A Line in the Sand

A line in the sand. 

The urban dictionary says it’s,"Something that you refuse to do, or something on which you will not compromise. A point that you will not pass in any situation."

You might call it a defining moment. 

That moment you firmly choose which way you’re headed at a particular crossroads of life. 

It’s the place where ideas are birthed, visions are cast, declarations are penned, challenges are accepted. Mediocre is not welcome, mundane has to flee, and uncertainty is exiled. 

That is what happens when you draw the line in the sand. 

You decide that you will go no further in that same old way. No more compromise. It stops here. 

And the new mindset begins. 

But sometimes you need someone to remind you that you are worth that line in the sand. 

And I think that is where I was when I received this message from my friend.

A picture of my name and 2017 in the sands of a Hawaiian beach that brought me to tears.

What was just a simple gesture, a rake of the finger across granules of earth, a mere moment in time for her…that became a defining moment for me. 

What I had desired in my heart, was drawn in the sand for me.

She stooped down to drawn lines in the sand that spelled out a future not dictated by my past, but a future declared by the passion and positioning of my present. 

And in that moment I was reminded of Another who once did the same for a woman caught in sin and faced with a past so insurmountable that she could not imagine her future. I can only imagine that she stood before her accusers and could not find the hope to grasp in that moment. 

But Jesus.

“But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and sin no more.’” (John 8:6-11)

Jesus drew lines in the sand that changed her future from condemnation to grace. 

And the line that Grace draws? It changes things.

He drew a line in the sand of her present that declared her future untainted by her past. 

A defining moment. 

A woman on the doorstep of condemnation, now a woman on threshold of transformation. 

She simply had to remember that line in the sand.

That place where Jesus stooped down, raking his finger across granules of earth, and spelled out a future not dictated by her past, but a future declared by the forgiveness of her present. 

A defining moment that defined her life.

A defining moment that didn’t tell her she had to stay in the familiar- it unleashed her into the freedom of her present and the promise of her future. 

That’s what a line in the sand will do: unleash you from the ordinary into the extraordinary, from the mundane into the insane, from the past into the power, from the mediocre into the marvelous, from the safe into the spectacular. 

And sometimes God uses another to draw that line in the sand of your heart. 

To remind you, you are worth that finger scraping the earth.

You are forgiven.

You are called to GO. 

You are worth that defining moment where a thing is birthed, a vision is cast, a declaration is penned, a challenge is accepted. 

All you have to do is believe. 

Believe that you ARE who Jesus says you are and you will DO what He has purposed and prepared for you in advance to do! 

A line in the sand.

Let the new mindset begin. 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works , so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10

“…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

#SimpleTruth 

Facing the Unknown

When I walked up to my front door by myself  and found it standing open, it stopped me in my tracks. It took me a minute to process. Wait. This is different. Go in? Don't go in?

I yelled an inquisitive "Hellooooo??" into my dark house except for a random light on in my room. Wait- why was my light on? Everyone should be gone. No cars are in the driveway. 

When you're standing in the face of the unknown- it can be terrifying and paralyzing. 

But you can't keep standing where you are. 

I was on the phone with my best friend and like friends on scary movies NEVER do, she reminded me to NOT go into the dark house alone. I walked over to my neighbors and they either didn't hear my knock, or couldn't respond to it. So, I stood there in between my yard and theirs wondering how to go into this unknown- this place that was mine but I was stuck not being able to claim and settle into because of all of the what ifs. What if someone was hiding and waiting. What if we had been robbed. What if I was about to be robbed. What if...what if...

Thankfully, my BFFs hubby came to my rescue- armed for battle. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as we cautiously walked in and checked all the rooms and closets, afraid of what we would find. 

Nothing. 

The what ifs of the unknown didn't turn into the what are's. 

And isn't that often the way? 

Now don't hear me saying we need to run recklessly into the dark, scary places of life.

But-

We also can't stand frozen in the front yard or locked in the car in the driveway of the place God has told us to call home: where and who we are called and created to be. 

God doesn't expect you to blaze into the unknown on your own. He wants you to wait on Him, walk in alongside Him- because He is the One that arms you for any battles you may encounter along the way. 

As we walk with the Holy Spirit, we begin to see that so many of our what ifs about the unknown are not the what are's. 

We can step out of the paralyzing terror, flip the lights on in that dark unknown place, and find out it's home. 

 And instead of grabbing the hand of a fellow panicker, find a friend- a voice of truth and wisdom- who skips the drama, and simply reminds you to not rush in alone, but press in to Jesus, the One who goes before you and with you into that unknown place. 

Whatever unknown you are facing, realize that to God, it is fully known. 

Trust the One who sees what is and you won't be paralyzed any longer by the what ifs.

#SimpleTruth 

Where Are You Going?

She was running away.
Mistreated. Used.
Thats where we find Hagar in Genesis 16.
And my flesh says, "Run, Hagar, run!"
But then the angel of the Lord finds her, calls her by name and says, "...where have you come from and where are you going?"
And she replies, "I'm running away from my mistress, Sarai."
So that answered where she had been.
But through His messenger, the Lord asked her TWO questions, and she never answered the second:
"WHERE are you GOING?"

When life mistreats us, we run because we are trying so desperately to get away. We are so bound and determined, planning and executing our escape route, that we never stop to think about where we are actually going.
We get so caught up in what we are getting away from that we never ask God what we should be heading toward.

But if we would simply ask God the question, "God, where do you want me to go?", He would not have to ask the question, "Where are you going?".

We are living in a sinful, fallen world amongst broken people like ourselves...so yes, the world will mistreat us. You can count on it.
But that doesn't mean we should escape by making our own way.
Because when we do, we end up creating more havoc than that we hoped to leave behind.
We have to ask God to show us the path He has for us- to show us where we should be going.
And sometimes that is right back to face the stuff you wanted to escape.

But you know what Hagar found out? She wasn't alone.
She says in Genesis 16:13, "You are the God who sees me."
See, it wasn't escape she needed: it was the healing promises of the person of God.

She stopped at the spring to refresh her physical body, but it was the refreshment for her soul that she needed most.
When she believed and understood anew Who God was, and that He was for her, she was able to walk back toward the place from which she had run.
In that place is where she would give birth to God's promises for her life. 

There is purpose and healing in the path God chooses for your life-even when it feels more like persecution and pain. Even when He is asking you to labor amongst those who mistreat you, like He did Hagar.
We already know, and He already knows, what it is we want to get away from...so why not talk instead about what you are believing God to lead you to?

Whenever change or movement is involved, be sure it is motivated because you are called TO a thing rather than because you are trying to escape FROM a thing. 
If God calls you to remain, He will strengthen you to do the remaining.
Believe me- even in the darkest, loneliest, suffocating moments...He is with you and is at work on your behalf.
He is a good God, with a good plan for your life.

It will not be easy.
But set aside the urge to run.

Paths blazed out of desperation rather than Divine direction 

often lead to destruction rather than deliverance.

Stop and marinate on that. 

In His voice, in His presence, we can know where we are going- and it is with Him.
We may not have all the details, but we know the direction in which He calls us to move: under His wing, in His shadow- near to Him.
And even when the direction He calls us to isn't exactly what our plan and timing had looked like, we still steady on...not running from a bad thing, but walking toward a God thing- learning and growing along the way as we keep the company of the Way-Maker.

I know you want to run away today.

Honestly, me too.
But today, even if just for this moment...lets try running to Him, instead.

#SimpleTruth
#First5

How to Walk When Waters Rise

"Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." Proverbs 30:5 

Genesis 8 is a great reminder that like Noah in the flood, the Truth of God's word and our obedience to it are our lifeline.

 In every storm and in every season, we have to: 

turn toward His truth, 

trust He is for us, and 

trudge forward. 

It may be scary, it may be exhausting, it may cause us to be brave when we don't want to be, and the choices we make may cause people to think we are crazy, but obedience isn't about pleasing others- it's about trusting God's plan.

 

Moving with Him step by step- or maybe as Noah would say, hammer by hammer. Galatians 5:25 says,

 "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." 

Today, I am trying to get in sync. 

To trust His gait. 

To believe that even at a sweaty sprint or soothing stroll, He has a plan for my good. 

Noah shut the door on the right side of obedience- world outside, and him with God. And that is where I want to be found when the floodwaters rise. 

Even if I have the blisters and the callouses from keeping His way and trusting His word...I know my hope is with Him. 

So if you see me walking funny, or out of breath, or frozen in my tracks, or turning an uncommon direction, or bumbling through an unusual stride...I'm just doing all I can to keep in step with God. 

He alone knows the way to my ark...and that is peace for my every storm. 

#SimpleTruth #first5 @first5app @proverbs31ministries 

Will Love Provide?

My mama loves to feed people.

If you are around her and you're hungry- then she feels she has failed. 

I had a friend tell me once that she "thinks in food" when it comes to planning an event. This would be my mom. We often say my mom could take a can of beans and a loaf of bread and turn it into a four course meal. 

We are only half kidding. 

She always has food prepared or shortly available- long before we are ever even hungry, she has already thought of what she will serve us in love. She expresses her deep love for us through providing. She longs to meet our needs- and we all have to eat.

In John 21(after Jesus's resurrection), the disciples are back to the business of fishing- and having no luck- when Jesus unexpectedly appears to them on the shore. After He calls out to them, they miraculously catch a huge net full. And then, they head to shore-to Jesus. 

But for me, this verse stands out:

"When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread." 

These men had not known what their night would bring- that they would catch nothing until Jesus intervened; that they would be coming to a random place on the shore to connect with their risen Lord.

But Jesus knew. 

Jesus knew their hunger before they knew it. 

Those coals, the fish, the bread- Jesus had been preparing for them what they didn't even know they would need in a place they didn't even know they would be. 

He was already there, provision waiting- nourishment for hungry souls.

Jesus was showing them His deep love for them. Reminding them as He met their need that fullness only comes from Him. 

I think about the quiet moments on the shore as Jesus prepared the meal long before the disciples were even in sight- as He thought about them, cooked for them, prepared the provision before they ever arrived- and the love that was in every step. 

Just let that movie play in your mind a moment. 

It was His joy to meet their need...and it is His joy to meet yours as well. 

Trust. Love will provide. Maybe not the way or time you expect, but He will always provide. 

That sea you are sailing? The one that has left you tired, boat and belly empty?

He has a place of provision already prepared. He's simply waiting for you. He's waiting for you to hear His call from the shore to meet Him- even if it's not the way or the when you expected. He knew your hunger even before you did, and the food is ready and waiting. 

The smell of provision is already in the air. 

Jesus longs to express His deep love for you.

Will you stop the work of casting your net long enough to come ashore and let Him love you and provide for you? Those overflowing nets of fish you're catching- that busy, full life? They are from Him anyway. 

The very thing you need, He has already provided...even before you know you need it. 

Trust Him, get near to Him, so you don't miss the meal He has prepared for you! 

So...my mama may be feeding us a meal, but it's the provision of love we devour. And fueled for the next steps, we go on, knowing the next meal is already cooking in her heart...just like my Jesus. 

Never doubt: Love provides.  

#SimpleTruth 

Perfect Peace in my Pieces

I was scrambling in my living room to have my time with the Lord, while my mind was scrambling a thousand other places, a thousand miles an hour. 

I was thinking about everything ahead in this coming season...all I knew and didn't even know-  and it had me in a dead panic in my mind. 

And then, before I even sat down to get in the Word, the Holy Spirit brought this verse up in my spirit:

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Isaiah 26:3 NLT

Perfect peace. Not some version of peace- but perfect.

Perfect is defined as: "having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. Absolute. Complete."

In other words, it is exactly what we need when we need it. 

Perfect peace.

Calm. 

From the inside out. 

It's learning to trust IN Him, rather than trusting things around and about Him.

 

Where you trust FROM determines the kind of peace you live IN. 

As we trust in Him, He secures us with the unwavering assurance that abundant life is His promise(John 10:10); therefore every battle we are facing is to bring about that very purpose.

He is the anchor for my thoughts in the raging sea of worry, doubt, and condemnation in my mind. When I fix my eyes on Him, I am no longer dizzied by the whirlwind of the world. I am locked into His gaze and I see what He sees, I can know what He knows: that every bit of it is for my good because He is Good. He is a good Father, giving me every good and perfect gift. 

(James 1:17, Romans 8:28)

Maybe not always the ones I want...but it's always the ones that I need. 

I have to live my life with open eyes and open hands:

Eyes open, fixed on Him.

Hands open, filled by Him. 

I have to stop looking in every direction hoping to see some answer for my questions- because HE IS THE ANSWER. 

I have to stop reaching in every direction to grab what feels and fills like I want it, when I want it- because HE IS MY PROVIDER. 

When I scurry around and try to piece together peace in my life, it only results in stress, failure, frustration, anger.

I am playing a game I will never win.  

It's time for me to stop worrying about the win and start focusing on the One.

What are you fixed on today? 

Believe me- I know it is hard to see past all that is screaming for your attention. 

But only One focal point will bring perfect peace. 

He doesn't promise to remove whatever is raging in your life, but He promises to love, grow, and be with you through it. 

That is perfect peace. 

#SimpleTruth 

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.”

2 Thessalonians 3:16 NLT

Spit and Mud to Heal My Mess

Spit and mud: Jesus uses it in John 9. Seriously. 

And for what? A miracle. 

Jesus sees the blindness-this mans point of need- and meets him there with spit and mud. 

Sometimes I get mad about an area of "blindness" in my life- places in need of His miraculous. I get bitter in my blindness. I don't understand why I have to live life saddled with physical frustrations and impairments...storms camped out over me spiritually, emotionally, situationally, relationally. 

But then when JESUS approaches my need with spit and mud...I lament over messy methods and delay or even miss my miracle. 

When asked about this man's blindness Jesus simply says this: "...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."(John 9:3) 

What if I took this approach, had this mentality toward every occurrence and every area of my life?

What if I lived with that level of pure, simple confidence that Jesus WILL display His glory through the miraculous in my life...even if His intervention is unconventional by my standards? (see spit, mud and a face washing!) 

Will I embrace spit and mud from the Master in order to see my miracle? 

I'm blind in so many ways. But I know God has a plan for His glory in it all if I will just surrender to His process. 

I don't love the method every time...but I love and trust the Master. 

And that is enough for me. 

I'm praying you embrace the spit and mud, too. 

~Julie 

#simpletruth #first5 @first5 @proverbs31

When Reality is Rough

*** I am currently walking through the book of John with Proverbs31 ministries using the First 5 App. 

This post is part of what the Holy Spirit is teaching me and revealing to me personally as I dig into this part of His Word. 

Jump into this study with me by going to www.first5.org or downloading the app for your device.***

John 6: Jesus feeds the five thousand; Jesus walks on water. 

This chapter is full of miracles but it's also full of moments that can sometimes get glossed over because of their magnitude. I can't help but think about the people IN those moments, witnessing those miracles. These were real problems, real hunger, real storms, real fear, real questions, real uncertainty. Those stories we read and summarize and throw into sentences were their realities. 

And when you are in the middle of your reality, believing for a miracle isn't as easy as reading ahead a few verses- because when it's YOUR reality, you can't read past the verse you're in; you can only believe that Jesus has already perfectly written it. 

So today it's taking everything I have to put my pen down and let Jesus write the miraculous in the current reality of my life verses. Instead of pining over all the drafts cluttering my mind and my soul, I am using every ounce of who I am to draw close to the Author and Perfector of my faith. 

I can be like Philip who could not see the way so decided it was impossible, or be like Andrew who even though he didn't see how, chose to go to Jesus and surrender what they had. 

What I have today doesn't feel like a lot, or look like a lot, but Jesus is my abundance. He is the Multiplier. He is the Miracle Worker. He is the Way Maker. He is the Storm Calmer. 

I'm inviting Jesus into my reality. He's already written the miracle- I just have to surrender the pen and believe the Author. 

That's my prayer for you, too.

~Julie 

Wha...wha...what If?

What if?...a question God has faced me with at every side lately. 

See, I am a fear walker. 

I like to dream nestled all snug in my heavenly Daddy's lap, and praise Him with abandon at His feet, and even speak truth from the Throne room, but I am afraid to step into the next thing. 

There. I said it. 

I am afraid. 

I am afraid of failure. 

I am afraid of people perceiving God confidence and radical faith as pride. 

I am afraid of people judging me with a chuckle of disdain and thinking, 

"...why does she think she is called to do that? Just who does she think she is?! There are so many others that are so much better at what she is trying to do." 

But God has been replacing that fear dialogue with His TRUTH dialogue:

"So what if? What if you did it and your worst fear happened? People laughed, judged, misunderstood...etc.?" 

He says, "Do you actually think that will keep Me from being with you? From blessing you? From empowering you? From loving you even if you stumble along the way? I called you to it. I will walk you through it."

And that has me re-thinking and asking this:

What if I do what He asks and He does show up? 

Or what if He shows up and I haven't stepped up to partner with Him in the doing? 

The latter are the "what if" questions that should drive me toward my anointing rather than allowing the other "what if" questions to keep me from it! 

When people embrace their anointing, it ruffles feathers. It stirs up jealously and our own self doubt, fears and regrets. 

But when people do not embrace their anointing, it leaves an unoccupied place in the Kingdom work within the atmosphere of influence God has placed you. 

I don't want my seat, my place of work in the Kingdom to go unoccupied. 

No, I refuse to leave my place empty at the table of His abundance. 

I refuse to listen to the enemy tell me I am unwanted and incapable.

I refuse to linger in self doubt and instead I will choose to linger in His presence when I am doubting. 

I refuse the thought that I am made for second best and defined by circumstances or my past. 

And when the world wants to pigeon hole me, define me, paralyze me, silence me, I refuse to settle for the mere good things because it is the GOD things that truly fulfill me, challenge me, grow me, propel me, bless me, and bring the Kingdom of Heaven to every place I enter.  

He didn't make me to be everyone else...He made me to be me.

We need to stop apologizing and cowering and start believing the words of Jeremiah 1:5-8:

"'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations...do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.', declares the Lord."

No more uttering, "But God...I am only_______(fill in the blank with your phrase of choice.)"

"I am only" mentality is spiritual paralysis. 

I AM mentality is spiritual POWER! 

Whatever God thing You are reluctant to do, clinging to the fact that He is with you will calm the storm of every fear. 

It isn't prideful to step out. It's compete trust in His power to sustain you.  

So...what if you and I choose to live a life by design rather than default: Will everyone understand? Agree? Be kind? 

No. They won't. 

But we will be living in the Kingdom purpose for which we were created. 

That is a family, a community, a church, a workplace, a city, a county, a state, a country, a world that I want to see! 

What if God showed up? 

What if lives were changed?

What if I learned to trust and known Him like never before?

What if, indeed:

"What if everyone of us lived the rest of our lives believing that we are clothed in righteousness, forgiven, redeemed in every way, and so thoroughly loved by our Father in Heaven that it wouldn't matter what other people think of us? We might actually change the world!" - D. DeSilva

Thankful for the Empty

I remember as a little girl being taught to say "thank you". Some of the "magic words", they say.

My chubby little hands full of whatever thing I had wanted or had been given...it was always supposed to end up with a "thank you".

But no one tells you when you are little that you will have to learn to say thank you with empty hands.

When you are staring at Thanksgiving Day for the first time without a grandparent, it feels empty.

When you are faced with a day all about thanks, but friendships once present are painfully absent.

When you are walking through daily life with the glass of fractured and broken realtionships painful all in your soul, and you're supposed to be grateful.

I'm not gonna lie.

Thankfulness is tough.

Life shoves you up under the water and then you hear a muffled yell, "Be thankful!"...when all you want to do is breathe.

You can only pretend you have air in your lungs for so long. At some point, stuff starts shutting down and you are sinking to the bottom.

Anyone?

Empty places make you feel like that.

And thank you is hard.

I'm not just talking about routine thank you's in the middle of lack, though.

Finding ways to give thanks in the voids of life is one thing. 

But the hard place God has been leading me? To give thanks for them.

Being the good girl, I want to scurry around and stay busy making lists of all that I do have- a good practice...but not without its ulterior motives. 

See, I rationalize that if I keep my mind busy enough, it won't continuously remind my heart of the aching, gaping hole. 

But all the while, the Lord is asking me to stop and stand up right in the middle of that empty place and learn to praise Him for what isn't there.

He wants me to trust Him in the taking so I can believe Him for the filling.

He wants me to be grateful for the absence so I can be more aware of His presence.

Saying thank you as you hand over something you don't want to give away? That's tough.

Saying thank you again and again as you stand empty handed for what seems like forever? It feels impossible.

But God.

His grace will take you where you cannot go on your own- right to the middle of that empty place.

Because I promise that is where I have found-and you will find- His loving arms hold you the tightest, His promises ring the truest, His hope shines the brightest, His presence is the fullest.

So I am learning to take a deep breath of grace, and hold out these hands-remembering the empty hands that Jesus stretched out for me.

Why?

Because His empty hands led to an empty tomb!

The stone wasn't just rolled away so Jesus could get out...it was so we could see in! 

Otherwise, we would have assumed death resided there! 

They had to look at the empty place so they could see that it gave rise to LIFE! 

Jesus gave me an empty tomb to be thankful for so that I can give thanks for my empty places. 

He turns misery into marvel.

He grows a garden of gratitude from the gaping holes of life.

With Jesus, LIFE always comes breaking out of the empty places!

It's true, I'm all grown up now. 

But to be perfectly honest, I still feel periodically inclined to have a tantrum about what isn't in my hands.

But God.

God is teaching me to say "thank you" instead. Not because they are magic words, but because they are words full of power and life.

Maybe you, too, are faced with your empty in this season of gratitude.

Don't lose hope: LOOSE it in the middle of your empty place by thanking God for the life that will most assuredly spring from it.

"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

Isaiah 43:19

"...Abraham was first named “father” and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. ” 

Romans 4:17-18 The Message

"But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened."

Luke 24:12

Share #SimpleTruth today:

"God wants me to trust Him in the taking so I can believe Him for the filling." -@JuliePMac #SimpleTruth #emptyhands #thankfulheart

When You Feel Less Than

There are days I feel really small.

Itty bitty.

Tiny up next to the size of the struggle around me and those looming ahead of me. 

And itty bitty next to great big?  It's scary.

Fear tells me I am weak and I listen long to those words.

My kids mess up. "I'm a failure."

I step out in my gifting. "Why would anyone listen to you?"

I look in the mirror. "You are going to walk out of the house looking like that?"

I scroll through Facebook. "Too bad you aren't as whatever as so-and-so."

Life feels big and uncomfortable and heavy- like Saul's armor draped on the little shepherd boy David- and panic sets in because I see how small I am...and I know a Goliath is close on my horizon.

All I really want to do is run from these ugly giants in my life.

Because little ole me cannot face big ole that. 

I sit around like the Israelites listening to Goliath heckle them for 40 days, 2 times a day(that's 80 stinking times- for those of you who don't want to hurt your brain).

They listened to what the enemy called them. 

They hunkered down in their smallness and gave ear to his lies.

But David stood up in the middle of feeling less than.

He didn't stand up in who HE was; he stood up in who GOD is.

He reeked of sheep and the world's armor was ill fitting.

But David was a worshipper and what went before him was the aroma of praise.

David was small but he threw off what did not fit and embraced what the Lord had given him: a sling shot and five stones, to be exact.

He didn't compare. He didn't complain.

I have a lot to learn about that.

Throwing off the world's ideals, not listening to the enemy's taunts of who I am and who I am not.

David had a confidence that was great big because he didn't just know the promises of his great big God- he believed them.

He lived large in the middle of the reality of his less than...and giants fell.

Psalm 138:3 in the Message version says this:

"The moment I called out, you stepped in; you made my life large with strength."

I love that! HE makes my life large. 

Not my trying, not my doing, not my fit pitching, not my fussing, not my creating, not my succeeding, not my attention seeking, not my anything.

My little life turns large when I cry out and turn it over to Him.

Those great bigs in my life are indeed great big.

But God is bigger.

I may indeed be less than, but in Christ I am greater than.
I can slay giants...and so.can.you.

It's time to live large.

Don't give up, mom.
Don't give up, dad.
Don't give up, teacher.
Don't give up, pastor.
Don't give up, student.
Don't give up, senior adult.
Don't give up, business owner.
Don't give up, dreamer.
Don't.give.up.
God is at work in you and for you. 

If you have breath in your lungs, He is not done with you yet, friend.

Grab your slingshot. 

Let's go take down some giants. 

"When I walk into the thick of trouble, keep me alive in the angry turmoil. With one hand strike my foes, With your other hand save me. Finish what you started in me, GOD. Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now." 

Psalm 138:7-8 The Message

Spread Truth today! Post and Tweet this: 

"In Christ, I can live large in the middle of my less than...and giants WILL fall."-@JuliePMac #SimpleTruth

What giants are you facing? What has you convinced you are less than?
Have you seen this truth in your life? 
Comment below! 
I would love to pray for you and see how your story can encourage others to grab their slingshot!
There is power in community and power in prayer!

(Read more about David's story and God showing up great big in 1 Samuel 17) 

Time for New Perspectacles

Some days I just want to close my eyes.

Just close my eyes and escape back to the comfort of my bed, covers pulled overhead.

The view of my life seems safer there.

I can shout at circumstances to go away, without ever looking them in the eye.

I can even pretend they aren’t there.

But that doesn’t mean they go away…or that they get smaller or untangled.

Worst of all, it usually makes them bigger than ever in my mind.

My perspective has been whittled down to the sliver of light piercing into the spot of darkness I have chosen to lie down in.

Comfortably miserable in the familiar.

Maybe you have been there.

Maybe you are there.

Maybe you, like me, know what it’s like to live life from behind the covers in your life.

Maybe you, too, have had all the feelings about all the things.

Maybe you feel like you are losing the ability to truly see.

We are in need of new perspectacles.

God given perspectacles that open my eyes to the purpose, the plan, the power for the moments I am blindly stumbling through.

The funny thing about any glasses that correct my vision, is that they don’t just jump on my face. 

I have to pick them up, and put them on- day in and day out.

That’s why it isn’t enough to simply talk about a new perspective.

It feels elusive and slippery. 

It is something I cannot hold, so I rationalize it is something I cannot have.

You and I?

We have to look at what we are holding on to, feel it and acknowledge it in our hands and set it down. 

We have to take the time, make the effort to exchange our obstacles for perspectacles.

Obstacles of fear, worry, insecurity, pain, jealousy, bitterness- they all blind us to the truth.

This kind of skewed vision leads to a life dictated by circumstance rather than His Promises.

But God will replace your obstacles with perspectacles.

You have to put on your God given perspectacles, not just so can see the way, but so you can see the One.

These perspectacles don’t merely give you sight.
They focus the eyes of your heart on His hope, the way out of this dark you’re sitting in.

He doesn’t always remove those obstacles, but He constantly reminds you that HE remains.

That is the perspective that brings victory into the cover-over-my-head days.

No one can do the seeing for us.

We have to choose to open our eyes, allow our vision to be made new.

There is power in perspective.

Don’t waste another moment staring blindly at all that drains and paralyzes you.

Throw those covers back, friends!

Put on your God given perspectacles today.

“I ask-ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory- to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for His followers, oh the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust him- endless energy, boundless strength!”

Ephesians 1:18-19 The Message

Rollercoaster Parent

You’ve been there.

Scrolling through your newsfeed at a particular time of year when Facebook or Instagram is flooded with accolades from report cards, Awards Day, Sports banquets, etc., etc. 

As a parent, we have all posted our kids "wins" at some point- actively or passively. 

And if you haven't, you will.

But there is a hidden side of all this, which none of us ever dare talk about...

You see, I love to see the excellence, hard work, gifts, talents and opportunities applauded…really, I do.

But then, it hits like a leg cramp in the middle of the night. 

I mean it just reaches up and grabs a hold like a crab on a chicken neck: comparison.

"Oh wow. My kid didn’t do that."

"Yikes, is my kid even on grade level in that subject?"

You get the picture.

But why do I care? Why do you care? Why do any of us care?

Because we all like success.

Victory is programmed into the very fabric of our being. 

We are created in the image of a victorious God.

So, naturally, we all want to succeed at this parent thing.

I have never met anyone who has procreated, who- involved in their kids life or not- said, 

“Yeah, I hope my kid is a complete failure. That’d be greeeeaaat.” 

It doesn’t work that way. 

We see them as an extension of ourselves.

And we want that extension to represent us well, don’t we?

I'll be the first with my hand in the air on that one.

But boy, can this can be a dangerous ride.

I'm talking nauseating-where's-the-trashcan-panic-attack-inducing ride. 

The rollercoaster of all rollercoasters...if you let it.

And me? Unfortunately, I'm a annual pass holder. 

I find myself, green in the face, asking, 

"How did I end up on this up-and-down ride as a parent?

No one who has ever been a parent has described it as easy. Ever.
Seriously. It is a tough and unpredictable adventure.
But, contrary to popular opinion, being a parent doesn't have to be a never-ending rollercoaster ride. 

Have you ever seen those warning signs posted outside a rollercoaster? 

It basically lets you know in a nutshell that if you have issues...dude...don't get on...just don't do it. 

But there is always that person who thinks they have to because all their friends are, or they don't believe the warnings...and that usually ends being the person whose vomit you are stepping through later on. 

Gross. Ain't nobody got time for that.

But our pseudo-friend Good Intention coaxes us onward, further into the line. Then Fear shows up, and tells us we better jump on, because our reputation is on the line. And of course, Comparison convinces us there is no other way to exist, so you better just figure out how to ride this ride for the long haul.

So...I'm talking to the queasy parents who one way or another have boarded this rollercoaster and feel like it's the only way to go through this awesome journey called parenting.
I'm talking to those who are already covered in vomit- your own or somebody else's.
I'm talking to those standing at the warning sign, feeling the pressure.

I'm talking to me.

I'm talking to you. 

Here is the real danger we face: 

If I take credit for my kids successes, I will also take credit for their failures.

Let that sink in a second.

If I pat myself on the back-even in secret- for the right choices my children make, then I will beat myself up for the the wrong choices they make.

That is sobering truth. 

Truth I don't want to admit. 

But follow me here...

If I, as a parent, begin to combat that truth with, "But shouldn't I be proud I have trained up my child in the way they should go?"

That same logic as a parent also then leads me to this question at some point: 

"But shouldn't I be condemned because I failed in some area of training my child in the way they should go?" 

Neither are true of you and I as parents, when we are living with the grace of God rushing through our veins.

Here is where we slam the emergency brakes on the rollercoaster and disembark this dizzying ride:

All I truly can do is be obedient to the Holy Spirit guided parenting He has called me to, and then.... 

trust God with the rest.

Releasing our kids doesn't begin at 18; it begins before they take their first breath.

Otherwise, I am subject to the rise and fall of the choices they make.

This is a me-centric attitude toward parenting: wanting them to act a certain way because of how those choices reflect on me.

Me-centric parenting has a desire for the child to succeed that grows from our own busy-ness to make them victorious, rather than from our rest in the already achieved victory of Jesus.

Of course we all want our children to make safe, successful choices- choices that bring them life, health, and happiness...but is that so I can walk with my head held high, or so that Jesus alone can be lifted high? .

Good or bad- we should use it all to point our children, and this world, to the grace of Jesus. 

That is the Jesus-centric parenting we all should strive for as Christ followers.

If I take credit for my child choosing good, then I am belittling the grace of God. 

Even my choices to lead my child well are only possible through grace.

Because only by grace can a sinner make a choice that speaks true life.

.

When I struggle with Jesus-centric parenting, it's because I am not embracing the fullness of His grace- the all encompassing grace that Jesus gave His life to pour out over mine...and theirs.

It is not about what I can get them to do or not do:

It's about WHO I point them to through it all.

I don't just need grace to be a parent- they need grace to be a son, be a daughter.

I can't forget that they need JESUS above all else- NOT my excellence in parenting.

They need me to be excellent in my pursuit of Jesus above all else.

That is what will transform and empower their life.

When I finally admit my deepest heart motives, and get that it's not ME that they need- it's Jesus in me and through me they need...THAT is when I fulfill my role as a parent the way God intended, and release all delusions about my abilities. 

So here's the truth: 

You DON'T have to get on the ride. 

And here's the warning: 

If you do, it WILL make you sick.

Good intentions may have gotten us on that parent rollercoaster...but only Grace will get us off.

We don't have to be rollercoaster parents.

Somebody throw the kill switch already.

Parent friends, let's choose to put our feet on the solid ground of His grace, and walk forward in faith.

So next time you see me zombie eyed heading toward that line...do me a favor...grab my arm and tell me to run the other direction- straight into the arms of my Father and His never ending grace and love.  

Galatians 3:3- NIV

"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"

James 4:6- AMP

"But He gives us more and more grace..."

Noisy Bird

"How rude. I mean, doesn’t this bird know I am trying to spend some QUIET time with the Lord on this beautiful gulf coast beach morning?” 

That’s what I was thinking at first. 

I really did try to let it go and concentrate, but my ADD tendencies got the better of me and I full on immersed myself in the unfolding bird drama.      

This solitary bird standing on the shore in the dry sand was wailing…incessantly. 

As in shrill, ear piercing shrieks. 

Once I realized it wasn’t just chirping or doing its regular thing, I got a little concerned:

Maybe this bird is hurt? 

Can it even fly? 

Maybe she is a mama bird attracting away predators in ultimate sacrifice. 

Maybe she is warning her bird friends of impending danger. 

Maybe I should help this wittle birdie!

My curiosity was peaked…so I watched.

All week, I had been fascinated with birds that would fly over the shallow coastline and dive bomb the water to catch a fish. The precision and commitment was intense.

So I noticed that this noisy bird, still standing on and never moving from the shore, continually screeched at another bird flying nearby over the water as it fished. 

The fisher bird would come to the noisy bird and go back to the water again and again.

Noisy bird never missed a beat. Ever. 

It constantly cried out to the bird fishing.

And then, it happened.

The other bird caught a fish and took it to Noisy bird and fed it.

Then it happened again. And again and again.

The only time Noisy bird was silent, was in the 3 seconds it took it to swallow that fish, then it went right back to the wailing.

The fisher bird went out and back, out and back, over and over.

I was beginning to be inspired! 

Here is this bird willing to feed a fellow bird-injured and impaired-who is unable to fish on its own! 

But then, to my surprise, Noisy bird, who had seemed so bound to the shore-seemingly physically unable to do what would sustain its life- just took off in flight! <insert audible gasp on my part>

Now, this was no baby bird. 

It was full grown, just like the one feeding it. 

It had no impairments.

Yet, it pierced the atmosphere, demanding to be fed. 

And this fisher bird complied.

Then, Noisy bird got its fill of the whole ordeal and took off. 

But I kept thinking: what will happen when this bird gets hungry next time? 

Because, the funny thing about hunger is that it will always come again.

So what then? 

Will it make another scene, shrieking demands to be fed? 

Will some other bird be its fisher? 

The very hunger that gave rise to Noisy bird’s shriek could have been satisfied in beautiful stillness if the bird itself would have pursued its source of nourishment.

There would have been no need for the drama.

No need for the squawking.

Just focus. Then food. Then nourishment….and repeat.

This very bird who stayed noisy on the shore was created with vision to see into the ocean depths, to find its sustenance and strength in the vast ocean, and wings to rise above waves and dangers that could drag it down.

And so are we.

We were knit together to pursue our Source of sustenance and strength, to rise above.

But it’s so much easier some days to stand on the shore where we feel safe and pitch a fit and make noise.

The reality is, the most distracting and paralyzing noise in my life comes from my own mouth.

Instead of letting my soul hunger drive me toward the use of my uniquely given gifts, talents, and personality in the relentless pursuit of the Person of Jesus, I plant my feet and wail about my self-imposed emptiness.

Following Christ isn’t just about holding eternal death at bay.

It is about embracing the abundant life Jesus died for us to have.

It is about the soaring, the diving, the hunger…understanding that the more I seek Him, the more I find Him.

And there is growth in the pursuit.

Pursuit begins with choosing to move.

Choose to embrace all He created you to be and died for you to receive.

If you stay noisy on the shore, the joy of pursuit will never be revealed, the reward of encounter and fulfillment never truly experienced.

Staying hungry is a good thing. 

Waiting for somebody to bring you a meal on the shore? Not so much.

Yes, life is noisy. 

But let’s resolve that the noise that distracts ourselves and others from their pursuit of Jesus won’t be coming from us.

Take flight, friends.

No more noisy bird.