To Speak Or Not To Speak? That Is The Question

I do not recall a time when so many words were being lobbed like exploding grenades...leaving a destructive path of wounded relationships, gaping holes filled with sorrow and dismay and the torn fabric of a country with deepening division and disunity. From the teen on Instagram to the President on Twitter, the wielding of words as weapons has become part of a daily spiral of destruction. 
I have been silent for far too long now, trying not to add to the cacophony of noise that has been deafening. 

I have chosen to wait. 

To watch and observe before speaking. 

To pray. 

To discern when and what to say...or to remain silent...

I can wait no longer. 

IT HAS TO STOP

& 

IT BEGINS WITH US

No more waiting for someone else to change. We are called to be the ones who LET LOVE LEAD. So to this love I choose to speak. May these words be edifying to our minds and inspiring to our souls as we become the difference makers that Christ calls us to be.
BEFORE we speak, e-mail, post, text anything, we must ASK OURSELVES these questions. If our response to any one of them is "no," then STOP. Choose silence, wait, listen, pray. 

1. Is it the right time or venue that it would be for the
    benefit of the hearer? Are they in a place to best
    receive these words? Most of the public conversations  
    would be more productive and meaningful if 
    they were private and in person. 2. Is it my place to speak-have I invested in this relationship
    enough that I would be granted the privilege and position
    to speak?
3. Am I qualified to speak on this...have I objectively
   gained enough facts from various viewpoints & 

   filtered them through the time-tested truths of Scripture,

   so that I am capable of speaking from a  

   well-informed manner OR am I speaking from a
   perspective that is being led predominately by my  
   feelings and popular opinions on this matter?
4. Would I say this to the person if they were standing in
    front of me...if my grandmother was
    listening...if Jesus was beside me? 
5. Am I willing to consider the other person's feelings, 
    perspective and really listen to understand
    rather than to retaliate with my next point? 
6. Are my words going to wreck or reconcile? Is what I want
   to say worth hurting someone or   
   damaging relationships? 
7. Is it how I would want someone to talk to me?
8. Are my words going to point people to Christ or away?
9. If I choose to speak, is the purpose of my words to be

    right or to reflect love? Is it selfish or selfless?

I pray God will use these words to heal...to cause us each to pause and ponder before speaking, to surrender our own agendas and pick up the perspective of Christ...

to LET HIS LOVE LEAD.

What if...this Christmas?

What if this Christmas was different?

What if instead of criticizing, gossiping or being easily offended by others...we chose to look for the best in people?

What if instead of retaliation against those who have hurt us...we chose reconciliation?

What if instead of being divisive...we chose to build bridges?

What if instead of praying for God to change the other person...we asked Him to change us?

What if instead of seeing ourselves and others through the world's eyes...we saw through the lens of God's love?

What if instead of focusing on the temporary troubles of this world...we centered our hearts, minds and lives around what matters most for eternal purposes?

What if instead of worry and anxiety about all the things we cannot control...we trusted the One Who is in control?

What if instead of selfishness...we chose servanthood and generousity?

What if instead of isolation...we chose to invite? 

 And in this choosing...

what if we found CHRIST in CHRISTmas this year? 

THE HEART OF COURAGE

One of the most awesome things about the "I Am More...in Him!" teen girls events happens way before the girls ever arrive. It has been an incredible blessing to see all of the women, from every denomination, every background....who are coming together for this cause...making phone calls, arranging carpools to get girls there, donating time money, doorprizes and talents...all of you ladies are beautiful reflections of a servant's heart and His LOVE for our girls! Thank you!
But, there is one mom who has deeply touched my heart in this. Her name is Gwen Bizzell and I want to share this, so that you will be encouraged by the POWER of God's LOVE to heal and bring hope and purpose to our most difficult and deepest sorrow.
Last Sunday, Gwen saw the announcement about the teen events in her church bulletin at Horne. That afternoon, she called to volunteer. That was an act that was far more courageous than it appears. You see, almost one year ago, Gwen's 16 year old daughter, Lanie, was on her way to church, when she ran off the road and was killed. In an instant, her only daughter was gone. The depth of her loss and pain have been immeasurable.
But God has shown Himself to be Gwen's greatest comfort. He has carried her through the deepest valley any parent ever walks. She has found God trustworthy in the worst of storms. Gwen knows this Love that has sustained her and her daughter knew it too. Shortly before she passed away, Lanie wrote a note Gwen shared with me. Her note was filled to overflowing with a deep love and gratitude for God's love and ended with, "If I haven't told you yet, I'm going to be a pastor."
And so Gwen called Sunday. She knew that it would be something that Lanie would have been right in the middle of...she would have invited every girl she knew! So, Gwen invited 2 other churches she has connections with and encouraged them to bring their girls.
Gwen will be there volunteering to serve other girls this Sunday, representing the LOVE of Christ lived out, silently demonstrating the POWER of His healing...standing in the gap for Lanie...her precious daughter. Through her mom's courage, Lanie is indeed pastoring.
Thank you Gwen, for reminding us all that our God is Who He says He is! I love you my friend!

A Letter to Every Woman Who's Heart Is in Bondage

    

My Precious One,

I am the One Who put it there...that deep longing in your heart to be loved, to be fully understood and accepted, to want security and joy. 

It is so easy to be led astray...that's the problem with shades of grey...you hardly even realize you've wandered from the light, until you find yourself engulfed in the darkness. In desperation you have  searched for those things your heart aches for in so many places...in a relationship with a man, in your own abilities and striving for perfection, in racy novels and movies and music...there are so many shades you have lifted to look for that satisfaction and every one of them has left you in bondage. Each one has eventually turned out to be a temporary fix for your soul, a counterfeit that has been unable to live up to your expectations and satisfy that deep longing that only grows more painful with every disappointment. Dear one, are you weary from the searching? 

My precious daughter, there is something you MUST know~

I placed those desires in your heart, so that you would find them in the only relationship that can provide you with a never ending abundance of love, understanding and acceptance, security and joy...so that your heart would find them in a relationship with Me, your Creator.   

I wish you could see the compassion I have for you. I long for you to know how My heart is always for you...that you would grasp the potential and power and beauty I put into your soul before you were ever born!

I wish you knew how long and far I am willing to carry the heavy burdens that are weighing you down...if you only knew to what depths of hell my love has gone to rescue you...if only you could have seen how wide I stretched my arms out to demonstrate my love for you on the Cross.

But I am not so far that you can't find me. Simply turn around and you will see that I have been standing there all along...pursuing you, waiting for you, longing for you to give me your tired and tattered heart. All you have to do is ask and believe that my life was given for you...then the whole Bible will be transformed from what you may have thought was a boring ancient book, to the most amazing, time-tested, love story ever written...just for you. Once your heart has tasted my love, no other counterfeit story or novel will capture your heart...because once you know and experience the depth and breadth of My love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control...you will WANT to step out of the shade and stay in the warmth of My Light in your life.

My promise to you dear one...if you seek Me with all your heart, you WILL find me.

~Your Creator and The True Lover of Your Soul~

  

Rainy Days and Mondays

     
     As I sat quietly with the Lord this morning, I was having a little heart to heart with Him about suffering. I thought back on my own depths of suffering, as my mind turned to the variety of painful experiences that so many of the precious people I love and care for are going through, even now.  I began thinking about the way we dread suffering...you know, that underlying fear that "the other shoe is about to drop" or the "what if's" that we all run through in our minds, as if thinking of them first could prevent them from actually happening. In reality, the only thing that our worries are sure to produce is an increase in our anxiety levels! 
     And then I heard it...the steady tapping of the rain outside my window and with it, a realization that God was telling me something with each drop that fell. 

Perhaps we need to see suffering like rain...

~As much as we may not like it, the harder it comes down, the more it transforms the landscape...eroding the superficial and revealing what really lies beneath the surface. 
~It purifies, cleansing and washing away the dirt and grime that have accumulated.
~Not only does it reveal and cleanse, but it quenches dry ground and brings forth new life. The rain is a necessary element to provide and sustain growth.

He really does use ALL things...

as He grows us to become more like Christ,

bringing Him glory as we are transformed.

(Romans 8:28-29) 

     So on this rainy Monday, take heart beloved, if you find yourself in the midst of a season of suffering, know that it doesn't last forever...the sun will come back out...and remember, it is only after the rain that the fullness of His promises are brought forth in the beauty of the rainbow. 

    Perhaps it is no coincidence, that as I finish writing this post...the sun is appearing from behind the clouds...hope bursting forth anew. 

The Way Out for the Weary and Worn~The Beautiful Exchange

Feeling weary and worn? Oh precious one, I know the exhaustion of a tired and parched soul...I have felt how the weight of life's heaviness threatens to overwhelm you.

Take heart, there is One whose strength never fails, Who is waiting for you to realize that He has been at your side all along...ready to lift you up, willing to exchange your weakness for His strength! One who longs  for you to turn from where you have put your hope...that well that has run dry and left you wounded, empty, and lost. He is calling you to look, to open your eyes to what or who you have trusted in to carry you...to see clearly how it has proven woefully inadequate and that He alone offers an endless supply of love, of grace, and of strength and wisdom.  

The moment we turn our face toward Him and see the One who created all  things, we know instictively in our soul, that He is the only One capable of carrying our hope, of holding it in His loving hands, of never growing weary or losing strength. It is in that moment, when we place our hope in Him, there is a beautiful exchange...He takes our hope and He gives us the endless strength and power that enables our spirit to soar high above the circumstances of this life! Does that mean all our troubles are erased? Of course not, but there is a new, fresh perspective when our eyes are on Him and our hope is in Him...that is the secret to not just stumbling and suviving, but living with a deeper intimacy and understanding of our Creator and running with the purpose He has designed us to have. 

Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

    the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

    and his understanding no one can fathom.

   He gives strength to the weary

    and increases the power of the weak.

   Even youths grow tired and weary,

    and young men stumble and fall;

   but those who hope in the Lord

    will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

    they will run and not grow weary,

    they will walk and not be faint.

(Isaiah 40:28-31)

Have You Lost Your Christmas Spirit?

There was a recent episode of "The Middle," in which the whole family was freaking out because the mom seemed to have lost her Christmas spirit. Instead of her annual traditions of present buying, baking, decorating, she had decided to lie on the couch, eat fudge and watch TV. (which may not sound like a bad plan at this point in the Christmas chaos).

Maybe you have felt like the mom in this TV show...tired of it all and just ready to sit on the couch and eat chocolate? I'll admit, I've been tempted to do just that. But this morning, God reminded me of what it really means to have the Christmas spirit...
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich." ~2 Cor.8:9.

THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT ISN'T FOUND IN GIFTS OR SELF-GAIN...BUT IN GIVING...A GIVING UP OF OURSEVLES FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS, FOR THEIR GOOD AND GOD'S GLORY. That is what God did when He came to us that first Christmas night...that is what His whole life and death were about. And grace means that He did this, not because we deserved it, but because He loved us so much! How can we let our lives be about anything else? The Christmas spirit shines brightest when we reflect His self-sacrificing love like this:

"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which He looks with compassion on the world, yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now."~St. Teresa of Avila

In the end, the mom from "The Middle" found her true Christmas spirit, when she was motivated by love. May we, too, be motivated by love...for the lonely, the difficult, and the distressed...that is how the Christmas spirit lives in us all year long♥