Tin Man

My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. - Jesus (Matthew 26:38)

Now I know I've got a heart, 'cause it's breaking. -The Tin Man (Wizard of Oz)

We are so different, aren't we?

But we ARE made in the image of God,

so there ARE some commonalities:

We all have a heart, & we've all had it broken.

So has Jesus.

No heart broke more, no heart hurt more, no heart anguished more...than His.

One of the times I feel the loneliest is when my heart is breaking. During those times, it seems like nobody runs parallel to my pain. You too?

But Jesus does.

When our heart is breaking, He runs parallel to our pain because He knows what its like

and only HE can get into our heart to fix it.

A clogged heart can be medicated by a doctor.

A hurting heart IS mended by God.

He doesn't need a knife, or anesthesia, or even time.

As soon as your heart is breaking...His is too

and He is immediately there to begin mending.

Surely we WILL have a heart that breaks (just ask the Tin Man) but we don't need to travel on brick roads and HOPE the man is behind the curtain.

We merely travel as far as a whisper of a prayer, and God's already waiting in our heart to heal it.

mynakedpastor.com

Guest Blogger: My Mom!!

My Mom sent this email to me a few days ago. She gave me her permission to post it. I''d like to say something after you read this....

HEATHER .... I WILL NEVER FORGET THE DAY YOU WERE BORN ....MY FIRST BORN ..IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY AND I WENT INTO LABOR THAT MORNING . YOUR BIRTH WAS UNIQUE BECAUSE YOU WERE GOING TO BE BORN AT HOME. AS LABOR PROGRESSED I BECAME MORE AND MORE EXCITED TO SEE MY BABY !! THE PRESENCE OF GOD WAS SO STRONG IN OUR LIVES THAT DAY . A FRIEND CAME OVER AND MADE A COMMENT ABOUT THE ATMOSPHERE OF OUR HOME WHEN SHE WALKED IN .SHE SAID, "I SENSE SUCH PEACE HERE TODAY." I AM CONVINCED JESUS WAS THERE AND HIS ANGELS WERE BUSY !! SOON THE TIME CAME TO GIVE BIRTH ..FIVE GOOD PUSHES AND THERE YOU WERE ..A BABY GIRL !!!! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL !! LITTLE PINK CHEEKS PERFECT ROUND FACE ..JUST A BEAUTIFUL NEWBORN ..I WAS ON CLOUD NINE ..I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU WERE FINALLY HERE. I WAS A MOM FOR THE FIRST TIME AND THE LOVE WAS IMMEDIATE . ....HERE YOU ARE TODAY . I CAN NOW SEE WHERE GOD ANSWERED THAT PRAYER I PRAYED MANY YEARS AGO. LOVE , MOM

This was neat to hear from my mom. It meant a whole bunch to me. Do you have someone who speaks value and hope into your life? You say you don't? I can hear you, and I am so sorry. But please hear this: If nobody on Earth is speaking the miracle of YOUR life...God already has, God is, and God always will. If you can't hear other's voices of value and hope in your ears, listen to your heart - God always wants to speak to you there.

mynakedpastor.com

BDAY RECAP

Hey Everybody! Sorry for the blog-delay. I am at this SWEET conference in Indiana with my church fam. Tomorrow, my pastor is speaking at it! Of course you can go on this adventure with me AND watch my pastor if you tune into http://www.mynakedpastor.com/.

I had an unexpectedly wonderful birthday. I'd like to send out HUMONGOUS props to:
Raul, my Cuban for the iPhone and the surprise bday party.

Allen & Sharon for helping the Cuban pull it off.

Kelli, Sharon, & Steph for taking me out to lunch and hooking me up with something

leopard-y & pumpkin-y!

Melissa & Ansley for the most aromatic roses.

Heredes & Marcy for sucking helium, killing brain cells just to sing Happy Bday.

My CHURCH FAM, who were kind enough to take time out of their significant lives to take notice of a seemingly insignificant day to them...Sept. 25.

My relatives, for celebrating this day for 34 years with me...and never getting tired of it.

Felicia, Oana, and Damaris - for going above and beyond the call of friendship to celebrate with me, to make me laugh, to make me cry, to include me in your lives.

Here are some pix. I hope you enjoy them, we enjoyed taking them for you!

God Bless You,

and know...

EVERY DAY you are the BIGGEST blessing to Him.

What's 34 in 12 hours?

ME!

In 12 hours I will be 34 years old!

Stay tuned for some bday pix!!

mynakedpastor.com

Humpty Dumpty Heather

As of late, this is the best way I can explain my life:

Humpty Heather sat on a wall

Humpty Heather had a great fall

All the kings horses, all the kings men

Didn't put Humpty Heather back again.

But Humpty Heather is in God's plan

And Humpty Heather has her Cuban

They're working hard & working together

Ain't gonna have a broken Humpty Heather!

Friends, sometimes we fall. And lest we do, we mustn't feel like it's over.

It's just like us to fall & break--

but it's just like God to put us back together.

If you feel like Humpty, don't despair.

It only means you get Jesus Christ, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Alpha, the Omega, the Savior, the One and Only.....

to put wonderful, priceless, beautiful you back together again.

It's His honor to do it,

it's our honor to have Him.

mynakedpastor.com

Get Dunked

This Sunday, our church is having Beach Baptism at 3pm on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
It's a big event in our church AND in my home. We love to go to God's blue ocean, sit in God's seashelly sand, and see 100s of God's people wade into the water. We don't just love to see this, we love to celebrate this. When the dunkees come up out of the water, my kids clap! They want to see, "More! More!" Here's a pic when Raul got the chance to baptize my youngest bro, Chris:


Baptism is a Holy Moment that stands apart:
Where an audience is cheering for you on Earth,
AND an audience is cheering for you in Heaven.
I have no clue who reads this crazy blog of mine, but if you do & you haven't been baptized, show up at the beach this Sunday....please.
Give Andy and DJ a reason to clap and cheer.
Give God a reason to rejoice.
Give yourself a reason to restart.

mynakedpastor.com

Too Big For Big Wheels

The other day, DJ challenged me to a Big Wheel contest. Being of an extreme competitive nature, I took him on. He took a picture of me trying to go uber-fast on the Big Wheel. Yikes!
Hey, though a body can get too big for a Big Wheel; laughter & spirit can never get big enough!


mynakedpastor.com

Race Cars in the Mailbox

For a year I've prayed, "God, give me eyes to see things You'd see." He's answered.
And it's not an easy answer--'cause some of the things I see that compel me to do what I need to do are tough.
On Sunday, after leaving Barnes & Noble, a beggar approached me and asked for money. I showed her the inside of my purse, proving that I meant it when I said, "I don't have any." She said, "At least pray for me." I assured her, as a pastor's wife, I would. Then, I got in my car and could have hit myself on the head with a mallet, 'cause true, I didn't have any cash, but I DID have $6 in change. Determined to find this beggar so I could give her my change, I hit the parking lot. For 15 minutes I searched for her on foot. Fruitless, I got in my car and drove around searching for her. Fruitless again. She had vanished. Frustrated and rueful, I headed home.
FAST FORWARD...
Yesterday, DJ was smashing his little race car...the one that, "doesn't go fast anymore. " I motherly explained to him that some boys don't have any race cars and they'd be grateful to have just one...even if it isn't fast. After this heartfelt chat, DJ and I settled on the idea that he could mail his slow race car to one of those boys. I went back in the house.
This morning, I noticed the red flag on the mailbox was up. "Funny" I thought to myself, "I didn't do that." When I opened the mailbox, I found not 1, but 3 race cars, waiting to be picked up and delivered to those boys.

God will give us His eyes to see people who need us to do things for Him.
My missed-opportunity was in the parking lot on Sunday, but I'm fulfilled
by the made-opportunity I'm vicariously having thru my son.

mynakedpastor.com

YOU!

YOU will make a difference in the world today, just by being YOU. Close YOUR eyes, see in YOUR mind: What is YOUR mix? YOUR coloring, YOUR height, YOUR expression, YOUR experience, YOUR name. This all mixes together to make YOU. God says He knew YOU before YOU were born. He has a plan for YOUR life. If YOU were to die today, nobody else could be YOU. for there are no more YOU's. YOU are not a clone, YOU are not a mistake, YOU are not another, YOU never have been, YOU never will be. YOU have to be YOU to make YOUR difference in this world. Don't hope someone else will; don't think someone else can. Now stand up. Roll YOUR shoulders back, tilt YOUR head up. And before YOU walk away from YOUR computer to be YOU for the rest of this day, ask God to give YOU the confidence to do it. And then go out there and make YOUR difference...YOU'RE the only one who can.

mynakedpastor.com

The Dirt-Road Quote

For years, I've collected famous sayings/quotes in a little word doc. Not to long ago, I shared my all-time favorite, see "My Favorite Quote."

But here's another:

"I was born at the dead end of a dirt road that had no name and no number. You can go anywhere from nowhere." -Robert Schuller

To me, the irony of its profoundness is the simplicity of its encouragement.

What it says to me is that no matter where I came from, I can always go somewhere.

My pastor always says that life is a journey. He's right.

My life, your life....they aren't periods at the ends of sentences.

They are the dot-dot-dot's at the ends of sentences...

And no matter where we start,

as long as God's leading us,

there's always some place we can go.

mynakedpastor.com

God, I Love 2 Hear U, part 3

You know what I realized about the old phones? They didn't have speed dial. It took much longer to "reach out and touch someone" back then. Today, I buck this as "lame," or "inconvenient." In actuality, was it better? By the time I dialed the 10 digits and got connected, I was forced to chill a little before the other end picked up. The rotary phone required patience & thought & maybe in some cases, prayer (not bad attributes). When I can't hear God, do you think it's cause I am expecting cell-phone service out of Him? Do you think God's still running the universe the nostalgic way? the original way? That maybe He spins the globe on a less-urgent, more-graceful pace? And that it's not that He can't respond to me, it's just that He's waiting on the other end of a rotary phone, while I'm trying to speed-dial Him on a cell?

mynakedpastor.com

God, I Love 2 Hear U, part 2

Are these verses awesome or what???? Man, I love the bible. Literally, I will never get enough of it!!

Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice.
Psalm 55:17

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.
Psalm 34:17

For the Lord hears the cries of the needy;
Psalm 69:33

I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.
Psalm 116:1

God, I Love 2 Hear U!

Since Monday, I've been wondering if God's hearing me about something I've been asking Him. "God, you would never leave me; you aren't the God of TBAs, TBDs or RSVPs; I know it's not that you don't know how to reply; but God, I can't hear you."

Forgive me for expecting answers,

but please let me know You are hearing my question. Thank you!"

mynakedpastor.com

Good Times, Good Friends

Tonight, Felicia, Damaris, and Oana came over. We had such a good time. I'm not a very good bonder with women, but tonight, I didn't have to try. This was authentic, natural, fun, & warm; & its amazing what topics women can knock out in only 2 hours. We talked about God, mynakedpastor.com, customs in the New Testament, raising kids, criminals on the loose, Romanian language and culture, waitressing, babysitting, nursing, how to make decisions, fasting, praying, helping, healing, encouraging, premature babies, elderly people, small group, serving, and that's only in the first hour! It was fun. Thanks guys. Appreciate you!

mynakedpastor.com

Porch Made in Heaven

A porch. Two white rocking chairs. Two white, thick, ceramic mugs filled to the brim with Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee. A faint playing of jazz in the background, on good outdoor speakers. A ceiling fan whirling above. And two people: me and someone else. And as someone else talks, I listen with my ears and pray in my heart. And when it's my turn to talk, I've already sought God on what to say next ('cause He always knows what to say). And when me & someone else don't know what to say, we simply stop to pray. And when someone else leaves the porch, they are more encouraged then when they walked up. And consequently, so am I. Now that's a porch made in heaven.

My Hump-Day Five

1. Watch mynakedpastor.com - learn about the life of a pastor and his family thru the lense and in the fishbowl.

2. Just one time today, make the phonecall instead of sending the email.

3. Take 1 minute, where you are, & ask God to help you with whatever you are doing.

4. For just 10 minutes, before going to bed, read something vs. watch something.

5. Write down somewhere, someplace: "God only made one me and nobody can take my place."

A Day in History

In America's short history, there have been many days-in-history: invasion of Pearl Harbor, JFK assassination, MLK assassination, Oklahoma City bombing, Hurricane Katrina. It's interesting that those days have been defined by their moments. But 9/11 has been defined by its date. And today is that day. I'll never remember all the "days in history" of our country, but I'll always remember this one. I pray for all the sad people today. For the victim's families, 'cause it'll never be a celebratory day.
I'm also praying for God's continued protection of our country.
There's a lot of fighting, dying, wars and terrorism on many global soils;
never take for granted, that currently, we are spared that on ours.

Monday Quiet Time

I wasn't gonna do my quiet time this morning, can you believe that? But as the minutes in my morning rolled on, the more Monday felt like a manic-Monday. So, I stopped. I laid down on the living room floor on my belly, had Andy sit on my back while he watched his cartoons, and had my quiet time.
I read Galatians 1, this verse was awesome:
"Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant."
That's gold right there, man.
Here's some of what I journaled:
Praise - I need you and you are all I need.
Thanks - for Raul, my boys, for preserving the dying palm tree in my yard; for being the center of me
Requests - your forgiveness in my heart; your freedom in my frustration; your wisdom in my brain; your release of love in my life

Hey, if you plopped down on your living room floor right now and gave God thanks for something, what would it be?


www.mynakedpastor.com

If you have ever screwed up...

...watch this.



www.mynakedpastor.com

Ah, man...Dead Tree in my Yard!

OK so no sooner do I blog about saving trees by green-baggin' it (see post) and a week later, I'm the owner of a dead tree in my front yard!

http://www.mynakedpastor.com/

The Biggest Temptation

I could have titled this, "My Biggest Temptation," but I didn't. I'm banking on the notion that it's not just my temptation, but other's. "Hi, my name is Heather Palacios and alcohol is the biggest temptation to me." I officially stopped drinking (after 14 years of not) in 2002. For this, I give glory to God & credit to Raul, Dr. Wells, Troy & Steph, prayer & guts. However, the biggest temptation is still in me. The temptation never left, though the habit was broken. I am not an expert on addictions or recovery, (just a client). But what I have learned is that God will heal, recover and set free - but our flesh can still hold on to what He's freed us from. Because it isn't in my heart where the biggest temptation lies dormant, it's in my flesh. God lives in my heart, it is His control-tower where He releases His power and strength. But around His control-tower is MY flesh. And alot of times, when I am stressed, MY flesh is really tempted. In the New Testament, Paul talks about temptation. And in the Gospels, Jesus endured it. Hey, if there's anybody to "know what I'm sayin?" it's these two. Not bad company.

www.mynakedpastor.com

My Thoughts on Nakedness

This Sunday, we are kicking off our new mynakedpastor.com series with a LIVE launch party on the web. You can't forget it cause the date is 9/9 @ 9pm. Hope you'll be there, I will be one of the hosts of this event - and if you log in, I'll send a shout out to you for the whole world to see!

I wanted to give my naked thoughts as we head into this 5 week series at my church.
Awhile back, God and I wrestled on what parts of my life I should share and what parts I should keep between Him and I.
And I just want to clarify that getting naked with others doesn't mean baring all the gory details of your life. When we talk about getting naked, what I think we're talking about is Jesus, himself. Jesus was WHO HE WAS, ALL THE TIME. He was naked and unashamed in WHO God made Him to be. He put on no airs, he wasn't comprised of many layers. He wasn't mysterious. He wasn't a chameleon or a phantom.
He was unadulterated, raw Jesus, every day of His life.
And that is what naked means to me.
It's not parts of my life that I chose to conceal or reveal.
Me getting naked with you, especially via blog, is me being me.
Its not me being or trying to be anyone else.
Its my unveiled, non-plastic, mask-off Heather.
And as I am, I hope others are drawn to the Light that is easily seen thru somthing willfully transparent.

www.mynakedpastor.com

WORK WORDS

OK, so we've established that I LOVE words. This blog post was titled, "6 Verbs of a Winning Workplace." Great post by David Foster. Although it's not my style to swipe other posts to fill my own, this one was too good not to. Here is my abbreviated version:
1. Innovate.
2. Cooperate.
3. Negotiate.
4. Create.
5. Associate.
6. Celebrate.

And here is my food-for-thought before I go night-night: Are these 6 verbs in my workplace?
www.mynakedpastor.com

I AM OLD

I am old. I am 33 and will be 34 on Sept. 25. I've lived through almost 4 decades--so I'm not too far from 1/2 a century. I have brown spots on my shoulders, I have Droopy-the-dog eyelids. I watch what I eat, but still have to workout like a crazy-woman. My pastor reminded me that I'm at the official age that Jesus stopped his ministry....I could go on, but I'm getting tired. So, what's my point?

Though I am getting old, I don't have to BE old.

Every day, I look forward to finding a way to be a kid. (see pix)

If you're trippin' that you're gettin' old...Stop! Who cares?

As long as we're alive, we're allowed to act young....OK, boogerhead? : )

Leave the Well; Run to the Village

After the Samaritan woman met Jesus at the well, she stopped doing
what she came to the well to do. (John 4)
She left her bucket and ran back to the village to tell an ENTIRE village that she found Jesus.
Don't miss this:
Jesus didn’t tell her to run & tell everybody.
SHE WANTED to run & tell everybody.
This is the true story of a woman who knew she needed life and knew that giving her life to Jesus was the best thing she could do for her and in turn, her village.
"Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony...And because of his [Jesus'} words many more became believers."
WHERE'S MY VILLAGE??? What is it about this Jesus in MY life that causes me to drop what I am doing and run to an entire village to tell them all about it?