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Is There a Prodigal in Your Life?

ProdigalYears ago when my youngest (troubled) son was placed in a facility to get help (he was an unhealthy hazard to himself and others), I was sharing my heart with Amy Shreve (she a harpist and her husband are our friends that we traveled with for some radio rallies.)

The night after a concert here in I-Falls I was so grieved for this son who has had problems since fighting me in the womb, It is true! Too many heartaches and broken promises that he would straighten up go right and that never amounted to success. This mother’s heart hurt so badly to see him fail time and time again.  Not to mention the stress it put on my marriage.

How easy it can be to place blame!  It’s my fault, the father’s fault, the stepfather’s fault, everybody else’s fault but no one owning up to their own responsibility. Living the dysfunctional life I have lived only helped me take on unnecessary blame for a whole host of things that were only partially my fault.

I believe that we are only responsible for the situations that we directly cause and not the speculative ones (if only you…)  If I steal something, I am at fault, not the person who doesn’t lock his door to keep a thief out. “If onlys” are pure speculation! But we can really let ourselves get buried beneath them if we are not wise (or shall I say walking in truth.) Stuff happens, we make mistakes! Acknowledge them, confess them and ask forgiveness of those we have wronged and move on.  How sad when we become buried under guilt and condemnation that really isn’t ours to assume provided we have responded correctly like mentioned above. We can become overwhelmed with false guilt.

Prodigals can be used by God to help us look at the truth in our own situations. Share on X Looking back I can now see that there are things that could have been handled differently and with a whole lot more unconditional love.  But then the child has a responsibility also.  They become runners. Runners from the truth, their pain and anything that gets uncomfortably close to their emotions. They need help to see that their poor choices are what they need to own up to.  I am responsible for my choices and my children for theirs, my spouse His, etc.  It is a dynamic that I just don’t know how people without the Lord survive and many don’t.

I have attached a link to an Oswald Chamber’s reading for March 24 (linked to the image.)  This is what Amy came to show me the next morning when she had been praying for me and my prodigal.  It wasn’t even March but she came upon it and shared it with me and it has had a very profound impact on my thinking.  

You see dysfunctionality breeds false guilt which in most cases won’t let the wrong assume their sorrows and pain that they find themselves in. He must increase… If God is sovereign and in control and I believe He is, then every thing, large and small is used by Him (He is fully aware of it’s happening) to grow us up and closer to Him.  According to Chambers, we can become the very thing that gets in the way of our prodigal learning (yes the hard way) his lessons.  

Some of us have to learn the hard way, I have.  If someone comes along to smooth out the situation instead of letting the circumstances being used to teach the lesson, then that someone has interrupted the class and the lesson may be postponed until a later date and possibly a more severe situation.  The verse for that day is from John 3:30 and it is simple and profound,

“He must increase, but I must decrease”.  

Get out of the way and let God be God and the Holy Spirit do what it is that He desires to do in a wandering soul's heart! Share on X In modern day terms we would say quit being an enabler!  Friend, I have had to say this to myself over and over because that it what I was so used to doing to try and make things right and work!  But I was the one who continued to get in the way.

So I pray that we would not be in the way of the catylist that the Lord would use to work in the heart of that one who is walking contrary to God’s ways.  

Father, I cautiously say, do it Lord, whatever it takes to break the heart of the wander so that they would look beyond themselves and see You!  I know You will give me the courage to believe that You hold his or her life in Your hands and that Your desire is to see them come to You and give them the peace they have been searching for.  I can even say “thank you” for the hard lessons that I have had to learn because You used them to bring me a bit closer to You each time.  I not only love You Lord, but I trust You and entrust my loved ones to You, in Jesus’ Name!

We are all prodigals at one time or another! Recently Louie Giglio addressed some of this in a powerful message He delivered and shared on Focus on the Family at the end of May 2014. If you have some time it would be well worth listening to some of this first part of his message…

Louie Giglio on Focus on the Family

Need more encouragement for your journey…visit Arabah Joy, my blogger friend!

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God’s Divine Appointments!

I was involved in the Bible Study, “Battlefield of the Mind” by Joyce Meyer and we had an assignment to respond in obedience to the nudging of the Holy Spirit–in other words, to act upon the promptings we can get that may seem a little ‘out there’.  You may have had those promptings like I have and you may have received incredible blessings from being obedient to the call.  However, I have also sometimes ignored them and not responded to that nudging with the justification that “I can’t do that” or “What would that person think if I did that.”

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-tattered-background-image9202084When I sing “Here I am to Worship…,” I know that to worship God is to revere, adore and acknowledge Him for who He is.  But there is also another part of worship that encompasses what we do with our life on the horizontal plane.  My mantra continues to be “Love God and love others” but I need help with all that entails.  I do not necessarily need to round up the troops to head over to India to be on the mission field.  That could be the call to some but I have a mission field right here in my own backyard.  Wherever I am and whatever I am doing provides an opportunity to make a difference in my “sphere of influence”.  However, I want to take this to another extreme only because every time I have let an opportunity go by without sharing the gospel when the door was planted and opened right in front of me, I knew that I blew it!  I felt such disappointment with myself and had to ask the Lord to forgive me for cowering away from such a prime moment.  I am reminded in the book of Esther when Uncle Mordecai admonished Esther that if she did not respond in obedience to the call placed upon her to confront the evil plot against the Jews God would raise up someone else to do the job! And, Esther herself might perish with the rest of the Jewish people that she had been called to rescue.  Strong words! Well, Esther did heed the warning, asking the people to fast and pray for her opportunity to go before the king.  It was her obedience that saved a nation!

On a recent return trip to Minnesota with my daughter, we did not have a direct flight and I was grateful that we could just be casual about the extra hours of waiting and flying without having to run to catch our last leg of the trip.  We finally boarded in Dallas and, since I fly a little bit more often than she, I gave her the opportunity to sit by the window before I sat down.  The isle seat remained open until the gentleman in the row ahead of us (after helping my daughter stow her carry on) was booted out of his seat because he mistakenly read his seat number when someone came to claim the seat he was in him in our row.  He was a quiet man who busied himself with reading the newspaper.  I waited until after he had read his paper, because there is nothing more annoying than being interrupted by someone asking you questions when you are reading!  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a rather large ring on his hand which I soon discovered had Vikings imprinted on it.  Hmm…and, of course, I got my daughter to notice without too much fuss.

We began our conversation by my asking about cab service out of the Minneapolis airport.  I have never needed to take a cab before, but our Monday return had our friends working and unable to pick us up and take us to our car.  I will spare you the details of a two hour conversation, but I have continued to thank God for opening up a door to share a message of hope to a man who had some stuff going on in his life from serious physical issues, a pending divorce and some personal stuff he was trying to work through.  I was able to share Scripture with him because I could sense some uncertainty about his future.  Philippians 4:6,7 is certainly where I go camping when things look obscure, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; then the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus.”  I also encouraged a relational walk with Jesus.  He seemed like so many of us who find ourselves at the end of our rope with no way of turning things around and wondering what the point is in going on!

I have since prayed for this man, his health and marriage and I can only thank God for the fulfillment of this Scripture in 1 Peter 3:15 “…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” Peter makes it very clear to me!  Now, on to my next assignment. So simple; just take the step of obedience instead of wondering if you should because God has already paved the way!

Unashamed of You

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Waiting, Waiting…and Waiting!

Do you like to wait? I mean, in long lines, traffic jams, water to boil, you know WAIT? I really don’t know if there is anyone who likes to wait! It is probably harder for most than not…and I think harder for men than women (maybe.) For this girl it is soooo difficult and when I want something I really want it now. But I have recently learned a valuable lesson in waiting…this is where God works on us! The waiting makes us very uncomfortable yet this is when we realize that we can’t do anything about it! Have you been there?

Over the last almost two months I have waited with baited breath to see the outcome of this website. It is hard because I couldn’t post or fiddle with the appearance or well, do a thing with this project. But what I did do was really pray. Pray for Amanda, the designer who was trying to learn about me (long distance I might add) so that she could put something together that would reflect my heart, my ministry and what I have to offer as God’s representative. You see I believe that God brought Amanda, along at just the right time to use her talents to help me!  She sensed that I was pulling my hair out. Okay, I think I may have posted that in a group we both belonged to on facebook, where I expressed my frustration and cries for help.

You see, I like to think I can do it all and I really do try. I built my own original website and then several blogs and I thought I could do this on my own like usual. However, I couldn’t. That was a difficult place to find myself, having to admit that I couldn’t make it work. But that too was a lesson for me to learn and I believe right where God wanted me. When we think we can do everything then we are basically saying we don’t need one another with our gifts and talents. When I think of all the time I spent fiddling around trying to build my own site, knowing just enough to be dangerous, I mentally calculated way too many hours with nothing to show (or at least far from where I desired to be!) God didn’t intend for us to do it all by ourselves but to rely on one another and on Him. That is just what I began to do and I have to say it was so good to let Amanda do what she is gifted to do and bless me by the outcome of her designing!

It is a good thing that I am still learning those lessons from the field! It is my hope that you will find this website a pleasant place to visit while you are here! And I pray it would be used for God’s glory as I do what He has called me to do in ministry.

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Disappointments in Life…

Are there times in your life when you thought things would turn out so much differently than they have?  Times that have left you feeling a bit hollow inside and terribly disappointed? Like when a child grows up and grows away from the Lord instead of toward Him, or your dreams of being a missionary went south because for whatever reason be it money or relationship it became the wrong timing?  How about that first love that set your dreams on fire and then after a time the relationship fizzled and instead of fulfilling your dreams they brought about disappointments. And maybe it was the perfect job that you have waited for with all the amenities you could hope for and you were certain you had all the qualifications but you didn’t make the final round and someone else stepped into the position you longed for. 

Sometimes there are disappointments that totally change the course of your life.  That familiar saying “It just isn’t fair” can light upon you and pull you right down into the pit. Friend, I want you to know something and it isn’t anything new or profound but, it is truth and that is that God, in spite of our tendency to walk our own way, really is in control. Kind of like we are the vehicle but the Lord is our steering wheel.  Oh, I know He really does allow us to do our own thing, because He loves us so much!  He wants us to love Him back without restraints and of our own accord.  After all, how would it feel if your children only returned your affection because they were supposed too or your spouse because you had to ask? 

So what do we do with the disappointments in life?  We all have them to one degree or another and really, how we respond to those disappointments determines whether we will move forward or lag behind.  I would have to believe that like me you want to soar and draw closer and closer to the Lord.  Your reaction to these realities sets the course for the next leg of your life journey. 

Our journey in Christ takes the focus off of us and puts it on Him!  Every single thing that happens to us must glorify the Father.  I love that verse in Matthew 5:16  that says we are to let our light so shine before men that they would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.  And just for fun here it is in the Message paraphrase:

Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. 

When the disappointments come, those around us need to see how we handle them because after all there are plenty enough to go around in everyone’s life!  I recently received another hit and the rug was pulled out from under my feet.  Yes, for a moment I fell and hurt myself and briefly slipped into the pit of despair, but…I have a circle of friends that let me know that they care and they encircled me and prayed for me.  I am slowly getting back up on my feet again.  I hate when this happens but it does and there isn’t a one of us who doesn’t know what if feels like.   

I would like to give you some things to think about when your dark moment comes.

  • Don’t keep it hidden!  Go to your trusted prayer partners and yes, make yourself vulnerable and share just how upset you are and let them minister to you!
  • Ponder and pray when you hear a word for you even if it isn’t necessarily comfortable.  God will provide the comfort because He is the God of all comfort!
  • Set your face like flint not to revisit those debilitating emotions but focus on the truth! You will not move ahead until you do and the more often you revisit the deeper the pit gets.
  • Remember, God is your healer and He wants to bring you gently back to the firm ground you were on before.  Forgiveness is the key to moving forward and friend, I know just how difficult this one is but I also have tasted the sweetness when the enemy of our soul is defeated and forgiveness cuts the chains of our heart loose.
  • Do not get comfortable in the pain of your emotional battle.  God has given us the tools to get out of the pit.

The battle is in our minds and here is the Scripture that can help us work through the enemy’s ‘mosh pit’:

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…”2 Corinthians 10:5

Unless we get our minds set on the truth we will become wounded as we are banged around by the lies and untruth that the enemy wants to use to render us useless to our Father.  Draw the line in the sand and do not go there.  If you have, get yourself in the truth of the Word and let that truth bath and comfort you and bring healing to your mind, body and soul! 

Father, too many times I have seen how ineffective I become when the enemy comes in like a flood!  But I am also so thankful to know I don’t have to go it alone and that In Your truth I am able to raise the standard that defeats the enemy of my soul.  You have provided brothers and sisters in Christ who thankfully become my help in times of trouble. Thank You for Your love for me and for gently picking me up when I become Your wounded warrior.  I choose to walk in the truth today, in Jesus’ name. 

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What God has Joined Together…

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Love is…

Do you believe in marriage?

I think a lot of us would say of course we do…

But then life happens and things get rough and times get tough and the winds of adversity beat on our united front and we begin to think ‘what am I doing in this situation..it has to be better somewhere else…’

From Matthew 19:5,6 we find common words spoken over bazillions of wedded couples:

‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

When life gets hard it calls for grit and guts to hang in there and trust that God will work it all together for good. Share on X Life is definitely difficult today and there is a plethora of egocentric screaming going on in and around each and every one of us!  When the proverbial honeymoon period is over and its time to get down to business and live life, old self-gratification waltzes back into our thinking and then “it is all about me” becomes our song.

As a young mom, emotionally immature and needy I didn’t know how to look beyond my own needs when I finally got married with my one son born out of wedlock, I was looking for someone to take care of us. No faith to sustain me except in myself and that was pretty pathetic. My first marriage ended prematurely leaving me with three children that I didn’t have a clue how to raise and so it was easy to find myself back in another relationship.

Thankfully, God intervened in my life and He began to turn me from upside down to Christ-side up. What a process indeed. However, I will be ever so ready to say that I have made the choice to go it the long haul.

I am done being a quitter and a runner! I want God to be glorified in my life and in the example that my marriage makes in a world gone awry. I am a woman of God, and if I say I believe in Him then I better put my faith into action by trusting Him even when it hurts! And guess what, I’m not talking upon condition either.

Is it stinkin’ hard? At times, you bet it is. Like when we both look pretty ugly at each other and want to demand our way. But life is messy and relationships are some of the messiest stuff out there. But you see, if I’m supposed to point others to Jesus then I better quit pointing at myself and demanding my rights.

Then there is this forgiveness issue…pride says “I’m right and you are wrong!” But love says “I’m so sorry, will you forgive me?”

Humility1

Remember this familiar description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in the Message paraphrase:

“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.”

I want others to know that it does work. But also, that it may take some elbow grease in the process. Like scrubbing away me to see I am in this with another.

Love this song from Casting Crowns that points to the fact that most times we don’t enter a marriage with the intent on giving up our selves. But if it is going to work it must. What God has Joined Together… Share on X

My question to you is this…will you fight for marriage?

Will you lay aside your demands and get on your knees and ask God to show you how to make a difference in your life, not change him Lord, but in you?

No prize is worthy of having if it has come easily! And your marriage my be a diamond in the rough so keep fighting for it! Share on X

 

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Boundless Love, Loving Boundaries…

If you have read my blog in the past you might have read my posting on Lessons from a Schnauzer.  Oh, that little loving pup of ours is in some ways like my prodigal children have been, in that she is used by God to teach me more about Him.

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Our Sassy Little Elsa

A few years back over Easter weekend, we had an incident that only happens thankfully once in a while.  I am always praying against this happening because I am fearful of the consequences.  Elsa, is a Schnauzer who is very true to her calling, she loves children and loves to ‘hunt’.  Schnauzers were bred to mind the kinder and keep the vermin at bay on the farms.  Even when she hears children on the Television or radio she perks right up and would love to join the kid party.  As to her inquisitive nature to hunt and chase after ‘vermin’ she would constantly be off to the woods and who knows that we would ever see her again.  She even thinks that she should investigate the deer that are always roaming through the property.  So in light of her natural calling we are not able to let her run free.  If we are out she must be hooked to something to keep her from doing her ‘Schnauzer thing’.  It sounds rather cruel but she knows that is the way it is and the leash has just become a part of her life. 

Like our own human nature every now and again, Schnauzers, like ourselves need to have a taste of freedom.  Elsa’s last fling without the leash came on Easter Sunday as we were getting ready for church.  My daughter and I were the last to head out and I asked her where Elsa was and she thought she was possibly downstairs.  Knowing that the kids were not in the house I suddenly entertained a thought that I really didn’t want to think about.  I went downstairs with a heavy heart knowing that she was nowhere to be found in the house.  I hollered up to my daughter and said Elsa must be outside to which she opened the door and promptly tried to coax her back into the house.  All to no avail for all the coaxing in the world was not going to ruin this fling with  freedom.
By the time I ran up the stairs and grabbed the leash and headed out doors she was springing  for the highway leaping like a lamb through the front yard and I imagined hearing her yelling, “I’m free, I’m free…”  I began to pray immediately to the Lord beseeching Him to not let her get hit on the road as the cars were coming up and down the hill.  Yes, she leaped across the ditch and across the road she went up the neighbor’s driveway.  I continued my praying, pleading with the Lord to please keep her safe and direct her homeward.  We were all calling for her as I am sure she continued in her little puppy mind, “I’m free, I’m free…” 
Then…(thank you Lord!) she turned around and headed back home, darting past my son-in-law heading right to my oldest grandson, Zachary.  I said gently, “Grab her and don’t let go!”  Which he did and then they came over to me and I promptly took her and put her on her chain by the kennel.  She only uses the chain and kennel when we have to be gone for a short time and have no one to watch her.  Or, sometimes just so she can be out and about when it is nice out.  Then off to church we headed.  I was praising God the entire way to church that He kept her from harm and returned her to home. 
Well naturally my immediate application was to see this episode as how a loving God gives us loving boundaries for our good.  For Elsa it is the leash and for us it is in the Word.  For a long time I resisted some of God’s boundaries because I wanted to maintain my “freedom.”  I realize now that I make enough mistakes as it is without thumbing my nose at a bunch of rules, regulations and warnings. 
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There is this sin nature that we wrestle with that is directly contrary to our Christ-like nature.  It is a battle that we will wage until we go home to glory.  But if we consciously live our life desiring God’s ways instead of ours we will provide less opportunity for the enemy to trip us up.  Or in Elsa’s case become a flat, black furry spot on the road! 
Paul tells us himself how he too very wrestled with doing what he was not supposed to do in Romans 7:15 

“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” 

I am amazed that Paul would openly admit his struggles.  And for me it is freeing to know that a man of Paul’s character—although probably not very often—struggled with sin.  He understood sin’s character and the impact it leaves behind.  (I think we would call that consequences.) Sometimes, we may only struggle with seemingly small issues and the Bible warns us with a blinking yellow light like the following verse: 

1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 

And search the word fool to see the many places you will find this in the Word.  Like in Psalm 14:1 and 53:1 that says only fools say there is no God; Proverbs 1:7 says that fools despise wisdom, and discipline; Proverbs 1:22 says that fools hate knowledge!  I could go on and on for there is much for us to learn about fools and foolish behavior. (Actually Proverbs is based on the contrast of the wise man and the foolish!) It is sometimes these grey areas that are not terribly obvious that can be used to trip us up and lead us astray. All for the sake of “freedom”, freedom to choose what I will and will not allow myself to get into.
I know that for years I have struggled with thinking I know best what is and is not good for me. It is just crazy how a little time here or there can leave a lasting impression on us when we spend time where we probably shouldn’t.
Elsa
She is now 7 years of age and a bit more settled down although a rabbit will really get her going!
In this book called the Bible, there is a wealth of practical wisdom that God Himself has given to keep us safe and to warn us about old behavior patterns. Why? Because in His lovingkindness He wants what is best for us.  He wants us to be safe and continue to grow more and more into Christ’s image.  It is inevitable that there will come times when we succumb to old patterns or we may take a risk and do something that could put us in immediate danger, not heeded the warnings from our loving Father.  We will suffer the consequences from blatant disobedience and hopefully we repent and say, “whew, I am glad I didn’t continue down that pathway.” 
So whether it is not ‘completely’ telling the truth, a little flirtation with the opposite sex, watching that thing on the television that stirs old feelings inside of us or reading the same, all of these little blinking yellow lights are flashing when we enter into the danger zones of life.  But, there is something that we can do to heed the warning signs.  For me it is the check in my spirit telling me that I shouldn’t go there.  I acknowledge the danger sign, back out, and praise God for His Holy Spirit that protects us, in essence, from ourselves teaching us how to take every thought captive and crucify our sinful nature.  Freedom is wonderful but not freedom that bites back or is only fleeting! 
Father, my sweet little girl could have been a spot on the highway in her quest to run to places she had never been before.  I confess my desires can be much the same.  I ask forgiveness for ignoring Your loving boundaries that are in place for my good.  I know those earthly desires that can sometimes screams at me to just give it up for a season of ‘fun and freedom’ but I  have done this enough to know how easily I can get trapped and caught up.  I am grateful for your Word to me in Corinthians that says that “No temptation has overtaken [me] but such as is common to man and God is faithful, who will not allow [me] to be tempted beyond what [I] am able.  And with that temptation will also provide the way of escape also, that [I] may able to endure it.”  If we go out a bit too far You provide a way for us to escape.  Help me to be listening and willing.  Thank you Pappa for Your amazing love that only wants the very best for those You love!  Amen.
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There Are No Excuses!

Recently I have found myself bugged. Someone has acted inappropriately and it really began to fester and annoy me. Frankly, I have wanted to get opinions on the situation and build my case as to why this behavior is inconsiderate and wrong. Back and forth I go and finding it a real struggle to let go of this situation that I have kept it to myself. Because I really do want to do the right thing instead of what I am tempted to do, that is to point out the flaws of another.

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ivebecomemymother.blogspot.com

I have been praying about this tendency in myself to react this way and psychoanalyzing why I get so bugged sometimes. I know it is wrong to point to another’s character defect, after all would I want that done to me? I know it is wrong to gossip about that scenario that took place and riled me up, because I don’t want that to happen to me. However, what I want to take place in me is the appropriate response to another’s inconsideration to others.

I remember memorizing this scripture long ago when I first became a Christian and it is indeed one of those that we need to remember because temptation comes to all of us…

 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

~ 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

Although I am tempted to…I don’t have to go there! And I am leaning on the scripture above to remind me. God knows why I am bugged but I can leave it in His hands and not transfer it to the hearts of others so that they can form an unbecoming opinion of that one, because that is slander! So the scripture covers all situations that come our way and It also gives us the avenue of escape to depart from our wrong thinking and reminding us that we do not have to respond to our natural tendencies or in the flesh as Paul reminds us.

Galatians 5.16

So friends, no excuses, Kimberly, no excuses! Today I choose not to give in when I am feeling pressed by temptation, but will choose to surrender my natural desires to the Lord and escape before harm can come to me and or the one I am bugged with. No cranky responses, gossipy tongue and judgmental thinking! It just has to go! God’s Word is again the reminder that I have no excuses, but will make the choice to have the right response…”I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”–and you can too!

 

 

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Walking in Truth

Paul to the church:

  • Romans 1:7  “…to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints:…”
  • 1 Corinthians 1:2b  “…to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:…”
  • 2 Corinthians 1:1b  “…to the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:…”
  • Ephesians 1b  “…to the saints that are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:…”
  • Philippians 1b  ”… To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi…”

If you were alive in the first century and part of the early church, Paul would be addressing you as saint!  Saint Ann, Saint Kimberly, Saint Zachary, Saint Mary, etc.  How does that resonate with you?  I am certain that for some of you it sits well.  But if you are like me, this really seemed unreal.  Forget it; I’m far from a saint!  You see, Paul was addressing the church family in the reality of who they were because they had been washed in the Blood of Christ!  When I ponder this, I stand amazed and honestly, it took me a long time to appropriate this mindset, and feel comfortable with its implications. 

For some of us it has been a long and winding journey traveling the pathway to receive forgiveness from God and then round and around the mountain until I could forgive myself.  That is why it seemed just too odd to be referred to as a “saint.” I know that I can’t rely on my feelings or nothing makes sense! So let’s do some extensive traveling around and about the truth, because this is where we need to camp out.  I want to examine truth and dispute the erroneous thinking around which we may allow our minds to wind.  We are going to see how our emotionally driven thinking can keep us from walking in the truth. 

Dr. Neal Anderson (Freedom in Christ Ministry) reminds us that we are saints who sometimes sin.  I am hoping that at the end of this particular journey you will be willing to embrace your ‘sainthood’ so to speak, and not push it away as I did. It is vital to understand our identity in Christ and receive it.  So on to some truth, and I will refer to Dr. Anderson often because of the impact his material and understanding had in my life as I grew to understand my identity in Christ. 

Let me start with a description of the meaning of stronghold:

Tire Ruts Jen lincs UK
Jen Lincs UK

“…habitual, mental patterns of thought.  These strongholds are memory traces burned into our minds over time or by the intensity of traumatic experiences…They are formed in our minds like deep tire tracks in a wet pasture: After the ruts have been established over time, the driver doesn’t even have to steer anymore—and any attempt to steer out of the ruts is met with resistance.” 

This should help us to understand that we do not just flip a switch and recover from skewed thinking over night.  The truth is there for us but we now have to form new ways of thinking and processing based on the truth of God’s Word.  Here is something to ponder as we consider our positioning of being called saints and believers in Christ, and we will camp here for a bit.

2 Corinthians 10: 3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

Using the analogy of the tire ruts, we cannot deny that we all have patterns in which we habitually walk. Some are good but some are detrimental to our spiritual growth.  The really amazing thing about this walk is that, as  believers, we have not been thrown into the ring with the lions (so to speak) without appropriate weapons for the battle. The Scripture tells us that we have been given weapons for our battles that are divinely powerful to take down and destroy the fortresses (strongholds) that we have unconsciously built in our minds. 

Next, the Scripture tells us that we can pit truth against error by weighing the truth found in God’s Word against the erroneous thinking that has embedded itself in our minds.  “What does God’s Word have to say about who I am?”  In God’s word it says that because I am in Christ I am a new creature, I am righteous and sanctified.  But the battle begins when I dispute that truth…“No way; I am certainly not” or no, “I could never be because I _______…” (you fill in the blank.)  It is here that we do the warring in our minds and, as the verse above says, we must take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ!  Now the victory is ours when we make the choice to appropriate what the Word says about who we are and walk in that calling as a saint. Do we do it without error?  Of course not, but turn that wheel firmly and pull out of the rut of wrong thinking and untruth to form the new pathway of truth. 

Someone I love very much says that they are a Christian yet continues to live a homosexual lifestyle. I realize that it is easy for me to think that if they would only see themselves the way God sees them then they could leave that lifestyle behind.  Another loved one has sought after attention by doing lots of wrong things and behaving in wrong ways. This has made for a very dysfunctional life for them.  My heart’s cry is that they and others like them would  see themselves as God sees them, being made in His image.  I cannot help but think what a difference this could make if they would only see themselves through the Word of life.  Not that there would be no struggles and temptations because we know from the Paul’s words “…For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do…” from Romans 7. 

Realistically speaking here, if we measured every thought about who we are with God’s Word, we might see that what we do or what is lived out is based on what we believe about ourselves. There is some similarity here to the positive thinking process but if we believe in Christ and His redemption on our behalf on the cross, then we should be well on our way to walking as children in the light. Our actions must be the response to the way we see ourselves in light of the Word! Dr. Neil Anderson says that “…satan would like you to believe that your behavior tells you what to believe about yourself, but the truth is that your belief about yourself determines your behavior!” 

Here is a great verse to memorize:

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who called you is faithful and also will do it.”   1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24

Father God, things can sure get mixed up in my thinking and I do forget that as Your child I have received sanctification, redemption and the right to put satan and his lies under my feet.  He has done a good job in keeping me from living the abundant life for way too long. Today let me know and believe that my identity is in You and with Christ in me I no longer have to live and walk in darkness. You have called me out of that darkness to live in and be Your light.  Let me absorb all the truth Your Word has to say about who I am as a new creature in Christ and let my walk show to Whom it is I belong to.  Thank You for loving me and for the privilege of being Your child!

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She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain…

Do you ever find yourself sick and tired of going around and around the mountain and making the same mistakes over and over again and again?  Wow, I sure do and I get so frustrated with myself when I do thinking ‘haven’t I gotten this lesson yet?’ Thankfully this has ignited my desire to draw closer to God. I knew that God had something so much sweeter for my life but that I would have to jump some hurdles to get there. 

For me, it was a matter of learning to lay down my pride, and acknowledge that I could no longer rely on my own resources to keep from making the same mistakes over and over again.  Don’t you just hate it when you are in repeat mode?  You self-talk asking God to never let it happen again and then boom, repeat.  It is embarrassing to continually do, react or forge ahead and then realize that you have been on this pathway before! For instance, my marriage was not going to improve unless I was willing to work on me. Share on X

My tendency to be judgmental and critical of others was not going to stop until I realized that I had to make a very purposeful choice not to look at others comparing myself with them and criticize.  My ministry was not going to go forth until I was willing to be honest with my struggles and work on allowing the Lord to refine me in the furnace of His love, being content knowing that He would use me right where I was.  You see, God really wants us to flourish and grow and go forth in His name and for His purposes.  And finally that I would stay committed to relationships with Him, my husband, children, work and friends to the best of my ability…not in my strength but in His. Line BreakWhere God was and is concerned, I had to make a choice (and daily make that choice) to spend  time with Him first and foremost!  This is where I have learned the answers to the hard things involving all my relationships.  Learning to love my husband in a fresh way unlike I never had before.  Friends, it has changed our relationship!  I suppose realizing that I cannot control anybody but me is nothing really new but God made it fresh for me as I focused on what I could do to better our relationship instead of expecting and demanding that my husband needed to change.  I am only able to change me!!!  With my children it was similar in that I could not control their lives (like I used to try to do) to keep them from learning the hard way like I had to do. They have to learn their life lessons in the same way I have, through their own choices resulting in mistakes, failures and victories!

Scars 2

Work was merely a matter of being content where God had placed me.  I am not one who enjoys confrontation and a few years back we had a lot of confrontation going on and frankly I wanted out.  Not realizing that God was up to some big and exciting things that I could have very well missed out on.  So every interesting job posting that became available in town I would apply for.  But God certainly had something else in mind.  He has kept me at Psalm FM Radio to serve in the capacity of the office administration and on air since 1990. And I have now been part of a very exciting ministry including the “Vertical Connection”, my radio program.  Since 2004, I have hosted a two hour radio program to encourage listeners to draw near to the Father’s heart.

Logo for web.bmp

A side note of thanks to a former employee who saw something in me that I never dreamed I could do, thank you Gene!  We just never know where God is going to take us and sometimes He takes us kicking and screaming while saying “I can’t do that!”

These tests and trials that come through our relationships with others, whether they be Christian or not, really matter to God.  We are members of a body.  We are not all the same (thankfully) and we have so much to offer each other but more importantly people are the litmus test of getting this God-walk right!  I know we are all in process and we do not have it perfect this side of glory, but, how we treat each other is crucial from the stand point that the outside world looks at us in expectation that we know how to do it right. I think the song says that “They will know we are Christians by our love…”  and we do know how to do it right. But the question is will I choose to do it the way I have been instructed and shown from God Himself through Christ? Loving God and loving others? Or will I continue to circle around the mountain again and again never taking the next step upward? 

We can always justify our actions whether anger, jealousy, injustice or whatever other reason that is out there.  But as my dear friend and I were sharing recently, the bottom line is we are responsible for making the right choice.  By doing so we deny the flesh and by doing this we allow the flow of the healing balm of reconciliation to be applied to whatever the offense was that tore us apart. Our Father and Creator, is fully aware of our short comings and struggles.  And although we will continue to make wrong choices it is certain that we will make less wrong and many more correct as we purpose to serve and spend time allowing the Lord to change who we are into the image of His Son Jesus. 

I know how hard it is, believe me, but for me I am now at a place where I have tasted the sweet rewards of my Father when I do it right and I would rather take that next step up the mountain than let my frustrations and disappointments continue to hold me back because of repeating the same mistake time and time again, keeping me at the baseline, henceforth, going round and round the mountain!

Ephesians 5:1,2

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.  And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”.

Father, You know the sorrow that plagues me when I mess up.  I can only imagine the disappointment that You must feel when I have to take the same test over and over again.  I truly have set my sites on You and I really want to show others just how much You love them by the way I live my life and treat others.  To be Your representative I ask that You give me the courage to change me and I surrender my frustrations and all that I think is justified in exchange for Your grace and ask that You would help me to humbly wear and put on Your love for others…in Jesus’ Name.  

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A Simple Prayer of Faith

Facebook 0011God blesses us all the time. Sometimes in small ways and sometimes in great big ways! It seems that it is quite the same with our prayers. Although I do believe He always answers our prayers—it may just not always be the way I think that He should or in the time-frame I think that He should answer them. 

The Lord has taught me some big things about prayer as of late. Like why pray if you don’t expect Him to answer? I have done a lot of praying but honestly, I have not seen a lot of obvious answers. Now I am not saying that He is or has not answered, just that I do not always see the results and especially right away.

Recently I was reminded of a time several years ago when my daughter, Becky lost her wedding ring. She just had her first baby and they had gone swimming at David’s place of work. She took her wedding ring off her finger to shower in a public place and forgot put them back on before she left. She was devastated! When she finally told her husband, he even put notes on the bulletin board at work with hope that the person who took it would see the note and return the ring.

A few weeks went by and we were visiting when I noticed that her ring was not on her hand. She tearfully told me the story and as we sat on her bed we prayed together asking the Lord to return her ring and even allow the person wearing it to be very uncomfortable with it on their finger. I remember very distinctly that something rose up in me as I prayed for this situation feeling certain that she would get her ring back.

It was but a couple of weeks later that my daughter’s husband David, received a package at work with no return address label. He opened it to find the stolen wedding ring. We were amazed and so grateful, both realizing that God had answered our prayer as well as the prayers of others who were also praying for the ring’s return to its rightful owner. It had not so much been the value of the ring as it was the sentimental value considering the diamond had once belonged to her great grandmother. We were ever so thankful for this victory indeed!

It is interesting how James talks about the “prayer of faith” being enough to even heal the sick.

James 5:15 NKJ

“And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

James 5:13 NIV

“[The Prayer of Faith] Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.”

James 5:15 NLV

“And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.”

The various versions show that it is possible for a few different things to happen here in regard to the “prayer of faith”:

The sick will be saved

The sick will be healed

Those in trouble should pray

I am not certain what we do with those prayers that appear to go unheard. But it does seem to me that when God does answer our prayers whether big or small, that it should certainly serve to increase our faith for the next time. (Kind of like filling for reserve.) For even when it doesn’t look as if something is happening, we have to believe that God has heard and is applying Romans 8:28 to our situation.

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Let me leave you with another amazing little story of my own. About four years ago I lost an earring. It was one in a pair of simple hand crafted opals set in sterling silver, that were a gift from my mother. (I should never wear French hook earrings with out stoppers on them and have since tried to remember to do so when wearing that type of earring.) These were a lovely little pair–probably not extremely valuable but they have sentimental value being handed down from my mother. I had no idea when or where I could have lost the earring and I looked high and low (literally) around work, my car, etc. all to no avail. I never dared to tell mom, as she would have been terribly disappointed. I did pray though and I asked the Lord if He would help me find them so as not to upset mom should she ever ask. And I always believed that they would show up.

A few years later, the earring was still missing and I even toyed with the idea of having the jeweler see if I could get a replacement. This could not be done without knowing the company who made them. Well that was out because I would have to ask my mother and then she would know the story. So I just let it rest.

Last fall I found myself vacuuming the floor of the radio station studio as my husband and I ripped out carpeting to prepare the floor for the new carpeting that was to be installed the next week. I was naturally amazed at the dirt that showed up after the carpet was ripped out. I was on my hands and knees with my husband’s big old shop vac, giving the final touches on the nooks and crannies way underneath the console. I bent down low to the floor to look under a computer that sticks out on a low shelf and to my utter amazement there was my opal earring! There is no logical reason for it to have survived the carpet rip-out, and the shop vac’s super suction to be found just sitting there on the floor, but for God!

Once again, God answered a small “prayer of faith” and it served once again to bolster and fill my faith reserve once again. A reminder to pray with the expectation of getting the right answer, at just the right time!

Matthew 17:20 NKJ

“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Father, you absolutely amaze me when you answer our prayers. I know that there are many that we do not see and I am thankful that You are the one Who sees the big picture. I would ask that You continue to remind me that when I ask, I am to ask in faith, believing for Your perfect answers every time! I want to exercise the “prayer of faith” when I pray for one to be healed and or saved or simply to find a lost something of importance to whomever! In Jesus’ Name!

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