Happy and Blessed Beast Feast Thursday!

Today isn’t just your run of the mill Thursday. It's Beast Feast Thursday!  Many of you refer to this as Thanksgiving Day.  Normally I would be fully prepared and already have a menu in place.  This year...well let's just say I have the turkey in the oven.   That my friend is a step in the right direction.  

As I sit here this morning we are now nine-plus months into the Covid 19 virus wreaking havoc on this planet. Some days my world seems really small and other days it's densely populated.  It's strange walking around in public with my face covered.  I normally love being outside soaking up vitamin D and feeling the warmth of the sun as it kisses my head. But Covid has left me in a winter state of mind.  For those of you who love winter insert your least favorite season here.  I been in a dark and dangerous space in my head off on during this pandemic.  The things that once gave me joy are often the source of my concern. I seem to feel cold all the time.  I don't want to leave the "cave" and go out into the unknown (if you are singing that frozen song....your welcome).  As for the "cave", I only allow for a few to enter.  Anxiety is a daily occurrence.  I attempt to leave it at God's feet and occasionally I release my grip as I place it in His hand.  I win the battle with anxiety twenty-four days out of thirty. But let me tell you those six losses are hard to recover from.  Sometimes those losses rattle around in my head for hours upon hours. I wake in the middle of the night paralyzed with the uncertainty of tomorrow and what it holds.   

Things are very different this November 26th.  Last year at this time I was still working, shopping at the mall, going to bible studies, visiting family and friends, dating my husband, eating out, vacationing (or planning a vacation), going to church, and many other social activities.  Now, life is quite virtual.  I am a stay at home wife. Shopping is done online or at the market as infrequently as possible. We haven't physically been to our bible study in weeks/months.  Dating my husband has taken on a whole new meaning. We've canceled multiple trips and vacations.  Social distancing has taken the place of social activity.  We now do Churchome in our home with family, friends and/or anyone who wants to join us.

Counting blessings can be a chore. This virus is still spreading and people are told to stay home and not celebrate by having the usual large family gatherings.  Covid has brought a change to the dynamics of my world. Life is strange but strange is becoming the new normal. So, as I gather around the table with few members of my family to celebrate this Beast Feast Thursday, I count the blessings that I see on the surface.  And I pray that God will reveal those blessings that are hidden deep within the selfishness of my being.  I praise God for the “be still” moments that this pandemic has forced upon many of us. I praise Him for the sleep-deprived nights that have me meditating on His promises for the future.  My gratitude for my liberties and freedoms has become illuminated.  I am blessed to have a family that is willing to quarantine and distance themselves from others so that we can be together while our sacrifices protect others and ourselves.  I am overwhelmed by the love, support, and generosity of my husband, children,  grandchildren, family, and friends.  There is much to be thankful for even in this crazy time in history. 

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to have free will and what is to live in God's will. Have you ever tried to pick up a toddler that was mid-tantrum?  That eighteen-pound little nugget feels more like a fifty-pound turkey. And the resistance is real.  It’s difficult to explain but they become like a wet noodle and somehow managed to make the task of picking them up nearly impossible.  This is how I often see myself giving God authority over every aspect of my life.  It’s easy to give Him reign over the things that run parallel with His guidelines.  However, I become that tantrum-throwing toddler when I have to let go of the hard stuff.  Love your neighbor that barks at you and threatens to run your car over because your guest parked a little peculiar on the streets.  Ummm okay.  How about loving that family member that pretends they don’t see you in a room?  Or that stranger that just cut you off (and they have a political bumper sticker for the opposing party) causing you to slam on your breaks?  And those people that don’t pray like you, look like you, do like you do, or do what you want them to do?  How do we refrain from showing hate and instead choose to live in love and in God’s will?  Well, the answer isn’t simplistic.  Handing over your free will and replacing it with living in God’s will is no easy task.  You need to be cognizant of every thought, word, and action.  The Holy Spirit is there to guide from inside. However, free will makes it our decision to choose love, which is ultimately God's will or to choose our selfishness. Like I said not simplistic.  But, I promise you it is attainable.  Try walking, taking a journey, and envision that God is walking with you. Side by side. Arm in arm.  Hand in hand.  What would you refrain from and what would you run to?  

My hope and plan are that I will take the blessings from today and carry them with me.  I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead me to a place of trust and that my faith would be unshakable.  My reality may look slightly different than what I envision but at least I have a plan.  Unlike my meal plan for today.  God can only control what I allow Him to control in my life.  He promises to protect, lead, guide, and love are genuine and true.  So, when I leave uncertainty, anxiety, and the undesirable state of mind and reality at His feet He waits.  In His magnificent ways, He watches over me and waits for me to surrender.  Hands up. I want to run toward a life of unshakable faith. 

I pray that the blessings of this day are too many to count.

Happy and blessed Beast Feast Thursday!  

   

Pause and Cause

As I sit here this morning my thoughts seem a bit calm but also overwhelming at the same time.  It's been a long time since I sat and blogged.  For some reason, over the past few months, I have had this mental block or just an odd sense of blahhhhh each time I contemplated writing.  Do you ever wonder how you can be quiet and still when there is so much going on in the world around you?  There is this overwhelming feeling that you are grasping for a message or a single word from God. I have been feeling this way for quite some time.  2 Corinthians 10:5 reminds me that I am to take every thought captive.  How do I even begin to place a lasso around my brain foggy mind?

The world has been on pause because of the Covid 19 strand of coronavirus.  And our country is also protesting to seek justice due to injustices that stem from the beginning of this country's history. And here I sit on this June, Sunday morning in the comfort of my own home reflecting on the "pause and cause".  I honestly feel I might have hit the pause button a little too hard in many areas of my life.  I had become complacent in areas that I should be humbled and dissatisfied.  In the beginning months of the quarantine I spent hours putting together a 3000 piece puzzle that my son-in-law, Duane gave me (he informed me that the puzzle was missing approximately 3 pieces.... oh the torture).  As I stood for hours at my dining room table, covered from end to end with puzzle pieces (2997 of them) I was able to remove myself from the world around me.  I slowly put the pieces in place for a little over 3 weeks. I refused to look at the box.  What was I thinking?  I made this task so much harder by not knowing where the pieces fit. After a few weeks and a few pauses from the task I eventually completed the non-completable puzzle. Quite honestly as I put the last piece in its place I felt somewhat happy.  But wait, there were multiple pieces missing.  However, I did what I could to see it to completion.

Now what? I was paused. There were moments I unintentionally pressed a slight pause on my connecting with God, my family, my friends, current events, and my mind. Time to unpause and get back to the "cause" of what was happening around me.  And let me tell you there is a lot going on around me. My country, my family, friends, and community are all struggling to put the pieces together.  We all have an idea of what the whole picture should look like but we are all refusing to look at the "box".  We see what we want to see and in return, we are making a mess of things.  We are searching for the boarders and putting pieces where they don't belong.  And just like the puzzle I had in front of me we all have some pertinent pieces missing. Truth be told I firmly believe that it is the "pause" that has been placed on understanding, truth, and justice that have "caused" this time in our lives to be difficult.   There is this battle going in inside of me.  The "pause" is a nice safe place.  I don't want to be complacent.  I don't want to conform to the patterns of this "paused" world. 

This is the day that Romans 12:2 has decided to penetrate my "paused" mind.  There are many translations of scripture and I hope you don't mind but  I would love to share the TPT (The Passion Translation) version. "Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God's will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in His eyes."    Put a lasso around that overwhelmed mind and realize that the Holy Spirit dwells within.   I ask myself, "Am I afraid of the ideas and opinions of those around me?"  The world is full of darkness. As I scroll through social media my heart breaks.  We are broken.  Brokenness does not discriminate. Life is more valuable than property damage.    I am not perfect.  I am a work in progress.  I have never been a victim of racism or actually know what it feels like to be treated unjustly because of my complexion. However, I do know what it feels like to be furious enough that I have broken an object, slammed a door, shattered a glass, pushed someone off a barstool (yes I did do this and I am not proud), use words that cut deep and my list could go on and on. Doing all of that just so that my voice and feelings could be heard.  I will say all eyes and ears were on me (especially the bar stool incident....still not proud of that moment.  But I did get my point across).  You might say in some cases my destructive moments were motivated by righteous anger.  Hey, Jesus the Prince of Peace flipped tables because of injustice. We need to see the picture. Look at the box.  Seek the truth.  I trust that we will see peace, justice, and order.  If God can form the universe, galaxies, planets, and life from the chaos I believe we can renew, transform, and rebuild our nation. 

I have been thinking about my Dad.  And I am thankful for his example. I am who I am because of his guidance. I see the beautiful way his life has influenced my children and how they see the world.  I am thankful that I have children that can, will, and are demonstrating their willingness to grow, teach, and reach family, friends, and communities. I really wish I could have him come to dinner tonight.  I would love to hear his thoughts.  It's been nine and a half years since I last saw and got to talk with him.  He passed away in December of 2010.  I remember his memorial service and the faces of those who attended.  My dad had a kaleidoscope of friends and family.  I heard from multiple guests that my dad had the ability to make them feel that they were the one person he was looking forward to seeing.  I had people come up to me and tell me that my dad showed a brotherly/fatherly love that changed the course of their life. It didn't matter the color of their skin or their beliefs.  My dad just showed love, taught love, and gave love.  He had the most amazing hugs. I really miss those hugs.  Honestly, I think this is why I am a hugger.  Hugs can either make you uncomfortable or make you feel like everything is going to be good.   His hugs made you feel that you were his favorite person. I really wish he was here so that I could get some fatherly wisdom. I know he would have something profound to say about the state of our country.

There are many Black and Brown people in my life who experience racism, hate, and fear every day of their lives. My heart is overwhelmed and I am still trying to wrap my head around the senseless hate, violence towards, and murders of many black men and black women at the hands of uneducated, insecure, and racist individuals. Recently I began educating myself by reading about the Black Lives Matter movement. IF you want to obtain the knowledge I highly recommend you read the book, “When they call you a terrorist,” by Patrisse Kahn- Cullors and Asha Bandele. I feel it is my responsibility as a wife, mom, and grandma to seek the truth, look at the box, and teach my family by gaining wisdom and truth. I honestly thought that I understood or that I could comprehend the atrocities black men, black women, black teenagers, and black babies endure on a daily basis. I said some foolish stuff. I tried to compare my being a "dirty Philly" girl who moved into the "pristine" suburbs in the fourth grade with being a black girl in a white community. My intentions were pure and I apologize for being naive and insensitive. For me, the "dirty Philly girl" label eventually went away. People accepted me and life moved on. This is not the case for Black and Brown people. I was humbly trying to find the words of encouragement and support. And now I stand to ask for forgiveness and grace. I praise God for giving me a heart that breaks for injustice and a voice to fight against those injustices. I pray that the Holy Spirit will give me the strength to stand and speak up for all the Black and Brown people in our country that have been and are still being oppressed, violated, and marginalized. I pray that racism is eradicated from our streets, towns, cities, and the entire country. We need to do better. I need to do better... I WILL do better.

God created us ALL in His image.  It was His breath that breathed life into us.   My righteousness comes from the One who formed me out of the dust, and Who's dust I want to be covered in. I pray that God will give all of us the ability to be transformed and that our minds will be renewed.

Freedom, equality, and justice 

are the attributes our ancestors came to put in place.

The melting pot was growing

as they all moved into this space

All of the Black immigrants

were treated quite indignantly

Their Black and Brown complexion

was all that the white man could see

They were forced to be slaves 

Because of the tone of their skin

And this my fellow white American's 

Is where injustice did begin

The past few day I reflect

on the words that I recently did chose

It's been difficult to scroll social media 

and hard to watch the news

To say that I am color blind 

would be untruth on this woman's part

I am a privileged white woman

who cares from the depths of her heart

I see the beautiful tone of your skin

And you see the tone of mine too

My promise is to link arms

seeking justice and equality for you

Some are screaming for order

as fear and chaos penetrate our land

Asking the very hard question

"How did this all get so out of hand?"

Well......Freedom, Equality, and Justice

are the culprits if I must name a few,

If you were stripped of these rights

I am certain you would be outraged too.

 How many Black lives will be taken

all because of lies that have been taught and told

All lives cannot matter until Black lives matter

Now is the time to use your voice...be bold

Aim4p31....: Cloudy with a chance of Clarity

Aim4p31....: Cloudy with a chance of Clarity: My mind has been cloudy for a while.  I try to capture my thoughts and somehow they still manage to escape.  Yes, it has been a long time si...

Cloudy with a chance of Clarity

My mind has been cloudy for a while.  I try to capture my thoughts and somehow they still manage to escape.  Yes, it has been a long time since I sat down at my laptop and opened up my "Blogger" account.  Aim4p31 has truly been neglected.  I cannot promise that I will be consistent.  But I will say that I am feeling a bit cloudy with a chance of clarity.

This past week I shared my "thoughts" on Romans 2: 1-11 with my church family.  And as I said earlier my thoughts seemed to be escaping before I could catch them.  Even those thoughts that I wrote down became fuzzy and unclear to me.  I felt discombobulated and my words felt flat as they tumbled and fumbled out of my mouth. I began thinking that I didn't have much guidance to offer my precious brothers and sisters. This is exactly what the enemy had set out to do.  Distract and attack.  Midway through I started to feel defeated and depleted.   I was thankful for the assist from my precious friend as she interjected.  Almost as if she had lassoed those wandering thoughts of mine and brought them to the table.  As the evening ended what I felt was a failed attempt to walk through Romans 2 turned out to be not that terrible.  And next week I get to stumble my way through Romans 2: 12-29.

Whoa hold the presses.  I do not want to stumble or fumble God's precious words to anyone.  His words are perfect.  This morning I started praying about this upcoming weeks journey through Romans 2 and how God would reveal Himself to me and the others in my group.  Where did I go wrong this past week?  Why did I allow the enemy to whisper defeat in my ear?  And how did I not notice the Holy Spirit's guidance?  You see my sweet friend who rescued me is eloquent and articulate with her words and wisdom when it comes to teaching and leading our group.  I wanted desperately to be as eloquent, articulate and full of wisdom.  However, my thoughts were like fireflies.  They were lighting up all around me yet they were hard to catch. I wanted to be like her in my delivery.  Bottom line I can't be like her because I am me.  So, I  need to just be me and ask the Holy Spirit to give me words to speak.  I have listened to sermon after sermon and tried to read commentaries while my head was cluttered with my daily "my life is not my own" stuff.  And honestly nothing was clinging other than the clanging in my brain.  And when there is a ton of clanging I have always felt that writing or blogging has helped me reset.  And before I do either of these things I ask the Holy Spirit to lead in what others may read.  Here I go....

The book of Romans is one of my favorites.  I feel that is encapsulates the entire message of the Bible.  It is difficult and somewhat controversial in the message being delivered by Paul.  But in all reality isn't the entire Bible controversial?  God's wrath and judgment, His mercy and grace, and His unexplainable, unattainable, immeasurable and overwhelming love are always being questioned and debated.  And to be clear.  I don't think God is losing sleep over the controversy.  God is God.  As a human it is difficult to not attempt to humanize God and how He chooses to do the things He has done. But I am guilty as charged.  If I had my way..... well let's just say it's a good thing I am not God.

In chapter 1 and 2 of Romans Paul does a great job putting us all under the microscope. He gathers everyone together and shows us all the mold, bacteria and disease that is growing in the petri dish of our lives.  He calls this sin. As we gather around there is a bit of finger pointing.  We are all trying to deflect the attention.  Not one of us wants to put our slide under the scope. Funny how at this moment we are okay with everyone else going first.  Paul continues by giving us a list of the "sins" that he has discovered under the microscope.  As he lists them the room gets a little noisy.  There are whispers coming from every corner.  A few gasps and some awkward laughter.  I hear some of us saying under our breath, "Can you believe they actually do those things? We live in such a messed up society.  There are so many terrible people in this world." And then bam we all realize that we all are diseased and infected.  And we all need a cure....quick. 

This disease that's been spreading through the lab (or all over the world) doesn't care if you are rich, poor, Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, Pagan, Agnostic, etc....  If you are human you are infected.  And we all need the cure.  What is the cure?  Well, it's called salvation. You cannot buy it or steal it.  It is free to all those that believe. Until a person genuinely acknowledges that they are infected they cannot appreciate this gift of mercy and grace.  Everyone can get the salvation vaccination! Once you receive it the goodness of God is revealed from faith for faith.  God is faithful to us first and in return we become faithful to Him.  Once vaccinated we can begin the process of learning to walk by faith.

But let me warn you.  There is a generic form of this vaccination.  It is polluted and tainted.  The side effects are: self-righteousness, ignorance, conceit, envy, foolishness, and too many more to mention.  And this one is really cheap.  You will begin to claim wisdom in your arrogance.  In a short while your heart will become dark and you will lose site of the beauty that God has created.  Your idea of truth will be a lie. And instead of finding joy in goodness you will begin pushing for others to buy the cheap version of the cure.

Sometimes, those of us who received the cure have a tendency of getting a little puffed up and judgmental.  Just because we got vaccinated doesn't change the fact that we are human.   Be careful of those judgement shenanigans.  If you have the capacity to judge you better be ready to stand in that same judgement.  How you judge is how you will be judged.

It's funny how my sin looks so much worse on someone else.  I catch myself often thinking, "How could she have done that?" When someone is in the midst of committing one of my sins I suddenly become judge and jury.  When it's me partaking in that sin I can justify it and give you every reason as to why I did it. Not one of us is capable of living up to their own standards.  Dang, that finger pointing is dangerous.  Right?? Trying to get people distracted by pointing at others while in all reality I am guilty of even bigger things.

Have you ever thought about what happens to the people that don't even know about the steps they need to take for the cure? Or what about the people that just don't want the cure?  And how about those that know about the cure, preach about the cure, administer the cure, but haven't really applied the cure?  I know that I have.  At one point in my life I have been all of the above.  But deep inside of me there was something telling me that I needed the cure.  That something is called our innate intelligence.  God has written His plans (law) on every human heart.  We all have an awareness of good and evil. My conscience will either excuse or accuse me in the choices I make. In the end God will look at the condition of our hearts. "They show the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on the day when God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus." ~Romans 2:15-16 

Have you been vaccinated?  Do you think you are living life differently because you have been cured?  Are you a light? Are you listening to yourself?  Are you learning what you are teaching others (or showing others) about the greatness of God's mercy, grace and unconditional love. Do the people around you want what you have?  Or is "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles (unvaccinated) because of you?

Paul continues to explain what he has examined on the slides under the microscope.  He points out that there a some in the room that were chosen from the beginning to be set apart.  They would not succumb to the harsh conditions of this disease because God made an agreement (covenant).  And as a sign of this agreement the chosen ones agreed to a physical circumcision. The spiritual concept behind the physical cutting away of the flesh was that they are alive after the spirit and no longer in the flesh.  Yes this race of people, the chosen ones, should have been living in the way God had laid out for them in His commandments. They should not just have the knowledge but they should be doers.  Their hearts, minds and bodies should be seeking after the Spirit.  But, as Paul shows us what's been growing, we see that all of us need the cure.

Now that we all know we are in need of the cure what are we going to do about it?  We all stand together with the same diagnosis.  We are sick and only getting sicker.  We've been taking pleasure in doing things, unspeakable things. We've been judging others with the same illness.  Pointing out their symptoms and coughing in their faces at the same time.

In order for us to be able to enjoy the brilliance of God's grace it is important that we understand the magnitude of our disease.  Paul now leaves the petri dish out in plain view.  It is now black with mold, bacteria, and disease. Paul laid it out for us so that he might now be able to show us the brilliance of the glory of the mercy and grace of God that has been revealed to us in the cure, Jesus Christ.  We, the disease riddled people of the world, so not deserve this vaccination, and yet we are being offered this gift. Yes we are being offered a life of walking in God's glory and grace.  Get out your bible and read ahead.  Romans 3 is full of God's glorious grace.

Praying that our Heavenly Father will be with us as we seek Him. May the Holy Spirit guide us and help us to not be caught up in the petri dish of living in the flesh.  May we all take pleasure in walking with God and His mercy and grace, His unexplainable, unattainable, immeasurable and overwhelming love, and His power. I pray that we all come into a fuller, richer and deeper gratitude for God's grace and place in our lives.  In Jesus' most magnificent name.  (and the infected people in the room shout......AMEN)

Welcome to 2019...In Pursuit of Perfection

As I sit here in my very quiet house I have been reflecting on the concept of "New Year Resolutions".  Every year as the count down begins we go around the table with our family, friends, acquaintances, and even complete strangers and talk about what we resolve to do with our lives over the course of the newly presented year.  And once the ball drops we begin that crazy pursuit of perfection.

When I was younger a very wise individual told me that when we do the same thing over and over, while achieving the same misguided result, it's a sign of insanity. Going back in my mind for as long as I can remember I have made resolutions and failed in one way or another.  I have given up some resolutions before I even gave them the opportunity to stick.  Last year I resolved to not have any resolutions.  You would think that was an infallible plan.  Nope, I still made resolutions (I called them "promises"...such trickery) that I couldn't keep.  Why do we do this to ourselves every year?  The truth is that we are all striving to be a better version of the person that we are today.  We make big plans.  While some of us are very successful at resolutions there are those of us (mainly me) who sometimes fail the smallest of resolutions.  I am truly on the path of insanity (and not the workout video's)

What causes me to push my resolutions aside?  The hiccups and fear.  In my mind I have a picture of how my plan will look in the end.  Let's take my 2016 resolution for example.  That year I resolved that I would finally take the steps to publish a children's book that I had written a few years back. It's a cute little story that I have read to my children, grandchildren and on occasion other little's in my life. And they all enjoyed the story and illustrations (colored by many of the children mentioned) I just needed to make a few calls. Well I did make a few calls and got a bunch of quotes.  And then the hiccups impolitely intruded in on the plan.  I conjured up multiple excuses as to why I couldn't do it.  The cost was monetarily high and my emotions were high as well. Bottom line I lacked faith.  I didn't feel that my story was "perfect" enough.  So, these hiccups caused me to once again put my resolution on that back burner. 

I find that when I am in that "pursuit of perfection" state of mind I often feel paralyzed.  Paralysis by analysis.  Why do I give up when I don't feel that I am doing things at the level of perfection that I believe others expect?  God does not require me to be perfect. In Romans 3:10 God reminds me that no one is perfect.  He comforts me with the loving words of a Heavenly Father in 2 Corinthians 12:9.  In my weaknesses, failures, hiccups, and unfinished resolutions He is there.  His desire is for me to trust that what I see as failed attempts He sees as an opportunity to lavish me with abundant grace.  In my weaknesses He is mighty. 

Welcome to 2019! I am certain that I will make resolutions.  However, I plan on taking each day as it comes.  I hope to have eyes to see and a heart to understand God's perfect plan for this imperfect vessel.  I pray that God will bless all of my children and my husband with the desires of their hearts.  I pray that He will continue to do a mighty work in my family.  And that He will place friends in my path that will push me deeper in my "pursuit of perfection" and hold me accountable when I attempt to give up.  God has great plans........

Curls, Twirls and Curves

Time flies! I am a little more than halfway through my 40 day commitment to seek God first every day.  And I have to admit it’s been on a bit of a roller coaster ride.  I thought this was going to be easy and without obstacles. However, there are plenty of curls, twirls and curves.

My first week was a pretty smooth ride.  I woke up each morning and spent time reading my bible and had given myself ample time for devotions too.  I felt like God and I were getting some much needed alone time.  I spent more time seeking Him and less time scrolling through social media.  I even had days of not browsing through my Facebook and Instagram accounts.  And that my friends is a miraculous thing.  Especially since it has become a daily ritual.  A ritual that I know needs to change.

Week two I felt like I was still making progress. However, the devotional I chose to guide me through these 40 day seemed to be leaving me a little flat.  The Holy Spirit was pulling me to go deeper.  My five minute devotional is good but it wasn't enough. So deeper I decided to go.  I woke up a little earlier each morning and quietly laid at my Lord's feet.  "Be still, an know that I am God". ~Psalm 46:10.  This verse has taken on a whole new meaning.  I use to feel that this "stillness" was just a physical thing.  But I’ve come to understand that it is also a mental and spiritual thing.  My mind is prone to wander when I am physically being still.  I had to learn to capture my thoughts and bring them before God.  And in the process I also needed to step back, be still, and allow God to show me What He was laying out before me. Descovering the beauty in stillness of the body, mind and spirit this my sweet friends is still a sweet work in progress.  There are still distractions, expectations and life in motion.

Here I am in the midst of week four.  And I have to be honest.  I have been struggling a little.  We are on vacation.  And I know that shouldn't be an excuse.  But it's the best excuse I have for this moment.  It's crazy the things we allow ourselves to do to fill the time.  "The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice" ~Proverb 12:15  I found myself playing silly, mind numbing games on my phone Sunday morning at 5 a.m.  My husband was asleep and I was awake.  And instead of doing what I had planned, reading Romans 1, I started browsing social media.  Which lead to me playing a game on my phone. (Bad habits are hard to break.) An advertisement  came up for another game that looked interesting.  So, I did what any fool would do.... downloaded it.  Throughout the day I found myself reaching for my phone.  I wanted to play another round and rack up those points.  The game was pulling me deeper and deeper.  I could barely hear and/or see what was going on around me.  My husband would say something and I would just nod my head.  At times I am pretty certain I didn’t hear anything he said.  I just agreed.

Just like my desire to download another mind numbing game onto my phone I believe we all have the potential for downloading the unnecessary things of this world.  We are all prone to allow our minds to wander.  The world is full of distractions and the next best “things”.  Like most, when I find myself caught up in the distractions, I play the “blame” game.  I should point out that I played it just a few paragraphs up.  “However, the devotional I chose to guide me through these 40 day seemed to be leaving me a little flat.” and "I am on vacation".  Yep, it’s that devotional leaving me feeling flat. And vacation will get you every time.  Couldn’t possibly have anything to do with me.  Perhaps it’s that the devotional, I inadvertently came across while search for books to read on vacation, was making me dig deep into an area of my heart that I wasn’t ready to address.  Like "where am I", "what's holding me back", "am I willing to seek God", and much much more.  

Funny thing is I am sitting here in the quiet of this Wednesday morning and the reality is that in order for me to allow the Holy Spirit to move in my life I have to be STILL and have a heart willing to dig deeper into the areas of my life that need to be redesigned.  I am a Christian woman and as a representative of Christ I question if my life reflects His grace and message of love? Am I set apart (Romans 1:1) Do I draw others into a life of hope?  Or does my life reflect the unnecessary mind numbing downloaded games of the world.  I pray that the Holy Spirit would help me focus. As I closed my eyes I ask that God would fill my head and heart. I truly do desire that my “downloads” would be glorifying to God.  I pray that as I continue to seek God and grow deeper in my relationship with Him that I would have the courage to remove the applications in my life that bring about the unnecessary curls, twirls, curves and distractions. 

What’s holding you back?

It’s no secret that I love the book of Romans.  Personally, I feel that God and I continue to have beautiful conversation when I am still and listening to His Spirit inspired words in this book.  Recently, I have seen some of my favorite verses popping up all around me.  In conversations, devotions, social media,  and in prayer with friends.  And here I am this morning reflecting on this verse in particular. Romans 8: 1-4 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

This sequence of words that God speaks to us through Paul are freeing.  There is NO condemnation because through JESUS our Messiah we have been set free from the law of sin and death. Now this is how I have come to define and understand grace. But I often wonder if I offer my offenders this same type of grace.  In Romans 12: 1-2 God tells us to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. We are urged, by the mercies of God, to present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship. Are we living our lives showing grace?  And if not, what are we waiting for?  

I am 21 (with 29.5 years of experience). And in my 50 short years on this beautiful big green earth I have learned that this place is packed with all types of people. I have been shown grace by many and have given grace to many as well.  If I am being honest there are some people that it's been easier to set them free from a wrong.  And then there are those that I have held onto their malpractice because I just can't seem to move past the transgression.  I ask myself this question, "What's holding you back?", all the time.  So, what is holding me back?   Bitterness, hurt, pride, and envy to name a few.  The Holy Spirit often whispers, "Do not be conformed to this world".  Each of those emotion that hold me back are just making my beautiful world a bit foggy.  I must be transformed, by the grace of God.  I need to capture my thoughts and bring those foggy feelings to the Lord.  Every time the bitterness from a situation comes into my head I need to turn it to betterness.  When I am reminded of a hurtful situation I must rejoice in the refinement process.  And when pride and envy rear their ugly heads, it time to be still before my Heavenly Father and remember that there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  If I want to continue to call myself a follower of Christ I must live like Christ lived.  I don't have the prerogative to choose who gets grace, forgiveness and God's unmerited favor.  No, I must treat EVERYONE in the manner of love, respect and grace that I selfishly expect.  It doesn't matter if I am twenty-one, fifty, seventy-five, or turning ninety-nine I have to be willing to change my heart and be set apart. 

Today is a great day to reflect on how often God has blessed us with His unmerited favor.  I can almost guarantee you that I might already have a list of transgressions forming just from the four hours I have been awake today.  I am not perfect.  We all have our moments.  But it's how we decide to handle these offensive moments that really develops our faith walk.  My prayer is, that the next time we chose to talk negatively about or towards someone, that the Holy Spirit will swoop in and grab our tongues for a moment and twist the negativity until we are reminded of God's overwhelming grace.  I pray that our heart and minds are set on the blessings.  And that we may learn to live in peace and harmony with each other.  And that we would daily attempt to mirror God's reckless love towards those that have hurt, embittered or rejected us.  There's nothing we can do to earn God's favor.  So, we shouldn't invoice others when it's time for us to show grace.