DAY 36: It's A Shame

We all have those things that we hide and don't talk about openly--things that we aren't proud of in our lives and that have varying degrees of impact on how we live day to day. At times, we choose to allow those things and the shame we feel to disconnect us from the rest of the world. That's the point where shame becomes a tricky thing.

You see, shame is not a mystery to God even when it's a mystery to us. In fact, the Bible talks about how it's God that "shames" the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27) or those who are "treacherous" (Psalm 25:3) and there are countless places throughout the Old Testament where shame is attributed to those who do evil things or are living contrary to God's will. A little shame or guilt leads to conviction and useful to the Lord. Conversely, a lot of shame causes condemnation--something God doesn't desire for those who serve him (Romans 8:1).

Just like so many things, the enemy perverts those 'healthy doses' of shame to make us lose focus on what and Who is truly important. The enemy's goal is to use condemning shame as an isolating emotion that moves us further away from God; whereas conviction and guilt are tools to turn us towards the Lord. Shame causes us to hide. It causes us to doubt all the good that God has made us to be. Condemning shame causes us to forget that God called his Creation (yes, that includes us) "good" or the fact that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:13) even in our messiness.

When we get caught up in shame then we become egocentric and forget that this life is truly not all about us. It tends to feel like we have this all-powerful God wagging his lofty finger at us, making us cower into ourselves. However, that is not God's plan. He has a plan to 'prosper us and to give us a hope and a future' (Jeremiah 29:11). That is the devil's plan. Satan wants to convince you and I that God couldn't care about us in all of our mess. While that may be how man would treat us, it's not how God treats us. Time and time again he assures us that he will never leave or forsake us, that we are forgiven and that he is a God who grants us immeasurable amounts of grace and mercy. So no matter what addiction you are harboring or bad behavior you can't seem to stop, when you keep making an effort to break through those messy points and not get stuck in the muck and mire of your shame, God will honor that. The enemy wants us stuck. However, God's desire is for us to get the victory over those areas of our lives. The enemy desires for us to keep those secret things hidden and in the dark. God desires for exposure and light to remove the stronghold that these things have on our lives.

So what comes to mind when you are reading these words? What part of your life have you been ashamed of or hiding? What habit or relationship or tendency have you cloaked in darkness? Today is a great new opportunity to bring it to light. While everyone doesn't need to know your dirt, there's value to finding even one trustworthy person who can help you stand in prayer and move out of darkness and into light. Today's the perfect chance to make that change and remove the stress of humiliation and distress caused by our behaviors.

Be encouraged,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 16: Good Grief!

Anyone who has ever watched a Peanuts special knows the phrase "Good grief!" It was the phrase that Charlie Brown uttered at every turn in exasperation. Now I may be telling my age at the mere mention of Charlie Brown, but it is not without cause. You see, I was reflecting on the term and wondered if there is ever such a thing as "good" grief. I've been in an emotional space that's a bit out of sorts. Nothing is wrong per se. I'm doing what I love to do. I work for an awesome God. I support some really wonderful people in doing great things for the Lord. I have love surrounding me in the form of friends and family. Truly, life is pretty good...and yet still out of sorts.

So as I have been attempting to unpack this space of dis-ease and I realized that most of it is just simple fatigue. However, there's a part of this space that has nothing to do with where I am and mostly to do with where I'm not. I realized that I was experiencing an undercurrent of grief.

No, no one I know recently died. That would have been a clear indicator of my grief. Instead, the remnants of this grief snuck in when I least expected it through what I call unfulfilled dreams. Most of the time, I don't think about it. However, every now and again the melancholy of life's ups and downs will sneak in. Perhaps for you it's not about things that haven't happened as much as it is about things that have. Maybe you've lost a friendship or you've changed professional direction. Perhaps you were fired from a job or fired from a relationship (i.e. divorce, break up). It could be that for you, it is genuinely the loss of a loved one. No matter what reason grief rears its ugly head, it just tends to show up on our doorsteps (at times unannounced).

As I had this epiphany, it was not without solution. Two things came my way and are ministering to me in this space. The first are two quotes that I stumbled upon that get right to the heart of the matter: "...the only cure for grief is to grieve." (Earl Grollman) and "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear." (C.S. Lewis). So often, we are looking for a shortcut or a magic pill to get through the hard points in our life. But the truth is that we just have to go through some things. And, in the case of grief, we fear the thing...the person...the possibilities we miss. For those things that we have yet to see come to pass, we fear that they never will. For things that have happened before, we fear that they will never happen again.

But that's where the second thing that I discovered comes into play. It's, in fact, more important of my two discoveries and it is scripture that puts salve on the healing spaces in my heart:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts 

us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to 

comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with 

which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Cor 1:3-4)

At the end of the day, it's this scripture that fills my soul when I'm at my most fatigued. It's the Word of God that truly comforts my heart when I'm feeling most at a loss and trying not to be weary. It's His Word that reminds me that there is purpose in this time of wondering, hoping, and grieving--helping us...helping me to see that there really is a "good" element to grief. It doesn't make the fatigue or pain disappear, but it does assuage it just enough to make it possible for us to simply grieve and get through it.

Today, I pray that you be encouraged in the spaces of your grief. May the God of all comfort comfort you in all your affliction so that you will be able to comfort others who are afflicted. 

Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 8: Hope MORE or less

HOPE...that glorious four-letter word that most of us look forward to seeing and experiencing. Hope is so big and yet so little. It's those moments in our hearts that we can begin to look past the current situation that we find ourselves in and see even just a glimmer of the light on the other side of the tunnel. It's those moments in our minds that have stopped trying to figure out life and started resting on what we know to be true--God is in control. It's those moments in our spirits when our trust of God far outweighs our fatigue at waiting on Him to deliver whatever He has promised. Hope sweet hope... It's a beautiful thing.

Thus, the absence thereof is treacherous. As we reflect on those negative emotions and behaviors that God wants to rid our hearts of minds of, hopeLESSness is right at the top of that list. No matter what you are going through, no matter where you find yourself in life, God needs you to know that you know that you know that there is always hope. One sign I read said "Hold On, Pain Ends" as a good way to remember what the essence of hope is. Being hopeless means that you have let go of faith and decided to believe that the pain of circumstance and the pain of not seeing God's promises come to fruition will never end. But today I wanted to encourage you with the reminder that Jeremiah 29:11 always gives us. 'God knows the plans he has for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a HOPE and a future.' The question is what are you going to hold on to?

Are you going to hold tight to the Creator of the universe who spoke and light came into existence, or the lies of the enemy whose goal is to keep you bathed in darkness? Are you going to hold tight to the promise of HIS plan and stop trying to create your own? Are you willing to continue to let the perfect time for your promise to come to pass be set by God's plan and not your watch? You and I both have choices.

Every day, I watch as others live out parts of the dream I have for my life--family, children, love and so on. Every day, I hear of new people walking into those very things that I desire. Every day, my situation doesn't necessarily seem to grow any closer to what God said. Yet every day, I make a decision to believe that what God has in store for me is so great and so worth the wait that I decide to air on the side of MOREhope than hopeLESS. Today, be encouraged that God has not forgotten you and He is worth believing in. Today, refuse to allow the enemy to steal the song in your heart that believes and wishes and dreams--allowing you to dance to the rhythm of what is to come in the midst of silence. As with most things, you have a choice. What are you going to choose?

Lord, today, I pray that Hope will resound and hopeLESSness will fail in the minds and hearts of your children. Keep us deciding today to believe YOU. Help us to stay focused on what YOU've promised and not the bleakness of our circumstance. Help us to block out the the 'no' of the world and rest in the anticipation of your 'maybe' and 'yes'. Let Jeremiah 29:11 reverberate through our minds and spirits as a constant reminder to Your promise; and help us to know that we know that we know that You're not a man that You should lie and You make good on Your promises. Amen.

Be encouraged.
Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

Hit The Wall...But Keep Shuffling

“For You are my lamp, O Lord; The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.
For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall...

2 Samuel 22:29-30

There's a phrase that is used in the runner's world (and beyond) that describes that moment when you're on a run or working out where you simply can't go another step. When I was training for a marathon, I used to hit that wall in our long distance runs somewhere around mile #13. And I can tell you that, when you've hit a big wall, your pace slows to a drag and you literally feel yourself shuffling to advance even an inch or two (if that). Your energy level plummets and you feel like sleep is the only option...right there in the middle of the road. It's one of the rare moments where you wonder if you will meet your Maker right then and there.

The thing about a runner's wall is that it's mostly mental. And if you have been trained well, the key to hitting a wall is not to let it stop you. You may drink a taste of water or eat a bite of your energy bar. However, that little shuffle may be all you can do. That little shuffle becomes necessary as a means of keeping momentum going. Because if you keep shuffling long enough, what always surprised me was that eventually the weight of the wall lifts and you catch that second (or third or fourth wind) and can finish your race. The key is to simply press on over your wall until you make it to the other side.

Similarly, life can sometimes get us to the place where we feel as though we have hit our "wall" and simply cannot go another step. Quite frankly, I was feeling this way earlier this week...on the verge of tears but not really sure where to pull from to even cry, hungry, hormonal, exhausted while still bubbling with energy, homesick while glad to be where I am...plain and simply an emotional mess. I had hit my wall. And, as I tried to explain the saying to someone for whom English is not their first language, the Lord began to minister to me. In the midst of my explanation, He reminded me that, just like that runners wall, this space I was in was mostly mental and that the key to getting over was to keep shuffling.

At times we may not have the energy to leap walls in a single bound like Superman/woman. We may not have the resources of Spiderman to pull us over. But we have strength greater than any comic hero. We have the strength and fortitude of The Almighty bottled up inside of us for such times as this. The scripture tells us that by Him we can run against troops and leap over walls--mental or physical. 

So today, if you feel yourself about to hit that wall...pull out your favorite Bible verse, call on your friend to pray...but most of all keep shuffling...Be encouraged that with God, you'll be able to make it over to the other side.

Blessings,
PastorA

P.S. Maybe this message wasn't for you but you have a friend whose been a bit down in the dumps...don't forget to "pay it forward" and pass it along.

Hidden Sunrise

"And when by His light I walked through darkness;" Job 29:3b

"And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way..." Exodus 13:21a

The other day, I arose earlier than normal. While some people make it a habit of waking up before the God-given indication that the new day has begun, I've always been a firm believer in seeing sunlight first. So, needless to say, I'm not a morning person. But that morning I thought that I would take advantage of my random alertness and attempt to see the sun rise. I made the trek to the deck on the ship and set up my chair with expectancy.

Time passed and as I sat in quiet prayer, the peace of the morning covered me like a down blanket. I knew God was with me. I have to admit that, for a moment, I began to understand how it is that those early risers must feel. And as the sky moved from dark to light, I thought for a moment that I had missed the main point of my being out there...the SUN. In all the peace, I realized that I missed the fact that I didn't get treated to a beautiful sunrise filled with oranges and purples and reds and golds. The sky went from one shade of blue-grey to a lighter shade thereof. The peace that I felt had distracted me from missing that "show" of light.

And before I could even think of being disappointed at that fact, the Lord began to minister to me about how the sun was still there and had, in fact, still put on a show that I simply could not see. Even though it was veiled by clouds, it was there. It didn't cease to rise just because clouds were in the way or because it couldn't "show off" its splendor. The sun had risen behind the clouds and pushed darkness away. Regardless of what my sight was telling me, the sun didn't change its habits just because the clouds were in the way.

And so it goes in life. There are times when we can't see God and when it seems like the He's not there, but there's evidence of His presence comes as the light (joy, peace, love, etc) pushes out the darkness (confusion, anger, bitterness, etc.) of life. If we allow light to enter and meditate on those things, there's no way for darkness to stay. It must go! No matter what you are going through, you need to remember that, like the sun, The Son is always there. As Job testified, He can serve as a light to help us push through darkness. (Job 29:3a) As He was with the children of Isreal so long ago, He will guide us in the midst of the clouds. (Exodus 13:21a) If you focus, God has a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7) waiting to cover you like a down blanket even in the midst of your trial. At the end of the day, be encouraged and remember that the presence of God has the ability to distract you from the fact that you can't make sense of the light.Walk in faith. Don't worry about your sight.

Blessings,
PastorA

Emotional Work In Progress

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 51:10

 
I'm struggling to write this...probably because I'm in the middle of it. As much as I hate to admit it, I find myself the middle of trying to let go of negative emotions. Emotion...It's one of the greatest things that remind us of our humanity and challenges us in our need for a redeemer. Over the last couple of weeks, there have been a couple incidences with friends who have offended me. Most times, offenses can roll off my back. But there are times when it's just not that easy. And it's not about the other person. In most cases, when people offend, they do so unintentionally. So the question becomes one of self-preservation and personal spiritual development: What do you do when offense takes over where grace normally resides? How does a Christian respond when anger takes over or when disappointment seeps into the crevices of our souls? 


As I sit in the midst of my offense, I have been truly at war and praying to win this little battle of flesh against spirit. But what God reminded me was that I couldn't do this alone. There are times when you're in a pit so deep that you feel like your prayers can't even reach through to God. So instead of stewing in my mess, I reached out to a friend for prayer who reminded me of David's plea to God for a "clean heart" and a "renewed spirit". Every time my emotions have started to creep back in, I've been fighting with the best weapon I have--God's Word. Lord, in this moment clean my heart and renew my spirit. Lord, in this moment make intercession for me. Lord, in this moment help my anger not to lead me to sin...

It's definitely a work in progress and it's an active process. But what I know is that God is faithful to us in our desire to make spirit the winner over flesh. So I wanted to encourage you in this day that no matter who/what has offended you, in the past or present, make a decision to take action and choose His Spirit over your emotions. Choose life over death and light over darkness. Stand on God's Word and He will renew and clean you if you let Him.

Be encouraged and encourage someone else in this day.
Blessings,
PastorA

ENJOY It

"...Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it..." Joshua 1:15b

I was talking to a gentleman a few weeks ago, and he accused me of something odd. He called me a dreamer. And, with some condemnation to his tone, he said I put too much stock in daydreaming. It was enough to give me pause and wonder if I was simply living in a never-never land and needed to wake up. He came to this conclusion because several times over the course of the prior two weeks, I had sent him beautiful scenic photographs in the name of taking a "mental vacation". I suppose that I sent him one too many because that's when I received my indictment. And, as I pondered on his accusation, I considered making a change. I thought about limiting my perusal of beautiful photographs in the interest of going somewhere different (if only for a moment). But then I read two little words in my devotional one morning that kept me on the right track. The verse said "enjoy it".

Now, the context of the verse does not relate to mental vacations of fancy or daydreams. However, the mere thought that there was an element of joy and enjoyment included after the fight was encouraging to me. The children of Israel were being tasked with going into the Promised Land and fighting for what was promised to them; and then those who would be residing outside the Promised Land would get to then go back home and enjoy their promise. Fight then enjoy. That seemed to be the edict given.

There's no place that says we must live stoic lives of complete lack (physical, spiritual, and mental). Though the faces (and constant negative testimonies) of many modern-day Christians would suggest otherwise, we were not meant to live in the midst of our pain. We were meant to focus on the possibilities of our PROMISE. I'm sure that I'm not alone in saying: It's been quite a journey! The past few years have been fraught with so many moments of challenge and tribulation that it's been hard not to become jaded by the heart break. It's been difficult to maintain joy when bitterness is so much more enticing. It's been a challenge to reminisce on the positive instead of reflecting on the negative.

Parasailing in Jamaica...a joyful memory

 

But then I'm reminded that "the JOY of the Lord is my strength" (Neh 8:10) and that "weeping may endure for a night but JOY comes in the morning"(Ps 30:5). We have a choice to make. We can live in frustration or freedom...in judgement or JOY. And so, with that in mind, I have chosen to live with constant reminders of God's GOODNESS and BEAUTY. On cold and rainy days, I choose to be reminded that the rain makes the flowers bloom. On nights of frustration, I choose to think of the possibility of a moment of rest and relaxation. In moments where I feel weighted down by the world, I choose to focus on memories of a day when I was flying high in the sky without a care in the world. My "mental vacations" may be moments of fancy, but as I make the decision to cherish the moments of my life, I have to intentionally take moments to smile and remember that God is bigger than my situation and greater than my moments.

God said we don't have to bear our own yokes/burdens. So won't you join me on my mental vacation and ENJOY (Entrust Now Jesus with Our Yokes) a brief moment away from your pain and consider the possibilities of your future? Be encouraged...trouble don't last always...

Blessings,
MinD

Promises Beyond Inadequacies

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,  and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 

Hebrews 8:6, 12

On the way home one day, I began thinking about the season that I've been in. It's not always been easy and has had me asking God to clearly reveal His purpose in these life tests so that I can pass and not have to revisit them. Unlike those who are more righteous than me, my desire to move out of the season is not always altruistically motivated. I am not always focused on Christ the way I would like to be in theory. And that was the center of my thinking on the way home. I began to berate myself about not doing better, thinking better, and just plain being better. I began to feel inadequately human and selfish in my thinking. That familiar motto "W.W.J.D.?" (What Would Jesus Do) played in my mind as I wondered how Christ would have handled being in my shoes. My brain began to overload as I thought of all of the "shoulds"...you know the things that you feel you "should" do like pray more, eat less, exercise more, love more, and so forth... I knew as I stepped into the house that my condemning thoughts were not of God (Romans 8:1) and that I needed to turn to The Word for answers. As I re-read Hebrews 8, I was struck by the 8th and 12th verses that reminded me that God is merciful and not as concerned with my works (a.k.a. deeds). While He does want me to pray more and love more, etc., He also knows doesn't condemn me when I don't. At the end of the day, His promises go beyond my inadequacies. His covenant is one of forgiveness and grace...not to the end of sinning more but to the end of living more. Truly it's God's desire for us to lead lives that are focused on Him. However, as God, He also fully understands that we are simply unrighteous humans. And sometimes that is all the reminder that we need to take one more step in His direction.

Be encouraged to stay focused on living for God without trying to be Him.

Blessings,
MinD

Hear The Call. Don't Turn Back.

“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Hebrews 5:13-14

“I have decided to follow Jesus…No turning back. No turning back.” For some reason, this old hymn is floating through my mind. There was a point in my life when Jesus wasn’t even a thought for me. Then, even after salvation, I was not fully committed to giving myself completely to Him. I did the best I knew how to do. I drank the mild of my Christian faith just like it describes in Hebrews 5:13. However, there was a certain point when I realized that God was calling me to a new level in Him—one where mild would not suffice and where the solid food of faith (Heb 5:14) was required. At that point, I made a conscious decision to follow Him…no turning back.

So on days and in seasons when that path is more challenging than I’d like, I am reminded that I have truly made a commitment to go where He’s gone in some way, shape, or form. My suffering (if you can even call it that) only scratches the surface of what Christ suffered. And, as I walk through the valleys of this Christian journey, I can be reassured that even suffering has a purpose. Hebrews 5:8 says that Jesus “learned obedience by things which he suffered.” He was called by The Father and remained committed without turning back despite His tremendous suffering.

You may be struggling with the call that The Father has given you. Drinking the milk of faith has worked just fine for you. But there is more to this walk for you. Today, hear the call that God is placing over your life to eat the “solid food” of your faith and walk with assurance that in your decision you will not turn back.

Be encouraged to keep moving forward.

MinD

Day 10: Waiting For Whirlwinds To Stop

I don't know about you, but this season of my life has passed me by like a whirlwind...one thing happens after the other. So many parts of my world have felt like they're in the air, whizzing by my face with no hope of slowing down. I feel as though I haven't been allowed the moment to even catch my breath despite all of the air around me. In some ways, the control I'd like to assert on my life has been taken out of my hands and my trust in God tested to the hilt. I'm like so many of you who wear many hats (and more than one at any given moment); and the weight of the hats seems tremendous as we juggle all of the other parts of life. It can be overwhelming, to say the least. But even while the wind is whipping, the Lord has sent a reminder of what His protection looks like. His Word says:

"When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation."

Proverbs 10:25

Can you imagine that the Lord has us in a supernatural bubble. Though we can feel all the wind, it doesn't have the power to truly take us out. Though it feels like it may destroy us at any moment, God assures us that our foundation will be in tact once all of the winds still. And so all that's left to say at that point is...Praise God for his peace that persists in the mean time. May it guard your heart and mind while you stand with diligence and righteousness through the whirlwinds of your life.

Be encouraged,
MinD

The Curtain Will Go Up!

"Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge." Psalm 19:2

I don't know about you, but 2011 has been a challenging year. I thought 2010 was pretty difficult and was glad to see the new year come in. However, what I didn't expect was that the transition out of the difficult was going to be almost as bad if not simply fully of more questions than answers. I'm not sure if that makes sense to you who are reading. I can only liken it to being in a theater before the show starts. It took a lot of energy to buy the tickets, brave traffic, find parking, wait in lines, locate your seat, have people cross over you and step on your toes to get to theirs and you finally get settled...THAT was 2010. Then what happens? The lights go out just as the show is about to start...THAT has been 2011. In that darkness, you sit anticipating the lights coming up to reveal great things. You are excited about the prospect of being entertained and having an enjoyable experience. But that dark moment can be nerve-wracking if something goes wrong behind the scenes and it is prolonged for any reason. The darkness then becomes a bit daunting and anxiety can even set in. You know something good is coming but that brief extra moment of night is seemingly endless and a bit nerve-wracking.

As we started 2011, the Lord told me that this would be the year of redemption and the year of transition from places of bondage in our lives. I believe that Word to be true and have watched it come to pass in my life and others. But the PROCESS that transition takes has been trying and tiring. Much of the year I have found myself in those moments of darkness before the show and simply wondering (with hope and expectation), what is on the other side of this night season. But what I have found in the darkness has been an unexpected blessing. I have gotten to know myself better. I've gotten to know others better. I have been able to lean on God more fully. I have been challenged with trusting him implicitly.I am reminded that time for God is not as time is for us. And though that moment of darkness has seemed unending at times and nerve-wracking, for God it has been only a momentary lapse in time and the curtains are about to go up.

Today, I want to encourage you with that fact that revelation comes during the darkest of times. Sometimes you'll get it while you're in the dark and sometimes it will come after. But one thing is for sure, the curtain does eventually go up!

Be encouraged and encourage someone else today.