Caffeinated Randomness 03/05/2010
 On Spiritual Activity SonShines, I just have to share a passage I read last night from The Me I Want To Be. John Ortberg addresses a very real struggle so many of us face with feelings of guilt and obligation in regards to our spiritual activities. Mothers, teachers, coaches, mentors, ministry leaders, writers, nurses, doctors, and any number of nurturing roles such as these all share another common bond. We often feel that we are less than devout when we can't set aside an hour here or two there for deep quiet in the presence of our Lord. I'd even venture to say that some of us beat ourselves up about not having the heart that another sister or brother might have for waking up before the sun in order to ensure that quiet soaking in God's glory. Here's what Ortberg says on the matter, take it to heart and take it with you in all of life's moments! "Comparison kills spiritual growth. A mother with three preschool-age children hears her pastor talk about loving God so much that he is up very early every morning to spend an hour of quiet with him. She would love an hour of quiet at any time, but her children simply will not cooperate. What she takes away is that she ought to be doing the same thing, and so she does spirituality by comparison, living under the cloud of guilt. It never occurs to her that the love she expresses to her children might "count" as a spiritual activity." The love you express as you nurture from within the love of Christ is a spiritual activity! Taking Jesus by the hand and introducing every moment, every interaction, every person you encounter to the Truth, the Life and the Way is the very sort of living in the Presence that we must all strive for...not an hour each morning, but a way of living! Keep up The Good Work! ***I want to just add a little note here to be sure to encourage everyone to start your day with Jesus no matter what time that day may begin. I know how much more freely I receive the ongoing direction of the Lord when I've made a point to spend even just 5-10 minutes just kicking it with Christ! Please don't leave here thinking you should leave that time behind! Instead, know that it's the spirit of simply delighting in the presence of God that should drive you to your knees first thing in the morning, not a comparison to what another Christian's morning walk may consist of.*** {added after publishing} On Lamentations I am so looking forward to our time exploring this section of God's Word! I'm just as eager to share the journey with you as I am to get to the other side with a bit more knowledge, wisdom, and security in Christ Jesus! We are in for some deep conversation, some solid soul searching, and some serious laughter, I'm sure! I hope you'll come by Monday as we kick things off in the newest seven days adventure! Everyone who participates in the full seven days will be entered to win a special little something that I'll be revealing soon! {hint::it's wired, it's whimsical, it's bound to be gorgeous} On Compliments I Can't Deny Each of you dear readers who reached out in love to nominate this blog as one of your favorites, I just want you to know that your compliment is one I won't ever attempt to disprove! Our heavenly Father is at the very root of each word I share here and it is His glory and my honor to be among the top 10 daily reads, and the top 100 Christian Women's Blogs of 2009! I'll save the Oscar-esque speech and waterworks, but to say thank you just doesn't fit the bill. I'm touched and honored and humbled and fueled and rambling in true caffeinated randomness fashion!  {Head over to read from the other 99+ awesome ladies writing for Christ!}  On the Threshing Floor 02/24/2010
 "A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them" (Proverbs 20:26, NIV). God is building a Kingdom the likes of which this world would have us never see. Don't despair, Sonshines, we've got a mighty God and He's using the very same world and all of its opposition to bring that Kingdom to completion. You've got to love the poetic justice of our Lord! Like grain on the threshing floor, we're in the midst of one tumultuous sifting. Life is a tool designed specifically to stomp the stalk from the kernels. Separating the sin from the sinner is a process perfected by our perfect God. We can rest easy as the world crushes us because we know that our Father uses this crushing to set us free from our sin. Wondrously, at the end of the day whole and usable grain remains and the stalk is broken and worthless on the floor. There we lie, with the fragments of our sin. Uprooted, smashed, naked before the King of kings. On the threshing floor. No longer rooted and drawing false nourishment, we have died to this world. Now the winnowing of the Spirit begins. Time and again we will be cast into the wind in order that the broken bits of sin that try to hide us from the Lord may be carried away leaving us to rest on the floor at the foot of the throne of God. In the end that is all that will remain. King of kings and the whole and useful grains He's grown, handpicked, freed, and sifted. God is building what the world can't tear down. Do not despair. On your mark...get set...go! 02/22/2010
 I love being awe struck by our awesome God! My time in devotion this morning was filled with the earth shattering awesomeness that is the very hope of Christ. With very few words, the Son of Man is able to rip us out of the grubby little hands of this fallen world and that will never cease to amaze me. Aren't you every bit as astonished each time Jesus delivers you from a stronghold that would choke the Life right out of you if allowed to keep its grip? As I read the Scripture surrounding an old familiar promise, the Living Word brought new life to a passage I thought I had all figured out. Being so completely humbled in my wisdom is always a welcomed treat, even though such humbling in life often brings battles with pride, being proved wrong by God is a beautiful gift! He never makes us look foolish in revealing our lacking wisdom. "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, NRSV). If you know the power of this passage, then you have already learned the importance of giving your heavy heart to the Lord for the kind of lasting peace only Christ can bring. I'm praising God with you for such huge mercies, SonShines! Like so many stand alone verses, I've read this truth time and again, but today God invited me to keep reading. I'm so glad He did, because I need the next verse like I need air at this point in my life. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29, NRSV). I am a girl that needs a lot of directions if you're going to lead me to water, no matter how plagued with thirst I might be. "Come to me" is great, but we have an all over the place kind of Savior and sometimes knowing a landmark or two to look for along the way makes all the difference in getting us where we're going. Thankfully, Jesus didn't assume we'd find our way with the simply profound direction of that first verse. Christ, as is His nature, lays it all out for us. "Take my yoke upon you," He says. Christ is the ultimate beam of balance, and that's just what His yoke is, ladies. If we are to find true and lasting rest, we must first pick up that beam of Hope that will balance our lives in His favor. Taking the servitude lived out in Christ Jesus and carrying it upon our shoulders is the only way we'll ever get out from under the weight of the world. Next, Jesus tells us to learn from Him. Short of knowing the Son, truly knowing His motives and His very nature, we will never know our Father. Christ is The Way, so unless we're looking to Him for direction, we'll never find the way to the rest we've been promised. His direction comes from the countless interactions shared in Scripture; it comes from seeing how Jesus handled the sticky situations that we each face in some form. Learning from Christ doesn't stop there! We can read all about Who the Messiah was and is and ever will be in every syllable of Scripture. He's given us a road map to spiritual security that is hidden in the wonder of His coming, arrival, sacrifice, resurrection, ascension, and the legacy of love passed on throughout time. Jesus is still showing us how to come to Him and that will continue until the perfect time comes for His return! While pointing to the endless ways in which we can learn from Him, Jesus also reveals a couple of ways to get started. Pointing out His gentle and humble nature is like placing a neon arrow Heavenward. Taking on the characteristics of Christ is the way to find that rest we're after! In tangible ways, humility and gentleness change our lives from ones of conflict to ones of rest. Sidestepping pride and aggression, we're free to run the race before us. We're running toward a deep and real rest that won't threaten to bail on us at the first sign of trouble. I want flames to shoot from my sassy shoes as I fly past the world and fall to my knees at the foot of the throne of God! Something tells me you want that, too. Runners, are you on your mark? Set those eyes on Jesus and go! What's In Your Coffee? 01/26/2010
 Curled up in my bed, laptop and coffee in hand, God decided it was time to drop some knowledge on me. There, swimming around in my cold coffee, I found a bit of wisdom and a rabbit trail of thought waiting for me. Just as I sunk into coziness, I went to sip said coffee and realized that a touch up just wouldn't do. If you follow me on twitter, you might have read this seemingly random bit I posted. At some point you've gotta stop touching up your coffee and just pour a new cup. I think my coffee is hinting at something... It seemed random to me, too, at first. I never seem to recognize the work of the Lord right away. As I resolved to roll out of bed for the refill, I realized what the Lord had splashed into my sad little cup of something that started out so good. I mean, Dunkin Donuts Breakfast Blend with a splash of Cinnamon Bun creamer--so divine. Cold Dunkin Donuts Breakfast Blend with a splash of Cinnamon Bun creamer, not so much. It was clear that a touch up just wouldn't do any good that would last to the last drop. In that moment, God found a way to make my coffee truly Divine. Hinting at the frustrations I've been coming up against in my writing and in my life, the Lord was calling me to stop trying to top things off and hope the band-aid makes things all better. As a sweet sister in Christ put it, "God wants us to give up what we already have so He can give us something fresh.. and abundant". Wow. Here, I just thought I was going to hide in bed and continue feeling invisible and frustrated. I don't know what it all means just yet, but clearly my Father wants me to stop primping and adding and pruning and shuffling and topping off the ways I minister and mingle and meander in this world. He's telling me to stop assuming what I have will get better if I just add more to it. Another cup of coffee just as scrumptious as the one before it is what I need to be reaching for! What is our Lord handing you today? You are Christ's body, that's who you are! 01/21/2010
It's so funny what we do as children. I was in the 5th grade and preparing for a paper that I had to write on what I wanted to be when I grew up. I hate that. The pressure on children to decide their entire lives is just a waste of youth and it distracts from the fact that it is God who calls us to what we'll be. Being a mix between a free spirit and a perfectionist, this was really stressing me out. I was 11, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life other than love God and do good things. As the deadline approached, I prayed to God for the answer to that all too big question. I asked Him what I should be when I grew up and I heard Him say that I should be a doctor. From that day on, I was going to go to Duke University and be a doctor. Well, as I grew older in years I lost sight of God and soon I was 16 and in college with 2 jobs and no faith to keep me going. After my aunt died, I had a breakdown of sorts and fast forward a couple of years and I was 18 and pregnant. What could have been disastrous was a miracle and I've been an at home mother since. I've never looked back and wished I had ended up being a doctor, but I've always wanted to have followed God's calling. A few years ago I took a spiritual gifts assessment test and was actually surprised to see teaching was my strongest gift. I truly expected to see healing due to that moment with God, but teaching was the strongest by a landslide and I started to connect some dots. As far back as I can remember, I've been teaching of God's glory and on nonspiritual levels, as well. I've been a peer mediator and a tutor. I've led Bible classes for younger children and as a mother, my entire life is about teaching. I've been told time and again that I have a natural way with words that teaches people on a level they can grasp. Looking back, I see that knack for teaching is really a gift from above, just like all things good and perfect. It's a recurrent theme for a reason. I'm being called to teach on a broader level. We're all being called for something. But what does that mean for the moment when God spoke to me? Well, that's the best part of my story! I discovered that in biblical times the word for "doctor" referred to those who were Spiritual teachers! I'm just now beginning to embrace this spiritual destiny of mine, and I can't wait to fully live by my belief that God wants to act as a teacher through me. I've been taking baby steps, but I'm ready to leap and not worry about the confines of this world. The restrictions, the necessities, or the chance of failure. What are they when up against God? Have you found your place in the body of Christ? Have you opened the gift you were naturally given by the Spirit? Have you answered His call? 1 Corinthians 12:27-30 paints the perfect picture of how we are each wonderfully made, and why we aren't all wired exactly the same. You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body": apostles prophets teachers miracle workers healers helpers organizers those who pray in tongues. But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. I hope you'll take a closer look at your own God-given talents, and share some time with Him in prayer to find the pattern that points to what He is asking you to do with this life. I'm praying for your journey! Way Back When{sday} :: But the Waves 01/20/2010
 What have I left But the waves of doubt of guilt of remorse How fitting now Since you left so coldly so unmistakably so readily I'm alone again Without you without a will without a friend But the waves the waves call to me the waves reach for me the waves cover me and carry me home I wrote that four years ago. Most days, the pain is mercifully kept at bay. We have such a loving Father, to heal us that way. Sexual, emotional, physical, mental, verbal--abuse tears at the spirit. Broken to bits over the years and miraculously put together again. Once, I found peace in the fact that I wouldn't live forever. Now my peace lies in the eternal life given me in Christ. Way back when my heart was breaking, it wasn't my life I considered taking. God had a plan for me, way back when the world began, that He's fulfilling. God has a plan for you, and He can fill you, too! Don't take my word for it; take His! "In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:11-14 NRSV). self, serpents and orbs...oh my. 01/19/2010
 ...and lemons, too... I've been thinking about our sin nature this morning. More specifically, our ease in despair. Or at least my own effortless decline into doom and gloom. For a girl who has eternal hope in her Savior, I sure can sink into self-fulfilled hopelessness. Self-involved. Self-centered. Self-entitled. Self-loathing. Self.ish.ness. I suppose that's really what being so fixated on oneself is at the root. Being all about self doesn't allow much room for hope. I get it--spiritually, logically--I get it. Now, if my heart and mind could only send my silly flesh the memo... As I sat sipping my room temp coffee, every harsh word ever spoken to me seemed to swim around my mind in some sort of violent current, ripping at my very soul. Ripping at, never out. The enemy just isn't that strong, and he only gets weaker with each moment we stand in the presence of our almighty God. Still, how can something so powerless have so much power over me? Over us? At first, that question repeated among the daggers of deflation that would have me reduced to a heap if I let them. It was more a statement of surrender than an actual question, truth be told. The Holy Spirit, He has come to dwell in me {and in you, sweet sister} for many reasons. As my declaration of defeat echoed in my head, the Spirit spoke out to prove my self wrong about sin. and righteousness. and judgment. "And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned" (John 16:8-11, NRSV). Suddenly, I began to actually ask myself how something so powerless could have such power over me. Over us. I saw a serpentine covering wrap itself tightly around my entire person. Twisting and constricting and holding every bit of goodness trapped inside. Every righteous desire, bound by this serpentine flesh concoction that had replaced my skin. My claustrophobia began to kick in, my heart began to race in its place, and my palms began to sweat. Before my automated response to such binding {even socks make me nervous} had a chance to move past the beginning stages, I saw something else. A light began to shine from inside the flesh that would squeeze the life out of me. This solid orb of growing brilliance shone so intensely that the serpentine covering couldn't keep it under wraps. The Holy Spirit can't be kept under wraps, sweet sister! "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:3-4, NRSV). When the devil wants to make lemonade out of your very being, remember our God created the lemon! The enemy can't create a thing, so he uses everything he can to build himself up. Don't be deceived! I love you, SonShine. You give me a reason to look beyond myself and see the truth. Thank you. Let the Son shine,  Have you accepted the average life? 01/06/2010
 If you've accepted Christ as your Savior, then you have received the gift of eternal life, but His gift to us doesn't begin the day we die. His gift begins here on Earth, as it transforms our very way of living. In 2 Peter 1:3, we learn that His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. Everything we need to make that move from merely surviving life to actually living for God has been provided for us. It seems that far too many of us allow earthly life to take center stage, and our spiritual life with Christ becomes something to look forward to only after death. In Philippians 3:8, Paul encourages us to consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus. When we make Christ the central part of our day, we say goodbye to stale Christian belief and step into a wonderfully alive way of following our Lord, Jesus Christ. We need to step out of the believing-in-theory realm and into the practicing-what-He-preached world. We should be building our lives around our love for Christ instead of fitting Christ into our worldly schedules.  Don't accept the average, run of the mill life! God has so much more in store for you, if you'll meet with Him in this life. Daily visits with our Dearest Friend, Jesus, can make all the difference. "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is" (Romans 12:2, NLT). Lord, Your divine power has given us everything that we need for life and godliness, we need only accept this gift in order to have a new life in You. God, we pray that You will help us to overcome our unbelief, and instead, rest our faith solely on You. Christ Jesus, please guide us to Your truth, and Your life, and Your way, so that we may be transformed into Your likeness during our time on this earth. In Your all powerful name we pray, Amen. Calling All Kettles! 01/05/2010
 Kettle Club Questions coming January 19th and our Discussion will be on the 26th Each month, at Exemplify, I meet with other women who desire to spend time with the Lord before the morning and its blogging begins. Really, the Kettle Club is about encouraging one another to give our first fruits to our Father as we tune into His desires for our day. After all, isn't that the only way to have a truly fruitful day? Just when you thought you had heard, read, and said everything there is to say about resolutions, I show up inviting you to spend another month on the subject. Don’t click away from me just yet—we’ve got an amazing opportunity to encourage one another here. I’m not talking about pats on the back for each workout or chapter written or closet sorted. Nor am I referring to lovingly lifting each other up when we come short of our goals…which we humans tend to do from time to time. Don’t get me wrong, we’re going to do those things too, because we’re sisters and that’s what we do. I love that about us. Still, don’t you need something a little more internal keeping you on track? Something eternal? I know I do! Head over to the Devotional Channel to read more about this month's Kettle Club focus! The Gift of Prayer 12/21/2009
 In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are encouraged, if not instructed, to "pray continually". That's the verse in its entirety. --Pray continually-- Seems an insurmountable goal, doesn't it? At first glance, perhaps, but dig a little deeper and you'll find it allows for a beautiful freedom in your personal walk with Christ. The word used in the ancient text was adialeiptōs, which translates more accurately to unceasing. Its meaning was more akin to assiduously than to continually. To pray assiduously is to do so with care and persistence. Sounding more attainable already, isn't it? Digging deeper into The Word reveals so much about His divine will. When I read Genesis 24:45, I am brought to an abrupt stop. These words describing the beautiful prayer-filled journey of Abraham's servant leap from the page. "Before I had finished speaking in my heart..." He referred to his prayer as being simply in his heart. Not spoken aloud. Not on his knees before an altar. Not with the burning of offerings or much ado at all. Simply words spoken from his heart to God's ears. Persistent and with care. He went about the business set before him, but he did so without ceasing in prayer. The world wasn't going to stop for his prayer but the servant knew that the Lord was with him every step of his journey and before he could even finish his heart's prayer the Lord had answered. Our sweet Savior is with you on your journey as well. Be assiduous in seeking Him! Lord, You are too wonderful! No matter the fact that we don't have time to dedicate undivided attention to our every prayer, Our God is still there--we praise You, Father, for such faithful love! In spite of ourselves, You heed and answer in Your time all the same. A heart spoken prayer or an audible one, it's all the same to You. What a gift our time in prayer is to our weary hearts! Thank you Jesus! Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. What gifts from God are you treasuring today? |   Loading
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