People can be shackled with chains of all kinds without even fully realizing it. Or perhaps they are shackled to things and they don't realize the impact those things have on their life. The chains are so strong and they weigh them down. They are like iron, bearing a heavy weight on their heart and soul.
Chains. They come in all shapes and sizes. Alcohol. Drugs. Pornography. Adultery. Betrayal. Lies. Possessions. Strained relationships. Abuse. Neglect. The list could go on and on. What are your chains? Are they chains from a relationship that failed or is failing? Are they chains from lies the devil whispers in your ear? Are your chains the memories of your past that you wish you could erase? Are they chains to mere things that can only give you temporary pleasure, but no lasting relief? Whatever they may be, there is one who came to break chains and set us free.
This almighty chain breaker is none other than Jesus Christ. He takes our pain, makes a way when we are lost,and breaks our chains no matter how tightly we are bonded. The song "Chain Breaker" by Zach Williams is so powerful and declares a truth that Christians ought to be shouting from the rooftops for all to hear. Jesus Christ came to set us free from our chains. He didn't come to ease our burden. He came to take our burden upon Himself. He came to break chains!
His purpose was always to free us from the enemy. He has been breaking chains from the beginning of time. He always has and He always will break chains. No matter what you feel like you are shackled with, rejoice in the freedom found in Christ, my dear one. No one who calls Jesus "Lord" will be turned away. You don't have to walk around in your chains any longer. You have been set free!!!
The Bible declares in Psalm 107:14- "He brought them out of darkness and gloom and broke their chains apart." What was true when the Psalmist penned these words remains true even today and forevermore. He breaks our chains, so let them be broken! Don't trudge around with your chains with your "woe is me" mentality. Embrace the freedom Christ offers. Believe it. Trust it. Declare it. Live it.For "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)
The lyric video to the song Chain Breaker can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGYjKR69M6U
Embrace your freedom in Christ, beloved. Rest in the knowledge that your chains have been broken.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Being a Bucket Filler
Today I read the book How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids with my Kindergarten class. I was a little worried they may not grasp the concept presented in the story, so I used a visual illustration. Those kids latched on fast! Their suggestions of how to fill someone's bucket warmed my heart. The book discusses how we all have an invisible bucket and when someone does or says something kind to us, it puts drops into our bucket. However, when someone says or does something unkind, it pours out some of the drops in our bucket. We talked about being bucket fillers, because Christ calls us to be kind to one another and forgive one another.
I don't know about you, but some days I fill like my bucket is pretty much running on empty. The well is dry. I am tired, worn, and hurt. And yet on these days when I do something kind for someone else regardless of how I feel, the drops start to collect in my bucket. Some days my bucket is filled to the brim and overflowing. But other days a snide look, a hurtful comment, a rude gesture etc. really starts to drain my bucket. I felt a little like that today. I was trying my best with one of the children in my classroom and they just weren't responding to anything I was trying. And then I get something thrown on me unexpectedly and the other person may have not even meant to, but my bucket gets a little more dry.
The point is that when my bucket is nearing empty and I just feel terrible, I have two choices to make. I can choose to mope about my empty bucket and the hand supposedly dealt to me, or I can fill someone else's bucket and in turn fill mine as well. Christ calls us to love even when it hurts. This means I press on and be a light for Him and be kind to others even when I don't want to. Some days I do a better job than others. I can also wound, manipulate, and put down someone with my words. Some days I let my flesh get the best of me and this is how I respond.
The wonderful, amazing news is that Christ forgives me and pours such great grace into my life even when I am causing someone else's bucket to drain. He gives me a chance to make it right, to turn around, and choose to say a kind word, reach out to someone in need, give a hug, or encourage someone in order to fill their bucket. It really is so much better to give than to receive.
Those kids of mine are my students, but there are times when they are teaching me as well. Today I needed this lesson just as much, if not more, than they did. Lord, I want to be a bucket filler even when it's hard. Help me to love like You love regardless of how empty my own bucket may be and how lousy I may feel.
How can you fill someone's bucket today? Just try it and I can guarantee, it will put a huge smile on your face as well. "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ Jesus forgave you."- Ephesians 4:32
I don't know about you, but some days I fill like my bucket is pretty much running on empty. The well is dry. I am tired, worn, and hurt. And yet on these days when I do something kind for someone else regardless of how I feel, the drops start to collect in my bucket. Some days my bucket is filled to the brim and overflowing. But other days a snide look, a hurtful comment, a rude gesture etc. really starts to drain my bucket. I felt a little like that today. I was trying my best with one of the children in my classroom and they just weren't responding to anything I was trying. And then I get something thrown on me unexpectedly and the other person may have not even meant to, but my bucket gets a little more dry.
The point is that when my bucket is nearing empty and I just feel terrible, I have two choices to make. I can choose to mope about my empty bucket and the hand supposedly dealt to me, or I can fill someone else's bucket and in turn fill mine as well. Christ calls us to love even when it hurts. This means I press on and be a light for Him and be kind to others even when I don't want to. Some days I do a better job than others. I can also wound, manipulate, and put down someone with my words. Some days I let my flesh get the best of me and this is how I respond.
The wonderful, amazing news is that Christ forgives me and pours such great grace into my life even when I am causing someone else's bucket to drain. He gives me a chance to make it right, to turn around, and choose to say a kind word, reach out to someone in need, give a hug, or encourage someone in order to fill their bucket. It really is so much better to give than to receive.
Those kids of mine are my students, but there are times when they are teaching me as well. Today I needed this lesson just as much, if not more, than they did. Lord, I want to be a bucket filler even when it's hard. Help me to love like You love regardless of how empty my own bucket may be and how lousy I may feel.
How can you fill someone's bucket today? Just try it and I can guarantee, it will put a huge smile on your face as well. "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ Jesus forgave you."- Ephesians 4:32
Sunday, May 29, 2016
A Song for Sunday: "I will trust in You."
There's this huge mountain in front of me. I stand in front of a raging sea. And the thing is, the Lord is calling me to climb up the mountain and to walk right into the raging waters. To go the other direction would be the wrong way and there are no ways around them. To get where God desires me to be, I have to make the climb and I have to step into the waters. And the task is daunting. Scary. Nerve wracking. Every fiber of my being screams to run the other direction. And yet God is calling me to go that way. The way that seems perilous and full of danger. And yet it's all about trust. Do I trust Him enough to get me through the stormy waters and to help me climb to the top of that steep mountain? Sometimes I think I have this trust thing down pat, and then the Lord throws these situations my way and I am forced to rethink everything I believe.
A new song by Lauren Daigle recently came out and I absolutely love it. It has become sort of my heart cry, as I face the mountains and the raging seas of this life. The chorus says: "When You don't move the mountains, I needed You to move. When You don't part the waters, I wish I could walk through. When You don't give the answers, as I cry out to You. I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You."
Sometimes He doesn't move the mountains that we think need to be moved and He doesn't part the waters for us, because He is calling us to climb that mountain and to step out onto the waters. He is beckoning to us, drawing us ever closer to Him, and asking us if we trust Him enough to get us through. The Lord has been with me every single step of my life. Every joy. Every heartache. Through the laughter and the pain, He has been there. He has always gotten me through every tough circumstance and so why should this one be any different? Why should I not trust Him? He has never failed me before and He certainly won't start now. I find myself, like the father of the boy who had a dumb spirit in Mark 9, uttering "Lord I believe, help my unbelief!" (verse 24).
May I learn to trust Him more and more each passing day, no matter what mountain He calls me to climb or the stormy waters He calls me to walk through. Sometimes He may move these things out of my way, but sometimes He will call me to simply trust in Him as I walk through them. He is sovereign and knows way better than I do what I truly need.
The link for the youtube video for Lauren Daigle's song "I will trust in You" is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXMPNXXnCls
Enjoy :)
A new song by Lauren Daigle recently came out and I absolutely love it. It has become sort of my heart cry, as I face the mountains and the raging seas of this life. The chorus says: "When You don't move the mountains, I needed You to move. When You don't part the waters, I wish I could walk through. When You don't give the answers, as I cry out to You. I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You."
Sometimes He doesn't move the mountains that we think need to be moved and He doesn't part the waters for us, because He is calling us to climb that mountain and to step out onto the waters. He is beckoning to us, drawing us ever closer to Him, and asking us if we trust Him enough to get us through. The Lord has been with me every single step of my life. Every joy. Every heartache. Through the laughter and the pain, He has been there. He has always gotten me through every tough circumstance and so why should this one be any different? Why should I not trust Him? He has never failed me before and He certainly won't start now. I find myself, like the father of the boy who had a dumb spirit in Mark 9, uttering "Lord I believe, help my unbelief!" (verse 24).
May I learn to trust Him more and more each passing day, no matter what mountain He calls me to climb or the stormy waters He calls me to walk through. Sometimes He may move these things out of my way, but sometimes He will call me to simply trust in Him as I walk through them. He is sovereign and knows way better than I do what I truly need.
The link for the youtube video for Lauren Daigle's song "I will trust in You" is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXMPNXXnCls
Enjoy :)
Sunday, May 22, 2016
A Song for Sunday" "Tell your Heart to Beat Again"
It's been a while since I have written a post on a Sunday, but I was led to do so this morning after a bit of a rough night spent in a lot of prayer and in the Word with the Lord. Hardships come in life and sometimes this world drives us to our knees, but this is where we can do our best fighting, in prayer before our Heavenly Father. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood or against our Father, but against principalities and powers, spirits and the power of darkness. Sometimes we just have to tell our hearts to beat again and keep on moving forward. It's not always easy, but Jesus is with us every step of the way.
A new song by Danny Gokey called "Tell your Heart to Beat Again" has been kind of my anthem lately. I go back to it when I need to be reminded that even though I am brought to my knees by circumstances in this life, this is a beautiful place where I can meet with my Father and pour out my heart to Him. Even when I can't find the words, He knows the content of my heart and He hears my cries in the middle of the night when I just don't know what to do. The lyrics of this song are as follows:
A new song by Danny Gokey called "Tell your Heart to Beat Again" has been kind of my anthem lately. I go back to it when I need to be reminded that even though I am brought to my knees by circumstances in this life, this is a beautiful place where I can meet with my Father and pour out my heart to Him. Even when I can't find the words, He knows the content of my heart and He hears my cries in the middle of the night when I just don't know what to do. The lyrics of this song are as follows:
Shattered, like you've never been before
The life you knew
In a thousand pieces on the floor
Words fall short in times like these
When this world drives you to your knees
You think you're never gonna get back
To the you that used to be
(Chorus)
Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away
Step into the light of Grace
Yesterday's a closing door
You don't live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you've been
And tell your heart to beat again
Beginning, just let that word wash over you
It's alright now
Love's healing hands have pulled you through
So get back up and take step one
Leave the darkness feel the sun
Cause your story's far from over
And your journey's just begun
(Chorus)
Let every heartbreak and every scar
Be a picture that reminds you Who has carried you this far
‘Cause love sees farther than you ever could
In this moment Heaven's working everything for your good
(Chorus)
Oh, so tell your heart to beat again
I am so very grateful that even when my life has been shattered and I am stuck in a place where I feel I can't escape from my past mistakes and heartaches, the Lord brings reminders into my life to let me know that I am not alone and that I don't live in yesterday. My Father is the healer and the comforter of broken hearts and no matter what comes my way in this life, He will always have open arms for me and my bleeding heart. He will set me back on my feet and guide me forward. So I am going to let every heartbreak and every scar be a picture that reminds me of the One who has carried me this far. When I am brought down, I will get back up and take step one in the grace and strength of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Even when words fall short, I have a Father in Heaven who hears my heart cry and who will always lead me in grace. I am thankful for this every day of my life and especially on the nights when I struggle with doubt and fear and I have to spend time in prayer in order to get any rest. He is such a gracious and loving Father who beckons us to tell our hearts to beat again.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Another Year, Another Journey
Today I have officially lived for a quarter of a century. Each year the Lord brings new blessings into my life. Every year has its own hardships, joys, trials, pain, and laughter. When I was 20 I knew I didn't know everything, but gosh I thought I knew a lot more then I really did. Just 5 years later and I look back on me as a 20 year old and think, I didn't know anything! Ha! I know I still don't know everything, but I have grown a lot especially in the past year and here are some things the Lord taught me as I was 24.
1) People who truly want to be your friends will make the effort to spend time with you. If they don't, then they weren't really a true friend in the first place.
2) In life, you are seldom going to have more than 1 or 2 really good friends. If you have even one, you are blessed.
3) Sometimes God will bring trials into your life when your focus gets off of Him in order to force you to put your focus back on Him.
4) Sometimes the Holy Spirit prompts you to do things that aren't comfortable and that others may advise you not to follow.
5)Listening to God and following Him is always better than listening just to people. It's ok to get godly advice from Christians, but remember that you follow God first and foremost.
6) Sometimes it is better to step back from a situation and take a break for a while, get some rest for your weary soul, and regroup. Of course do all of this while praying.
7) Do not wrestle with the Holy Spirit's prompting on your life. It just brings you heartache. Always follow the Lord's leading, no matter how hard it may seem. He will give you the strength.
8) Always be ready to forgive those who have wronged you and be ready to seek forgiveness from those whom you have wronged. Go back and make things right if you need to.
9) Never stop praying for someone. Even when you can't find the words, God knows your heart and He hears.
10) Besides the Lord, one of the best things you can find in life is a good accountability partner to study the Bible with.
I learned a lot more lessons, but those are the main ones that God has really just been showing me this past year. I look forward to what I will learn and how He will move in my life this year. Last year He took me from heartache to hope, called me to step out on the water, and gave me the strength to make difficult decisions. I have never felt so free and it's all because of His amazing grace. I went from having a broken heart to having a heart that was mended and more open to loving children He places in my life. I went from single to being in a relationship with one of the most godliest guys I know that points me to Jesus daily. I am beyond blessed and I can't wait to see what 25 brings. I know with God by my side, even through the tough days, it's going to be a great and joy-filled year.
1) People who truly want to be your friends will make the effort to spend time with you. If they don't, then they weren't really a true friend in the first place.
2) In life, you are seldom going to have more than 1 or 2 really good friends. If you have even one, you are blessed.
3) Sometimes God will bring trials into your life when your focus gets off of Him in order to force you to put your focus back on Him.
4) Sometimes the Holy Spirit prompts you to do things that aren't comfortable and that others may advise you not to follow.
5)Listening to God and following Him is always better than listening just to people. It's ok to get godly advice from Christians, but remember that you follow God first and foremost.
6) Sometimes it is better to step back from a situation and take a break for a while, get some rest for your weary soul, and regroup. Of course do all of this while praying.
7) Do not wrestle with the Holy Spirit's prompting on your life. It just brings you heartache. Always follow the Lord's leading, no matter how hard it may seem. He will give you the strength.
8) Always be ready to forgive those who have wronged you and be ready to seek forgiveness from those whom you have wronged. Go back and make things right if you need to.
9) Never stop praying for someone. Even when you can't find the words, God knows your heart and He hears.
10) Besides the Lord, one of the best things you can find in life is a good accountability partner to study the Bible with.
I learned a lot more lessons, but those are the main ones that God has really just been showing me this past year. I look forward to what I will learn and how He will move in my life this year. Last year He took me from heartache to hope, called me to step out on the water, and gave me the strength to make difficult decisions. I have never felt so free and it's all because of His amazing grace. I went from having a broken heart to having a heart that was mended and more open to loving children He places in my life. I went from single to being in a relationship with one of the most godliest guys I know that points me to Jesus daily. I am beyond blessed and I can't wait to see what 25 brings. I know with God by my side, even through the tough days, it's going to be a great and joy-filled year.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Heartache to Hope
God has taken my life and transformed it from what it looked like a little over a year ago. Then, it was broken and crushed and hurting. My heart was bleeding, bruised, and torn. And now through the ashes of brokenness, God has mended my heart and crafted something beautiful. Something I could never imagine a year ago when the pain cut so deep and the hurt was just too real. I seriously never saw it coming until it happened, but through the pain of yesterday God has brought to me the peace in today and the hope in tomorrow.
I would willingly tell anyone who asks me about my life now that I am so extremely blessed and not just because God loves to bless His children no matter what, but because He especially loves to bless them when they follow Him in obedience. I am not here to blow my own horn or to sing my accolades, but to share something the Lord really taught me this year. It wasn't easy, but so freeing and the end result is so full of joy. Sometimes God allows us to go through heartache in order to get our focus back on Him and to use that heartache to point us to the hope that can only be found in Him.
It can't be found in a guy. It can't be found in friends. It can't be found in drugs or alcohol, fame, success, job security, social standing etc. True hope can only be found in one place. In the arms of Jesus Christ. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."-Proverbs 13:12 To defer means to put off something, to lay it aside until later. When we do not place our hope in Christ where it should be as Christians, we attempt to take our hope and put it in other people and things. This only causes us to become heart sick. I am not talking about heart failure or heart disease, even though it kind of is an illness.
Hope placed in the wrong things makes us sick. The heart will start to feel heavy, weak, and burdened. We will search for anything to make us feel better, but if we don't run to Christ we will return empty and dry. But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. When we long for Christ, when we seek Him and we follow Him, our hearts start feeling a lot lighter. The burdens are lifted, the chains are broken, and we are free. "Come to me", Jesus says, "to all who are weary and heavy laden" and He will give you rest.- Matthew 11:28. Rest for your souls and rest for your heart. The call is simple, but the task is difficult. We just have to take that first step in His direction and hope in Him alone. And yet that first step is always the hardest.
This past year I have learned that when my hope gets off of Christ, He will sometimes let me experience heartache from the ones I place my hope in. This is so He can teach me that true hope comes from Him alone and placing my hope in mere men or worldly things is futile. And so the heartache comes and it hurts. Oh how it cuts my heart in two. But through the pain, the Lord was teaching me to lift my eyes up to Him once more and place my hope where it belongs; in the precious and loving arms of Christ.
When I started to place my hope in Christ again, the Holy Spirit started speaking to me about some tough decisions I needed to make with my walk in Christ. I walked away from some things I had gotten comfortable in and that people tried to advise me to not walk away from. But, once again, I had to remind myself that my hope is found in Christ and if He is calling me to move, I have to obey. To not obey will be detrimental. When I wrestle with Him, it brings heartache and pain. But when I surrender to His will, it brings hope and peace. From the ashes of heartache and pain, He has brought me to hope and peace. I will ever praise Him for this!
When we place our hope where it belongs, in Christ, and we obey His leading, He pours out blessings on us. God rewards obedience just like a good father rewards good behavior in his children. And God is our perfect Abba Father. God rewards obedience, but He chastises the disobedient. Just as every good parent knows, you can't let disobedience go unchecked or it will grow and grow into something far worse. And so God allows certain things into our life when we are not placing our hope in Him and we are disobedient to His calling on our life in order to turn us back to Him, to be the children of God we were created to be. Full of peace and hope instead of pain and heartache.
Thanks be to the Lord who took my life from a year and a half ago and molded me into who I am today. He still is working on me and I pray I can always be faithful and obedient to His calling. He has blessed me far beyond what I could imagine and I am so filled with joy. He has brought a very godly man into my life with such a servant heart for Christ who points me to the Savior daily. I never thought I would be so blessed. God blesses His children, y'all, and He loves to reward those who follow Him no matter what. He has transformed my life from heartache to hope and even when trials come, may my hope ever be found in the loving arms of Christ.
"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand."- My Hope is Built on Nothing Less, Hymn
I would willingly tell anyone who asks me about my life now that I am so extremely blessed and not just because God loves to bless His children no matter what, but because He especially loves to bless them when they follow Him in obedience. I am not here to blow my own horn or to sing my accolades, but to share something the Lord really taught me this year. It wasn't easy, but so freeing and the end result is so full of joy. Sometimes God allows us to go through heartache in order to get our focus back on Him and to use that heartache to point us to the hope that can only be found in Him.
It can't be found in a guy. It can't be found in friends. It can't be found in drugs or alcohol, fame, success, job security, social standing etc. True hope can only be found in one place. In the arms of Jesus Christ. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."-Proverbs 13:12 To defer means to put off something, to lay it aside until later. When we do not place our hope in Christ where it should be as Christians, we attempt to take our hope and put it in other people and things. This only causes us to become heart sick. I am not talking about heart failure or heart disease, even though it kind of is an illness.
Hope placed in the wrong things makes us sick. The heart will start to feel heavy, weak, and burdened. We will search for anything to make us feel better, but if we don't run to Christ we will return empty and dry. But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. When we long for Christ, when we seek Him and we follow Him, our hearts start feeling a lot lighter. The burdens are lifted, the chains are broken, and we are free. "Come to me", Jesus says, "to all who are weary and heavy laden" and He will give you rest.- Matthew 11:28. Rest for your souls and rest for your heart. The call is simple, but the task is difficult. We just have to take that first step in His direction and hope in Him alone. And yet that first step is always the hardest.
This past year I have learned that when my hope gets off of Christ, He will sometimes let me experience heartache from the ones I place my hope in. This is so He can teach me that true hope comes from Him alone and placing my hope in mere men or worldly things is futile. And so the heartache comes and it hurts. Oh how it cuts my heart in two. But through the pain, the Lord was teaching me to lift my eyes up to Him once more and place my hope where it belongs; in the precious and loving arms of Christ.
When I started to place my hope in Christ again, the Holy Spirit started speaking to me about some tough decisions I needed to make with my walk in Christ. I walked away from some things I had gotten comfortable in and that people tried to advise me to not walk away from. But, once again, I had to remind myself that my hope is found in Christ and if He is calling me to move, I have to obey. To not obey will be detrimental. When I wrestle with Him, it brings heartache and pain. But when I surrender to His will, it brings hope and peace. From the ashes of heartache and pain, He has brought me to hope and peace. I will ever praise Him for this!
When we place our hope where it belongs, in Christ, and we obey His leading, He pours out blessings on us. God rewards obedience just like a good father rewards good behavior in his children. And God is our perfect Abba Father. God rewards obedience, but He chastises the disobedient. Just as every good parent knows, you can't let disobedience go unchecked or it will grow and grow into something far worse. And so God allows certain things into our life when we are not placing our hope in Him and we are disobedient to His calling on our life in order to turn us back to Him, to be the children of God we were created to be. Full of peace and hope instead of pain and heartache.
Thanks be to the Lord who took my life from a year and a half ago and molded me into who I am today. He still is working on me and I pray I can always be faithful and obedient to His calling. He has blessed me far beyond what I could imagine and I am so filled with joy. He has brought a very godly man into my life with such a servant heart for Christ who points me to the Savior daily. I never thought I would be so blessed. God blesses His children, y'all, and He loves to reward those who follow Him no matter what. He has transformed my life from heartache to hope and even when trials come, may my hope ever be found in the loving arms of Christ.
"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand."- My Hope is Built on Nothing Less, Hymn
Friday, April 22, 2016
Tough love is hard....
How do you explore the concept of tough love with a family member whom you long to be close to, but they cut you off time and again? Cruel things are said to you, their lifestyle choices hurt you and others. And yet they don't seem to realize it or if they do, they don't really care. You want them to get help and when you reach out to help them, you feel as if you are slapped in the face. Instead they want help on their terms and you know that if you reach out and do it on their terms, you are only enabling them and not helping them in the long run at all. It's a difficult situation to be in. One that I keep finding myself in recently.
Love isn't supposed to be manipulative, greedy, and self-seeking. When someone you love is treating you this way, they can say they love you until they are blue in the face. You don't really believe them though. That's not love. I don't quite know what it is, but I know what love looks like and that certainly is not it. Love isn't just some words you say to someone. It's the selfless actions you commit for them, longing to bring a smile to their face. It's being there for them no matter what is going on in their lives, walking through it with them, laughing with them, and crying alongside them. You glory in their successes and you comfort them through their failures and weaknesses.
Love is not throwing the past in some one's face. It's not harping on the same old sob story year after year and doing nothing to fix the situation and be with the person in the present. It's not where you can just do whatever you want and believe it won't hurt those who love you. Love is not pointing out the other person's faults and never owning up to your own mistakes. Love is saying I'm sorry at a moment's notice. It's dropping everything to be with the other person in their time of need. It's being concerned enough to ask how someone is doing. Love is sacrificial and it's hard and it hurts.
Love hurts. I can't hate the person who has hurt me so much, because then I get bitter and that only poisons my heart. But what do you do when the person keeps hurting you over and over again? I am finding sometimes that means cutting ties with the person. I don't hate them, but I am tired of being used and manipulated and lied to. There is only so much I can take. And maybe no one has ever really tried tough love on this person and maybe that's what they really need.
It definitely isn't easy. I keep going back and forth wondering if I am being a horrible Christian by agreeing to not talk to them unless they fix their lifestyle. I would love to have a relationship with them, but I have tried everything I know to do in my power and it hasn't worked. It hasn't worked, because they don't seem to care or want to. I keep praying for the person and hoping they come around, but also know that I need to probably stick to my decision if they don't. Because in the long run, letting that person treat me that way isn't really helping me or that person. It is only making me more frustrated and battling against my spirit more often. Perhaps I can pray for them more easily this way. If I can remove myself from the hurt and anger, I may do more good praying than I am at present.
So while it can be hard to administer tough love to someone, sometimes that's what it takes. I pray that this person can see the error of their ways one day and turn to Jesus. I definitely don't know what I would do without Him and this person so desperately needs Him. Lord, help heal my aching heart once again and help me see this person through Your eyes. May they come to see Your face one day before it is too late. Amen
Love isn't supposed to be manipulative, greedy, and self-seeking. When someone you love is treating you this way, they can say they love you until they are blue in the face. You don't really believe them though. That's not love. I don't quite know what it is, but I know what love looks like and that certainly is not it. Love isn't just some words you say to someone. It's the selfless actions you commit for them, longing to bring a smile to their face. It's being there for them no matter what is going on in their lives, walking through it with them, laughing with them, and crying alongside them. You glory in their successes and you comfort them through their failures and weaknesses.
Love is not throwing the past in some one's face. It's not harping on the same old sob story year after year and doing nothing to fix the situation and be with the person in the present. It's not where you can just do whatever you want and believe it won't hurt those who love you. Love is not pointing out the other person's faults and never owning up to your own mistakes. Love is saying I'm sorry at a moment's notice. It's dropping everything to be with the other person in their time of need. It's being concerned enough to ask how someone is doing. Love is sacrificial and it's hard and it hurts.
Love hurts. I can't hate the person who has hurt me so much, because then I get bitter and that only poisons my heart. But what do you do when the person keeps hurting you over and over again? I am finding sometimes that means cutting ties with the person. I don't hate them, but I am tired of being used and manipulated and lied to. There is only so much I can take. And maybe no one has ever really tried tough love on this person and maybe that's what they really need.
It definitely isn't easy. I keep going back and forth wondering if I am being a horrible Christian by agreeing to not talk to them unless they fix their lifestyle. I would love to have a relationship with them, but I have tried everything I know to do in my power and it hasn't worked. It hasn't worked, because they don't seem to care or want to. I keep praying for the person and hoping they come around, but also know that I need to probably stick to my decision if they don't. Because in the long run, letting that person treat me that way isn't really helping me or that person. It is only making me more frustrated and battling against my spirit more often. Perhaps I can pray for them more easily this way. If I can remove myself from the hurt and anger, I may do more good praying than I am at present.
So while it can be hard to administer tough love to someone, sometimes that's what it takes. I pray that this person can see the error of their ways one day and turn to Jesus. I definitely don't know what I would do without Him and this person so desperately needs Him. Lord, help heal my aching heart once again and help me see this person through Your eyes. May they come to see Your face one day before it is too late. Amen
Thursday, March 10, 2016
No hurt too big heaven can't heal
I can't believe it has been over a year since my heart was broken. For a while, I felt like I would never heal. Every time a song came on the radio about relationships or something came on TV or a movie I was watching, I was a wreck. But I noticed something today. A CD was playing in my car and a couple of the songs were about broken relationships and I didn't cry. They didn't even really bother me. Before I would skip through those songs or cry my eyes out. But today I didn't. And then I thought, when did I heal?
Between the business of working with kids, the sweet smiles and their little hands tugging on mine, hanging with friends and searching for a new church home, somewhere along the line my heart has actually started to heal. I have made a new friend who encouraged me to pick my writing back up and I am so incredibly happy. I have no idea what will happen this year, but I am excited to know that God does have great plans for me. And there is no hurt too big that heaven can't heal.
Heaven has reached down to me and met me in the face of my uncertainty and loss. Christ has opened my heart back up to the possibility of loving someone and being loved in return. I hardly ever cry about what happened a little over a year ago now. I have my doubts about my future sometimes, but I have such a peace knowing that the God who holds it all in His hands has my best interests at heart. He only wants the very best for me and so I will wait until He brings it to me. He may have already brought some of the very best to me. I am praying and waiting to see what He will reveal. As He places people in my path, opportunities along the way, I will ever seek His guidance and praise Him.
I praise Him for bringing me to this place where I can think of someone else now and smile instead of thinking of the one who broke my heart and crying. All things happen for a reason and I know the Lord has used my heartache to draw me closer to Him. I look forward to what He has in store for me.
Between the business of working with kids, the sweet smiles and their little hands tugging on mine, hanging with friends and searching for a new church home, somewhere along the line my heart has actually started to heal. I have made a new friend who encouraged me to pick my writing back up and I am so incredibly happy. I have no idea what will happen this year, but I am excited to know that God does have great plans for me. And there is no hurt too big that heaven can't heal.
Heaven has reached down to me and met me in the face of my uncertainty and loss. Christ has opened my heart back up to the possibility of loving someone and being loved in return. I hardly ever cry about what happened a little over a year ago now. I have my doubts about my future sometimes, but I have such a peace knowing that the God who holds it all in His hands has my best interests at heart. He only wants the very best for me and so I will wait until He brings it to me. He may have already brought some of the very best to me. I am praying and waiting to see what He will reveal. As He places people in my path, opportunities along the way, I will ever seek His guidance and praise Him.
I praise Him for bringing me to this place where I can think of someone else now and smile instead of thinking of the one who broke my heart and crying. All things happen for a reason and I know the Lord has used my heartache to draw me closer to Him. I look forward to what He has in store for me.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
A Song for Sunday: "Be One"
I am blessed. I have a great family, a house, food in my belly, clothes on my back, great friends, and so much more. There are so many songs out there about how God helps us and blesses us. But you know what? I wasn't blessed so I could just sit here and do nothing about it. I was blessed so I, in turn, could be a blessing to others. It's time for us to stop focusing on ourselves so much and start looking at this dark world that needs us. We were all made for a purpose. We were made to glorify God in our thoughts, actions, and words. The best way we can glorify God is by showing love to the unlovable, helping the helpless, speaking truth to the unreachable, and sharing hope with the hopeless.
And so I turn to a new song by Natalie Grant playing on the radio. The song "Be One" talks about showing love to a lost and hurting world.It's about getting up and being that miracle for someone else, instead of just praying for one. Nothing is wrong with praying, but sometimes God calls us to get up and take action. We need to start moving, sharing hope, touching lives, and bring healing to broken hearts.
The lyrics for "Be One" are as follows:
And so I turn to a new song by Natalie Grant playing on the radio. The song "Be One" talks about showing love to a lost and hurting world.It's about getting up and being that miracle for someone else, instead of just praying for one. Nothing is wrong with praying, but sometimes God calls us to get up and take action. We need to start moving, sharing hope, touching lives, and bring healing to broken hearts.
The lyrics for "Be One" are as follows:
We don't feel ready, we don't feel steady
Question what we really have to give
Stay where it's safer, claim faith but waiver
Is this how we're really meant to live?
We pray but never move
We say but never do
It's time to get our hands dirty
oh oh, oh oh
Be love - there's a whole lot of hurting
oh oh, oh oh
Calling all hearts, Calling all hands
Calling all feet to take a stand
Why sit around and wait for a miracle to come?
When we can be one, When we can be one , When we can be one
A little somethin' might feel like nothin'
But in His hands it's all we'll ever need
To speak life to the broken
Watch the blind eyes open
It's who He's calling you and me to be
We can be the change - be the hope
We can be the arms that don't let go
We can be a light in the dark
We are we are where it starts
The chorus is repeated a few times. These lyrics ring so true in today's age. So many times we are called to move and we don't. We can talk about helping others until we are blue in the face, but we seldom ever put our words into action. James 1:22 tells us "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
We don't need to sit around and wait for a miracle. We can be a miracle to those in need all around us. Bringing new neighbors a meal, taking food to the sick and those who have lost a loved one, praying with the hurting, watching someones' kids so they can get a break, being that listening ear to someone who just needs a friend. These are all very practical ways we can be the change and hope in this world. It may not seem like much, but in His hands it can be more than enough.
Why do we reach out and be His hands and feet? Because God says "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). Let's be difference makers. Let's get off our rumps and be love to a hurting world. They so desperately need it.
Saturday, January 16, 2016
The Path of Righteousness is a Foggy One
This morning I drove to an Upwards basketball game for my step dad's team. As I was driving, I went from beautiful sunlight to thick fog. This fog was the kind where you could only see maybe 5 feet in front of you. You couldn't see anything at a distance, because it was enveloped in this all encompassing fog. I got to thinking how this is a lot like the Christian walk. It's like we are walking in thick fog.
As Christians, Christ gives us all the light we need to take the next step. However, many times we can't see what lies further down the road. It is enveloped in fog and is unclear to us at the moment. I don't know if I am the only one who freaks out about this, but since I am a planner and a long-term one at that, I don't like not knowing what is going to come around the next bend. I want to know now what will occur in a few weeks, months, or years. I would love to be able to see down the road and see me happily married in a year or two to a great man of God. Then go a little further and see me and my husband with kids. It does not occur this way though. God may bring those things about in His time. For now, I can only see about 5 feet in front of me.
I can see just enough to take the steps God wants me to take today. Yesterday is history and tomorrow is not guaranteed, so today is all I have. What I do with the light Christ gives me is up to me. Will I take the steps on the path He lights up for me and trust Him with what is coming? Or will I stray and try to take an easier path that looks more fulfilling at the moment? I am learning to stay on the path Christ has for me and take the steps He calls me to take. Sometimes it is a little scary, but the light of the world goes with me and has paved the path before me.
If I am faithful to stay on the path God has called me to, He will bless me. I may go through trials and times of difficulty, but He will bring me through triumphantly. I have the victory in Christ Jesus! It's time to stop being fearful, worrisome, and doubtful about God's plan. He is God and Lord of my life. He knows what He is doing so much better than me!
I will choose to stay on the path of righteousness, hard as it may be at times, and even though I can't see down the road very far. I have no idea what Christ will bring me to next year, next month, next week, or even tomorrow. But I know one thing: that He who I trust in is faithful. He always has been and He always will be. Proverbs 3:5-6 states "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."
I will trust in the Lord with all my heart. I will choose to not lean on my own plans, thoughts, and desires. Instead, I will strive to acknowledge Him in everything I say and do. When I do these things, the Lord will direct me in the way He would have me go. What a beautiful promise from God!
As Christians, Christ gives us all the light we need to take the next step. However, many times we can't see what lies further down the road. It is enveloped in fog and is unclear to us at the moment. I don't know if I am the only one who freaks out about this, but since I am a planner and a long-term one at that, I don't like not knowing what is going to come around the next bend. I want to know now what will occur in a few weeks, months, or years. I would love to be able to see down the road and see me happily married in a year or two to a great man of God. Then go a little further and see me and my husband with kids. It does not occur this way though. God may bring those things about in His time. For now, I can only see about 5 feet in front of me.
I can see just enough to take the steps God wants me to take today. Yesterday is history and tomorrow is not guaranteed, so today is all I have. What I do with the light Christ gives me is up to me. Will I take the steps on the path He lights up for me and trust Him with what is coming? Or will I stray and try to take an easier path that looks more fulfilling at the moment? I am learning to stay on the path Christ has for me and take the steps He calls me to take. Sometimes it is a little scary, but the light of the world goes with me and has paved the path before me.
If I am faithful to stay on the path God has called me to, He will bless me. I may go through trials and times of difficulty, but He will bring me through triumphantly. I have the victory in Christ Jesus! It's time to stop being fearful, worrisome, and doubtful about God's plan. He is God and Lord of my life. He knows what He is doing so much better than me!
I will choose to stay on the path of righteousness, hard as it may be at times, and even though I can't see down the road very far. I have no idea what Christ will bring me to next year, next month, next week, or even tomorrow. But I know one thing: that He who I trust in is faithful. He always has been and He always will be. Proverbs 3:5-6 states "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."
I will trust in the Lord with all my heart. I will choose to not lean on my own plans, thoughts, and desires. Instead, I will strive to acknowledge Him in everything I say and do. When I do these things, the Lord will direct me in the way He would have me go. What a beautiful promise from God!
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