Take Your Medicine

October 28, 2012November 1, 20122 Comments

It’s Sunday night, a night of bittersweets. . .

Most of us have enjoyed a beautiful day alone or with family and friends . . .the house is quieting down, lovers may be cuddling up for a movie, friends may be finishing up conversations . . .preparations for the next day have been made . . .or not. No matter how we feel about it or how we’ve decided to address it, we have all realized by now that tomorrow is Monday.

Seems like most of us dread Mondays. Lord knows I’ve had some times where I was downright depressed about Mondays. I’m not even joking.

But, Frans, I’m trying something new that I wanted to get you in on. I just discovered that I have a drug that I can take that’ll help me deal with Mondays, Tuesdays, Bluesdays and all the other days too. Check this out:

²⁰My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.
²²For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body. (Proverbs 4:20-22, NASB)

So, are you trying to tell me that reading the word brings me health and life? Oh yes, chile. Yes, I am.

No matter what Monday holds for you, or any day for that matter, you can face it with joy, confidence, security, and love by taking your medicine. Read the word of God, listen to scripture, write it down, memorize His words, soak them in! Soak them up! The thing is, unlike any other medication, there is no danger involved in overdosing. Try and see. Put the word of God on everything you are facing. He is so worth it. You can take Him at His word. His word is His bond. He is trustworthy and His word works for our lives, NOW!

¹⁹“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19 NASB)

Not sure what Monday holds for you but you don’t have to bow to it. You serve a very big God who has put His spirit in you and left His word for you to wield as a mighty sword to combat Satan, call him out as the liar that he is, take over your day and be victorious in all of the things that He will put your hands to!

So, which verse or set of verses will you look up tonight? All the power you need lies within you through the holy spirit and can be activated by encouraging your faith through the word of God.

Take some time to get into the word then stand up and shout with a voice of triumph, “bring it on Monday!!!”

Assured

July 17, 2012August 7, 20122 Comments

Today I went to visit an old Fran from college. Kim Morrisette is not just any old Fran. She’s the woman that God used to water and point toward the Son, the seeds that my mama had sewn into me, raising me in Christ Jesus, knowing Him as my Lord and savior. I was so broken, so sad and yet I was searching for something big and deep and real and although I was confused about many things, I knew that what I needed and wanted was only going to be satisfied by God. So Kim led me and a group of girls in our dorm, Greene Hall, through bible study. Our friendship deepened and she went on to disciple me and train me to do the same thing for other women on campus. She poured into me and facilitated further training with my roomie and me as we helped to lead a new, small campus ministry.

I didn’t get to spend a very long time with her– I teased her about living out in John’s barnyard (she lives quite a distance from me in a beautiful farmhouse “out in the sticks”) and that took a bit of our time away because good ole me left a little later than I intended and then I made it all the way to her street and got lost–but the time I was able to just be around her and meet her children and see her face and see what her life is like now, was so good. I missed Kim and I am so glad that during this season of my life, the Lord is making a way for us to connect again.

Within the past week I’ve been in close connection with people who have lost loved ones. Some have been traumatic and the other quiet but all have been hard and sad. I almost feel like times are very uncertain right now; you can’t know if the last time you see someone will be the last time. . . how much will change with people between now and the next time you see them, if you are so fortunate to see them again? So much fear and uncertainty. And although it’s reasonable for me to feel and think this way, it’s not the way of truth. It’s not Philippians 4:8-9 and it won’t draw me closer to my savior, it’ll just keep me questioning Him, and doubting Him.

I enjoyed spending time with Kim so much today because it was a reminder for me that there have been other times when I thought that God had left me, forgotten about me, wasn’t working on my behalf, didn’t have a plan for my life except to repeat what had been done in my family generations past or just plain old didn’t care. But Kim came to me at the most crucial time in my undergraduate career. I was on the brink of utter hopelessness and I needed to know that all that mama taught me about God was real and that there was more. As I look back to then and see what my life is now, in those times when I felt so shaky and uncovered, God, in fact, did have a plan and He was working it out for my good, even when I didn’t always sense it. Seeing Kim was such a sweet reminder of His grace. God is so good. In times of tragedy, pain, sorrow, loss and confusion it’s good to have a blessed assurance– that firm, sure, sweet reminder that He is in control, He knows what He’s doing, His word is still true, He is trustworthy, He’s got me and my whole world in the palm of His hands. I am safe there.

I’m sure that there is someone out there reading this who just needs a reminder that He is good and that He is a loving Father. Please, be of good service to yourself and think about your life–what it was, what it is, and what it could be. He’s there. And He’s been there the whole time. If your waters are smooth right now or if they are rough, this is a good time to know the God you serve and His characteristics. Do yourself a favor. Remind yourself of all that He’s done. And rest. Assured.

Wednesdays with Beth: Filled to the Measure

June 27, 2012June 28, 2012Leave a comment

It’s Wednesday so that means we get to tune in to Life Today and hear what the Lord is speaking to us through Mrs. Beth Moore. If you watch the program regularly and have done so for a time, you may have already seen this one before. I have seen this one and the story she tells in it has been referenced by others who have seen it. But this video still came right on time for me.

God’s sovereignty and providence is sure.

I had an experience just last week that just seemed so weird but, in the moment, I was so sure that I was being prompted by the Holy Spirit to be obedient to the things He was speaking to my heart. I wrestled with myself and the personal cost of my obedience all the way up until Monday for sure and then finally, I just decided to let it go and trust God to confirm for me if I had indeed heard Him or if I was just a loon. And with just the seed planted in my mind that I had misheard and was wrong, acting crazy and unable to hear from the Lord, satan had a field day and really put in work to discourage me. But God is so faithful, Frans!!! I know that I have some readers who are not Christian and to them all of this talk compels them to think, “No ma’am, you actually are quite loony.” But something happens when we engage God through His holy spirit, allow His words to abide in us and we respond to the call. . . We get to participate in the divine.

Check this out: http://lifetoday.org/video/filled-to-the-measure-3

Been worshiping to this song since we sang it during church service on Sunday. One of my faves from Hillsong. Hope it blesses you.

Oh Be Careful Little Mouths What You Say . . .

May 24, 2012June 5, 20121 Comment

Recently I started to feel strong negative feelings about someone who I dearly love and is very close to me. I didn’t understand where the feelings were coming from or altogether what was going on because there had been no distinct event occur to trigger such a staunch and growing disdain. I went from being excited to share company with this person every time I got the chance, to dreading our next encounter days before it would even come to pass.

So, I started to explore what was going on with me. I talked to Huni about it and told him how I was feeling. He, being just as baffled as I was by the sudden onslaught of negativity, was very concerned and discouraged. He worried about me and what was going on in my often troubled mind that would make me feel the way I was feeling. So he listened. And he prayed.

Weeks passed, months, but with each moment, I confessed the way that I was feeling. I talked about it with Huni when it would come up in me, and I fully felt all that was going on in my mind, giving it flesh with my words. I had something of a trinity moment as I spun myself out into three; my thoughts, myself and me, and we sent this mysterious presence out to live among people, representing us and allowed it to become the force by which we interpreted the world. From one simple thought, I created a living, breathing, form that I took with me everywhere I went and I greeted it, cared for it, confirmed and addressed it every time I noticed it. The more I talked about it, the bigger it grew. The more I nurtured it with, “I just don’t like her.” “But did you hear the way that was said?” “What do you think was meant by that?” “I can tell that she can feel it too.” “She made me feel so terrible when . . .” “She doesn’t like me just as much as I don’t like her” and soon that baby thought was fully grown, with a mind of its own, no longer controlled by my thoughts and actions but controlling my thoughts and actions by its mere existence. I had talked myself into a mess. I left no room to reverse the way I felt or consider another viewpoint because of all of that talking and processing.

Ever been there?

I’m in no way suggesting that we shouldn’t decompress, explore, vent!!! Lord knows, we need to vent. We need to purge and get the gook out of us, so that it doesn’t fester and blister sore hurting us and others around us. But be careful how you do it and your motivation behind it. What would have been better for me to do with all that I was feeling, is to speak it, vent it, YES!! and then cover it with prayer and scripture. These two elements together have a way of exposing what’s truth and what’s lies. And I can truly say, with my 20/20 hindsight vision, that what was I was feeling was a LIE!!! (thank you, Rey. you were right. it was a LIE!!!!–and no, for all of you inquiring minds, she isn’t the one I’m referring to in this post!)

Satan is so crafty and he uses us against ourselves more than we realize. Of course, we give him lots of material to work with, which is all the more reason for us to abandon our way of coping and existing and have our minds and hearts renewed and refreshed daily by the Father.

Woooooo! It’s crazy out here Frans. But take heart!

Loves me some William Matthews (thanks Huni.) And this song flows well with what Beth is talking about in her series about Loving Kindness (because it takes a whole lotta heart and strength to be kind in a mean world) and what I’m speaking about here in this post which is a bit of a transparent view of some of my mental struggles. There is much more to come, but in the meantime, take a listen to my Fran (not really, but in my mind we’re Frans) William Matthews.

“In death by love. . .He wears the scars of our freedom . . .In His name all our fears are swept away, He never fails, So take heart . . .All our failure and all our fear, God our love . . .He has overcome!!!!

If any of you have ever struggled with your mind, I’m praying you’ll experience Him through worship with this song.

xoxo