{Study | Day 17 of 31}

Ready? Go.

I love to study Scripture. The complexities and depth blows my mind, really. The writer of Hebrews (chapter 4, verse 12) says it’s alive and active, exposing our inmost thoughts and desires.  Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy that it is God-breathed. That truth alone makes it invaluable. Paul also tells us in Ephesians that it’s the primary weapon we’ve been given to defeat the enemy of our souls. It’s THE standard of truth. Scripture does something else for us, too. It teaches us about the character of God and reveals Jesus. Something beautiful happened when I started praying this prayer before my bible study: “Lord, reveal something of Yourself to me in these pages. Holy Spirit, reveal truth and teach me what this is saying about who Jesus is?” Here’s the thing: what I believe about Him, based on my understanding of His Word, will determine how I live for Him. Did you catch that? It's true. Scripture is not just a book of “how-tos” and “rules to live by.”  It’s so much more. 

I am grateful for Scripture. And, I’m thankful I live in a country during a century when it’s readily available and easily accessible. In the early 13th century, it was illegal for anyone other than priests to own a Bible. I can’t imagine that. And, how often do we leave it lying on the bedside table collecting dust? What if we recommit to searching and studying the Scriptures, and knowing what they say? What if we recommit to applying them to our every day, affirming the truth of God’s Word above all else? Yeah, what if we did that!?  If we ask Him, God will give us a supernatural desire to study His Word, more than ever before. He can do that, you know. I’d say it’s something He’d very much delight in doing for us. 

Stop.

{Move | Day 15 of 31}

Ready? Go.

I am a few days behind, so I’m playing catch up. Life has been moving at a nearly an unsustainable pace. It seems like there is constant motion — always. It can be hard for a girl to catch her breath, and that’s on a good day. Life moves as if it has a mind of its own. Have you ever had a season where life wanted to move on without you? Maybe something wrecked your “normal,” and you felt stuck while life plowed forward without any consideration of you. That happened to me once, just after I lost my first child. Every day for eight months, he was the focus. He was a charming little fellow, so I didn't mind. Then, he was gone. The days immediately following his death were a whirlwind of activity. The funny thing is, you just keep up, somehow.  It's the days after the funeral and burial that run you over like a freight train. Life gets to pick back up where it left off while you are left to try and find your normal again. I couldn't find mine. I insisted that it needed to look and feel something like before. But, that doesn't work, does it?  Life was moving all around me, and I couldn't get unstuck.  God graciously taught me that I had to make a choice to move in the direction of healing. It took a lot of work and quite a bit of surrender and submission to God, but I was moving in a direction, gaining momentum, finding my new normal. And, God never left me to go it alone.

May I encourage you today? Just keep getting back up and do the next thing. Move one step closer in the direction of the One who's already pursuing you. His love for you is relentless. Yes, keep moving toward Him. Eventually, You'll find He is all you need.

Stop.

{Five Minute Friday | Test}

It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here.

This week the prompt is {TEST}. This is also Day 7 of the 31 Day Writing Challenge! WOO!

Ready? GO.

For most of us, the word doesn’t conjure up happy feelings. Maybe once we’ve been tested and have passed the happy feelings come, but not usually before. Yeah, before a test there tends to be a lot of hand wringing and last minute studying. A test measures what you know, but it also reveals what you don’t know. Ah, there’s the value of the test. Identifying specific areas of weakness provides an opportunity for growth. I need this in my life all the way around — as a wife, mom, friend, as a leader, and as a girl who wants her life to reflect the best of who she is in Christ. Don’t we all? I'd say we do.

That’s why I appreciate the prayer attached to the end of Psalm 139 (one of my favorites).

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 

Um. Yeah. Praying that kind of prayer takes a bravery of sorts because it’s another one God will always answer with a yes. And, it might hurt a little as God begins to point out areas where He needs to go to work in us. But even more than bravery, it takes an incredible amount of trust in and vulnerability with God. But see, David intimately knew God. He knew Him to be faithful and full of unfailing love, so David was completely at ease with giving God full, with the unrestricted access to his heart and mind. I want to be like that more often than I manage it now, the unrestricted access. I want to come before God and say here’s my heart, search me. Here’s my mind, test my thoughts. Then, correct me. The last thing I want is something that’s hidden in the depths of my heart or mind — some way of thinking, some sinful attitude or behavior to be offensive to Him or keep me from the path He intends for me. But those things are often the hardest to see and know about ourselves. But, here’s the thing: there’s always something that God can be working on in us. To say “no, I’m good” would mean we’re either perfect (um, no) or proud (that’s more likely). I’d much rather be saying Lord, keep growing me into the girl you meant me to be, rather than holding Him at arm's length insisting that I don't need any work. To believe for a second that I’ve arrived at a place where God's finished working on me means I forfeit the beautiful and wonderful things He has for me in the next season of growth. But we have to ask Him the hard questions and pray the scary prayers that invite Him to work in us. Who better to trust, though, with the testing of our hearts and minds? There is no one better than the One who created us. He had a vision and purpose for our lives before we existed. And He’s good. So good. 

I believe we have to be intentional about moving toward Him. So, may I encourage you today to take a step of faith toward Him by praying these verses of prayer along with me? Because, God, more than anything we want to be women who reflect the light and love of Jesus brightly. Do a work in us that only You can do. 

STOP.

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{Wardrobe | Day 3 of 31}

I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Five Minute Friday writing community. So, I decided to join the 31 day writing challenge. If you aren’t familiar, Five Minute Friday means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you write whatever comes out based on a prompt you're given - five minutes flat.

So…here’s to the Write 31 Days challenge,  five-minute Friday style! I'm all in, and I'm glad you stopped by. I hope at the end of the 31 days, I have a collection of posts that encourage you while at the same time stir something deep in your soul. At the very least, perhaps we can be reminded that we aren’t alone.  

Day 3 {WARDROBE}.

Ready? Go.

Put on love. That’s how the apostle Paul says it in scripture. This bit of instruction comes just after he explains how we’re to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 

It matters what we’re putting on, how we wear the label Christian. Are you wearing it well? Some days, I miss the mark in at least one of these areas. But, over all these, Paul says, wear love. Let love be the overriding theme in all your dealings. Let love be the thing that compels you. Always. Above all.  It looks something like this for me.

Why do you strive to show compassion to others? Because, love.  

Why act with kindness? Because, love.  

Why walk in humility? Because, love.

Why worry with gentleness? Because, love.

Why practice patience? Because, love. 

Do I always get it right? Absolutely not. But, love covers those missteps and mess-ups when it’s the thing that motivates. May I make a distinction here? Love doesn’t do hoping to get something in return. That’s not love at all, that’s manipulation. Love does, because it can. Love does because, well, Jesus. 

God demonstrated lavish love for the world by sending Jesus to die for our sins while we were still sinners, before we believed in Him, before we loved Him back. And because He loved like that, we can love, too. We can put on love and wear it well so that people will know we belong to Jesus. Isn't that what this is all about? Yes, I'd say so.

STOP.

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{Walk | Day 1 of 31}

I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Five Minute Friday writing community. So, I decided to join the 31 day writing challenge. If you aren’t familiar, Five Minute Friday means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you write whatever comes out based on a prompt you're given - five minutes flat.

So…here’s to the Write 31 Days challenge,  five-minute Friday style! I'm all in, and I'm glad you stopped by. I hope at the end of the 31 days, I have a collection of posts that encourage you while at the same time stir something deep in your soul. At the very least, perhaps we can be reminded that we aren’t alone.  

Day 1 {WALK}.

Ready? Go.

Our pup, Ruby, is a dream. We love her to pieces. But, alas, she has overtaken one small area in our yard for, well . . . doing her business. Ahem. Our preschooler, who is four, loves to run in the back yard with Ruby. Sometimes, barefoot. And, if she happens to wander into the forbidden section of the yard, she comes back inside the house with a mess on the bottom of her foot. She’s learning where to run and where not to run. Thankfully. Because, I’m not so good with cleaning up the mess on the bottom of the foot. Not good at all.

It got me thinking. Don’t we sometimes do that as believers? We veer off path toward areas where we’re likely to step into a mess, and we just plow ahead, unaware. I’ve been there. Sometimes, it’s because I’m inviting the wrong counsel to speak into my situation. Yeah, there’s that. Psalm 1 talks about where we walk. Scripture admonishes here us not to walk in step with the wicked. It says we’re blessed when we don’t. The next verse explains what we should do instead — delight ourselves in the law of the Lord. Yes. 

When we seek counsel in and delight in God’s word, aren’t we less likely to step into a mess because of disobedience? Here’s the thing: there are only two directions in which to walk. We either walk in obedience or we don’t. Does that mean we always get it right? No way. But, when we cherish God’s word and hold it up as the standard for our lives, it changes the way we live. It changes the way we make decisions. It changes us. He. Changes. Us. Then, we find ourselves in step with Him, walking close behind Him, following with intention,  clinging to Him with all we've got. Because we learn that He is trustworthy. And, even more than that, He is always moving us in the direction of the Father.  That’s where I always want to be. 

Stop.

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