Some thoughts...
When everything falls apart, your strength will not be enough.
Lean in to Jesus.
For He is your Shield & Buckler, He is round about you.
He is the One who is strong enough & His strength never fails or wears out.
He cannot become weary or tired.
He is your constant, He is your stay.
Encourage yourself in the Lord, in His promises & in His truth,
For the joy of the Lord is your strength, not the joy that's found in life.
Life changes, God does not.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015
-behavior-
I'm learning more and more that kids are just little humans.
Weirdest sentence ever, right?
What I mean by that is, they need to be trained. So many of us look at a child that's acting up & automatically sum them up. We anticipate all the trouble they will have as a middle-schooler, teenager, adult...
When really they are no different than us, we've just learnt to hide our "issues" better.
We all go through different seasons in our lives. We go through rebellion, pain, stretching, happiness, excitement... our seasons are ever-changing and hopefully we are ever learning.
As parent's/adults we need to learn that the kids in our lives aren't defined by their behavior, they have time to change, & they will grow if we put in the effort & don't get discouraged. We need to learn to give children room to learn. No one comes out perfect & no one learns good behavior without guidance. A seed doesn't become an oak tree overnight. It takes water & sunlight & sometimes a rod to keep it growing straight, but eventually it's strong enough to grow right & "suddenly" it produces fruit.
Don't let your child's behavior create their definition...in your mind or in theirs. Never stop training, loving, encouraging, correcting, & instilling into them what's right.
Think about it, your parents had all the same fears & concerns you do (at least to some degree). Everyone wants to raise a good human being....you turned out ok! Trust God & His method.
Oh & just a quick note to the adults in the room...that's why we have pastors! They "never stop training, loving, encouraging, correcting, & instilling into US what's right." See... we all get to keep growing.
Weirdest sentence ever, right?
What I mean by that is, they need to be trained. So many of us look at a child that's acting up & automatically sum them up. We anticipate all the trouble they will have as a middle-schooler, teenager, adult...
When really they are no different than us, we've just learnt to hide our "issues" better.
We all go through different seasons in our lives. We go through rebellion, pain, stretching, happiness, excitement... our seasons are ever-changing and hopefully we are ever learning.
As parent's/adults we need to learn that the kids in our lives aren't defined by their behavior, they have time to change, & they will grow if we put in the effort & don't get discouraged. We need to learn to give children room to learn. No one comes out perfect & no one learns good behavior without guidance. A seed doesn't become an oak tree overnight. It takes water & sunlight & sometimes a rod to keep it growing straight, but eventually it's strong enough to grow right & "suddenly" it produces fruit.
Don't let your child's behavior create their definition...in your mind or in theirs. Never stop training, loving, encouraging, correcting, & instilling into them what's right.
Think about it, your parents had all the same fears & concerns you do (at least to some degree). Everyone wants to raise a good human being....you turned out ok! Trust God & His method.
Oh & just a quick note to the adults in the room...that's why we have pastors! They "never stop training, loving, encouraging, correcting, & instilling into US what's right." See... we all get to keep growing.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Comparison
Comparison was never meant to define you.
I believe that looking at someone else's life is a good thing. You can use it as a guide or an encouragement or even an example, but we find out identity & purpose in the Book! God wants to build your specific life according to His plan for you, not through the plan He has for someone else's life.
Your road is different than someone else's. It has different hills & valleys, different turns & potholes. Using someone else as a map will only cause you to get off course.
I've used a few different women as examples & as encouragement as I navigate this bump in the road called grief. It's so encouraging to see that others have made it out stronger & more like Jesus than when they started, but I also know that He's the only one that can actually do the work in me. So I keep my eyes on Him & His plan, and just allow other people's lives to be like a billboard advertising encouragement as I go along.
There's a whole lot of driving analogies happening in this blog today, but I think it gets the point across!
Keep your eyes on Jesus & His Word & what His plan is for you. Don't try to live your life based on someone else's road map.
I believe that looking at someone else's life is a good thing. You can use it as a guide or an encouragement or even an example, but we find out identity & purpose in the Book! God wants to build your specific life according to His plan for you, not through the plan He has for someone else's life.
Your road is different than someone else's. It has different hills & valleys, different turns & potholes. Using someone else as a map will only cause you to get off course.
I've used a few different women as examples & as encouragement as I navigate this bump in the road called grief. It's so encouraging to see that others have made it out stronger & more like Jesus than when they started, but I also know that He's the only one that can actually do the work in me. So I keep my eyes on Him & His plan, and just allow other people's lives to be like a billboard advertising encouragement as I go along.
There's a whole lot of driving analogies happening in this blog today, but I think it gets the point across!
Keep your eyes on Jesus & His Word & what His plan is for you. Don't try to live your life based on someone else's road map.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil,
to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11
Thursday, September 10, 2015
happiness
There is a happiness in His presence & no circumstance of life is able to cast a shadow on it.
It wells up inside of you & carries you forward.
The longer you remain in His presence, the deeper the well goes.
It's Him & only Him that causes me to grow.
He calls us to prayer & to His word because He knows the result. He understands the process. He has all the answers. He is the answer.
In all that life throws your way, find yourself in His presence & you'll find yourself covered.
Life affects us all, but He is our shield & our buckler. He is our foundation & our source. He is our stay when everyone else fades away.
Being a Christian doesn't make you exempt from bad things in life, but it does make you invincible. You can be hurt & knocked down, but you know your future is secure. You can go through the trials of Job & know that your end will be better than your beginning. You can go through the persecutions of Paul & know that even if they take your life, you have eternal life with the Master.
He chose you for this time in eternity, trust that He knows what He's doing & live in obedience to whatever He says. That is where your happiness is.
It wells up inside of you & carries you forward.
The longer you remain in His presence, the deeper the well goes.
It's Him & only Him that causes me to grow.
He calls us to prayer & to His word because He knows the result. He understands the process. He has all the answers. He is the answer.
In all that life throws your way, find yourself in His presence & you'll find yourself covered.
Life affects us all, but He is our shield & our buckler. He is our foundation & our source. He is our stay when everyone else fades away.
Being a Christian doesn't make you exempt from bad things in life, but it does make you invincible. You can be hurt & knocked down, but you know your future is secure. You can go through the trials of Job & know that your end will be better than your beginning. You can go through the persecutions of Paul & know that even if they take your life, you have eternal life with the Master.
He chose you for this time in eternity, trust that He knows what He's doing & live in obedience to whatever He says. That is where your happiness is.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.
Psalm 91:1-2
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Joy is on your horizon
I know sometimes it feels like it's impossible to walk, but you can put one foot in front of the other.
I have a new revelation of Jesus walking to Golgotha. He was beaten, bruised, bleeding...so much so, that someone else had to carry His cross, but still in all the agony & pain He put one foot in front of the other.
That's how I know I can make it, because He did.
You might be broken & hurting, but keep walking. Keep moving towards the cross. You'll get there. & then once you get there, lay everything down at that cross & let God consume it, and watch and see the new, abundant life that He brings you.
It seems like such a contradiction to bring your pain to the cross, but if we do not lay it down how could we ever bear it? It is not ours to bear, for He already did. He took the pain we could not heal & healed it. He took the hurt we could not bear & bore it. He did it all.
No one ever told me that I'd want to hold onto my grief. Somehow in my twisted human emotions it made me feel close to my daughter, but Jesus took that grief & turned it into joy. That's His promise. I'm not losing memories of my little girl, I'm gaining healing & the ability to remember her without sorrow in my heart. I'll always ache for her, but that aching is not painful because I know I'll see her again.
The sorrow you are facing is not your destination. Joy is on your horizon, keep putting one foot in front of the other & let the cross do it's work. He will not fail you.
I have a new revelation of Jesus walking to Golgotha. He was beaten, bruised, bleeding...so much so, that someone else had to carry His cross, but still in all the agony & pain He put one foot in front of the other.
That's how I know I can make it, because He did.
You might be broken & hurting, but keep walking. Keep moving towards the cross. You'll get there. & then once you get there, lay everything down at that cross & let God consume it, and watch and see the new, abundant life that He brings you.
It seems like such a contradiction to bring your pain to the cross, but if we do not lay it down how could we ever bear it? It is not ours to bear, for He already did. He took the pain we could not heal & healed it. He took the hurt we could not bear & bore it. He did it all.
No one ever told me that I'd want to hold onto my grief. Somehow in my twisted human emotions it made me feel close to my daughter, but Jesus took that grief & turned it into joy. That's His promise. I'm not losing memories of my little girl, I'm gaining healing & the ability to remember her without sorrow in my heart. I'll always ache for her, but that aching is not painful because I know I'll see her again.
The sorrow you are facing is not your destination. Joy is on your horizon, keep putting one foot in front of the other & let the cross do it's work. He will not fail you.
Friday, August 7, 2015
The argument fizzles...
A little nugget I've discovered...
The argument fizzles when I stop trying to defend myself. This works whether I'm right or wrong in the situation.
It's the moment when I reel in my emotions & understand that I love this person more than how I'm treating them right now & there is a better, more productive way to have this discussion.
When did proving my point become more important than loving this person?
Discussions can be had without arguing, but arguing never produces real discussions. It can only produce hurt & confusion because arguments are all based in pride. The pride of being right or defending your own actions.
Pride is sneaky & insidious. It sneaks into your life disguised as hurt feelings or justification. It wants to keep the argument alive until the other person either apologizes or concedes.
The Bible on the other hand tells us that pride brings destruction & that God resists it. It also tells us to be offended at nothing.
That's the goal we move towards. Letting him love us, so that we can love others.
It doesn't mean we'll never have a spirited discussion, but if we can learn to discuss out of love then not only will our topic most likely get resolved, but our relationships will flourish.
People are worth our patience & our relationships are worth our self-control.
1 Cor 13:4
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
James 4:6
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Monday, August 3, 2015
That's my hope.
His grace is sufficient for you.
That means that no matter what you have to face, the ability HE GIVES YOU is enough to win over it.
Whether or not the outcome is what you preferred, you have the ability to outlast & not just maintain, but overcome.
Paul said that he gloried in his tribulation. I'm not there yet, but I have hope that as my relationship develops with the Lord, I too will gain the kind of revelation Paul had.
That's the promise of it all. As I decrease, He increases & God's way of thinking & seeing is so much better than I could ever fathom.
Jesus didn't just die on the cross. He made an impact before, during & after the crucifixion. Regardless of your tragedy, if Christ is in you, you have the power to make an impact before, during & after it.
That's my hope. That is His faithfulness.
I know the pain will continue to heal & I know God's grace will continue to be sufficient.
That means that no matter what you have to face, the ability HE GIVES YOU is enough to win over it.
Whether or not the outcome is what you preferred, you have the ability to outlast & not just maintain, but overcome.
Paul said that he gloried in his tribulation. I'm not there yet, but I have hope that as my relationship develops with the Lord, I too will gain the kind of revelation Paul had.
That's the promise of it all. As I decrease, He increases & God's way of thinking & seeing is so much better than I could ever fathom.
Jesus didn't just die on the cross. He made an impact before, during & after the crucifixion. Regardless of your tragedy, if Christ is in you, you have the power to make an impact before, during & after it.
That's my hope. That is His faithfulness.
I know the pain will continue to heal & I know God's grace will continue to be sufficient.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19
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