A Thick Chick Gets Schooled

Yes, I homeschool...but sometimes I get schooled by my kids.

Sunday morning, rushed and scattered as I attempt to get myself and everyone else out the door, I stopped for my "I stay awake and others stay alive" cup of coffee. 

My 12 year old son, Jonathan, came and stood beside me, checking out my ear with his laser pointer. Why, you ask? Because he had apparently "never looked in an ear with this thing before". 

Once bored with that(a staggering 10 seconds later), he said, 

"Alright Mama, get ready for laser surgery."

Playing along, I quickly retorted, "Oooohhh good. Make sure you get right here and right here.", gesturing towards my hips and rear.

He looked at me with such a truly sad, rather appalled and angry expression, and released this arrow of truth to my spirit:

"Mama, 

why are you being so mean to yourself?"

I didn't honestly know how to respond.

His words left me convicted and speechless.

Mostly because I didn't have a valid answer.

There is no good reason.

I make daily choices to live an active, healthy lifestyle, to be strong and fit. 

But this other...well...these are just things I have always said...cloaking my own deep seeded dissatisfaction and self loathe in humor of some sort.

But...no one has ever really called me out on it in this way- until now.

And I am quite certain I am not alone.

So I will do for you what my 12 year old did for me:

Why are YOU being so mean to yourself?

Sadly, if you're like me, you've become desensitized to your own self criticism- 

barely even hearing the condemnation that comes out of your mouth, makes its home in your thought life...and as a result strikes dangerous blows to your soul. 

It isn't harmless, humorous, or humble.

It's hateful.

There is nothing wrong with striving towards excellence in all that you are or all that you do: family, education, health, fitness, job, and the list goes on...

But there is everything wrong with abusing God's most valued creation in the attempt to get there: you.

You're valuable not because of all that you were, are, or could be. 

No, you are valuable because HE has determined your worth! 

Striving to be better is futile. Striving to know Jesus? Empowering! 

Because here is the amazing part:

He knows you best...and He still loves you the most.

Hard to comprehend? I know.

Hard to believe? I know.

Hard to let go of old patterns? Heck yeah, I know! 

But can you imagine with me for a moment, your Heavenly Father looking with such adoration at His created one, as Love holds your face in His hands, and with piercing simplicity says, 

"Why? Why are you being so mean to yourself?"

So...I grab grace yet again, asking Him to take all of me and replace it with all of Him...believing....believing that regardless of the image staring back at me in my mirror this truth remains:

what I may see as a nothing, God created for a something.

Regardless of where you are, or even where you aren't: stop being mean to yourself.

Choose His perspective.

Your Creator makes no mistakes...let Him sculpt the Masterpiece. 

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; 

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something."

Psalm 139:13-16 MSG

#stopbeingmean

#grace 

#Psalm139

The Right Noise

New video devotional post! 

It's all about learning to listen to "The Right Noise" amidst life's distractions.

Praying the Holy Spirit uses it in your life to bring hope and direction for your days. 

What noise do YOU need to listen THROUGH instead of listen TO today? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=z7VcrebXuUQ

Batteries Required

"Batteries Required. Not Included"
There is nothing more frustrating than bringing home a product you are ready to use, only to realize that you failed to notice this "minor" detail.
Especially when it calls for a 9 volt, or "D" battery...the ones you never have on hand.
And so, you pull it out and pretend to use it, right?
Or...you try to generate your own power to make it operate, right?

Yeah...let's hope not.

You either drive back to the store, or you stick the product back in the box until you can get a hold of the necessary power source.
Why? Because batteries are required.
Necessary.
It just won't work without them.

Have you ever asked this question of yourself:
"Do I live a life that requires God?"

Think about it.

If the Spirit of God was removed from your life, is there anything that you are striving for, involved in, attempting, believing for, etc., that absolutely could not be accomplished with human effort alone?

I know this seems a drastic scenario, but it is one that has made me look at my life through the honest lens of the Holy Spirit.
All too often, I begin with the best intentions, seeking to fill my life with God things-not just good things-but then, I set out to accomplish them apart from Him.

I forget so easily that being a true disciple of Christ isn't just about trusting Him to impart the plan; it's also about trusting Him to impart the power to accomplish it.
Otherwise, bringing the plan to fruition gives glory to me rather than God.

I believe Him for the revealing the way, then I default to trusting my own will to walk it out.

Comfort zone.
Safety net.
Failsafe.
Operating from that place of, "Just in case God doesn't show up, I will be ok."
Face saved, and all that.

It just seems simpler and safer to live a life that doesn't require a power source.
That is...only if you enjoy living in the dark.
But God calls us out of that confusing, powerless, comfortable place:
"for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."(Ephesians 5:8)
Light.
Power.
Holy Spirit required kind of living.

How can I be content with living a life that minimally requires the presence and power of the One True Living God?

Even worse...how can I be content living a life that repeatedly functions without Him altogether?

I want to live a life that requires all that He is replacing all that I am.
I want to live a life that screams "Impossible!",  so the world sees that, "With God all things are possible."(Luke 1:27)
I want my life to shout HIS glory, not mine.

I want to live a life labeled: "Holy Spirit Power required."
A life that just won't work without Him.

"Let all those that seek and require You rejoice and be glad in You; 

let such as love Your salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified!"

Psalm 40:16(AMP)

NOW!

  

                                               
Now.
It's when a baby wants its bottle
It's when my kids want their iPods.
It's when I want to fall asleep.
It's when my belly wants food.
It's when I want to lose weight.
It's when I want all the good things to begin and when I want all the stress to end.
Now.
It is the craving of so many categories of life.
Now seems like an unreachable fairy tale status.
Every part of life demands it, and we are keenly aware of how we are unable to deliver.
Yes, the now is in high demand.
And usually, we respond by ignoring the now.

We plan for days ahead and
we pine over days past,
forgetting that each of those are shaped in the very moments we are choosing to ignore.

Now is where the power lies...where the capacity for power increases exponentially, as we look face on at each moment.

We dream.
We wish.
We hope about the way things could be.
But the difference between a wish and reality is action:
Action in the now.

So, instead of excuses of why the future can't be what you hope,
and instead of excruciating remembrances of a past you wish you could erase,
start by taking a look at the now.

I, too, am guilty of ignoring the now.
Why? Because I am too busy stroking the later and beating up the past.

I have been asked so many times how to walk close with the Lord, how to get in His Word.
Most of time, a complicated answer and/or immediate major life overhaul is anticipated.
But the answer is simply this:
Do SOMETHING now.

Today, choose a moment to do something differently than you did the day before, the moment before.

Things don't change just because of a plan or a goal; they change when you do something in the now to move toward that goal.

If you want your destination to be a certain place, then the choices you make day to day have to be those that will put you on the path to your desire.

Instead of focusing so much on what you hope to be,
or what you have been,
stop and decide what you will do NOW.

NOW is laying the foundation of your future.
NOW will also become your past.

The actions that come to define our past and set the trajectory of our future all happen in the NOW.

NOW is the time of action.

What one thing will you
choose
to
do
differently
NOW?


"...Indeed, the 'right time' is now. Today is the day of salvation."
2 Corinthians 6:2

"So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless...we are shown to be right with God by what we do, no by faith alone."
James 2:17, 24

"For I am about to do something new. See I have already begun! Do you not see it?..."
Isaiah 43:19

Well, What Do You Expect?

It's like a wall.
A clear plexiglas wall, that everyone is trying to pretend isn't there.
The Church, the Body of Christ as a whole, has grown comfortable with this unseen reality.

Even worse than the fact that it is accepted, is the fact that it is what is expected.

And when expectation is sucked out of the atmosphere, true worship suffocates.

Our words set to melody are canisters for life, but they depart from our lips empty, void of the ability to resuscitate and revive because they rise from malnourished, power starved lives bogged down in the pride of mediocrity...and viciously unwilling to let go.

The stench of death permeates the room.
The sweet aroma of living sacrifice is painfully absent.
And we label it "worship".

So...we grip the pews,
gripe about the form and formula,
gasp when the unexpected makes an appearance, and
gawk at those hungry enough to embrace it.

No style or form of music or service can diminish or enhance our One True God.
He is the same yesterday, today and forever.(Hebrew 13:8)
God is not more worthy of praise in one setting than He is in another.

So why, then, is worship with abandon an endangered species?
We are more dazzled by the how and the what....and we have forgotten the Who that leads us to the why.

From traditional, to contemporary, to modern, to private...it may look different...but the pattern of low expectation amongst the individual Believer persists.

Platforms, performance, pleasantries, and practicalities become paramount.
They sneak in and taint the path.
These thieves allow us to see the way to worshiping "in Spirit and in Truth"(John 4), but scream out caution to our flesh that embracing anticipation is a path to reputation suicide.
We are warned by their presence that crying out in authentic expectation could possibly lead to an avalanche on this mountain of religious comfort we've created.

And so...we secure what we see as our plexiglas wall of protection, when in fact, we have just constructed a spiritual prison.

Predictable, proper, popular, and protected-this prison starts to look like home.
We take up the residence of limits.
We are consoled by the false comfort in familiarities.

Anticipation is a fading memory, if not a term completely undefined.

We expect nothing more than the prison we've constructed.

We are callous.
Numb.
Untouchable.
Hardened.

And the scariest part?
We are pleased.

After all, isn't that what authentic Christ Worship is all about: our pleasure?

What do you expect?


"The Lord says:
These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is made up only of rules taught by men."
Isaiah 29:13

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
John 4:24

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship."
Romans 12:1

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
'Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts...'"
Hebrews 3:7,8

Rocky Places

Today, I walked barefoot on a slimy, rocky river bed.
It was a completely unexpected adventure, but a necessary one all the same.
So, I rolled up my pants, ditched my shoes and waded into the cold water alone, as my family stood watching, safe and dry on the shore.

A razor cut, fresh from the morning's shave, stung like a thousand needles.
And then, the rocks.
It didn't look so bad, but the sharp little suckers were hidden from sight under the sludge of sandy river bottom...but not hidden from the tender soles of my feet.
I felt every one.

I don't like the rocky places.

Being barefoot, sole exposed, on the smooth sandy places, now that's where it's at.(excuse the grammar)

But when the path gets rocky and painful to the exposed soul...ahhh becomes ouch, and every step reminds: this is not a smooth place.

And so steps are taken with intent and care, but still bearing the weight and the pain...always, the pain.

The necessity of the rocky places.
None of us long to embrace that necessity, but it calls us to all the same.

As I stepped gingerly across the rocks, an image I recently took came to my mind.

It was a geode.
At face value-ugly, forgettable, even worthy of disdain beneath the feet...but when time is taken to look at the rock, turn the rock, treasure can be found within.
Crystals-shimmering beauty-reflecting light with brilliant color, yet, all hidden to the sole too focused on the pain of it's rocky outter surface.

These hard places that bruise our souls are rocks of purpose placed beneath our feet.

If we will take time to see them as just that-treasure that enhances the path-we may come to discover the beauty of the rocky places.

So, when you find that its time to wade deep into the cold, unexpected waters of life, even if it is all alone...roll up those pants legs, ditch your shoes, and know...
...know that there is beauty and purpose ahead for your soul.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
James 1:2-4 ESV

"You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God."
Isaiah 62:3 ESV

Change Your Question

"Don't look for shortcuts to God.

 The market is flooded with surefire, easy- going formulas for a successful life 

that can be practiced in your spare time.

Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do.

The way to life- to God!- is vigorous and requires total attention."

Matthew 7:13-14 (The Message)

Formulas. Phrases. Steps. Methods.
It is so easy to get lost here, stuck here, confused here, condemned here.
There is so much out there-even good things and God labeled things- vying for our attention...all with the promise of making us who we think(or they think) we should be as Christ Followers.

But NONE of that matters unless your motive is to know HIM more.

We have to change our question.
It's not about WHERE these formulas, ideas, and methods take us.
It's not about WHEN these things will make us "arrive" at some religious destination labeled "Godly".
It's not about HOW these things will hopefully make us appear to others.

It is about WHO these things are meant to lead us to.

When we are fixated on the where, when, and how, we lose sight of the Who...and, sadly, that is when it all becomes about shining our own glory, not God's.

I long to see more Christ Followers simply wanting HIM.

When that becomes our desire above all else, then the formulas, ideas, phrases, steps and methods can become tools to aid us in getting to that place of intimacy that we crave.

It is so easy to get caught up in the next best thing, rather than just finding more of our Lord.

You see, His presence effects change.
Transforming,
Life rearranging,
Paradigm shattering,
Experiences.
That is what happens when you truly encounter the presence of God.

Maybe that is why it is so much easier to sing about Him, talk about Him, learn about Him, rather than actually go to Him.
We are afraid of what that may actually look like and do to our nice, neat religious lives.

So what about you?
Are you caught up in the formulas, rules, theologies, and methods so much so that you have stopped relating with the Lord on a personal level?

No, it isn't easy.
And yes, the world and your enemy are going to do everything possible to make it inconvenient and uncomfortable.
But it is worth it.
Because He alone is worthy.

Don't settle for the world's distant, watered down, regulation consumed, grace-less version of God.

Don't let your desire for comfort rob you of His completeness.

Don't let simply "looking the part" be the frail and shifting foundation you rely on to set you apart.

Be "vigorous" about experiencing the TRUE fullness of God in your day to day walk and relationship with Him.

He can't just be another option in your life.
Make Him your life.

Yes, there is a place for the where, when, how of it all.
But, start asking the right question first today: WHO?
It's all about my Jesus.

My prayer over YOU today:

"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."
Ephesians 3:14-21 (NLT)

Just DO it. :)