Expecting

Expectation: a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.

Luke 2:11 – Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

I struggle so much with the month of December, the expectations threaten to steal all my joy in this season. There are lost expectations and grief from missing loved ones. I’m constantly managing others’ expectations (or my own guesses about them) as I try to buy the perfect gifts and cook a great meal. I’m expecting to see the whole family, attend parties and visit with people who have no one to celebrate with. It’s the most wonderful and overwhelming time of year! I carry all the pressure of these expectations that honestly, even in my best most “got it together” year I could never meet. It’s so easy for me to get distracted by comparisons, become disappointed and forget what the season is truly about.

I have heard the Christmas story all of my life and each year I ask the Lord to teach me something new from this story. Today, as I sit reading it again in my house that’s under construction with all of my stuff packed away, God is speaking to me about expectations!

When Jesus was born, the people were waiting, looking, expecting a messiah, a king, someone to deliver them, overcome evil and rule in peace. God defied all expectations. He sent a baby….born in Bethlehem- in a barn…to live a perfect life, to die a horrible death and rise again on the 3rd day! He chose a young, young woman named Mary, and a carpenter named Joseph to be His parents. We would have expected Jesus to be born in a palace, or the best the world could offer, but God chose a stable, a dirty barn with animals! What did Mary think? She was expecting to be married, not have a baby in a barn with animals and hay! What about Joseph? He was expecting to marry his bride, not become a father. But, they were obedient, and they loved. They put their expectations aside and obeyed God.

God’s gift for you may not be packaged the way you expected it! God has such a beautiful plan, wrapped in ways you could never dream or expect! Our lives may look and feel like that messy barn. You may think God has brought you to the wrong place, and surrounded you with unexpected guests – like Mary. But God’s presence changes everything and fills our hearts with hope and joy! Like Mary & Joseph, let’s surrender our expectations and embrace His presence.

“Do not be afraid” is the angel’s message over and over. To me, in this season of my life His message is: don’t be afraid, let God work, surrender my expectations. I commit this Christmas Season to the Lord, and I’m asking Him to establish my thoughts and plans.

Expecting blessings, choosing the Joy of Jesus, & expecting my Savior’s return,Mary

Highly Favored

There is something so warm and comforting in the tradition of rereading the Christmas story each December. It’s a story that is so familiar because we see movies, watch plays, and attend candlelight Christmas Eve services each year that celebrates the birth of Christ. However, in the familiarity of the gospel story there is always new revelation to discover as we dig into scripture. One of these rhema words, you know those moments the Holy Spirit is speaking straight to your soul, came to me a few years ago as I read Luke 1:26-36. The angel Gabriel comes to Mary. Scripture clearly lets us know that she is betrothed and a virgin. Since we have never experienced a culture where there are arranged marriages, allow me to give a little background. What Luke was communicating to his audience was that she was in covenant with someone, the bride price and the dowry had been paid but the wedding day had not occurred yet. She was in a season of preparation for her groom and while his job was to build a place for her attached to his family’s home, her job was to prove her purity. This was a vital part of this honor-shame way of life.

Going back to the narrative, Gabriel appears to Mary and says, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” The next part is what really stuck out to me. It says, “Mary was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be”. This seems so odd. In our western American-dream culture we would immediately be wondering what amazing blessings we were about to receive with this newly announced favor! Would we be getting that dream job, dream home, dream man? Would we be so favored to have a large platform to influence millions of people? I think we would be dancing and celebrating our victory. But Mary was not only troubled, she was deeply troubled. The angel goes on to speak over her that she will conceive and give birth to a son. His name would be Jesus and He would be great. He would be called Son of the Most High and His kingdom will have no end. Again…wouldn’t that be incredibly exciting? That would be even bigger and better than a social media platform or a dream job! To a 14 year old girl in the east those words meant something entirely different. In an honor-shame culture it would mean that she was potentially about to be publically divorced and shunned by the entire community because no one would believe she was still pure.

This weight would be far too heavy for any young girl to carry, but Gabrial states in verse 35 that the Holy Spirit would come upon her. The Holy Spirit will give us the power we need to accomplish our God given calling. Mary responds so bravely and full of faith “I am the Lord’s slave, May it be done to me according to your word.” What a response. She chose without hesitation to walk in obedience and humility no matter what the cost would be. I have to stop here and evaluate my own heart and life and I invite you to do the same. Do I respond the same way Mary did when I am asked to make a great sacrifice for the kingdom? Do I quickly give up the favor bestowed upon me in order to take a safer path? Do I fully trust Him enough to pick up my cross to follow Him? I mean a cross is heavy, and has splinters and leads to TORTURE! Am I ready for the highly favored life? I want with everything within me to say “I am the Lord’s slave.” I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me, and so do you if you have chosen to follow Jesus. So what are we waiting for! Here we are Lord, use us.

Wildfire

Passionate people are my kind of people.

It’s the sparkle in their eye.

The inflection in their voice.

The whole vibe that they bring.

I just love it.

Passion is contagious.

Jesus was passionate.

He was passionate about helping others.

He was passionate about discipleship.

He was passionate about doing the right thing.

He was passionate about God.

We are image bearers of Christ; therefore, the same passion that He had should reside inside of us. Not only should it reside inside of us, but it should be overflowing. Everyone we meet should recognize that spark within us.

Others should see Him in our eyes.

They should hear Him in our voice.

They should feel Him when we walk in a room.

I hope you’re that passionate about Christ.

I hope I am, too.

Spread it like wildfire.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthian

Get OK.

Sister, you’ve got to get ok with being different.

Here’s the thing – if you are God’s girl you will always be different. Just go on ahead and embrace that truth nugget.

God says you are holy.

Set apart.

You are set apart from them.

Stop longing to be like them.

Stop longing for the invite.

Stop longing for anything that isn’t of God.

Just stop.

Did anyone else just have the lyrics to Vanilla Ice go through their mind? Just me? Now I need to stop.

Seriously, be different. And be ok with being different. God’s word – His truth – states that He made you precious in His sight.

He thinks you’re awesome, girl.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Come home.

In this life I have messed up, fallen down, and allowed sin to get a grip on my life. I say things I shouldn’t to others, then kick my self around with regret and guilt. I will have a whole conversation in my head about how I should apologize, what I should or shouldn’t say, and how they will respond.

A few things I never expect is for that person to hug me or throw me a party. Yet, as we look at the prodigal son this is exactly what his father did when he returned home. (Luke 15:17-24)

The world beyond the prodigal’s home beckoned for him to come take a look around. Much like today, the world paints a beautiful picture of ‘fun’. It doesn’t show us the reality behind the scenes – the pigpens or the plan the enemy has to wrap us up so tightly in the bondage of sin that freedom feels impossible.

As we look further into the life of the prodigal son, we find him broke and in a pigpen. While feeding the pigs he thinks about how he would gladly eat the same things they were eating. During this time he came to his senses and thought about how even his fathers servants ate better than this. He starts home with many thoughts about what he would say to his father, never imagining his father would still be waiting and watching for him to return. His father saw him while he was still a long ways off, and runs to his son – hugging him even though he was dirty with the smell of pigpen still on him. The son had taken the money his father had given him, spent it on all sorts of wasteful ways, living it up with friends he thought he had, until he was broke.

Not only did his father hug him, he had the very best robe brought out to put on him. Then he had the servants kill a calf and not just any calf, but the best calf in honor of the return of his son.

I am so thankful that we also have a Father that never gives up on us – no matter how many times we fall. He is always there to pick us up, hug us, and dust us off. Just like the prodigal son’s father, He allows us to make our own choices – even the bad ones – and yet He is always waiting with arms open wide because He loves us so much more than we can imagine.

The prodigal son left to pursue the best the world had to offer only to find the world’s best was lacking. Our best life will always be found in the arms of our loving Father.

Transformation

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” -Romans 12:2-3

The definition of transformation is: a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance.

Transformation has to be thorough, which causes it to take time.

I’ve entered into a time of waiting. Waiting to hear hidden words in normal conversations, and waiting to become enlightened with what the next piece to the puzzle of my life will be.

While waiting on God’s time has proved time and time again to grow and groom God’s people for their future ministry, waiting isn’t easy.

I have always struggled with being impatient. By living in a world of immediacy, I think it has become way too easy to grow impatient.

“What do you mean my package won’t get here until Tuesday?”

“Why am I having to wait in line at the grocery store?”

” Why won’t the internet connect already?”

Even when I was just simply waiting for my sibling to get out of the restroom, I find myself growing more and more impatient. I find myself wanting instant gratification in everything.

The Bible speaks of seasons of waiting as seeds that will grow overtime. As Christians we use the word “growth” a lot. We might even pray that God would cause us to grow, but not many of us are willing to take the time to actually grow.

From seed to tree transformation occurs, but the tree does not appear suddenly after the seed is planted. The seed has to endure weather of all kinds, it has to dig through layers of dirt and rock to stay connected to its water source, and most importantly, it has to go through the process of growth.

Transformation takes time.

Most everything in the Bible always took waiting for the perfect time to occur.

When God told Abraham he was to have a son, Abraham was 75 years old. Abraham would only receive his son Isaac 25 years later. God promised the Isrialites that they would find The Promised Land, but before they did they wandered in the desert for 40 years. Even when God sent his Son to save us all from our sin, His son spent 30 years growing up so that he could complete His father’s will.

Yet, we still expect change and transformation should happen right after we ask. Sometimes I find myself wanting the fruit-bearing tree right after I planted the seed, but it doesn’t work that way. That is not the process.

Hebrews 6:12 states that through faith and patience we can inherit God’s promises.

If you, like myself, are entering or are already in that process of waiting, be patient with the process and be open to inherit God’s promises in 2021.

Transformation takes time.

Here I Am.

I was a runner. As a young girl, if I saw my mother going for the paddle, I was outta there, instantly engaged in a game of cat and mouse. My impulsive, little brain could not see through to the end result of my actions (more punishment). I only knew in that moment, it didn’t make sense to me to stand there and take the discipline I deserved.

Hebrews 12:10 says, “Our parents corrected us for the short time of our childhood as it seemed good to them. But God corrects us throughout our lives for our own good, giving us an invitation to share his holiness.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but this past year has brought me my fair share of discipline from the Lord. I’ve become aware of things that I valued more than His presence: busy-ness, plans, conveniences. I’ve allowed discontent with my circumstances to take root in my heart, and I’ve been convicted of pride in my own ability to get things done. But God did not leave me in my sin.

Our holy God can’t be in the presence of sin, but because of His faithful love, He is constantly inviting us into His presence. As we move closer to Him, we must be willing to become more disciplined. His embrace is waiting on the other side.

“Now all discipline seems to be more pain than pleasure at the time, yet later it will produce a transformation of character, bringing a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who yield to it.” Hebrews 12:11 TPT

I’m not running anymore. If discipline means that I get to be pulled closer into the arms of Jesus, then Lord, here I am. Though this past year was sown in difficulty, the Lord promises that a harvest of righteousness and peace are coming for those willing to yield to Him. Because of this promise, we can look with anticipation and excitement at the coming year, no matter what may come!

Check.

I am a list making – big note taking – kinda gal. I think it’s a good habit. It keeps me organized and productive – nothing wrong with that. And nothing makes me feel more accomplished than seeing those little checks all up and down my paper.

However, I have to be very careful not to make every single thing in my life merely a check mark.

Most importantly:

God is not a check mark. God is not a Bible study.

God is not a praise and worship service.

God is not Sunday morning church.

God is God.

He is a relationship.

And when you’re in a relationship you work at it – because you want to. Not because you have to.

Don’t just study the Bible to check it off your list. Study the Bible because you are so in love with God that you want to learn everything about Him that you can.

Don’t just go to church on Sunday morning because that’s how you were raised. Go to church on Sunday morning because you get to. Because you want to see God. Because you want to fellowship with other believers. Because you want to soak in every bit of God that you can.

God is not a check mark. Don’t make Him into one.

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

Remember When

I think we can all agree that 2020 was a rough one. As I ponder what 2021 might hold, I’m hit with conflicting feelings— excitement for the new, anxiety for the unknown. And if I’m honest, sometimes the fear of the unknown can crush any desire to dream of the goodness that this new year could hold. Perhaps it’s a guard I’ve put up in effort to block the blows that may come. As I wade between my conflicting feelings, I feel the Lord gently whisper just one word: “Remember.”

This year throughout my study, it’s come to my attention how many times scripture calls God’s people to remember. In Joshua 3, we find the Israelites in the home stretch of their journey to the Promise Land. They found themselves standing before the Jordan River, where God, once again, split the waters as the priests stood with the ark of the covenant in the center. He was leading them out of the wilderness and onward toward promise.

In chapter 4, the Lord gave one final instruction as they transitioned from one season into the next. He commanded Joshua to choose twelve men, one from each tribe, to take twelve stones from the very place where the priests had stood, the place where the Lord delivered them safely across the river. The Lord commanded them to carry them with them. These stones would serve as a symbol of their deliverance from the wilderness, as well as the fruition of God’s promise.

Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ you should tell your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until they had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. This is so that all people of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is mighty, and so that you will always fear the Lord” (Joshua 4:21-24).

You see, God, in His kindness, knew His people would need reminders of His faithfulness. Why? Because life is hard. And just like the Israelites, we also need to be reminded of His faithfulness in our own lives. We will not always be on the mountaintops, and when we find ourselves in trial, we, too, must remember the countless times God has delivered us. It keeps us focused, trusting that the God of the universe and God of our hearts can do all things. And just like those stones, carry them with you–those moments He’s already shown himself faithful to you. Because it’s those moments that will also carry you. Write them down. Memorialize them however you choose, but remember.

So, if you find yourself discouraged or afraid to hope or dream this new year, recall these three words: Remember the Lord.

Rays of Sunshine inc

Educator, Mother, & Jesus Lover

2021