My pastor made me mad the other day. Not really but I bet I got your attention.
See what happened was God had been in my business about working on myself. Conviction – you know. And everywhere I looked that issue that I needed to work on was staring me in the face. A book, other people’s social media post, in scripture, and then in my pastor’s sermon.
That’s the Holy Spirit, y’all.
I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit. I’m thankful for a pastor that listens to the Holy Spirit. And I hope you are, too. That’s God communicating with us right here on earth. That’s God speaking directly to us – we just have to listen.
So next time you go to church and you get your toes stomped on – don’t be mad at your pastor. Be thankful for his willingness to let the Holy Spirit speak through him. And be thankful that the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. John 4:16
Showing up is underrated. Showing up is support. People flourish when they are supported. What does showing up look like? When your friends are launching a new business, you buy their products/services. You give resources to fund their dreams. When your friend/family are sharing a message at their church, you sit on the front row and cheer them on. When there is a death in the family, you show up to the funeral and give hugs and shed tears together. When a baby is born, you bring a meal to the family. You may even get to hold the baby; that’s my favorite! When your friend needs to talk, you offer a listening ear. When a transition is happening in your family, you help to plan what’s next and show up to pack and purge.
Showing up is following through on what you know is the right thing to do. Our feelings want to tell us, “You are busy. You are tired. You don’t have time. You don’t have enough money.” Our feelings lie to us.
Jesus taught us how to show up. He showed up at weddings and funerals. He supported his friends, family, and community. He brought life just by being present. I encourage you to show up. Your life and the lives of those you love will flourish.
When we show up, we are a witness in the crowd! “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
Genesis 1:31 – And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.
We have all probably heard of the story of creation. How God created the earth in only a few days, and how He created Man and Woman.
But I think a lot of people miss a very important detail.
God called it good.
He called YOU good. He called everything He created good.
So if the maker of the universe calls you good, well then you best believe it.
Stop doubting yourself!!! Stop believing the lies the enemy has snuck into your ear and lead you to think is true!!
Start listening to God! Start understanding the Truth that He gives to you through the Holy Spirit who is in you!!!
Start believing that when God called His masterpiece good He was talking about you too!!!
God didn’t create this world perfectly for you to come in and have doubts about yourself. He didn’t send His only Son to die for you so that you can sit in misery and judge yourself.
He did it so that you can live in freedom today. So that you can walk with Him in Spirit and live a life of fullness. So that you can have eternal life with Him in Heaven.
So, get up, believe God’s truth, and live life with God right next to you. Acknowledge He is there, and listen to His words.
Always remember that He created you with the world, and He called it good.
Why are we worried about what she’s doing? And her and her and her?
And her?
You want to put on a full face of makeup to vacuum and do dishes? Good! Do it.
That’s not your style? Good. Don’t do it.
You want to wear a dress every single day? Rock it!
You prefer jeans and t-shirts? Good! Nothing wrong with that either.
Breastfeed.
Bottle-feed.
Working mom.
Stay at home mom.
Minivan.
Car.
Introvert.
Extrovert.
Helicopter.
Hands-off.
But don’t talk about – don’t even care about – what the woman next door is doing. It shouldn’t matter.
Like my husband always says – don’t let minuscule thoughts live rent free in your head.
Cause why does it matter?
Keep your mind Kingdom-focused.
If we are going to worry about other women, let’s worry about their salvation. Let’s worry about their mental health. Let’s worry about if they need a helping hand or a listening ear. Let’s worry about loving everyone the way Jesus said to.
Let’s just be nice.
And just a little sidebar: When we as women do make that passive aggressive comment about another woman – our daughters see it. They feel it.
And they copy it.
Let’s be better.
“He must become greater; I must become less.”John 3:30
If only Monet or Van Gogh could capture some of my childhood memories; they’d make quite a collection– especially the summer months. Summer is my favorite place! Bring on the brightest colors and the hottest temperatures! Ready to be refreshed! Recharged!
So many memories, my treasures, were discovered in the summertime. How deeply these images were impressed during those summers! In my mind, summertime was always green–first. Aboard an outdated lawn mower, wearing a serious layer of Banana Boat™ tanning oil, I’d zip over the five-acre spread first thing every Saturday morning. Freshly cut grass earned me a few dollars plus an envious tan! Of course, if I damaged Grandma’s roses in the process, then the only color I’d see was red–from the switch marks across the back of my legs. Most of my red memories are of fresh watermelons and strawberries, and a couple of major sunburns. Yellow is a definite color of summer. Lemons weren’t just for lemonade: lemon juice was a country girl’s secret D.I.Y. for hair highlights. How can I forget my bright yellow, banana-seat bicycle—forever an icon of freedom and independence! These flashbacks of endless blue skies over white sandy beaches still impress me!
One color, however, lived year-round in “my world.” From deep purple to lavender plus all the shades in between, anything worth keeping had to fall within this category: my favorite brush, backpack, sneakers, bedding, and one highly admired pair of boots. (Y’all may recall the term, “Ropers?”) All thanks to one very cool cousin, whose favorite color, of course, was purple! How’d she do it?
Ever wonder how to influence your own heart? On purpose?
The type of seed we plant determines the type of crop we get. Mark 4:24 says to “pay attention to what you hear. The same degree of thought and study you give to what you hear determines the degree of life and virtue that comes back to you.” The condition of the soil is a big factor, too. From Proverbs 4:4 we find these wonderful reminders to “let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.” I remind my own children of Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
With extra time during these colorful summer days, I try to reflect on the impressions I’m making–not just on others–but also on the condition of my heart! How impressed will you be?
Vulnerability. Exposure. Being laid bare before others. It’s something no one enjoys, because since the fall of man, we don’t like being “naked” in front of others. It often brings a sense of shame, but that’s not at all what our Father’s heart intended for us when He created in us the need to be connected to people, to one another. His intention for the exposure was never to bring shame but to bring healing.
We were never meant to walk the path of life alone or to “figure it out ourselves.” He created us with the purpose of fellowship and connection. He literally said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” And from the very beginning the enemy has conned us into shame and hiding. Man partnered with shame and hid from the very thing, the very One, who had the answer. They assumed that God would reject them for their nakedness, and they hid. Their hiding kept them from the One who would actually cover their nakedness and find a way to repair what had once been and what was lost.
It’s no different today. The moment we feel exposure coming or an opportunity to be vulnerable with our brothers or sisters we hide, afraid of being naked or laid in front of them. We have partnered with the lie that shame and condemnation is what we will be handed in return. The truth is that we are in a process of refining, and part of that process is for dross to come to the surface. It’s not the negative thing the enemy has trained us to believe but rather it means that our value is about to increase. In order for the value of a metal to increase, it has be put to flame and the impurities rise to the surface…exposed. The metal worker doesn’t condemn the metal for it’s impurities, they simply put it to the fire so that the worth the metal worker knows is already there can be revealed.
The Father wants you to know that exposure and vulnerability with others wasn’t designed by Him to embarrass you. It was designed by Him to increase your value. Stop hiding in the bushes of shame. Come out, be healed and made whole.
Psalm 91:2 I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.
Those are big words. I hold them dear and He has proven them true so many times in my life. He. Is. Faithful.
I want to be faithful, but when the really big storms blow in it’s tough to stand firm. Fear creeps in, panic starts to rise and it’s hard to just walk into that fortress and be still.
For sometime now the Lord has been showing me it’s all about choices and actions. I can’t say He is my refuge and fortress if I keep running out to see if I can “help” Him in some way. I have to be still and let Him fight for me. When I say that I trust Him it has to be with everything. I have to surrender my health, my finances, my children, my grandkids, my security…….my everything.
We are living in crazy times. Chaos seems to rule the day. Are you ready? Are you willing to personalize this verse and put your name in that top line. Lay down those burdens and run to Jesus. He will not disappoint.
It seems like everywhere you go today you get to make choices. We can get our burgers, “My way, right away,” we can get 1,063,953 fountain drink combinations at Sonic, and I hear there is even a secret menu of choices at Starbucks. America is a great country and choosing things for yourself is a great thing.
I love having choices. If I want a triple, grande, half caf, sugar-free, mocha, iced coffee with extra ice, then so be it! For $5.50, I can have my coffee however I want. I am in charge. I am in control. I am drinking a ridiculous, but tasty coffee. Life is good, right?
Now I don’t care how you take your coffee unless I’m fixing it for you. I think you should order it the way you like it. When it is a simple thing of personal preference like coffee, you go ahead and order however you like it best. But I wonder sometimes if our human desire to make choices has gotten a little out of control? I feel like it has seeped into our culture to an unhealthy level. It isn’t just about coffee anymore y’all, and that is scary. As humans, we like to be in control and have independence, I am no different, but I think we need to remember that we are not the ultimate authority. That power rests solely with God. As Christians, we can make any choice we want but it is our responsibility to vet each choice using a supernatural lens. Is my personal choice glorifying to God? Is my choice going to be a stumbling block to my brothers and sisters? Will my choice showcase Jesus to lost people or will it damage my witness before them?
These sound like easy questions, but they represent a hard way of life. Choosing to put away selfish desires is the opposite of our human nature. In fact, we can’t do it…not apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. But God is so gracious to us. He sent His son, Jesus, to die for our sins, so that all who love Him and ask Jesus to forgive their sins and to be Lord of their life can be save. When you ask Jesus to be Lord of your life, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you. Now you have the living God helping you when you make choices. Now listen, making choices God’s way will not become a natural thing overnight, but if we spend time reading the Bible, praying, and learning to listen to the Holy Spirit within us, we can align our choices with what God wants for us.
Of course, I still struggle with this concept, and I know I fail as much as I get it right, but I want to live within the will of God. I want to make choices that please our Heavenly Father, don’t you? Choosing to live life God’s way won’t always be popular, easy, or even allow us to make the choices that we ourselves want in the moment, but I promise that if you make earthly choices by obeying Godly wisdom, your choices will be good, and pleasing to your Heavenly Father. Philippians 2:13 says “For it is God who is working in you, enabling you to both desire and to work out His good purpose.” Isn’t that what we all desire? So today, instead of “My way, right away,” let’s live life “God’s way, right away.”
You know the one. When the reality of summer sets in and you can finally – after a year full of events and challenges and to do lists a mile long – you can breath.
Man, it feels good. For more than one reason.
Accomplishment. Rest. The sweet relief of stress rolling off of your shoulders. After all, vacay mode is an awesome mode.
I’m not sure what’s on your summer bucket list, but I hope that being intentional in your relationship with God is.
▪️I pray that this summer truly brings you God’s peace and presence.
▪️I pray that you find time to spend in God’s word.
▪️I pray that your relationship with God is rekindled if need be.
▪️I pray that you see God’s beauty all around you.
I pray that you breath.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8
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