Leave a Message After the Tone

 

I heard a simple, but amazing suggestion today while at a brunch at church for volunteers.

Something doesn’t have to be profound to be effective. I don’t know why it never occurred to me before!

When you call someone and get their voicemail, leave your brief message, but include a short prayer. Even just a one or two line prayer could make their day. Know your audience, of course, but how powerful might this turn out to be?!

Not only do they know you need to get ahold of them, but they know you love them enough to take the time to pray a blessing over them.

What a beautiful way to share Jesus, even if you don’t mention His Name. What better way to love someone than to make time to pray for them?

When we offer to pray for someone, we often put it off till a time when we’re already praying (nighttime prayers, early morning prayers, etc…) or sometimes we might even forget to pray for them. Praying for someone in the moment is best. (My dear husband has taught me this.)

I get it, sometimes they’re in a hurry or you are – but short prayers are powerful, too.

Just a suggestion. But it’s a powerful one!

….might be a great way to end a letter, too, for those of us who still write letters!  

And yes, it will be a great way to end a blog post.

A prayer is but a breath given to God in faith, on behalf of yourself or someone else.

"The effective, fervent prayer of the righteous (those made righteous by the blood of Jesus) avails much." - James 5:16

 

When I pray for you,

I pray that God’s Joy

will over-come you

And that God’s Peace

will over-whelm you

And that God’s Protection

will over-shadow you

I hope you rest in His Love

And stand in His Grace

And dance in His Glory

I Love You!

Simple, But Profound!

 

(photo from konnecthq.com)

The other night, I came home from a meeting, having ducked out quickly at the end, because I wasn’t feeling well. I’ve long since become tired of being tired and I’m sick of being sick. I’m a Christian, why am I experiencing the dry season? Why is this season of life lasting so long? I know God will never leave me, and He won’t forsake me. I know He loves me and I’m in His presence continually because He’s alive in me! So, what am I doing wrong??

I climbed into bed minutes after I got home. I picked up my phone to set an alarm and saw a notification: a live-streaming Charis Bible Study episode was about to come on. Hmmm, I could listen to it as I drifted off to sleep….

Suddenly, the most powerful moments of my week captivated my attention. The teacher was speaking right to my heart, and to the hearts of so many people I know who are going through something tough. I took notes, and I want to share a few of them here with you. *I’m sharing what I heard, not necessarily the exact words he spoke.

The teacher, Daniel Amstutz, taught: What to Do in a Dry Place (October 11, 2022) I’m including the link to the broadcast here in case you’d like to watch the teaching firsthand.

Right out of the gate, he makes the most profound statement of the evening. It’s blaringly obvious, but I’d missed it! He said, “When you’re going through a dry place, YOU are never the dry place. When you have the Spirit of God living on the inside of you, you are the place of the presence of God.”

Mike drop.

(photo from uckg.org)

The scriptures he shared drew us in to one of his closing remarks, “You sound like a place of refreshing!”

What a change of perspective! I am not the dry place I’m going through! I am the watering hole itself because I am filled with living water, and I can draw from the well of salvation any time I want to!

He shared John 4:14 “…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (NKJV)

We are filled to overflowing with the presence of God! Hallelujah!

We can water the dry places we’re going through with Living Water! It can become a well-watered garden.

One of the most beautiful things he shared with us in his teaching was what God spoke to him when he was going through a dry place. God told him, “Daniel, if you give me your dry place, I’ll turn it into a holy place.”

By this time, I felt like a child in a candy store, in a frenzy to take in everything I saw.

Revelation! Yes, a veil was most definitely lifted from my eyes that night.

When your senses are on overload, do you ever feel like screaming at the top of your lungs, “Enough! I can’t take anymore.” That’s how I felt that night. I was completely saturated with God’s presence. His loved felt like it was oozing out of my pores.

If you know Jesus, my friend, you are not a dry place. You are the place of refreshing. You are the well in the desert!

Tonight, Bible teacher Greg Mohr told us he wanted to share something encouraging from scripture. He said, “It came to pass…. It didn’t come to stay.”

Whatever dry place you may be navigating right now, it came to pass – it didn’t come to stay.

                                                    (photo from keepingcurrentmatter.com)

What If It's Your Choice?

 

(photo from streetworkoutstkilda .com)

What if there’s something worse than slavery?

What if physical slavery and torture are merely images of what God is calling us out of?

What if there’s something far worse, from which He’s trying to protect us? And what if that something is there because of our freedom of choice? We have the freedom to choose - every second of everyday.

What if when we choose anything other than God’s perfect will for our lives, it leads us into trouble?

What if in choosing, the bottom line is choosing who our master will be? The human soul wants freedom. But, freedom from what? Or from whom?

What if being a slave to sin is worse than servitude or being owned and/or being abused by another person?

With our physical eyes, we can see the horrors of slavery in history, or around us in the flesh. We may see it in the news, or be subjected to it in some way in our daily lives.

But it will take spiritual eyes to see the spirit realm; to see the unimaginable horrors of the results of slavery to sin.

When we submit ourselves to God and willingly place ourselves under His authority, He opens our spiritual eyes. 

He said to the apostle Paul, “I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’” – Acts 26:17-19 NKJV Also see: Numbers 22:31, 2 Kings 6:16-18)

(picture from yourpointofpride .com)

When Dave is watching a war documentary or movie that shows torture and prison camps, I have to close my eyes or leave the room. I can’t stand the horror of man’s treatment of man. How much worse is the horror of Satan’s treatment of man? Honestly, I don’t want to see it. But, until we see the ugliness and horror of Satan, we don’t really know the meaning of the word enemy. And we won’t realize what we’re actually being rescued from.

By looking back through history and looking around us, we can see horrors no man should know; horror we were not created to endure. By looking at the corruption of the world around us, we can see a glimpse of what sin promises us. Satan has no rewards for anyone in hell, only torment. He hates all of us, even those who boast of serving him. They are submitted to his authority, but there will be no rewards for allegiance to him, only laughter and mocking, unfathomable grief and torture. He hates mankind with a hatred we can’t even comprehend. You’re on the receiving end of that hatred simply because you’re human.

God’s plan is to rescue us from that hatred. But, will you be rescued? He leaves the choice to you. You have the freedom and the responsibility to choose whether or not to be rescued.

(picture from coralspringstalk .com)

The “default choice” is death. We have to want to be rescued. We have to choose to reach out and take hold of the already outstretched hand of our only Savior. Jesus already paid the price to get us out of the punishment for sin, He paid that price while we were/are stuck in sin’s grip. (“But God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8 KJV)

The freedom we’re so desperately looking for is found in Jesus Christ. Freedom is not found in the notion that there is no God to be accountable to.

When we belong to and submit ourselves to God and become a part of His family, His kingdom – we have true freedom.

You may ask, “Aren’t we all children of God?” Well, actually, no.

In scripture, Jesus Himself tells certain individuals that their father is the devil. (You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. -John 8:44 NKJV)

Ouch!

We have to CHOOSE to be a part of the family of God; the body of Christ. Not only do we HAVE to choose, we GET to choose! And with that decision, comes the power and authority Jesus gave to each believer. But, power and authority do us no good until we recognize it and take hold of it and own it, and use it!

(photo from hotelspeak .com)

I like this quote, and the emphasis is mine. “Nothing has more impact to shift our minds and lives more than KNOWING who we are and the power and authority we have been given.” – Jennie Allen, Get Out of Your Head

So, what if – the choice is really yours? It’s not a decision to be taken lightly, nor is it a decision to be put off. Ponder it today. Ask questions! Talk to people. Talk to God, Himself. He’s always listening and eager to share with you. Because, it IS your choice. You alone will be responsible for the outcome.

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” – Galatians 4:4-7 NKJV

(picture from clipartkid .com)

ilybox

(ilybox.com)

Wednesday afternoon, I got my first ilybox!

Who doesn’t love getting a package in the mail in the first place?

I couldn’t wait to see what Crystal had tucked away in the first of many ilyboxes to come. I eagerly opened the packaging and snipped away the tape that sealed my ilybox.

I know you want to know what ilybox is, and you want to see it, too! So, I'll show you!

With the happy and phenomenal spirit of joy inspired entrepreneurialism, and everything else that must go in to starting your own business.... 

...my friend Crystal is officially introducing the world to the ilybox.

Just starting out, she’s looking for new customers and friends who will share her vision with those around us who need some encouragement. Yes, we’ll be encouraged ourselves, but, what’s greater is that we’re helping to fill a need in someone else’s life.

You’ve heard clichés about giving from the heart; about giving ‘til it hurts and about giving to those who cannot repay you.

The Bible even tells us that when we lend to someone, not to expect a return, but to rejoice in the blessings of those who can and eventually will be able to repay you. So, you’re not just happy about the fact that you’re getting back what you lent or gave away, you’re truly rejoicing for the prosperity of the individual you gave to in the first place, whether you knew them or not.

Even when our lives are at their best, we have rough days.

But, when we find ourselves in the low spots – in the hospital, in jail or even in a shelter of some sort in need of rescue, our rough days are numbered in sequential order, sometimes with no end in sight.

When someone comes along and unexpectedly blesses us, the excitement is multiplied by the unexpectedness of it.

Crystal Ferry is sharing her love – and ours, with the women around us who need it the most. She’s inviting us to share our love and encouragement and support with women we don’t even know, through her new ministry and business, ilybox.

You’ll see this on her website, but here’s her heart-filled mission.

“Ilybox is a monthly subscription box that brings hope, love, and inspiration through scripture, challenges, and amazing products. We strive to give God the glory with everything we create and do….

For every ilybox purchased, an #ilygoxo box will be supplied to someone in need of God’s love whether that be in a hospital, jail, women’s shelter, at-risk youth shelter, or elsewhere. Our goal is to supply the world with hope and encouragement.”

(ilybox.com)

"For every ilybox purchased, an #ilygoxo (ilygoxo = I love you – go – x.o.) box will be given to someone in need at the location of your choice whether that be in a jail, hospital, or women’s shelter. We strive to meet Jesus’ command in Mark 16:15 that says “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

The #ilygoxo boxes will be slightly different than the ilybox because they’re curated for outreach, discipleship, and bringing more people to Christ.

#ilygoxo is the heart of the ilybox.”

  

Each ilybox will deliver encouragement and love. Though the contents will be different each month, this box held:

  

*the sweetness of Divine Chocolate (their story is on the inside of the chocolate wrapper - that's all that's left of my milk chocolate and toffee bar.....)

*inspiration from scripture on beautifully designed cards – ilycards

*30 challenges to spark my inspiration

*the reminder to let my light shine with a Bright Band

*the gift of relaxation through a MacDaddySoaps bath bomb fizz ball

*a journal

*and the joys of receiving AND giving – all packaged beautifully – as a gift!

Go explore the ilybox website; you’ll want to take part in sharing the love, too – Crystal has provided me my very own unique 10% off coupon code – to share with YOU! When you place your first order, use this discount code: VIPHW10

God bless you, Crystal - and all that you put your heart and mind and hands to!

Here’s the link to see what ilybox is all about: http://ilybox.com/

Look Up; Let Your Energy Flow!

(urodiazdrowie.pl)

 My chiropractor likes to explain how things work; which is great, to me. I hope I never stop learning. Most of what he explains to me is logical, common sense type stuff. Perhaps I haven’t heard it before, maybe I have – but, none of it comes out sounding like rocket science with need for detailed explanation, from which I’d still walk away from confused.

Doc is really big on posture and how it affects our spine, which, as he explains, is what houses our nerves – the nerves that run from our brain to our various body parts and organs. On one hand, we can all easily understand how important it is to have these nerves in good repair, effectively carrying their impulses and energy to the vast number of body parts we’re each made up of. Logic dictates that if, indeed, energy and a plethora of impulses make it to our body parts from our brain that the optimal flow of that energy and those impulses is of great importance and value to us. I think any good chiropractor can tell you the results of that energy being diminished in any way. You can probably even Google those results yourself.

Doc calls it divine design.

For years I’ve heard that a good chiropractor can remedy things from bed-wetting to allergies to depression to aches and pains, and even the not-so-good blood reports we may get from our doctors; who knows what else?

But, let’s look at “the other hand”. How many of us have pondered what can inhibit that flow of energy and impulses?

(chandlerpt.net)

The simple position of having our head downward facing can strain or pull on muscles in our neck and upper back. If those muscles pull on the bones in our back, those bones (or vertebrae) can be moved out of place. Something as simple as a sneeze can cause temporary pain if the sneeze is violent enough.

But, what are some of the routine things we do every day that can be putting stress on our nervous system and the energies we need and the impulses that carry signals to our entire body?

I’ve pondered this a bit, and here are some of my thoughts.

Slouching. Bad posture inhibits our energy flow. Yet, few of us pay attention to our posture unless we see our reflection in a mirror or glass window.

Our nerves can be pinched, cramped and twisted – which will in turn cause the energy our brains want to send to all of our body parts to be constrained, limited, compromised, less efficient, hindered, crippled – because the nerves carrying that energy have become injured, inflamed, even strangled.

Pain is generally what drives us to a chiropractor, but my doc says that the performance of your organs or body parts has to be compromised at least 40% before you even FEEL that pain. We’re all walking around with some jacked up bodies.

(bostonmagazine.com)

I’m not writing all of this to suggest you see a chiropractor. It’s much simpler than that. (Of course, if you WANT to go see one, I’ll applaud that – just remember to get recommendations. A bad chiropractor is as bad as a bad surgeon.)

No, I merely writing today to say, “Lift your heads up, my friends.  Pull your shoulders back!”

Why are our heads down in the first place?

Yep, must be that our heads are so heavy from all that data we download into our brains every day. 

Seriously, though. We MIGHT just be lowering our heads for routine matters like – looking for money on the ground or watching where we’re going!

Our heads may hang because of sorrow or sadness or depression. We may hang our heads because of poor self-esteem.

(keywordpictures.com)

Maybe we’re too busy talking DOWN to people to look up and hear what they have to say to us….. Maybe we just need to get to eye level with the folks we talk to.

Ah – yes! Our gadgets! How many of us are looking down at a phone or a tablet for a good part of the day? Perhaps more than we realize…. I get it, sometimes it’s legit; we may depend on these gadgets for our livelihood. Maybe even just tipping our head down to read a book, or straining to see something just out of sight could cause strain.

(matome.naver.jp)

I recall a revelation I got one day in high school. I was in a hurry, walking down the hallway when I saw a girl across the hall walking like a fool! Her head was w-a-a-a-a-a-a-y ahead of her body, as if pushing her head forward would get her to where she was going faster. Then I realized I was seeing myself in a large window. My reflection was shocking.

One of my sisters was sitting on an exam table at her doctor’s office waiting for her doc to come in. As the doctor opened the door, she sat up straight. When the doctor asked her why she did that, it took her a minute to realize that she had. Then, her doctor pointed out that as she opened the exam room door, it made a mirror visible and that most people did just as she had, sat up straighter. Of course, the doctor did it to make a point…..

(niketalk.com)

Of course, my pondering mind HAS to ask: How much more energy would we have throughout the day and how much better could our organs and body parts function – if we simply stood and sat up straight?

Take notice. What are some things you catch yourself doing today that cause strain on your neck and back? How often do you catch yourself straining your neck by looking down at something? How often do you catch yourself “standing up straight” – now that you’re thinking about it?

It’s definitely a point to ponder, don’t you think?

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” – Psalm 139:14 (NKJV)

(ibelieve.com)

You and Me

(photo from animetym.net)

Today’s blog post is probably more for me. I love you and I’m here to help in so many ways, but…..

I’m not here to do it for you.

What a liberating thought!

I’m not here to learn it for you. I’m not here to rescue you. I’m not here to “do life” for you; to save you from the hard stuff or clean up your messes.

I am here to go through life with you. I’m here to learn with you, to wrestle with you, to laugh with you – to travel this journey with you!

(picture from hollywoodreporter.com)

If you recall, months ago I mentioned reading a book called Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. (Find it here. Or at your local second hand store.)

The book was great. Not always easy, but great. Now, the ripples it’s making in my life are very energizing and empowering. Just to rehash, one of the main benefits to having boundaries is knowing where I end and you begin; seeing that circle drawn around us, and recognizing that I’m not responsible for your actions, or even for your re-actions to life as it unfolds around you. I’m responsible for me.

Sounds a little selfish at first.

I’m here for you; I’m here to support you or to help you, perhaps even to instruct you in some manner. I can be here to hold you and help you pick up the pieces. But, you’re responsible for your circle of life; for what you do and how you respond to what you encounter.

Liberating? Yes! I am not responsible for saving the world! Yay! It intrigues me that so many people already knew this; and that so many more don’t.

(photo from talon.tfc.edu)

Does that mean I can just withdraw into a hole and hide from everything?

Absolutely not.

I’m still a vibrant part of everything that goes on around me, including what goes on in your circle.

But, I’m not here to fix you. I’m not even here to point out what’s wrong in your life!

I am here to love you.

(picture from pixabay.com)

I am here to stand with you and encourage you and walk beside you.

I am here to pray for you, to intercede from time to time, to share what I’m learning and to share in what you’re learning.

I’m often tempted to intervene for my friends and “do it for them”….. I’m sorry. That’s denying you the privilege to do it yourself and gain all that comes from that accomplishment, that step forward…. I never want to hold you back, but, I’ll always lend a helping hand – as God directs!

(meme from bootstrapper.com)

Jesus is our help, our salvation; always. No one else can dictate how He’ll help or rescue us, no one else can determine who He will or won’t use in our lives, what methods He’ll contrive to reach us and to deliver us; God alone is the Master of His Plan.

There are scriptures which appear to contradict each other. Two such scriptures are these, found in the book of Galatians:

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

“For every man shall bear his own burden.” (Galatians 6:5)

Studying these verses, we’ll find that verse two refers to burdens that would crush us, while verse five refers to burdens that we may squirm beneath, but that are ours alone to carry. Sometimes we think those burdens are too heavy to shoulder alone. But, think about it – the stories and movies we love the best, involve someone overcoming something they thought would destroy them. We’re so much stronger than we know; there’s so much more to who we are than we dare imagine. And God never really leaves us alone, He’s always with us – always enabling and empowering us, always helping us.

(meme from godsgracefulness.com)

If we leave the room and miss a part of one of those great “over-comer” movies, where the hero rises up to accomplish the impossible, we’ll ask, “How did they do that?” and are often compelled to watch the movie again.

(meme from memegenerator.com)

Whether the burden will crush us or define us, God is our help. Yes, He uses those around us, but He alone is the source of our strength.

Psalm 54:4 – “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” (NIV)

Hiding

(photo from viktorpersson.com)

Is it fair to respond, “I don’t know…” when someone asks how you’re feeling; or to just shrug your shoulders and look away?

I suppose it depends on the why we think they asked. But, by presuming to know the motives behind their asking, we put ourselves into their mind, where we don’t belong, because, truthfully, we don’t know what really goes on there.

We believe we can safely surmise what someone’s thinking or what their intentions are, sometimes based on their past subsequent responses to us.  If, in the past, they seemed not to truly care, we conclude that this time is no different. But, what if in the past they did truly care, but didn’t quite know how to communicate their concern to us? What if their “care button” isn’t broken, but their “communication button” works differently than ours?

There are many reasons we turn from the attention of others. Perhaps we don’t think they actually care, or their personality overwhelms us. Maybe we don’t have the time or interest to reciprocate that care. Sometimes we may just feel like our concerns don’t deserve a spotlight or we’d rather keep them to ourselves, insisting that no one could help us anyway. It could be pride or it could be privacy.

(photo from nickelvery.com)

It could be that we honestly don’t even know in our own heart why we run from the love or attention others offer us.

Personally, the way thoughts often jumble together in my own mind sometimes causes me to panic, not finding the “correct” response fast enough, forcing me to emotionally shut down to keep from exhibiting an emotional response that others might not find acceptable. Of course, rightly or wrongly, I probably base what is “correct” or “acceptable” on past responses or my own imagination.

I guess I’m writing this post to probe: Why do YOU run? Am I alone in my feelings? Am I basing my actions and reactions on deceit?

Logically, if forcing things down inside myself hasn’t worked to “fix” things in the past, why would I (or we) think that this time that’s the fix we should reach for?

Yet, if reaching out for help in the past hasn’t yielded the results we hoped for, why would we continue to reach out?

(photo from thesaleslion.com)

I believe that God created us with a need for each other; a need to connect with each other, as a means of meeting our other human needs. If this is true, then it makes sense that the enemy of Life would want to sever our relationships wherever possible. No? Satan’s most effective tools against us include deception; false illusions, and cleverly created evidence to back up those deceptions. As people, we can be very vulnerable, perhaps to the point where we run from the very help we seek.

The Word of God instructs us to bear one another’s burdens, while a few verses later we read that we have to bear our own burdens. (Galatians 6:1-5)

The King James version of the Bible uses the word ‘burden’ in both places. Upon looking into the meaning of the Greek words behind the word burden, we find that in verse two, where we’re instructed to help bear the burdens of others, the word reveals a weight, something heavy bearing down on us. The word burden in verse five divulges a task, or a service. So, while we are to help each other with the concerns/burdens that weigh us down, we are each expected to perform the tasks and services God asks of us. We’re each to fulfill our own purposes; our own destinies, but will likely require help along the way when the weight of being human becomes too heavy for one soul.

Throughout scripture we read over and over again that God is our help in time of trouble.

The writer of Hebrews encourages us greatly:

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:6 (KJV)

God often chooses to meet our needs through the hands and hearts of those around us. The only need I can think of that God provides Himself, personally, is that of redemption. When He redeemed us, saving us from sin and eternal destruction, He did that through the cross.

(picture from stock-clip.com)

Even as Jesus commanded Lazarus to come from the grave, He turned to those around him and instructed them to release him from the graveclothes that bound him. (John 11:43-44 KJV)

The burdens of this life serve as graveclothes. Through the grace of His redemption, we’re further blessed with the body of Christ - each other - to help tear away the confines of binding graveclothes.

Yet……we hide. Why do you hide?