Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Quote: Amy Carmichael

A Lesson from Jehoshaphat

For various reasons, the story of Jehoshaphat has been on my mind lately. You can find the one I’m referring to in 2 Chronicles 20.

Jehoshaphat was the King of Israel at this time. The armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir all joined together to try and conquer Israel. Jehoshaphat was warned prior to being attacked that the armies were coming his way. In response to the warning, he sought the Lord for guidance. He then proclaimed a time of fasting and prayer throughout his people.

Jehoshaphat continued to seek the Lord. He prayed a prayer asking the Lord to deliver them from the attacks. The night before they were to be attacked, Jahaziel (the son of Zechariah) told the people not to be afraid. Here is what he told them.

And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” – 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 (NKJV)

When the time came to face the enemy he did something that most would find unbelievable. He was greatly outnumbered by the armies approaching. He didn’t send his best warriors out front. Instead, he sent his best worshipers out front. The scripture says that “when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated”.

Here is what happened. The three armies that joined together to attack Israel, turned on each other and killed each other. When Jehoshaphat and his army came to the battle grounds, there was no one left to fight, they were all dead. They also were then able to collect valuables from the defeated armies. Scripture says it took them three days to collect all of it! The Lord fought and won the battle for them and they got the goods left behind.

There are many important lessons in this one chapter of scripture. One of the biggest for me is the power of prayer, fasting, and worship. I believe greatly in all three. The second is what it says in verse seventeen. “You will not need to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!”

The battle is the Lords (and it is) but I’m drawn by what this verse says: position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. Let the Lord fight the battles (because it isn’t your job to do that) but position yourself. Worship, pray, and fast at times to ensure that you are in a position to stand back and see the salvation of the Lord.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Best Tasting Swag Ever

I learned an enormous amount this past weekend at the Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference. I am still thinking through everything and will continue to post my thoughts as I process it all.

Along with all the learning, we also came home with lots of swag (goodies). I just have 4 words for all of you who are reading this… Biscoff European Cookie Spread!!

Whoever invented this stuff was genius!! Basically, it is like peanut butter but it is made out of cookies. Biscoff's website gives information about how it came to be if you are interested in reading that.

According to Biscoff, Walmart is the distributor for Biscoff Spread here in Arkansas. When my swag jar is gone, I will definitely be looking for some more.

Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference 2013

This weekend I attended the 2013 Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference. It was the first time I had ever attended this conference and I am so glad I was able to go. I have to be honest, I was a little nervous about going because I didn’t know anyone and I’m not good at making friends. It takes time for me to get to know people and feel comfortable being around them so I assumed it would be a somewhat awkward weekend for me.

Partially, I felt this way because I’m a little different. I know, shocking to hear, but I am. I don’t always fit in well with groups and I usually feel very out of place. I am overweight, I don’t wear makeup, and I don’t usually dress up at all. The email we got that mentioned dress said to be comfortable but just wear a cute top since people would be taking photos. Comfortable and cute top are an oxymoron to me. I did wear some jewelry on Friday, but that is rare for me. I guess it was my small attempt to try and fit in a little bit.

What I found when I arrived and continued throughout the weekend, were warm welcomes and absolutely no judgment. No one cared what I was wearing, and nearly everyone I came in contact with spoke to me like they had known me for years. It was truly refreshing!

Multiple speakers throughout the weekend mentioned the fact that we were not competing with one another, but we were a community. We supported each other and helped each other grow. This was so true. People were openly willing to share what was working for them and what they were doing with their blog. The session speakers were wonderful and extremely helpful.

I will likely post more concerning this conference as my mind processes the things I learned, however, I want to give two shout out’s before I end this post.

The first is to The Park Wife. Not only did she do an amazing job coordinating and putting this amazing weekend together, she saved me from the BIGGEST horse fly I think I’ve ever seen. I got up to try and get it to fly away and it wouldn’t budge. The Park Wife saved the day (I’m not scared of bugs, I promise, it just wasn’t moving)!

The second shout out is to TEAM 7!!! Jacqueline Wolven, Sarea Clark, and Allyson Twiggs Dyer were amazing! So glad I got to meet them and work with them on the “Big Event”. Oh, and did I mention that 4 non-cooks won 2^nd Place!! Jackie’s secret ingredient was brilliant and taking risks and cooking with candy pays off!

Downside Up by Tracey Mitchell

Rejection hits all of us at some point or another in life. I decided to read this book not expecting it to affect me much. I couldn’t really think of a time of outright rejection in my life. However, it became very clear, early on in this book that rejection takes on forms that we may not even think about. Just because a significant other hasn’t left you or your parents were always there for you, doesn’t mean you won’t feel the sting of rejection. “Downside Up” by Tracey Mitchell addresses rejection with a perspective of moving past it and using it to catapult you to the next level in life.

There are several practical aspects of this book that I love. Mitchell uses a quote at the beginning and several helpful sections at the end of each chapter. One great thing is a section called “Chapter Principles”. This is basically a summary of the main points of the chapter. Then there are “Words of Wisdom” which is an applicable Scripture reference and “Power Quote”. There is also a “Plan of Action” section which gives you a practical thing you can do to put into practice something relating to the chapter.

There are principles in this book that apply to everyone whether you feel rejected or not. Many sections of the book discuss fear, for example. We all have fears, and at times, those fears can affect our daily lives. So even if you don’t think that rejection affects you, you can still benefit from this book. The book is also full of stories of real people as well as Mitchell’s own life that show that there can be healing and wholeness on the other side of rejection.

If you need some encouragement and a little help looking at the glass as half full, pick up this book!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255:“Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Free Books!!

I stumbled across http://booksneeze.com/, a website that gives free Christian books to bloggers who are willing to read the books and write a book review. If you like to read and have a blog that meets their requirements, I highly recommend it.

You can choose between several books and can request e-book or hard copy. I requested a hard copy and received it within about a week. The requirements are that you have 90 days to read the book and post your review. Once you do, you can request another book.

I need to get off here and start reading!!

Freedom is Rising

I was blessed to be able to go to Greenbrier tonight to see the Arkansas All State Drama Team! They did a fantastic job, but I expected nothing less. When I saw them last year, I cried. This year was slightly less teary eyed (but I still cried).

They have been traveling the state this week with a message of freedom! Freedom from any chain or bondage that may be entrapping you. Big things like drugs, alcohol, pornography, and cutting to the little things we all may face in life like fear and depression.

In all the running around this week I have been overwhelmed by the same message. Bondage can be broken and freedom has arrived! That's a scary thing to say for me, because it insinuates that bondage won't return. I have lived through cycles of bondage so it is hard to state in public for others to hear that bondage is gone and chains are broken because there is a part of me that is just waiting for the next chains to come.

I guess that is a chain in itself. Constantly living waiting for the next bondage to come and fear of what's ahead. Not fully living in freedom because I'm just waiting for the next entrapment. Over thinking and over analyzing situations in life is like second nature to me. What can I say, it's probably what drove me to get an accounting degree!

Christ has said, that I am free, my family is free, and my life is a story of redemption walking around everyday. I can't live life waiting for the hammer to fall again.

Living free in Christ is a privilege. It is a gift from God. If your Father gave you a new iPhone as a gift, would you refuse to use it because there may come a day when you drop it and crack the screen? Would you give it back to your dad and say I don't want it because I may not have it for long? That's crazy. No one would do that. Maybe they would get an otter box to protect it while they use it, but they wouldn't just refuse to accept the gift.

That's what it's like when Christ gives you freedom and salvation in Him! It is a gift from our Heavenly Father. To refuse it for fear that it won't last is like refusing to take the iPhone because you think it won't last. Accept the gift with joy and the wholehearted belief that it will last. Protect the gift with prayer and getting in the word. Proclaim the gift (brag about it) like you would the iPhone. It is a freely given gift and it is available for everyone. If you could give everyone you meet a free iPhone, wouldn't you? I know I would! So why not share the free gift we do have?

Countless times this week, Gods message to me has been, "you have been set free", "The past is over. Whether it was 10 years ago or 1 week ago, it is still the past", "You have a new beginning", and "Trust me and just keep moving forward".

If you are in central Arkansas you can still catch the drama team Sunday morning in Sheridan or Sunday night in Jacksonville. I highly recommend it!!

Live Life UNSTUCK!!

This week has been full of Jesus, from Revival services, to hearing about the great things going on at kid’s camp, to waking up in the middle of the night dealing with life changing thoughts and revelations. I’m expecting even more tonight with All State Drama Tour!

During service Tuesday night, I had a moment that hit me like ton of bricks. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t the main focus of the service. Have you ever had those moments in church? The preacher is preaching on one thing but you walk away with a totally different thing from it? Well, that is what happened to me.

The message was on finishing your race. It was heavily geared toward encouraging you, if you fall, to get back up and keep running. To never look away from the finish line and to stay focused on it. Something that was said struck me the way it was meant, and then in another way also. “There is no rule in track that says if you fall you are disqualified”. Wow, think about it! Life is a race, and if you fall or make mistakes, you are not automatically disqualified. You should pick yourself up and keep going.

On the flip side of that, I was hit between the eyes with another thought. If in life someone else (not you) falls, they are not automatically disqualified. For those I love, when they fall (because let’s be honest, we all do at some time or another) I need to realize that it isn’t the end. They aren’t disqualified and they have the ability to pick themselves up and keep running the race.

Here is the bottom line. If you fall down in the race of life, the only person keeping you down is yourself. You can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep running toward the finish line. If you are struggling with someone else’s fall in life, the only one keeping you from moving forward and finishing your own race, is you. Don’t let someone else’s mistakes in life, keep you stuck where you are. Dwelling on them and wallowing in self-pity over them, does nothing for them and it does nothing for you.

Live life UNSTUCK! Release yourself and others from what is holding you down, not by some magic formula, but by making a choice to run your race looking forward to the finish line, not looking back at the past or in the lane next to you at the person beside you. Pray for the person in the lane next to you and encourage them as they run their race, but don’t get stuck standing there waiting on them.

Live life UNSTUCK! Always MOVING FORWARD!!

Rise Up and Walk

Our church has been in revival this week with Evangelist Robby Mitchell. The Holy Spirit has been moving and Bro. Robby’s messages have been relevant and real. Sunday night he preached a word on "nothing". He talked about when you are down to nothing that is when miracles can happen.

I went home Sunday night and had an extremely long night. I couldn’t sleep. I kept tossing and turning and my mind was just racing. I thought through my life and all the "nothing" moments it has contained. All the "stuff" that has happened in my life that would drive people to a place of nothingness. I made a list and then I sat back and thought how sad it was that I could list so many things that would drive a person to nothingness that has actually happened in my family’s life and I’m not even 30 years old yet.

I have to be honest here. I struggled Sunday night with the altar call, because while in many ways we have hit a place of nothingness, I haven’t looked at it that way. For the last few years I may feel burdened and be going through trials, but I have chosen to say, "God knows my trials and He is handling my situation". I haven’t "looked" at my nothingness.

As the night went on, I finally fell asleep around 4:00 AM. I woke up again around 6:00 remembering a song that I learned years ago in a Vacation Bible School I attended. The theme that year was Peter Rock. There was a song about when Peter met the lame man at the temple gate. The words were, "silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."

I haven’t sung that song in years but it came back to my memory that morning. Why, so God could remind me of something. I started thinking about the miracles that are in the Bible. Not only were the people down to nothing, but they were asked to do something in order to see the fruit of the miracle. They were asked to actually take steps in faith in order for their miracle to occur.

Acts 3:6-8 (NKJV)
Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God

The lame man at the temple gate as referred to in the VBS song, for example, had to stand up and walk. Now, I realize that the Holy Spirit made it possible (thus the miracle that occurred) but the lame man had to trust the Holy Spirit enough and step out in faith to stand up and start walking.

Sometimes we get down to nothing and we want to see a miracle. But how often do we just wallow in our nothingness, waiting on a miracle, but we just want to sit there and DO nothing. I have been guilty of this myself at times. If you are waiting on a miracle, don’t do it sitting down. Stand up!! Take a step!!

There are two other points I want to make about this particular miracle in the Bible. This particular miracle happened after Jesus had ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit. Guess what that means? Miracles can still happen! They didn’t ascend into heaven with Jesus. They are just as real today as they were in the Bible. I also really love "And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up"! Peter, "prayed" or asserted his authority that was given to him and started this miracle in motion, but he didn’t stop there. He showed by his actions that he believed that the man would be healed and he helped the man up. He didn’t just pray for him from a distance. He made a personal connection with the man.

This blog post today I am writing as much for myself as anything. First to remind myself that while we should trust the Lord to work in our lives and our situations, we have to sometimes actually acknowledge the truth of where we are in life, even if where we are is the lowest place we can imagine being. Secondly, to remind myself that when I’m waiting for a miracle, I have to be willing to move myself. I have to be willing to stand up and walk! I can’t ask to be healed of being lame and just stay seated on the ground when my miracle comes. RISE UP AND WALK!!!

Love is Patient



Picture from http://joshfults.com/



What does it mean when the Bible says love is patient?

There are some people that it is easier to be patient with than others for various reasons. As Christians, we are called to show love to all people. Thus, we are called to have patience with all people.

An example of being patient with someone we love is my grandpa. My grandpa died ten years ago of Alzheimer's disease. This is a terrible disease that breaks down your mind and its ability to function properly. It is more than just being forgetful. It is your brain shutting down slowly which may seem to be just forgetfulness at first but eventually it forgets to tell your kidneys to do their job, or it forgets to tell your body you are hungry so you don't eat. If you have ever had to deal with an Alzheimer's patient, you know it can be trying and exhausting. When the person is a family member that you love, it is easier to understand that you are battling a disease, not your loved one. And it is a little bit easier to have more patience with them than others.

How do you show love to an Alzheimer’s patient? If you hear the same story twenty times in one day, you still act as though it’s the first time you heard it. If you get called by a name other than your own, you just answer to it anyway. If you get asked the same question over and over again, you smile and answer it for the tenth time in a row. You do this because you love your family member and don't want to be rude to them knowing they can't help it. You do this because it is the right thing to do. You patiently love them despite their disease.

This is an example of showing patience in love that I think everyone would do no matter what they believed or if they were a Christian or not. This is how most of the world would treat a family member with Alzheimer’s. So what is it about 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love that is different? What is it that makes this kind of love stand out in the world?

The difference is that we as Christians are called to have patience with others and love them despite what they have done to us. Human beings are imperfect not matter which one you talk to. Even your closest friend at some point in life will hurt your feelings or do something to disappoint you. What makes this kind of love different is that we are called to show it because it is right, not because it is fair or just.

Patience is not something that is easy to show when the person you are showing it to has hurt you. There are times in life when people will do things that will absolutely devastate your world. You have a choice to love them and patiently deal with the situation at hand, or to walk away from them and give up on them because you don’t want to face the hurt and it seems like an easier solution. The world often tells us this. It often tells us divorce for example, is a better option than standing by your spouse during difficult times. Divorce often would be a quicker solution to ending the turmoil, but really, it’s just creating a different set of problems. Patiently loving your spouse through the hard times is what God would ask us to do.

I have had situations in my own life where God asked me to be patient and keep loving someone even though they had truly devastated me by their actions. The worlds view was telling me that it was time to move on and just let go of this person even though that is the last thing I wanted to do. But God said, keep loving them and keep trusting me. Patience is huge here because it is asking us to just keep waiting for things to get better even when it looks like it never will. It is asking us to put our heart on our sleeve and love someone no matter what we get in return. Patience and waiting on the Lord turned out to be the best choice. That relationship is healing now and it is still intact today. It is only so because I chose to obey what God was asking me to do, even when the world would have told me the complete opposite.

Love is patient… Take a deep breath, say a prayer for strength, and be patient with those around you whether they deserve it or not. It is a way to show them the love of Jesus!

Love Never Fails

In beginning a journey to understand what love truly is, I started the same place that many people would. In fact, there are three common places that people look to help them figure out what something is: 1) the dictionary, 2) the thesaurus, and 3) Google.

Miriam Webster says love can be either a noun or a verb (meaning, it can be a thing or an action). Defined as a noun Webster says the following:

• strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties <maternal love for a child> 
• attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers 
• affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests <love for his old schoolmates> 
• warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion <love of the sea>
• the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration <baseball was his first love> 

As a verb or action, Webster defines love the following way:

• to hold dear : cherish
• to feel a lover's passion, devotion, or tenderness for 
• to like or desire actively : take pleasure in <loved to play the violin>
• to thrive in <the rose loves sunlight>

Using a thesaurus to find other words for love (synonyms) you find:

• Affection
• Attachment
• Devotedness
• Devotion
• Fondness
• Passion

All of this really describes the feelings and emotions associated with love. It doesn’t really tell me what love is. I mean, what love really is. So, I keep looking.

1 Corinthians 13 is affectionately known by many as the love chapter. It is an entire chapter of the Bible devoted to describing the characteristics and importance of love as it relates to Christian living. In this chapter Paul is relaying to the church at Corinth that no matter how many spiritual gifts (spoken of in Chapter 12) that you possess or how great they are in their manifestation, they mean nothing if you don't have true Agape love in operation in your life.

Agape love refers to a type of love that no matter what, always seeks the good of others. It asks nothing in return of the person it was given to. To love someone with agape love is a matter of choice, not of emotion. It loves another whether you receive love in return or not.

This type of love is foreign to the world. Look at the definitions in Webster. They are all based around how someone else makes us feel, not how we treat another person. We are taught by society that we should love those who prove themselves lovable. We are brought up to critique the actions of others and to set boundaries and enforce consequences when those actions prove less than acceptable. This applies to all relationships but is especially true in marriage.

Women, more than men, seem to be encouraged to hold their spouses to a high standard and then leave them when they fall short. Our world has created a system for marriage that is easy come, easy go. In Arkansas, it takes about $50 to get a marriage license. What does it take to get a divorce?

One day I was in the office supply area of Wal-Mart looking for something and on the bottom shelf I noticed a "do it yourself divorce kit". It cost about $25. I am sure you would have to pay a filing fee to file the paperwork, but the point is it possibly wouldn't take much if both parties agreed and had no issues of property or custody to work out.

This thought process is completely opposite of the biblical teachings of agape love, which I will continue to delve into in future posts. 1 Corinthians 13 has challenged me lately. I have found myself reading, "Love endures all things" and saying, "even this, God?” I can name many situations in life when the world would say, "this is too much, just walk away" or “Why would you put up with this, they aren’t worth it”. God keeps saying to me, "Love never fails".

In taking this journey of discovering what true love is, I'm starting with the encouragement that "Love Never Fails". I’m not talking about the world’s definition of love; I’m talking about the love of Jesus in your life and through your life. If you are going through an "even this?" type of situation, hang with me a bit and see where this journey goes! I cannot promise you that life will be a bed of roses, but I can promise you that Gods way is best and His love will not fail you.

Love Is...

I sometimes think that we have a misconstrued idea of what love is. When most people use the word love or think about love, they tend to think about what they felt like when they were dating a certain person or what they want someone to make them feel like some day. They put a great deal of emphasis on feelings and emotions. That is a natural part of human love, but there is far more to love than feelings and emotions.

The Bible is full of verses about love. How much God loves us and how we can show Him our love in return. How we should love our families and a command to love our enemies. How to love friends and how to love the random people we meet from day to day.

Lately, I have had a burden in my heart concerning love. I have decided to write about it and post it here. I can’t tell you I will post every three days, or once a week, or anything like that. I will post as I feel led and complete a thought on a certain aspect of love. I am praying in this that someone else will be blessed and may consider something they haven’t before. My goal in writing is only to express the things I have learned lately in hopes that it will benefit others.

Enjoy!