Believe*Remain*Trust

There have been a lot of wrong-way driving incidents in the news recently haven’t there?

Unfortunately, some of these stories have had tragic ending.  Others have made me think “oh no, not again!”

I had my first encounter with a wrong way driver about 12 years ago.  We were coming home late one night after a long weekend in Heber. We’re driving South on the 87, just a couple of miles north of the Saguaro Lake  turn-off.

Do you know the area I’m talking about?  Big rocks between 4 lanes.  Very clearly a divided highway.

I’m driving in the left lane, just cruising along listening to my favorite CD.  So I’m be-bopping down the highway and in the far off distance I see headlights coming.  As we get closer to each other I realize this car is coming towards me in my lane!  And they weren't slowing down either!  As our cars approached each other I suddenly swerved into the right lane to avoid a head-on collision.

I watched in my rear-view mirror as their tail-lights disappeared into the night.

I was thinking what just happened?  My heart was pounding, my palms were sweating, and I was freaking out.

I do know this, it was a very surreal moment; kind of like a scene from the Matrix.  A couple of weeks later the incident was filed away as a distant memory.

BELIEVE * REMAIN * TRUST

Just a few weeks ago I had another encounter with a wrong way driver.  Only this time it was broad daylight.  Right up the road on Sossaman.  I was coming South on Sossaman just before you get to the airport. 

Here comes a car driving on the wrong side of the road.  The car travelling in front of me swerved over and for a split second I’m flashing back to that night 12 years ago.

Again it was surreal, why is this car coming at me, confusion because it’s not a normal to have a car traveling at you right.

BELIEVE*REMAIN*TRUST

God used this recent wrong way driver incident to remind me how subtly I can get distracted.  As I was talking to some friends about the recent wrong way driving events I shared that in that moment, that split second when the car is coming at you, your mind can’t process the fact that a car is coming at you in your lane.  It’s not what my brain will immediately process as truth.  But, if I don’t react and get I the other lane I’m going to be in an accident!

Maybe a few days slip by and I haven’t prayed, opened my bible or looked at my devotional.  If I’m honest with myself I am easily lulled into believing I have my life under control,  Surely, I’d know if I were being led astray.  I've got my words/desires under control.  My husband will understand if I’m gone a few extra nights this week.  Which turns a few extra nights for weeks.

Just insert whatever may be going on in your life right now.  Is it pride? Doggone it you’re right you just know it!  Is it anger? Maybe you’re so angry with someone right now  can't seem to focus on anything but how you've been wronged?  Maybe your life isn't turning out to your expectations.  Or perhaps, perhaps the rug just get jerked out from underneath you and you’re still trying to catch your breath?

BELIEVE* REMAIN*TRUST

It’s been my experience that I’m either going into a season, I’m smack dab in the middle of what seems like it’s never ending season or I've just come out of a season. 

If you've known me for very long you've probably heard me say, “it’s a process” or “I’m in the process.”  I believe for me it’s in the process not the outcome that God teaches me.

  BELIEVE* REMAIN*TRUST

Believe – What do I believe?  Do I believe what the world says is true?  Or do I take a moment to seek God and read what he says in his word?

Hebrews 11:6 NLV

“A man cannot please God unless he has faith.  Anyone who comes to God must believe that HE is.  That one must also know that God gives what is promised to the one who keeps looking for Him.”

Trust – Do I trust myself?  Should I trust myself?  My best friend?  Or do I trust in the One who won’t misled me, who truly wants what’s best for me?  Did you know that trust in the bible is often times translated as lean on?  

 Proverbs 3:5 AMP

“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with ALL your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.”

Remain – Just as in my wrong-way driver experience: Am I going to remain in the wrong lane or am I going to switch lanes per say?

  John 15:5 NET

“I am the vine; you are the branches.  The one who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing.”

It’s my hope that these 3 simple words will be our mantra or theme this year.

                                                      Believe * Trust* Remain

What I believe builds on trust.  The One I Trust in is only solidified when I remain.

In life we won't be in control of our circumstances, but we have a choice in how we react.  I pray this for each of us:

When the world seems uncertain we

BELIEVE

When the outcome seems hopeless we

TRUST

In the midst of life’s storms we

REMAIN

Pray: Lord, we humbly come before your throne today, so grateful for Jesus.  Father, as your daughters empty of us of our unbelief.  Fill us with the ability to believe even more than we ever thought possible.  To trust in you implicitly when the chaos becomes great.  To remain steadfast under your guidance.  Thank you that today we have an opportunity to know you a little bit better than we did yesterday,

I pray all this in Christ Jesus name, and all Jesus girls said….

~Julie

Living For What Really Matters

     If you know me, you are probably chuckling to yourself ( or laughing out loud uncontrollably) that I am writing this blog.. about this subject. 

     My name is Nicole Miller.  I have a little problem. Some days I’m a little busy.  Well, to be honest.. Most days I’m a little busy.  It’s a common problem.  I’m a working mother of three busy children.  I’m also a “yes” person.  Which means, I have a hard time saying no when people ask me to do things.  If there is anyway possible for me to do something for someone, I’ll probably try.  I work, I volunteer, I feel called to devote time to pinterest & facebook in my efforts to be a “super mom” & “super wife” & “super employee” & “super friend”  & etc. etc.  My three kids are involved in extra curricular activities.. and well, you know, I am like they typical American family nowadays..  I am BUSY!! 

            I know I am not the only one.  Most women I know just learn how to juggle. Things seem to be working out fine.  People look at your family and wonder how you do it all.  It’s so smooth and balanced.. but only on the surface. 

            Ok, you are probably thinking.  Yes, I’m a little busy too.   But don’t you have to be in this culture?  How do I know if I’m too busy??  I thought it would be fun to make a little quiz.  I’ve always loved those quizzes you find in magazines.  You know, the quizzes you took to tell you “if he really likes you” or “what kind of friend you really are” etc.  So, here it goes.  Give yourself 1 point for each yes answer. 

      1.  You find yourself always looking for something you’ve misplaced.

            2.  You often get inappropriately frustrated at small things that snag your day.  (You don’t have     TIME for that!)

      3.  You often worry about your schedule or wished you had more time.

      4.  People have to schedule with you weeks in advance to spend time with you. You have no time for spontaneity!

      5.  You eat meals in non-optimal settings, such as standing, in a car, while folding laundry, on the phone etc.

      6.  You dread when the doorbell or the phone rings because you feel you do not have time to visit.

      7.  You pray for cancellations.

      8.  Everyone tells you you’re too busy.

      9.  You suffer from headaches.

     10.  Whenever you do have a minute to relax, you think about how much you have to do.

     11.  You wake up not excited for the day because you have so much to do.

     12.  You haven’t had time in your day to spend with your Lord. 

    Yikes!!  If you answered yes to 6 or more, you are probably too busy!  Is that the life God wants for you?  When we are too busy, our health, finances, and relationships suffer.  It doesn’t matter how talented we are, how able or strong.  We will NEVER be able to meet every need around us or accomplish all that we think needs to be done. So, how do we SIMPLIFY our lives??  How do we get off the Merry-go-round??  How do we just focus on what is REALLY important?

     It starts with a decision.  I will be LESS busy.  I don’t want to live like this anymore.

     Then, we need to evaluate our lives. 

     Write down your schedule… everything you do.  There are some things on there that only you can do.  God has called only me to be Nicole Miller.  Only I can be a wife to my husband.  Only I can mother my children.  God has called me to a unique place in my life and has given me things that only I can do.  Pray and ask God what it is that He has called only you to do.   Those things need to have priority.  Now, start eliminating things that are not essential.  Others might be disappointed, but that’s ok.  It is easy to fill our schedules up with “good things” because we want to please and help people, and then not have time for the  “best things” that God has called us to do.  Be sure there are spaces around things, so you are not rushed!  Leave big blocks of time open, so you can do something that makes you happy, maybe exercising, spending time with family, doing a hobby, or just relaxing.  If you struggle with being distracted, schedule a block of time for email and social networking so you do not find yourself being interrupted or pulled to the computer all day.

     About 2 years ago I was finding myself overstressed & over busy.  I sought Godly counsel, read the bible, prayed, and asked myself some hard questions. I wrote down my schedule, eliminated things, and practiced saying no.  I was able to simplify my life!  I thought I was cured!  Imagine my surprise when a few months ago I started having all the symptoms of a hectic life again!?!  If you, like me, struggle with busyness, this will not be a one time deal.  I now set my phone alarm to remind me twice a year to reevaluate my life.  Am I starting to get too busy again?  Is there anything in my schedule that is taking up my time that is not the “best thing” God has for me? 

      I love the quote from author and professor Dr. Dallas Willard.  “God will, generally speaking, not compete for our attention. If we will not withdraw from things that obsess and exhaust us into solitude and silence, He will usually leave us to our own devices,"

      Prayer:  Lord, show me how to restructure my priorities so that they will be in line with your will.  Please don’t let me live a life of busyness that damages my health, my peace, and my relationships.  Help me to know what it is that you have given me that only I can do.  Help me to simplify my schedule and focus on what really matters.  

Be Blessed.

This summer I hope you have thought about what it means to be “simply you”. I find that this is harder to do than it seems at first. I do not want to try to be more than I am. And yet I am tired of shrinking back and being afraid, and living less than the sum total of my convictions, passions, identity, and dreams that have been forged in me by God.

I really do want to be simply me.

I don’t want to excuse my awful moments away like it doesn’t really matter if I am unkind, or discontent, or saturated with a critical spirit. It matters.

It matters, too, that I have these intense convictions within myself that will not lie down and rest. These make my heart beat, my fist pound, my future days come into sharp perspective and I cannot back down from them. To do so would be like living a lie, selling out, and denying pillars that feel morally imperative for me. They are my stakes in the ground and I will not budge.

Some stuff matters if I am going to be simply me.

I pray and hope you will be simply you. There are no cookie cutter versions of us as women. I want you to be simply you as much as I want to be simply me. That, to me, is beautiful. It’s beautiful for you to be you. You aren’t diminished in this world if I choose to be me, and I am not diminished if you choose to be you. Isn’t that really the truth?

I think it is amazing when we live this beautiful freedom out. I think that is what the Scriptures intend when we are told to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another.” (Romans 12:15-16)

This, to me, would be gloriously harmonious. What would it be like to cherish each other so profoundly that we would weep if we saw another weeping? That we’d be overjoyed at another’s joy?

         What if someone else’s pain was actually your pain? 

         Someone else’s joy, your delight? 

         Someone else’s hardship your constant, heart felt petition?

I think if we were women like this we’d be utterly blessed. I know because I have seen glimpses of it.

The moments I have been most profoundly blessed have been when God has allowed me to do something for somebody else. I know this is monumentally SIMPLE! We learned it when we were children when our mother’s said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (which we seriously doubted on Christmas morning!) And yet, it is so true.

I always think back to a line from an old movie with Steve Martin. In this movie an older woman who is having arguably the toughest season in her life makes Steve Martin’s character a pie and brings it over in order to be a blessing to him. His character is shocked that she would even think to worry about him when she is in such a heartbreaking season. But then she says,

“The quickest way to forget about your own troubles is to do something to lighten somebody else’s.”

We forget to do this though. Instead we get bogged down in our own misery and we forfeit the sweet joy that would be ours if we chose- even in the midst of our own trial, to bless somebody else.

News flash. (Ready?? This is going to be stunning.) You can be blessed by blessing others.  (I know. What a concept.)

I know firsthand that this is true. Fifteen years ago somebody in our life blessed us immensely by giving our family a car. Seriously, a car. I was floored. Who gives someone else a car??

It wasn’t until years later that I realized we had not even been close to receiving the greatest portion of joy in that scenario. But one day, as I sat across from a dear young family and handed them the keys to a minivan, I learned that the real blessing had been in the giving all along.  It was indescribable.

God, in His Word, says it this way:

            A generous person will prosper;
    

                        whoever refreshes others will themselves be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)

My invitation to you this week is simple.

Bless somebody. Be blessed by blessing someone.

Don’t hold back, don’t shy away, don’t bury yourself in your own small universe. Get out there and know a new joy. The joy of being a blessing.

Anagram's, Cliche's, Metaphor's, Oxymoron's and Life

I really enjoy a good play on words,

something that makes me stop and ponder for a moment. 

 An oxymoron is a great example of a 

figure of speech in which contradictory words are used together. 

Honestly, my whole life seems to be one big oxymoron.  Growing up I wanted nothing more than to be accepted, to feel like I 'fit in' with the my friends in school, to have a 'normal family'.  WOW, now those are two oxymoron's if ever there were one!  I love how in Scripture God speaks to us using a variety of ways trying to get our attention.  God is so creative in getting his message across; virgin-birth, God-man, born again.  While Jesus mainly spoke in parables he also used oxymoron's; servant leaders, first shall be last, the lost shall be found.  Whether that means lost in the literal sense as in having no sense of direction or lost in the Biblical sense as in not knowing Christ.  

But I've digressed.....

Here's just little bit of my background, some food for thought if you will, not for pity mind you but to give you a bit of insight on how I gained my perspective of life. Back in the day, fourth grade to be exact, I had just moved which meant starting  a new school, new friends  Sigh!  Our new home was a small, single-wide trailer on a large hog farm in Nowhere, Missouri.  One of the things I vividly remember about this home was that the water we had came from a small pond about 1/4 mile away.  I mean it literally came directly from the pond, that means no filtration, no chlorine, NADA, piped directly to our home via the fish smelling pond and everything that came with it!  Yes we eventually got city water, but the stage was set.

So started my journey with wanting, desiring, craving of more......anything, anyhow, anyway.  God wasn't on my radar.  1 John 2:16 puts it like this:  "For the world offers only a craving of physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see and pride in our achievements and possessions...." They say you don't miss what you don't know or have, but I don't agree with that statement.   Look at Eve for crying out loud!  

Fast forward. At 19 I was pregnant, alone, scared out of my mind and still the gnawing of more was growing greater within me.  I moved to Arizona to live with my mom, dad and sister, to start a new life, in my mind it was going to be a better life.  Eventually I married my high school sweetheart, was able to quit a pretty good job and help him as he started a soon to be very successful painting business.  

Things were starting to look up, in my mind anyway.  

"For as a man thinks in his heart so is he...",  Proverbs 23:7

We built a couple of dream homes, had a cabin up north, went on trips, bought whatever we wanted.  It's like watching a scene in a horror movie, you can't help but peek.  Oh can anyone relate?  More was never enough. Success seemed like it would never end, but even with all the worldly success my desires for more was insatiable.  But God continued to draw me and eventually He won. Once I let him into my heart, let's just say God began to some major housework.

When the economy went south we lost our painting business, we lost our dream home, the cabin, the credit cards, etc, etc.  My head was spinning, how could God allow this to happen?  Here's where the story goes crazy, after a having MAJOR HISSY FIT it hit me like a ton of bricks. 

 I wasn't losing, I was gaining

Every single earthly thing I thought I needed to be content was a lie.   I used to get so scared of the unknown, I took for granted the things of this world.  Situations I thought controlled, using my manipulating schemes to hide from reality and live on my own terms and strength. 

 Paul seems to know me exactly, I am a mess!

I used to think that it was me, that I gave up these things.  But I now know, God, in his great mercy and kindness took the things from me that were standing in the way of the work he continues to do in my mind and heart. 

"But I gave up those things that were so important to me for Christ. 

Even more than that, I think of everything as worth nothing.

It is so much better to know Christ Jesus my Lord.  

I have lost everything for Him.

And I think of these things as worth nothing so that I can have Christ.  

I want to be as one with Him. 

 I could not be right with God by what the Law said I must do.  

I was made right with God by faith in Christ.  

I want to know Him..

  I want to have the same power 

in my life that raised Jesus from the dead.

  I want to understand and have a share in His sufferings 

and be like Christ in His death. 

 Then I may be raised up from among the dead."

Philippians 3:7-11

I love in Philippians 4:4,7 where Paul says, "Be full of joy always because you belong to the Lord, Again, I say be full of joy!......The peace of God is much greater than the human mind can understand.  This peace will keep your hearts and minds through Christ."

God isn't finished with me on this journey, I know that now.  But instead of dreading what's next, I ask God what he wants to show me not only about myself but more importantly about his character.  

Over and over he sweetly reminds me: 

I was once a child of the world. I am now a child of God.

What about you?  What is God trying to pry your hands off of?  Perhaps he wants to sweetly shed some beautiful light on something that has been hidden in the dark for far to long.  

Can you hear God 

gently whisper 

in your ear 

that you are his beloved?

Written by: Julie Lynch

Julie is a newly certified Biblical Life Coach. She loves mentoring women and stepping out of her "pond" as she lets God totally reorder and reorient her life- over and over. You can follow Julie at stilladirtroadgirl.blogspot.com

Cherish Each Day

I am so excited to be sharing with you about this topic. This is a lesson I learned the hard way. I am so grateful that our faithful God takes the time to gently teach me… even if I'm as dense as they get.

My "short" story... Short is a relative term right?

Picture this:  I marry the man of my dreams.  A man I have been great friends with for nine years.  I used to give him girl advice…  WOW, did that ever pay off!  Oh the first year was so easy to cherish.  It makes me smile just thinking about the awesome things God did for us that first year!  Then we decide we should start trying for a baby.  We used to talk about having eight kids.  It started as just an exciting journey, all the names and what’s and where’s we dreamt of.  Again, those were easy days to cherish.  Then the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth years came and went and there were no babies. No booties. No onesies. No due dates.  

Those days were not so easy to cherish.  By the beginning of the seventh year I was so discouraged and sad.  I didn't question that God was able. I just wanted so badly to know why He chose not to.

Then something happened… 

I gave up!  I gave up trying to figure it out, I gave up trying to fix it, I gave up trying to make God fit into my reasoning. There I stood, just me, physically and spiritually broken.  It was at that moment that I realized my eyes had been fixed on the end result and not the journey.  This is when I realized how precious each day is.  Not just the end results!

Have you ever heard the saying “The days are long but the years are short"? Isn't it SO true?

Believe it or not it was only a few short weeks after that when we found out we were pregnant.  And the true blessing in all of this? Being able to cherish a day before it passes.  I am so grateful I learned this lesson before having our little miracle. Oh! To live in the moment and not have to lie in bed at the end of the day and regret the moments I might have missed!

In a funk… again...

I warned you I was dense!  Just a few months ago I found myself venting to a girlfriend that I was super discouraged and feeling pretty much like a failure.  I couldn't seem to stick with anything-let alone do the things I felt God calling me to… I was in a funk… again. But my sweet friend reminded me that it is in the process. 

What would we do without good girlfriends?  Pretty sure I'd be in a straight jacket by now! Can I get an AMEN?

The Process

How quickly I forget!  How fast I can hone in on the end results and the tasks and duties and forget the greater goal...the process.  How precious the process! 

It is waking up, taking a deep breath, grabbing God's hand, and facing the day. His love and grace is not something I earn.  It is simply waking up and saying I surrender! I give up!  You, dear Lord, be the author of this day.   This day is an opportunity to be shaped by the Creator of the universe… oh how much easier it is to cherish the day, to embrace the process, to enjoy the journey when I remember what is most important.

It isn't about having the cleanest house or the best homemade meals or the best-dressed, cleanest child on the block, or even memorizing the most Scriptures.  It is about walking with God!  My day, today, this very moment is about being in relationship with Him.  It is so hard to put aside the things that demand our time and the responsibilities at hand and rest in the presence of God.  To dwell in the shelter of the Most High.  And yet when the day is done, the things I cherish aren't clean dishes and folded laundry, but the smiles of my daughter as we read books and the echo of her laugh as we danced around the kitchen or the encouraging Scripture that resounds in my head reminding me that my God is faithful and true.

I have learned that what makes a day worth cherishing is when I start in prayer and worship first thing! So I would like to end with the song I've been singing the last few days.  It will be familiar to most of you but I would encourage you to take a moment and really read the words!

I Surrender All

     All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;

     
I will ever love and trust Him, 
In His presence daily live.


     I surrender all,
I surrender all;


     All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
 I surrender all.

     All to Jesus I surrender;
 Humbly at His feet I bow,
 

     Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
 

     Take me, Jesus, take me now.

     All to Jesus I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;


     Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

     All to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;


     Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

     All to Jesus I surrender;
 Now I feel the sacred flame.


     Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 

     Psalm 91:1

This verse reminds me that I am never alone and that each day, even the hard ones, are worth cherishing when I grab my Abba's hand!

About Me

My name is Didi Farmer. I am an Arizona native born and raised in Flagstaff.  I have three sisters who are my very best friends in life.  Josh and I met 18 years ago this month.  I told my mom at thirteen that I was going to marry him someday.  We will celebrate our ninth anniversary in September.   We have one huge blessing, Emma Jo, and she is the light of our lives.  Our lives haven't been perfect and neither are we, but we are growing together striving to bring glory to God.

Choose to Live Free

This week’s segment for our SIMPLY YOU series is written by Liz Fleming. Liz is a doctor, a missionary, and a generous and lovely woman of God who serves the Kingdom in this present season in Haiti. You can follow Liz on her blog at promisesareyes.blogspot.com.

  

A couple of years ago I was having a theological discussion with some friends.  We were talking about a very specific doctrinal topic, and one of my friends made the comment that if he had to choose between freedom and obedience he would choose obedience.  I reflected on this a lot over the next few days, praying and searching the Scriptures.  It seems to me that we aren't supposed to make a choice between freedom and obedience – somehow we have to live in them both. 

After all, Jesus claimed that “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”[i]  Paul says that “It was for freedom that Christ has set us free,”[ii] and that we “were called to freedom”.[iii]  Peter urges us to “live as people who are free.”[iv]  Of course we are admonished not to use our freedom as an excuse to sin.  But if we are in Christ we have the Holy Spirit in us.  And “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”[v]

My sisters, when Jesus returns “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”[vi]  All of creation will be free!  And we are to start living today as we will one day live in the fullness of the Kingdom of God – in glorious freedom!

Five meditations on freedom for your week

Day 1:  Free from sin and death

We were freed from our sins by the blood of Jesus.[vii]  In the battle for our minds, for our very selves, it is in our holding on to what is true that sets us free and breaks the chains of death.  God's Word says that we are free.  Therefore it is true.  Satan wants us to stay in the dark, to consider ourselves bound to our sins, to our past. 

It is not pious to continue to beat ourselves up over our sins, our past, our addictions.  It is falling into Satan's trap, considering ourselves “less than.”  Less than others, less than ideal, less than God wants.  The one who accuses is not God – the one who accuses is Satan.  It is God's kindness that leads us to repentance.[viii]

“For one who has died [through baptism in Christ Jesus] has been set free from sin.”[ix]  Declare out loud, “I have been set free from my sin.”  Now sing with me John Wesley's “And Can It Be (Amazing Love)”:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Day 2:  Free from shame

In Christ we are freed from shame.  Knowing that we are accepted in the Beloved, we do not need to hide our past or worry about exposure.  After all, this is also the Gospel:  God, knowing everything we have ever done or thought, loves us and accepts us. 

Sit for a moment with the one who would free you from shame.  Let him “rejoice over you with gladness. . . quiet you by his love. . . exult over you with loud singing.”[x]  Read the story of a woman who approached Jesus, caring nothing for the opinion of others because she was focused on the One who loved her – Luke 7: 36 – 49.  Now go in peace.

Day 3:  Free from worry and fear

We know who holds the future.  That truth frees us from worry.  “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom.”[xi]  As we trust God to be present in all circumstances we are able to “laugh at the time to come.”[xii]

Sit today with the Good Shepherd, and let his perfect love cast out your fear.[xiii]  Spend a few minutes meditating on Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”  Now look ahead at your day and imagine what you will do, released from all worry and fear.

Day 4:  Free to laugh, rejoice, dance, worship!

Because of Jesus, I do not have to wait until I am perfect to come before God's throne in worship[xiv].  No sacrifices need to be made, no rituals performed.  I can sing God's praises at any time, anywhere, and in any crazy way (remember King David dancing nearly naked?[xv]). 

Spend a few moments praising God – with music, with your voice, in silence, as you like.  Sitting, standing, dancing, kneeling, lying prostrate – whatever strikes you at the moment.

Day 5:  Free to love, obey and serve

I serve only one master, and that is God.  And yet my relationship to others is as a servant, due to my love for them and my love for Jesus.  Serving God alone actually frees me to love the unlovely and to serve the unworthy.[xvi]

Jesus knew who he was and was free to act in unexpected ways -- free to be a servant, free to wash his disciples' feet.[xvii]  Our freedom should lead us to serve one another through love.[xviii]  Who will you serve today?  How will that look differently today as you serve in complete freedom and see Jesus in the one that you serve?

Final meditation
My sister, you are loved and you are free.  Rejoice in who you are and praise the One who made you!  Pray with me:  “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”[xix] Hallelujah!

---

[i]  John 8:36, [ii] Galatians 5:1, [iii] Galatians 5:13, [iv] 1 Peter 2:16, [v] 2 Corinthians 3:17, [vi] Romans 8:21, [vii] Rev 1:5, [viii] Romans 2:4, [ix] Romans 6:7, [x] Zephaniah 3:17, [xi] Luke 12:32

[xii] Proverbs 31:25, [xiii] 1 John 4:18, [xiv] Hebrews 4:16, [xv] 2 Samuel 6:14, [xvi] See Ephesians 6:5 - 6, [xvii] See John 13:3 and following, [xviii] Galatians 5:13, [xix] Revelation 1:5b - 6

Love and Be Loved

Hi my name is Konnie Allee. I am a wife to an amazingly kind and gentle man.  I fell in love with him I think the moment I first saw him pat the hand of an elderly woman.  Together we have seven wonderful children that I can say I truly not only love (of course) but like as well.  We also have some pretty incredible grandchildren, ten, including our Ghana baby, my daughter and her husband are in process of adopting.

Loves richest lessons have often come to me through the most adverse of times.  Divorce, drug addiction, financial struggles, a complicated blended family, care for sick, elderly parents, illness; all these hardships were difficult at the time but the end fruit was a closer walk with my Father, a sense of family with my faith community and a renewed appreciation for life.  For that I am intensely grateful. I am learning to stop trying to avoid the unpleasantness of a messy life, instead embrace it all as a gift, by which God’s love shines.

To Love and Be Loved

. . . She paused and then added honestly and almost tremblingly, “I see the longing to be loved and admired growing in my heart, Shepherd, but I don’t think I see the kind of Love that you are talking about, at least, nothing like the love which I see in You.” (Much Afraid is the main character in the book Hinds Feet on High Places)

Quite precisely Much Afraid has spoken; the kind of love the Good Shepherd is speaking of is a higher love. He speaks of a love that does not seek after self.  We all tend to be like Much Afraid, and our desire to be loved far exceeds our desire to love. 

After all, to love can be a very vulnerable position.  To love gives someone else the power to hurt you. Most of us resist pain of any kind and at all costs.  Often we go into self-defense mode, selecting the depth we will allow our love to go. We may withhold it from those we have determined are undeserving. Perhaps we have become hardened to love all together, either the giving or receiving.

Yet we have a Master who has commanded us to “love one another just as He loves” (John 13:34-35). It seems an impossible task. This is truly a high calling. How can we possibly fulfill His command? That is what I hope to discover as we search through scripture together in what it means to be a woman who chooses to love and be loved.

We can not attempt to be pleasing to our Father without first seeking His direction so please pray with me:

Dear Father, because You are the place that love originates, we come to You to be taught.  Your command to love the way You love seems impossible, but yet we know You understand our hearts better than we do, so we ask You, by Your Spirit, to do the work in us. Search us O God, refine us into to image of Your Son. We acknowledge our weakness, our doubts, our complete dependence on You, please, now open Your Word to us. Help us to lay aside every preconceived notion as we approach the topic of love. Our only desire is to love You better, to love others better and receive love better.  We ask that Your Spirit direct us into truth.  Be glorified in Your Son’s name, Jesus. Amen

Love and Be Loved

How could an All Knowing, All Powerful, All Present God possibly call on us to fulfill His mission here on planet earth?  Knowing us the way He does, how can we possibly be His plan? 

Let’s look at John 3:16-17, I know we all know it by heart but please look it up, look at the words on the page.

If you could, how would you paraphrase (put into your own words) this passage?

What is the heart of God towards people?

What is His desire for the lost?

What is your desire for the lost?

Let’s look up John 13:34-35

 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” NLT

What will prove to the world that we are His disciples?

What do we do if we just don’t feel “loving”?

Let us remember, “Love is not a feeling. It’s a decision. ”
Love is a DOING word. It requires choices. Hard choices, sometimes. It’s about sacrifice. It’s about faithfulness. It requires commitment. It sometimes hurts and doesn’t feel so good.

 If our hearts break over the lost we must adopted this attitude of love. True Love.

 A true disciple of Christ has no excuse for not loving.

Let’s look at Romans 5:5

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

What has God poured into your heart?

Do you believe it?

I like to look at God’s Word for just what it says; this tells me that God has already poured His love into us. This word “poured” is one that Greeks would have understood in this way; gush out, run greedily, overflowing.  It has this idea of unmeasured. The Greek language gives a much fuller meaning. Love without measure!  WOW! Think of that! The Originator of love itself has poured His brand of love into you and me without measure. 

How do you feel about the fact that God’s kind of love is poured out, to the point of overflowing, into you?

Do you think that He has given you all this love so you can feel good and happy?

While a sense of peace and joy may be part of the outcome of His love, I believe the purpose is far holier than that. 

What do you think He wants you to do with this great love?

Are you willing?

Turn to Ephesians 2:4-8

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God

What strikes the cords of your heart in this passage?

Do you recall when you were not saved?

What was it like the moment you believed?

To me this scripture speaks of how God sees the lost through His tender mercy.  As I read this passage tears of sweet, sweet gratitude run down my cheeks. I am overwhelmed with the awareness of how lost I once was.  I like to keeps this thought in the forefront of my thoughts because it keeps me from judging people.  It tenders my heart toward the lost. Most importantly it reminds me of the destiny of the lost and the destiny of the saved.  Because of God’s love I am compelled to share what God has done in my life

At the core of LOVE is God, and God’s love for people. I pray you will pray and ask God to develop within you a heart like His- to truly understand what it is to Love and Be Loved.

I John 4:19-20

 We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?