Bracelets That Build - Fundraising Campaign

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Would You Get Out of the Way?

Would you get out of the way?  This question sounds so rude, but it can be freeing to complete the request. What if we moved our selfish pride, fears, and ‘stuff’ out of the way between us and God? Would we be able to see more clearly and breathe better?

"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." (I Cor. 13:12 NLT)

Being that I am due to deliver a baby any day, my sisters came to help me complete the many tasks still on my list. My list quickly became obsolete, when these outsiders to my home invaded. They were on a mission of love to see my home run more smoothly, beautifully, and devoid of clutter and excess ‘stuff’ in every room. The task seemed overwhelming to me, but I wanted to help them paint, move furniture, and clean. One sister kept saying, “I love you, but would you get out of the way?” I had given them permission to come in and move out what should not be there, but I was stalling the process by questioning and sifting through every item. It was time to do a deep clean, and there wasn’t room for emotional attachment to stuff. One room went from toys all over the floor, chipped paint and dust bunnies galore to a beautiful color, reminding me of Hawaiian waters, with only sweet and simple decorations. What a pleasant change!

When we ask the Holy Spirit to come in and clean out our ‘stuff’ in our hearts and minds, we must, too, move out of the way. Our prayer, “Holy Spirit, I give you permission to minister to me and create in me a clean heart” is one of true surrender. However, we often find ourselves telling the Spirit of God not to touch or remove certain areas. Sometimes we are slowing the process by asking why. What if we simply gave permission and moved out of the way, allowing the work to happen?

Our own stuff can have such meaning to us. Much of our physical belongings and emotional hang-ups have memories attached to them. It is time for cleansing, simplification, and freedom. Who will ‘get out the way’ with me today? When we have allowed the Holy Spirit to do His work, maybe the result will be far greater than our expectations can imagine.

Under Construction

While contemplating big change in my home, including cleaning out closets, reorganizing cabinets, painting marked walls, and adding new lighting, I began to think about our hearts and Psalm 51. 

"Generous in love—God, give grace!  Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt... You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen it all... What you’re after is truth from the inside out... Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.  Soak me...and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.  Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing... God make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life."

I had been feeling guilty about how I had let the dust bunnies pile up, papers get mixed with toys or dishes, overall need for upgrade in appearance and habits of use in my home.  But God is not a condemning God.  He is BIG, but he does not pound us with our shortcomings like the enemy does. Our Father loves us as dear children, holds our hand, guides us, and longs to walk, talk, and laugh with us.  He is there to show us the flowers in their intricate detail, to draw our attention to the birds singing, to sit and watch the sun rise with us.  He is love. 

This walk is one of surrender of heart and birth of joy. There is a scene in the movie Titanic that comes to mind.  The main female character had spent her life hovered over and made to walk in every rule of society...legalism, legalism, right down to shoes and tall collars.  She had felt trapped and did not realize it until she was desperate to escape it all.  Instead, she found herself dancing to Irish jigs in the lower decks of the ship, shoes off and hair down.  When she forgot about all of man's rules and listened to the music of her heart, she was able to feel free and dance.  This may be a stretch for some to imagine, but what if we moved in greater freedom?  What if the sound of the music was louder than our own condemning heart?

"Don’t ...fail to breathe holiness in me... put a fresh wind in my sails! Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home... I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways...  Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise. "

Then we would be free; walk in freedom to what He has called us to do.  The louder voice of our heart would be His, and we would want to shout it from the rooftops.  Instead of a hammer of condemnation on our heads and a tight, guilty heart, we would be wearing the crown of righteousness on our heads and a smile of joy on our faces.

"Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice."

God is watching and adoring us, in all our humanness.  He created us.  We are His workmanship, created to do good works.  The smell of our surrender is sweet smelling in His nostrils.

"...all the bulls they can heave onto your altar!"  (Psalm 51 MSG)

I will heave guilt, condemnation, and lies regarding self-worth on the altar today.  Take a moment.  What burning on the altar is He asking?  What would make your load lighter and put joy in your heart and His today? 

Moving Reflection

When I looked out the window this afternoon, I was mesmerized by a constantly changing light pattern on the ceiling of the patio.  Circular in shape, this Kaleidoscope of movement provided a pleasant reprieve from the chaos around.  Thoughts of God's view of us and the call he has on our lives to live through him began flooding through my mind and heart.

"...We constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, 

and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness

 and your every deed prompted by faith.  We pray this so that the name of our  

 Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace

 of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.^"  (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NIV)

I chuckled to myself as I thought about the sun painting on the ceiling:  beautiful, waves dancing, always making new patterns.  The irony was that I had mentally noted the container on the table the evening before.  Murky waters would be a good description of the H2O found in the recycled rubber, dog water bowl.  When the sun cast down its warmth upon this vessel, the reflection now cast upward had turned into something quite beautiful.  Always changing and pleasant, I wanted to wait and continue to see what the sun and wind would present.

Will we take the lid off our vessel and allow the sun to shine into our stagnant pool?  Close your eyes and think of what light-painting could possibly be cast above your head.  What is heaven saying about you today?  The splendid truth is no comparison to what we have come to believe and know about ourselves.  Dream today.  See the dancing waters and delight in them.  

Translucency

Translucency defined:  The act of letting light pass through...as frosted glass. (Webster's)

Most everyone has observed or used frosted light bulbs.  We were replacing a few yesterday.  They are very fragile objects, but they change the appearance of a room, making everything in it more visible.  I heard a testimony a few days ago of an individual that had submitted their heart to Christ after running for years.  They described seeing the world through different eyes and hearing the birds chirp for the first time.  Their focus was no longer on themselves, but their senses picked up on all that God delights in. 

He delights in us.  Some of us are more fragile than others.  We are all different, hand-crafted by the same Creator.  What if we truly let His light shine through our humanness, giving Him the ultimate glory?  That is my desire today.  I long to see myself through His eyes, grasp hold of my purposes like never before, and let the light of His glory shine through me. 

"Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live."  (Ps. 43:3 NLT)

Who Cares What They Think? Do What He Tells You To Do!

In my family, most of my sisters could care less what others think about them.  For me, it has been a struggle as far back as I remember.  Really, though, why should others' opinions matter?

I am not saying to be mean and cruel.  Maybe why that is why it has been so important for me to examine my actions and words.  I could not stand when others around me were hateful or insensitive.
Regardless, if anything weighs so heavily in our decision making...it can consume our thinking and shade our judgement.

 ^"...We will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about.... We will not be influenced... with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church." (Eph. 4:14-15 NLT)

Truth: God's truth does grow us up in Him, molding us to a heart more like Christ.  It is time we speak the truth in love to ourselves about ourselves.  Then we are able to walk in peace and not be deterred by the winds of doubt.

When my children are throwing tantrums, it goes back to a way of thinking about how they view a situation or what others are thinking and feeling about them.  It can get ugly.  As parents, you want to open up their brains, suck out the funk, and pour in the truth. 

I wonder what God is thinking when we throw our mental tantrums.  I know that He IS pouring out His love upon our hearts and to our minds.  Today is a day to let the rain of His truth penetrate our thinking.  Let Him open your eyes today. 

Are you inspired to seek greater freedom in your thinking?  Today I will surrender the line of condemning thinking I keep tripping on.  In exchange, He gives the mirror of truth.  What will you swap for God's goodness?

Still Morning

Low light outside

Haze wrapped around me

Trees holding their breath

Unmoving and at peace

Bunny nibbles 

On blades of grass

Light scent of roses

Red with delight

Beauty and blessing 

Still morning provides

Convex Mirror Lesson: Objects are NOT as Close as They APPEAR

Last evening, my children were watching a historical cartoon.  In the movie, someone looked into a shiny helmet and saw their eyes magnified.  This image startled the character.  What they saw was distorted due to the convex shape of the mirror. 

How often do we find ourselves looking into a convex image?  We even put that looking glass on our heads and wear it like a helmet (our daily thinking about ourselves).  Every time we take it off to check our image, we see that distortion looking back at us.  We have allowed the convex nature of the mirror to determine our perception of ourselves.  According to the physics classroom, the focal point is in direct correlation to the distance of the image from the mirror.  Anyone else out there feeling conviction regarding our human nature and thought patterns? 

This spoke volumes to me.  God did not intend for us to see distortion of what he created.  A convex mirror is described as creating a "bulging image."  The closer we look to the convex mirror, the more distorted the image.  Whenever we hand the helmet to him, then we can start fresh and new.  We can walk to the water's edge (His love for us) and see a crystal clear reflection of ourselves.  Sometimes this requires waiting at the water's edge, letting the ripples of life settle out of what we are viewing.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."  (Gen. 1:27 KJV)

Target Practice with a Bandanna

Due to Sandy Hill events, this post (originally planned to release 12/13/12) was delayed until today. Our prayers continue to be with all who have been touched by this horrible tragedy.  Let us not blame God, but rather pray that good overpower the evil in this world. 


The first time I shot a rifle, I was probably seven.  We were not raised as hicks (not that it would matter if we were), but my father taught me about the works of art in his locked gun closet.  It was important to him that I know gun safety and how to use a gun appropriately.  While attending a girls' camp at the age of 11, I took and passed a gun safety course.  I learned so many things that week.

Although I do not like the kick of a gun, it is quite a thrill to hit the target.  To attempt to hit the bull's eye, I had to practice.  It was a MUST that I looked through the sight of the gun (looking down the barrel and lining up the target with both the back and front sight at the same time.  If I looked through both eyes to do this, my mark was always off.  The teacher taught us to wink our eye and focus through the right eye.  I am only able to wink my right eye, so I tried that.  The bullet would zoom off in the wrong direction and miss the target or barely hit it.  It is frustrating to attempt to hit one spot and really end up in another, especially if you are lying on your belly doing your best. 

As humiliating and unflattering as it was, I submitted to wearing a bandanna over my left eye.  It was amazing the difference.  I was able to hit the target every time.  The more I practiced, the more I was able to land on the bull's eye.  It was thrilling and fulfilling, even though I was the only one wearing a bandanna on my head.

This memory made me think.  When we are attempting to hit the target of what holds us back in life, we must look at our hearts and actions through our right eye.  We must see things as God sees them, through the spirit.  There is no room to look at them through the flesh, justifying our thoughts, actions, and feelings.  This can be tricky and ends up causing us to miss the target. 

My desire is to humble myself daily, lying on my belly (so to speak) and covering up the vision of the flesh.  I will wear the bandanna of his grace to cover my face and look inwardly through my right eye.  I will line up my sight with His Word and let His power penetrate the target of what needs surrendering.  It is time to find the target of what He has called you to do, aim, and move towards the bulls eye of His will. 

[Jesus said to the devil,] “...Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.” (Luke 4:8 MSG)

You are holding the truth of the Word in your hand today.  His power is able to set you free.  Will you choose to wear the bandanna over your own justifications and then examine your heart while holding His hand today?  Will you allow yourself to be used for His glory?





GUTS and GLORY

"Guts and glory" is a phrase so many of us have heard.  In the process of my own fleshly battles these last few weeks, this phrase has been rolling around in my head.  I ask myself, "Will I make decisions based on my 'guts' or flesh or will I be willing to tap into the Father's heart 'glory' and be led by the Spirit?

My flesh or angry instincts often get me into trouble.  I don't recommend anyone burn rubber in an attempt to let others know you don't like their driving decisions.  We all let our emotions lead us around at times.  Do we really want to be the stubborn bull with the ring in the nose?  Not I. 

In order to assure that I be lead by GLORY more, I made an acronym to remind me to calm down and seek Him first. 

God
Loves
Our
Requesting
Yells - for HIS help

I hope this helps you or inspires you to find a way to put on the brakes of making hasty decisions, that always have some sort of sour consequences anyway.  His grace is sufficient, most definitely, and I am not denying that truth.  However, He is always there to listen, calm, and guide..and lead us with a firm, loving hand on the shoulder.  Always.

"So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet."  (James 4:8 MSG)

Measuring Stick: Ten Feet Tall

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters," (Col. 3:23 NIV)

In the quest for further freedom in the new year, my cry has been to the Lord, 'Unleash all the truth, no matter if it reflects the good-bad-ugly, so that I can surrender what weighs me down.  I want YOUR truth, Oh Lord.  Let my eyes see what you see." 

He made it very clear that I was His daughter and that He accepted me as I am.  Then...he pulled back the veil from my eyes.  I was holding a yellow stick, measuring ten feet tall, beside me.  It was the measuring stick I was using for myself, my appearance, my parenting, my time schedule, my efforts.  Perfection, towing far above my own abilities, was what I compared my daily everything.  I then saw myself pick up that stick and beat myself over the head with it.  Condemning myself for not reaching the standards set by my heart...not His heart.

This was a sad picture to realize all the wasted effort and emotion - measuring myself by man's standards and mine.  It was time for surrender.  What a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.  Daily I am letting go of some long held unhealthy expectations of myself. 

The thought came to me.  How many of us let man, even ourselves, be our "master" in the daily trod of life?  Colossians 3:23 has been one of my favorite scriptures for some time, because of the first part of the verse.  My heart has been for years to apply excellence and worship to the Lord, even in the most minute details of servant hood. 

In the process, I picked up legalistic thinking of perfection.  The end of the verse has been in flashing neon for me in recent days.  I had become my master, and my endeavors always proved to be a big disappointment, since they were always falling short of the mark.

Lord, we want to put YOU and You alone on the throne.  You are a Master that loves us with tender care.  You created us and delight in our humanness.  Thank you for bringing a smile to our faces today by preparing a bonfire for our measuring sticks.  Amen

      

Unbuckle the Iron Mask

Identity can be tricky, especially if we cannot TRULY see who we are.  Many of us have seen the movie 'The Man in the Iron Mask' that was on screen several years back.  The thought of the mask came to mind recently as I pondered about our sluggish and caged thinking in relation to our identity in Christ. 


The mask hid who the prince really was, an equal heir to the throne.  It did not change who he was, the identity was simply hidden beneath the heavy laden burden of what others had applied to his face.  He was isolated in the tower, simply because his identity was hidden. 

What is the truth about our identity?

1.  We are His masterpiece. (Eph. 2:10)
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

2.  We are wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

3.  Our freedom has been paid. (John 3:16-17)
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

4.  His grace is sufficient for us. (I Cor. 12:9)
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness...”

How long will we stay in the tower of our false thinking.  In regards to the limits others put on us and who we are, it is time to allow heaven to reveal who we are, even to ourselves.  Then we can use supernatural strength to break free from the bounds of our false thinking and engage in our true God calling. 

Is today your day?  Today my heart pounds with determination to believe WHO I really am.  Nothing will stop me from descending the tower of doubt and being a joint heir with Christ.  Will you, too?  We are heirs of Elohim, and all that He has is ours and waiting on the unmasking.