Flashback Friday: Worth
FLASHBACK FRIDAY The boys recently asked my about my teaching past. They wanted to know what grades I taught and what I thought of the kids. They asked if it was hard and if I liked to teach. Jack asked me if I wanted to …
Tag: God
It’s Complicated
The complexities of faith. We google and search trying to find answers to our faith. We look up the Hebrew and Greek translations studying the context of the time trying to make sense of it all. We listen to the voices from the pulpit and …
The Plan
I was sitting on my little couch getting ready to send out an email when I noticed the banner ad. It caught my attention immediately because it spurred excitement way down in my soul. The ad was for seminary. Now, some of you are like, “How on earth does an ad for school excite you?” Look, I am a forever student at heart. Academics excites me. What can I say?
I began filling out the (intense) application. I couldn’t answer one of the questions so I called my husband for help. He was on his way home from a business trip totally unaware of my crazy idea to head back to school in the fall. He picked up the phone and I immediately asked the question catching him totally off-guard. I told him what I was doing after getting a confused response. He asked me to wait until he got home before I hit send so we could have a conversation about this little endeavor of mine.
He arrived home soon after our chat and joined me on my tiny love seat in my office. We chatted about school, the whys, the hows, all the things. Then, he looked at me and said something that I will never forget. He said, “I don’t think this is what you really want to do. I think this is the easy predictable route. Think on it before you jump in.” Of course, I cried (If you know me, you know that this is not a surprise). And then, in that moment, a dream was launched. I knew I would have to put myself out there in a way I had never done before and that terrified me. As I sat on that little couch feeling the warmth of the August sun beaming through the window onto my back, I knew it was time; time to launch a dream.
I started out working on my craft and getting it out there. However, I stayed in my safe space. A couple months passed and I hadn’t really stepped out yet. Then, I went to a conference that completely changed the trajectory of my mission. It blew everything out of the water and me out of my comfort zone. I felt exposed. I felt scared. I felt excited.
I changed my focus and started having fun. So much fun. I made new goals and jumped on the train to follow this new lead. Of course I prayed, but, I still had my ideas, my plans, my vision. I thought I was bringing it to God, but, in reality, I was bringing Him my stuff not coming to Him ready to receive His. This was a one-way street from me to Him. He put this desire in my heart, I thought, so He will bless this road.
And then I sat.
And sat.
And sat.
Things happened and moved but man, did they move ever so slowly. I didn’t feel like it was growing the way it should have. Slow and steady wins the race was not my jam. I was stuck.
I recently realized that I was going about this all wrong. Yes, I was focused on “the one” and not the crowd. I knew in my heart that if my words helped one woman find freedom, find Jesus, it was all worth it. But, I was not doing it right. I was taking all my hopes, dreams, purposes, and designs to God telling Him to bless it instead of going to God asking what He wanted me to do with this grand scheme. My plan was background and I was hitting a wall because of it.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (emphasis mine)
I have had Jeremiah 29:11 memorized since I became a Christian in high school. It is inscribed on the Bible my dad gave me for high school graduation. This verse has always given me hope. However, it wasn’t until adulthood that I really understood what God was saying. While He’s telling us that He does have a plan for us, He does not tell us that this plan will come to fruition this side of Heaven. All the blood, sweat, and tears we put into His plan for our lives will lead to something amazing. We just might not see it. I think of Moses not seeing his promised land until he got to Heaven and saw it from there. This verse also reminds me that it is HIS PLAN not mine. His. For so long, I got this wrong. I took the desires within me, molded them into my vision, and presented them before Him telling Him to bless it. That’s not the way it works. Not one bit.
The moment I changed my focus from bringing my hopes, dreams, and purposes to God asking Him to bless them to asking for guidance from Him for what is on His heart for me, I was free. Free of striving. Free of feeling disappointment. Free of comparison. Free of the pressure to make this into something all on my way. I let go of all the pressures to grow this ministry because that pressure is not mine. That pressure is His. I was relieved from the frustrations that things were taking too long or not moving in the right direction. My job is NOT to make this dream work. My job is to take one step at a time in obedience. His job is to bless it (or let it go, if that’s His plan).
Take the pressure off yourself today. You were never meant to carry that burden. Know that if God placed something in your heart, all you are required to do is take a step in obedience. He will work out the details. He will make it grow. He will shut it down if this isn’t for you. Our job isn’t to manipulate the situation to make it work out. Our job is to follow His lead in the direction we should go.
Be free today.
Free of the pressure to perform.
Free to make something grow faster than it was intended to grow.
Free from the burden that you aren’t doing enough.
He is your enough.
Be free.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
Perception vs. Deception
When we live in others’ perception of ourselves, we are deceived. When we live for our own perception of ourselves, we are deceived. Only God’s perception matters. I have a saying written on a chalkboard in my office. It reads, Confidence in Christ. I wrote the …
Be the Change
I did it, y’all.
I did what we all do.
I saw the controversial post and got sucked into the train wreck that is the comment feed left in its wake. This one wasn’t too bad. Well, in regards to today’s standards, that is.
I have a confession to make. I have noticed some anger welling up inside me. Let me give you some background to me so you understand. I am your textbook A-type personality. Micah 6:8 is my mantra. You better act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly or I’m comin’ after you. Not really. But, in my head I’m comin’ after you. I am a rule follower and if you break the rules, I ain’t playin’.
Now that you know my personality type, you can understand this anger that was percolating within me. I’ve had two phone calls in the past month that did not end well. Both were with front-desk people in the medical field. Both wanted something from me that had absolutely nothing to do with the health and well-being of the persons involved. They wanted more money from me withholding prescriptions until we did this and that. This was not a matter of unpaid bills. Instead, it was a matter of our broken healthy system. But, this is not what this post was about.
Anyway, like I was saying. Anger. It spewed from me like something I haven’t seen in a very long time and don’t want to really ever see again. I was not horrible, yet, I was not loving and kind either. If they found my blog, they would probably wonder if I were the same person.
I then come across this friend’s post. I notice someone says something horribly unkind to the poster. The person who post this is someone I love, respect, and care deeply for. My first instinct? Teach this comment-er that those words were not okay. And then I took a breath. I didn’t respond to the negative comment. I usually don’t. I just can’t. It’s not my thing; not my way. Yet, I felt like I had to do something. I had that stirring, the good kind, within me.
I decided to comment to the poster. I let her know she is loved not despicable. That she is beautiful and valued no matter what she posts. I saw in that moment that it doesn’t matter what we post, what we say, or how we act. I mean, it does matter, BUT when God looks at us do you know what He sees?
Jesus.
The words, the comments, the posts they all fade away when God looks our way. Instead He sees His Son. And if God can see His Son through all the harsh words and anger, than I can too.
As odd as this sounds, I needed that post. I needed to see it so I could be reminded of how God sees us. He doesn’t see our anger. He sees forgiveness. He doesn’t see our nasty posts online. He sees love. He doesn’t see our mistakes. He sees the scares on His Son’s hands.
He sees Jesus.
And so do I.
The next time I get wrapped up in this cold harsh world, I will choose to see Jesus. The next time I am wronged, I will choose to see Jesus. The next time I am wrapped up in some kind of injustice, I will choose Jesus. The next time I feel anger towards someone who wronged me, I will choose to see Jesus.
You are loved. You are beautiful. You are valued.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
Jesus
Jesus
You make the darkness tremble
Tremble
By: Mosaic MSC
It’s a Hard-Knock Life
Life is hard sometimes, isn’t it? If we aren’t facing challenges in our personal lives, we witness hardships in others’ lives. Alcoholism Financial Distress Anger Fear Distrust Anxiety Depression Insecurity Miscarriage Marital strife Broken Relationships There’s my list. These are things that feel broken; that …
Flashback Friday: Tattered Pieces
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 condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:39-43
The thief on the cross. We like him. Well, most of us do. We like that he was a criminal yet, Jesus told him he would be with him in paradise. It comforts us to know that we, too, may make it to paradise one day even though we are a royal mess.
I went out on a limb and listened to a podcast with a speaker who has gone a little rogue in the Christian faith. Honestly, I was going to skip over this one because I didn’t want to hear her rhetoric, but I gave it a chance. I am glad I did. The wisdom that spewed from this author was phenomenal. Her words were thoughtful, loving, kind, and truth-filled.
So, what am I supposed to do with that?
What do we do when a respected Christian author, speaker, or pastor goes rogue on one issue of the faith but is so wise in other areas? I am wrestling hard with this right now.
One thing I know to be true is that my theology ebbs and flows as I journey through this life. I am always learning something new gaining new perspective. I am always changing; ever evolving right alongside my faith. Scripture comes to life in various ways when I study. I can read the same Scripture at different times in my life and I see different things through it.
After I finished that podcast, I went on a run and listened to a book on audio. The author has also gone a little rogue on some Christian topics. But, one thing she said got to me. She talked about her daughter’s blanket getting destroyed by the family dog. She was devastated because this was her daughter’s baby blanket and made by a family member. She took it back to that family member to see if there was anything she could do to repair the blanket. Sure enough, the blanket was fixed using the tattered pieces. Only this time, the blanket was much stronger.
This is us. We are all just tattered pieces trying to figure this faith thing out. I am fairly certain that at least one of these women changed their Christian perspective because of deep hurts in her life. Does this make her completely void in feeding our souls wisdom? Just because she is wrestling with the Truth, does that mean that we cannot garner anything from her?
We deny the true power of God when we believe He cannot use the broken. At the end of it all, we are no different than the thief on the cross. We will all enter paradise as tattered pieces; our theology not mastered.
I hate to break it to you, but your pastors and those that you think have it all figured out are also tattered pieces. My husband used to read while we were in church. He’d open his Bible and have his nose in it while the pastor preached almost as if he wasn’t listening to the lesson. I used to get so frustrated, Oh, but he was listening. He was taking what the pastor was saying and comparing it with the words of God. He knew that just because the man on the stage was a pastor did not alleviate him from being made up of tattered pieces.
We are so quick to throw people out when they get the interpretation wrong. The moment someone opens their mouth and goes against the traditional beliefs and “rules” of the faith, they are no longer qualified. Look, I am not talking about those that are obviously preaching falsities. I am also not saying that we should take everything an “authority” on the faith is saying as truth. Because, quite frankly, there are no authorities on the faith. We are all just tattered pieces trying to understand a God so big that we cannot wrap our human minds around all that He has for us.
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17
We forget about the awesome tool Jesus left for us. The Spirit lives within us. Tap into that power. The Spirit will guide you to truth. You only need to be aware. We need to give ourselves permission to listen to others even when we disagree; even when we disagree on spiritual things. God can use anyone. He uses the tattered pieces to save souls. The broken are his game plan. Read the Bible. Is there one perfect teacher besides Jesus? You will not find one.
We will all be broken, tattered pieces, when we enter paradise. Each and everyone of us. Some of our theology will be on point, while some of it will be way off target. That’s okay. God never called us to understand. Just believe. The thief on the cross got this. Unlike the other criminal hanging with them who was held-up by theology, the thief knew the heart of the matter: salvation. We can look at his story and see where theology got him. One stood with Jesus in paradise not because he understood God, but because he got to the matter of his heart: believing in a Savior.
Don’t be afraid to listen to the broken people; those tattered pieces. You are in good company there for this is where Jesus resides.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
Fear the Future
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 …