you either. He loves you. He cares. He will come and save you. Would you run to Him?

An old song I used to sing:
"I shall forever lift mine eyes to Calvary to view the cross where Jesus died for me. How marvelous the grace that caught my falling soul. He looked beyond my fault and saw my need."

Oh God, thank You for looking beyond all my faults and seeing my need and meeting me there. Help me to do the same to others. Help me to see others as You see them and love them as You love them. In Jesus' name, amen.

I don't think I have ever watched the Oprah Winfrey Show, but when I saw Whitney Houston was being interviewed after 7 years of silence, I was quick to set my Tivo! I grew up listening and dancing to her music, singing in my hairbrush, wishing to sing like her! What a remarkable, God-given voice: THE voice, as it has been called. As I sat down and watched this two-day interview, I was moved both emotionally and spiritually.

Discovered at age 19, her life suddenly became a display to the entire nation. Can you imagine the whirlwind your soul must go through? Have YOU ever had something come out of nowhere and blindside you? It is such a huge change, that it can be very difficult to navigate through it. Such it was with our friend, inspiration, and encourager, Whitney Houston.

As she continued in her interview, I was so impressed with her transparency, her direct, sometimes raw honesty. How many celebrities have you seen do that? Something.....SomeOne much bigger than her caused her to do this. You see, when God has reached down and pulled you up out of the muck and mire and put a new song in your mouth (Psalm 40:2-3), you get the case of the "can't help its" (Acts 4:20) and you can not stop telling your story....because it is not a story about you, but a story about God's love.....it's a story about redemption. A story about the fact that He loved you so much that He would not let you go. You were His. He died for you. He loves you too much to let you go.

Redemption. We throw that word around a good bit in the Christian circuit. But what does it really mean? The best way I have heard it described and now describe it myself is in the context of Chuck E.Cheese. You know, you go to this place and there are all kinds of games. You must buy tokens, play the games, and try to win tickets. Then, you turn in your tickets and "redeem" your prize. Now if you are like me, every time I have taken my children into Chuck E. Cheese, they get their eyes on like this HUGE stuffed giraffe that they want. Now this giraffe has no place in our home....it won't even fit in our car to get it there! I mean it's HUGE! And underneath is a card that reads 4,892 tickets. Right.

So we spend about $10 per child and get about 25 tickets. A far cry from 4,892. My kids, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, must settle for a jelly bracelet underneath the counter in the front. Anybody?
Do you just feel sometimes that after all you've done, after all of the grace you've perused upon, after all of the absolute rejection you've given your Heavenly Father, there will never be enough tickets you could earn to get yourself back in good graces with God? Do you think that if you brought God your life all filthy, scared, wounded, messed up, and damaged, that He'll say "sorry, you're just too far gone"?

Well, Whitney Houston, me, and countless others can tell you "absolutely not!" You see Jesus Christ gave all the tickets you will ever need to save you. He is the only One who had, has or ever will have enough tickets to redeem you. God, because of His love, turned in His Son, Jesus Christ, and redeemed you. God said "Here is Jesus, I want my child right there." He picked you.

Whitney Houston, me and so many others have gone through tremendous adversity in our lives, even as Christians. We somewhere along the way were deceived by the deceiver, the devil, and this slow and sneaky liar slowly but surely stole from us the truth about God's love, His heart towards us, and His reasoning for allowing things into our lives. So in brokenness and humility, we drag ourselves back to the ticket counter and say "Here I am, Lord. I turn in my addiction, my coping mechanism, my drug of choice to numb the pain, my pride, my selfishness, my stinky attitude, my "dumb sheep mentality" that went my own way; here it is. Please, redeem it." And God doesn't bash me or scold me. He just simply says, "I bought you a long time ago with the tickets of Jesus Christ. I am passionately in love with you. You are my prize. You are my joy. You are my delight. I'll take all of that stuff and give you back the abundant life that I originally desired for....you will just need to walk with Me....just walk very close to Me, and stay close....real close."

Tonight, I applaud Whitney Houston for her openness to share her story of God's redemption, and for giving praise where praise was due on national television. God redeemed her life, and she made sure people knew it.

How about you? Do you need to bring yourself to God for the first time? Have you not had enough tickets and you need to accept the tickets of Jesus' death as payment for your sins? Will you allow God to turn Jesus in and get you, his wonderful child back? Or maybe, you've been a Christian a long time, but somehow you woke up one day and realized the slow erosion the enemy has done to your heart and mind. Will you just bring the broken pieces of your life back to God and allow Him to mend your heart?

Thank you, Whitney, for sharing your life with others and offering them hope that their lives too can be redeemed by their Father, Friend, and Redeemer.