Finding Faith in the Mess
One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of …
Oh, man. Discouragement crept in and made himself comfortable. He pitched a tent, blew up an air mattress, got his heated blanket, and hot cocoa and cozied up next to me. He started jabbering away in my ear spewing all his lies but making me …
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34
Grady, my middle guy, woke up and coughed twice.
“That’s it!” I thought. He’s getting sick.
With all this flu pandemonium going around, it’s easy to think every sniffle, cough, or sneeze is heading in that direction. It seems everyone is sick.
I walked down stairs and finished getting breakfast ready. Grady came down and inhaled his food, per the usual. He chugged his milk and picked on his little brother. Nothing was wrong with him. He was perfectly fine. I worried for nothing.
Don’t we do this, though. It is in our human nature to worry about a future that has yet to happen. We concoct crazy stories in our heads of what is to come worrying today about something that may not even happen later.
We fear the future without even knowing what the future holds.
God talks a lot about worry and fear in the Bible. The word “fear” is used 365 times in the Bible. A verse for every day of the year. God made us. He surely isn’t surprised when we allow worry and fear to overtake our lives. Why then, do we fear the future so much?
Control.
I believe we fear the future as a means to have some semblance of control over our lives. If we worry and fret now, when that catastrophe comes, we won’t freak out as much or maybe it won’t be as hard. Here’s the thing though, we are wasting today fearing tomorrow. Why are we giving space to something like fear in our lives when these things we are worrying about may never happen? They most likely won’t happen. Think back on some of the things you worried about and whether or not they came to fruition. It is a rarity in my life.
God calls us not to fear and not to worry. He is quite clear on that in His Word. When we allow fear and worry to infiltrate our lives, it pushes God out. If fear and worry have taken root, there is no place for the comfort and peace God provides.
It is time we stop fearing the future. God’s got us. He says so. It is time we start believing him. And, if that catastrophe does happen, God will provide you with the where-with-all and the village of people you need to face it head on. Check out your past. Did he ever leave you; ever forsake you?
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
The future doesn’t get to have a hold on us today. It is not to be feared. Letting go of fear is a daily, sometimes moment-by-moment, walk of faith trusting that the Lord’s got us. And, he really does. We can rest in knowing he’s got us and start enjoying today for this day is a gift.
Love & Blessings,
Megan
I was sitting at Starbucks typing away and doing some research when a party of four sat down next to me. It was crowded and the tables were close. The two couples chatted about general life stuff for the first ten minutes or so. Yes, …
Yup. I am going to talk about working out. Nope. I am not going to guilt you into some program or joining a gym. That’s not my jam. What I am going to do, hopefully, is inspire you.
“I don’t HAVE to workout. I GET TO workout.”
I walked into the workout room decked out in all my layers since it was ten degrees this morning. My friend set-up in front of me and asked if I had received my shirt. She was wearing a tank we both ordered and I couldn’t remember what I was wearing. I had on eighty layers and had gotten dressed in the dark that morning. Turns out, I was wearing the same shirt. Our friends have a workout apparel company and we were both representing (shout out Life and Laundry Apparel). I watched us as we moved in tandem through a really challenging workout wearing tank tops that told us we need to change our mindset from having to workout out to getting to workout.
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 1 Corinthians 3:16
It’s no surprise that our bodies are amazing. They can do far more than we allow them to. We don’t give our bodies enough credit. We forget to look at who Created us.
Working out isn’t all about the physicality. I often speak about the mental, emotional, and spiritual connections I make when I workout. And let me just say, I do not love working out. I don’t usually wake up in the morning ready to lift some weights and do some squats. Even though I ran a half marathon, I actually hate running. That’s why I say that working out is so much more than moving my body.
Today’s workout was especially hard; the day I wore the same tank top as my friend. I got through that workout because of her, some prayer, and a little self-talk. Working out has shown me that I am much stronger than I give myself credit for. I can do hard things and push through things that hurt and don’t feel good becoming stronger on the other side. I am not only stronger physically but mentally and spiritually, as well. I push past all that negative self-talk and get in some serious prayer time during my workouts. It’s not all about forcing myself to do something that doesn’t feel good. It’s about knowing that I get to do this.
I get to strengthen my body.
I get to strengthen my mind.
I get to strengthen my relationship with Jesus.
I get to strengthen my friendship with women who encourage and build me up.
I get to do all of this all because I choose to workout.
Working out has a negative stigma that needs to go away. The benefits from moving our bodies far outweighs the pain and nuances we convince ourselves it brings. I don’t have some magic drink or a perfect program for you. What I do have, is a little encouragement. Start somewhere. Just start.
Our bodies are a temple. They truly are. It is our job to nourish them and that starts from the inside out. Get moving. You deserve it. And, maybe, just maybe you will find…
That you are STRONGER than you think.
That you CAN do this.
You just may FIND God there.
You may find your TRIBE there, too.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
We ushered in the new year. We love the thought of a fresh start. It allows us to leave the old behind and begin something new. There is so much hope and promise in a new year. 365 days ready and waiting to be filled and we get to choose how to fill them.
I am not a resolution girl. I steer clear of making any new year’s resolutions because I know I most likely will not hold any of them. I say I am more of a “lifestyle change” kind of gal. I need to change my life, the way I am living, instead of making some unattainable goal.
I heard Jo Saxon talk recently about action in accordance with the Word. She was referring to a conversation about the founding of the Jesuits. A man named Ignatius Loyola founded the group and was tenacious about contemplating the Scriptures and then taking action because of the Word. Saxon talked briefly about Jesus and how in everything he did he had an action plan. He didn’t just see a Samaritan woman gathering water in the middle of the day. He saw a woman in need. And, not only did he see a woman in need, he saw beyond her foreseeing an entire village that needed to Gospel. He had an action plan when he met her at the well that fateful day. He knew he was dealing with souls that needed hope and He was that hope.
Jesus lived his life in the balance of contemplation and action. He spent time with the Father in deep prayer but didn’t stay there. He went out and acted. He spent time finding His purpose more and more and then went out and acted on that purpose.
Where do you fall? Do you hear or read your Bible and then set it down until the next day. Or, do you read, contemplate, and then act on what you just learned?
What is your action plan?
So many of us commit time, effort, and energy to contemplate this life and how we want to live it out making an action plan to achieve these new goals. So often we fail at our new year’s resolutions, or any new goal we make, because we don’t know how to get from contemplation to action. Or, our actions are so far fetched and out of reach that they are unattainable and are so beyond what we thought in our minds.
Jesus’ action plan always matched the Father’s will. His actions were a natural progression birthed out of his contemplation. Think about when Jesus prayed in the garden. The story is found in Matthew. Jesus is in agony knowing his fate. He is praying (contemplating)about what is about to happen (action). This is when Jesus asked God to take this lot away from him but ultimately surrendered to the will of the Father. Jesus’ prayer, his contemplation, matched his action. It made sense.
We are called to be in our Bibles; to learn the will of God through His Word. We are also called to take action and not just sit on what we are taught. So many of us Christians go to church on Sunday, hear a message, head out to lunch, and go on with our lives. There is no evidence of change, growth, or action based on what we just learned. Imagine what the Church would look like if we acted upon what God was teaching us.
Today is a new day. Today is the perfect time to begin contemplation plus activation. God is calling us not only to hear his Word but to act on it. What is your action plan?
Love & Blessings,
Meg
