Five Minute Friday - Favorite

     It is a question often asked, “What is your favorite verse?”  While an innocent question by nature, it is an almost impossible question to answer.  There. Are. So. Many.  And, because the Bible is living and active, the verses that touch my heart change based on what season I’m in and what I need to hear. 

     There are those verses however, that I cling to over and over again.  The ones that speak to the very core of who I am and what I need.  My favorites are the ones that I have read but then actually seen God prove Himself through.  When I find a verse in the Bible that is a promise that I desperately need for God to fulfill, I write it out, decorate it, and hang it up.  I read it as often as possible and pray that God would show me that it is true.  Sometimes, I am still surprised when He does follow through, when He proves, once again, to be faithful.  Always, does that verse then become more personal to me.  It is a reminder of God’s faithfulness, a reminder that He cares enough about me to listen and answer my prayers, a reminder that this hope I profess is real. 

     I suppose then, that I do have a few favorites, a few go to verses that bring me hope, joy, and faith.  Ephesians 3:16 is one such verse, “I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources, He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.” (NLT)  There have been those moments in time where I had no strength, none, and yet I was able to persevere.  My whole being knows that in those moments it was not me that did the sustaining, or the strengthening.  It had to be God.  If you are in the midst of a struggle, a time when you feel like putting one step in front of the other is way beyond reasonable, hear me say that He will provide.  He will strengthen you and He will be faithful.  Then, this verse can sink into your heart because you have seen the evidence for yourself. 

     Do you have a verse that has become your “favorite” because you have seen God prove Himself true through it?  

Five Minute Friday - Meet

Five Minute Friday - Meet

     Two months ago I would have insisted that to create and maintain a true friendship you would have to meet that person, in real life.  I would have told you that you couldn't know a person's heart through a screen.  There are very valid reasons for this position.  What that thought does not take into account is what happens when people, who are hungry for authenticity and realness, are brought together by God.  I have discussed #the4500 at length in several other posts.  I am aware that to the outside world it sounds just a wee bit crazy.  Okay, maybe a lot crazy.  Two months ago I would have agreed wholeheartedly.  But it's not.  Talking with these amazing women, reading their words, praying for them, being prayed for by them, sharing heartbreak and victory with them, has changed me.  It has made me more brave than I have been in years.  It has given me the courage to meet with two incredible women, in real life, who are willing to share life with me as well.  These women spread out all over the country have given me confidence, wisdom, and strength.  They have given me books to read, thoughts to ponder, and the encouragement to dream big.  The critical piece of this whole community is the real.  Not one woman has tried to be perfect.  Not one has shown themselves as having it all together.  Not one has made themselves better than another.  Each one of us has come just as we are and shared from our hearts.  We have crossed over the selfie boundary and shared videos so that we can hear and see each other.  We have texted, and messaged, and laughed and cried. All of this points to how needed this real version of life is to all of us.  All of to one extent or the other, is drowning in something.  Our hearts and minds long to hear that we are not alone, we are not crazy, and we might have ideas and thoughts that are worthy of being heard.  Every single person you meet - whether in real life - or on this whole new world of social media - has a struggle.  Every person has a need and a desire.  My hope is that we would start treating each other with more grace, more mercy, and more kindness.  Including ourselves.  

Depression and Jesus

     Depression is that thing that makes good things seem insignificant and bad things seem insurmountable.  Depression makes sunny days too bright to bear and cloudy days too dreary to function.  It matters not the weather, it is as if my heart is broken to start the day.  It matters not the circumstances, or the people, or the place.  No doubt, people help make it better.  Those who love and encourage and support are invaluable.  I am blessed to have so many of those people in my life.  But, depression doesn’t have to have a reason.  Sometimes, often in fact, my heart hurts and my brain can’t convince itself or my heart different. 

     There is one thing that brings always brings peace.  Jesus.  My soul has found rest in Him.  Every. Single. Time. The truth that He is God, that He became man, lived a life free of sin, died on a cross, paid my penalty for sin, and rose again is the one thing, the thing, in which I hope.  I find comfort in the words of the Bible for I have seen the promises fulfilled in my life and the lives of others.  The truth of it resonates in every fiber of my being.  And over and over and over again He shows up, comforts, brings peace, and guides my steps. 

     So, I do not speak or write about God or His Son Jesus because I think I know more than anyone else.  I do not speak or write about Jesus to force someone else to believe as I do.  I do not believe because someone told me too or because I think it is what I should do.  I speak and write about the love of my life because He has saved me.  My very being sings His praises.  The core of who I am is sold out to who He is.  There is no other motivation behind anything I write or say.  Do I want you to believe?  Of course, but not because I said so – because you have had a personal, intimate encounter with Him.  Do I want to encourage you?  Absolutely, I believe that is the gift He has given me.  I pray that my writing gives others tools to know Him more, trust Him more, and be strong in Him.  But the meaning of everything I write is just that I love Him and I want to share.  

Five Minute Friday - Messenger

Messenger. 

One who brings a message. 

Messages can be life altering. They can bring hope and joy or devastation and sadness. Messages can be small and simple.  They can bring a smile to a face or tears to eyes.  Last night, as I read a message from a friend, I was reminded of how powerfully good human beings can be to each other.  In this instance, people came together and decided to be messengers. Spreading the message that one of their own needed help.  They spread it loud and clear. Their message was heard and received and in just over 48 hours the need of their friend was met in abundance.  It made me think that we all are really messengers.  And we choose to either bring more joy or more sadness.  More smiles or more anger.  The world would be changed if we all chose to share good messages.  If we made it our goal, our job, to inform the world that there is hope, there is a God who loves us, there is beauty, and there is good.  

Who you are in enough.

     Who you are is enough.  In fact, who you are is good.  No, really.  Are you perfect?  No.  Are there things you need to work on, to get make better? Yes.  But who you are, right now, in this minute is enough.  I get that this sounds like a cheesy speech, designed to make you pat yourself on the back and feel all warm and gooey inside.  It’s not.  It’s a reality check.  We spend years of our lives, and billions of dollars trying to make ourselves ‘better’.  Based on my experience, and that of those I know, most of us are really trying to make ourselves someone else.  We are so uncomfortable with who we are that we use all our energy, and emotion, and time, trying to re-create ourselves.  Folks, we need to stop. 

     As the preacher said Sunday, “we need to remember who and whose we are.”    We were created by God.  And God is good.  What He creates is good.  "God saw all that He had made, and it was very good." Genesis 1:31 - (NIV)  And yes, this verse is after He made human beings.  Yes, we have sinned.  Yes, we need a Savior to set us right with God again.  "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." Romans 3:23 - 24 (NIV)  But God didn’t mess up.  He didn’t make a mistake when He made us.  Sometimes, we feel like He did.  Sometimes, we can’t understand why we have personality characteristics that we consider flaws.  But God formed us - and He always has a reason.  Maybe we ought to start spending more time and energy accepting who we are and using our strengths instead focusing on, what we consider to be, our weaknesses.  Maybe we ought to spend some time resting in the truth that God made just how He wanted us.  Maybe, even, we should celebrate that God did good!