Month: January 2017

Equipped

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I remember the day we brought these little nuggets home, all 4 pounds of them.  It was the most terrifying yet exciting day.  Leaving the hospital, it took us a bit of time to get them in the car seats because they were so tiny, we had to make sure the straps were snug enough.  It was a rare snowy day as we drove home and I sat between them in the backseat crying.  I was so overwhelmed with so many emotions and all I could think was: “what do I do now?”…..“how do I do this?”  These precious babes are our responsibility and all the tips and self-help books I read didn’t really make me feel all that prepared at this point.  Somehow we made it and just this past weekend celebrated those two little ones becoming teenagers.  This Mommas heart just wasn’t ready for that……and I think I have that same feeling now as we enter the teenage years: “what do we do now?” and “how do we do this?”

I am so thankful that we have a God that doesn’t leave us hanging like that.  However, I think often times we may feel like that.  Maybe you are a new Christian and you just aren’t sure what to do now or maybe you’ve been a Christian a long time but don’t quite know what it means to ‘grow.’ It didn’t stop at the Cross friends.  Jesus Christ didn’t just die on the cross for our sins and say “well good luck!”  He rose from the dead, giving us joy that doesn’t end in death but instead new life in freedom through Him. He has provided us unwavering Truth and guidance through an incredible manual called the Holy Bible to walk this life out with.  Throughout Scripture we are given countless stories and certainties that we can freely look to always.  He provides us all we need to live a holy life.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.                                                                                              2 Peter 1: 3-4

Peter reminds us here of the sources made available to us.  When we grasp and utilize these sources we have the ability to share in his divine nature.  Wow!  What a promise!  Now, this doesn’t mean we are automatically free from all sin or become God ourselves.  What it does mean is when we surrender our lives to Him, we become like Him and have access to the only way there is to escape evil….and that is through Him.  In addition, we have the hope of one day being morally perfected when Jesus returns.  Oh how my heart soars to read these promises!

It is important to note here that this isn’t an “on-call” or “genie in a bottle” kind of thing.  We don’t just tap into our “sources” when we need them or when things get tough.   It is our duty and should be our hearts desire to seek Him daily, reading these promises daily so they are stamped on our hearts and in our minds.  It is then and only then that the “what do I do now? and “how do I do this” questions will be answered.  Through this daily relationship with Him comes growth.  Growth produces confidence in who we are in Him and wisdom in how we do life with Him.  Maybe you are still saying:  “Ok this is all great, but I don’t even know where to start.”  Can I share a few things that have helped me?

*Find a devotional book that can guide you through scripture and help you understand some things better.  Here are links to a few I have used in the past and absolutely love:

My FAVORITE: Whispers of Hope by Beth Moore

One Thousand Gifts by Anne Voskamp

Living the Psalms by Charles Swindoll

*Friendship/Fellowship/Community – if you don’t have a church home, find one.  That is key.  You need a home base where you can go and hear Truth spoken each week.  Also a place where you can begin to build relationships with others that can encourage you and love you through God’s Word.  This happens when you GET CONNECTED.   Sometimes we have to take the first step in that and it may be hard, it may require stepping out of your comfort zone but it is a key part of this:  join a bible study.   This is a beautiful thing because we can glean wisdom from what others are learning.  And just an extra perk: it’s a little more difficult to fall off the wagon when others are expecting to see you each week!

*Mentor/Discipleship/Accountability – This is something the Lord’s been stirring in my heart for the past several months that is such a gift and an important part of our walk.  Pray for and seek out someone whom you believe is a little further in their walk with the Lord.  The Lord speaks through His people and I believe this is a very very important part of the equation.  Pray for someone whom you can trust completely, whom you can be vulnerable with and whom you know will boldly speak Truth into your life.  When discipleship/accountability works correctly, it can help your growth in your walk with the Lord tremendously.

May you realize that “what now” and “how do I do this” isn’t in God’s Word but instead are promises and guidance.  May you rest in the fact that He has gone before you, He loves you and desires you to have your own story with Him.  May you be ready to confidently and courageously step up to the challenge of growing in your walk and relationship with Him!

2016…..you were a good teacher.

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The sun has set on 2016.  It has been a wonderful year beginning with moving into our beautiful new home.  Throughout the year many doors have opened, opportunities have been given and blessings have been felt.  And in the midst of it all, I have learned….A LOT.

–I’ve learned a lot of about focus.  It’s very important to focus on the big picture.  The big picture being your relationship with the Lord and His will for you.  So often it’s easy to get tripped up on the little things or even the big messes.  These things we fixate on is where the enemy is waiting in the wings to grab hold of you.  When our focus sways, so does everything else.  Even when we are in the midst of trials, stress, messes or whatever it is –  God is there.  Our precious Lord is in the midst of that mess with you.  Don’t miss Him.  While in the midst of this trial you’re facing right now, it may be hard to even breathe sometimes yet we must not miss the fact the He merely wants us to turn to Him, focus on Him and cry out His name.   Focus on Him – never lose sight.  Seek Him with all your heart!

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:13

-I’ve learned that there are a lot of hurting hearts out there and many times they are quietly suffering.  Oh how that makes my own heart hurt.   If you just bend your ear a little, you can hear the hurt and quite possibly be a voice of hope.  You see, when we live out grace and tender mercy our attitudes change and our understanding broadens.  It’s so easy to just give an answer of “I’m great” or “fine” when we are passing each other in the hallway or the grocery store aisle and so often that’s a lie.  And It’s even easier to keep walking and not truly dig in and say “no really, how are you?”   Why can’t we be more transparent?  Why do we feel like we have to act a certain way or pretend all is well?   In learning the magnitude of hurt out there, I’ve began to pray that the Lord will allow me to be a beacon of hope wherever He takes me.  I’ve began to pray that the Lord will stop me in my tracks of busyness if necessary to hear a heartache of a friend, a neighbor or whomever crosses my path so that I can come to the Throne of Grace with them and maybe just maybe they can experience that same peace, joy and freedom I do.  Let others see Jesus in you.

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.  1 Corinthians 11:1

-I’ve learned a lot about friendship or rather I should say I have gained a renewed perspective.   Friendship is a sacred precious gift from the Lord that should be treasured.  It is something to invest in and something to not give up on. My circle of friends is a very small one but I am very okay with that.  It is about quality not quantity.  2016 was a year I spent praying specifically about and for friendship.  Can I share a sweet story about one of my dear friends and how the Lord used her to speak to me this year?   A few months ago I received a text from this precious friend that lives many many states away.   We don’t get to talk very much or see each other a lot but we often send text messages of prayer requests we have or just sweet notes of love and encouragement to each other.  Well this particular day she sent me a text that was totally out of the blue but totally perfect timing.  You see, for several days I’d been quietly hurting over a particular past friendship that I’d lost. I had been desperately praying for the Lord to help me see Him in this ugly mess that was made.  It was then that the Holy Spirit led my sweet friend to send this beautiful message that you may not quite understand all of but I just wanted you to understand that magnitude of it.

She sent me this text after a nudge from the Holy Spirit not knowing how I’d take it nor that I was struggling with this very subject at that very moment.  I sat in my car just weeping at the tenderness of it, the perfectness of it and the beauty of it.  She simply obeyed a nudging from the Holy Spirit to 1) pray for me and 2) send me a beautiful note of love and encouragement on the very subject that my heart was aching for.  In this very moment everything about friendship made sense to me.  When we allow the Lord to be the center of our friendships it is such a beautiful thing.  He used my precious friend to speak to me and send me a little love note that yes – He heard my cries and He is at work.  When we allow the Lord to be the center of our friendships it is such a valuable tool.  We can pray for each other, we can build each other up, we can sense the Holy Spirit telling us to reach out when our friends need and we can even pray over other broken friendships because we love each other.  ~~Friendship is incredible when we allow the Lord to be a part of it.~~

…….a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.” Proverbs 27:9

–I’ve learned that the Lord’s not looking for extraordinary ultra-talented squeaky clean people.  But instead, simply lovers of Him who lay down their own broken selves in order to point others towards Him.  Simply those who will bring glory only to Him not taking it for themselves.

If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.  If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.  Amen.  1 Peter 4:11

More than anything I know that I will never be perfect, but Jesus is.  I will never be strong enough, but Jesus is.  I will never be enough, but He absolutely is.

Two and a half years ago I looked at myself in the mirror with disgust and said “How did I get here?”  Today, as I look back over 2016, looking forward to 2017; I can look in the mirror and say with freedom and JOY “How did I get here?”  The answer to the first question was selfish, awful, evil motives where my focus had turned from Jesus Christ to Dawn Spicer.  The answer now is hard work, obedience, and more than anything a fierce, relentless, redeeming love of a gracious, life-breathing God.  It’s like looking in the mirror at the transformation and realizing that nothing I’ve done or am doing is changing me but instead everything He is doing is changing me.

And with that, as the sun rises on 2017, I say hello with great anticipation.