Treasure in Every Relationship in Every Season

     As I sit here today while visiting the Bahamas,  listening and watching the rain hit the palm leaves,  and thinking about how it's snowing back home, it made me think about the changing of seasons and weather.  Often we go through seasons with God and we go through times where he moves people into our lives and other times he moves people out of our lives, but that isn't always a bad thing or a negative thing.  It doesn't necessarily mean either of those involved are doing things wrong.  It does not have to mean that one person is more spiritual than the other or one is not seeking God enough - sometimes, as my friend says, we are simply growing in a different direction.
              We can look at most things from a good point of view, if we only try, it doesn't have to be that we are going in a different direction but that we are growing in a different direction - I think that is a more positive way to look at it, don't you?
               As I said there are times that God brings people into our life who will sow into our life and into our destiny however the time may come when you begin growing in a different direction and their time in your life is complete, again, this is not a bad thing and it doesn't have to be on a bad note or with bad feelings between those involved, if you are both following God you should be able to speak a blessing over each other and hope the best for one another.  I have seen many friendships end in bitterness and offense simply because God was moving one in a different direction - it doesn't have to be this way.
               Over the past twenty plus years God has brought many people in and out of my life - all those he brought into my life sowed something valuable into my life and I still treasure those things.  I will admit when I first realized God moved people out of my life, I was confused and sometimes hurt - but I learned that God has a plan and each person has a path to walk.  Along that path we will meet some people who are in our lives forever and some who are in for a season, both of these are a treasure and we have to learn to let go and let God perfect those things that concern us, as the scripture says in Psalms 138:8.  This scripture means that God will bring into our life all we need to perfect our life OR he will remove all that needs to be removed in order for our life to be perfected.  That's good news!  We can let God move people in and out of our life and trust that he is perfecting all things that concern us.
              There is a scripture I love from the New Living Translation, it says; Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.  Col. 2:7
              When our roots grow deep into him, only he knows which direction we will grow.  We have to trust him in that - we can trust him in that.  And we can allow seasons to end with peace and love.
     If God is reordering relationships in your life, pray that it will be done with love, peace and joy - and refuse to end relationships with bitterness or anger.   God showed me a long time ago that whatever way I end or walk out of one season is the way I begin or walk into a new season.  I want to enter into my new season with love, peace and joy - how about you?

These Feet Are Made For........

    "Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now." 
~Saint Teresa of Avila 

      I love the times that God chooses to speak to me.  There is no bad time for Him to speak, I just laugh some times because He clearly created me because He knows my random thoughts and then uses them to speak to my heart. I love it.
Yesterday I was getting clothes out of the dryer and was thinking about what shoes I would wear with an outfit and started thinking about my feet.  Random I know, welcome to my world.  I do not have pretty feet, never have. They are full of years of abuse and use and pretty nail polish cant cover everything.  I always feel sorry for the person who does my pedicures because I really use my feet well. ;)  I started thinking about how I have used my feet and why they are always so beat up looking.  Then I had a thought, my feet have been with me my whole life.  I know you are laughing and probably saying ..."well duh!" but have you ever thought about that.  My feet, your feet, have been with us our WHOLE lives.
These feet learned to walk for the first time, but before that they helped me balance and also kicked my mothers womb.  They peddled my first bike, ran down my first path, climbed up tractors at the farm business.  My feet have kicked more balls playing sports than I could even begin to count, and nudged horses I was riding to get them to move a bit faster.  Their kicking has moved me through water, and helped me climb trees.  I have placed probably billions of shoes on and off and walked or run miles upon miles.  Sand, mud, water, dog poop...have all been on my feet or between my toes, both intentionally and unintentionally.  These feet have jumped, and run up and down courts, halls, walk ways, through gardens, fields and manure,  and have ached for hours and have had broken toes, sprained ankles, plantar fasciitis pain, and torn off nails.
There have been times that my feet could not carry me I was so grief ridden and physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. I know that during those times in my life that I could not use my own "feet" that God carried me through without fail.
The Bible says many things about feet, you might be surprised at just how much.  
Some of my favorite verses, however are:

 Psalm 119:105 
"Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path".

Samuel 22:32-35 
“For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Psalm 91:11-13 
 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

But the verses that really came to mind as I was pondering feet were: 

Psalm 37:23

The Lord makes firm the steps

of the one who delights in him;

though he may stumble, he will not fall,

for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Proverbs 20:24

A person's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way?

In all the places my feet have been, and your feet have been, our steps have been ordained by the Lord.  Before you were even in your mothers womb, before you were a twinkle in her eye, your steps were ordained.  God knew where you would walk before your feet were ever formed.  Each place you have walked, God has been there before you.  When you were knocked off your feet, God has been there to help you up whether you realized that or not.  From here on out, every step you take, God has a plan for your feet and for your life.  Maybe you are unsure of the direction your feet should go.  Get quiet before Him, get in His word, ask for direction...HE WILL NOT FAIL YOU!!  The world is always quick to try and guide your feet, but His ways are higher.  Leave your burdens, your fears, all of it, at His feet and let Him guide yours, but keep moving forward.

Psalm 132:7
“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”

Atmospheres

      These two will want to shoot me for posting this picture below, that was taken last week during a worship time, but it makes me giggle as we look like Christmas Carolers, but it makes my heart feel happy and full at the same time. These two are family to me and have pieces of my heart, I love them dearly. They are two of my closest and best without a doubt. They've taught me so much, not by "instruction" but by just living and being real with me. Our friendship solidly bonded on trust, honesty and loyalty with a clear solid passion for worship. They've, by way of the Holy Spirit, have taught me more about atmospheres than anyone else.  These two know I am, over all, a sensitive person. I admit to it,  but with that being said, I also now understand and am very sensitive to atmospheres, especially when I first walk into a place.  I can tell you if there is peace there or chaos.  If it is a church I can tell if worship takes place there continually or if it has to be 'worked up' every Sunday.  When I speak or sing somewhere, I can tell pretty quickly if the Spirit is free to move or if it is just a time for people to come together and eat and receive snacks. There is a difference and you can feel that difference in the atmosphere.  I also KNOW I'm responsible for my own "atmosphere" and what I bring to it.  It's my job to make sure my heart is right or it could effect the atmosphere, and getting it where it should be takes work at times and a whole lot of self honesty.
      People create the atmosphere.  If you are walking in the love of God and a worshipful heart, you create a certain atmosphere.  If you are thankful you create a certain atmosphere.  On the other hand if every little thing makes you angry, you, too, are creating an atmosphere.  If you are always looking for what is wrong with a person, you are creating a particular atmosphere.  If you are negative and expecting the worst you are creating an atmosphere conducive of the worst negative things to happen in your life.  I am saying all this to say; whatever you are carrying around on you - you are releasing it into the atmosphere and creating THAT atmosphere.  It is just like carrying a flu virus, wherever you go, whatever you touch, you are releasing that flu virus into the atmosphere and onto the people.
     What are you releasing?  Are you releasing chaos?  Are you releasing anger?  Are you releasing bitterness?  Are you releasing love?  Are you releasing the presence of God?  Are you releasing peace?
    We should be such a people that when we walk into a place if the atmosphere is wrong, it should immediately change because the presence of God is so strong on us.  We should walk into a room and release anointing, burden removing, yoke destroying anointing.  How cool would it be to walk into a room and have such an anointing on you, such a presence of God on you that burdens are instantly removed?   Super cool, I would think.
      I want you to check your heart today, check the atmosphere in your home, in your car, at your job....is it one of peace?  Is it one that is conducive to the presence of God remaining there?  It's up to you - you create the atmosphere.  Even if someone in your life is creating a bad atmosphere, the Bible says the greater one lives inside you - you can change the atmosphere.  You and God are the majority; simply seek His face on how to change the atmosphere.
   We are all carrying something today - what are you carrying?  We are releasing something today - what is it?  Let's make sure we carry His presence, His peace and release that into the world and the church - it is, after all, exactly what is needed.

Are You a Bitter Betty or Billy?

   

     Bitterness is a tricky thing.  Even as a Christian, its easy to SAY that we will not let bitterness become a part of us, but its another thing to not let it happen because if we don’t guard our hearts, it can seep in like poison.

Recently I ran across an article that discussed the affects of arsenic poisoning.  Arsenic exposure can happen slowly and in various ways, through as simple as contaminated water over a long period of time.  Even the slightest contamination can have an affect on your body and you may not even realize it until the symptoms are severe.

Hebrews 12:15  See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Symptoms of arsenic slow poisoning begin with headaches, confusion, severe diarrhea, and drowsiness. As the poisoning develops, convulsions and changes in fingernail pigmentation may occur.  When the poisoning becomes acute, symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, blood in the urine, cramping muscles, hair loss, stomach pain, and more convulsions. The organs of the body that are usually affected by arsenic poisoning are the lungs, skin, kidneys, and liver.  The final result of arsenic poisoning is coma and death.

     These are tough times and sometimes in tough times, even Christians do not respond correctly to the things that happen to us. There is a progression that ultimately leads to a root of bitterness…and it is almost always in this order: HURT must be dealt with Scripturally or it will become ANGER. Anger must be dealt with Scripturally or it will become BITTERNESS.
Hurt that is resolved in response to the truth of God’s Word will never become anger. Failure to resolve hurt by God’s grace will result in anger. When anger is not resolved, the next step is bitterness.

     Like arsenic, exposure to bitterness or things that can make us bitter may be subtle. We may dismiss it as something minor, or feeling caused by something else.  We may simply dismiss it as “having a bad day”.   When we make excuses or justify feelings toward something or someone, we can open the door even more to the enemy to contaminate us further. 

I have been guilty of this in my life on several occasions.  Id like to say I catch those things quickly, I sure try, but there have been things I have allowed to seep in and slowly begin to poison my system.  As it begins to poison us, it comes out in our actions and our words. As it comes out in actions or words, it is now no longer contaminating just you, but your atmosphere and those around you.  It can become like a contagious disease infecting those not recognizing the spewing venom as often it comes out in disguise because it gets mislabeled or justified.

 I’m so incredibly thankful for my husband and my best friends who have called me out in love at times when I have struggled because they love me enough not  want that poison to continue to do damage to me, if they can help it.  I’m also thankful that I’ve listened to them and to the convictions of the Holy Spirit, who will let us know when we have gotten into this kind of area, but we have to be willing to listen.

     The trick can be finding the root or the cause of the bitterness in your life.  To do this, it’s important to be honest with yourself.  Without honesty, it only turns into pointless digging and wasted energy.

Ephesians 4:31-32

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Many times the fruit of the root of bitterness is inadvertently directed toward God, blaming God, and even taking it out on Him by forsaking Church, the Bible, Prayer, fellowship and service. I cannot tell you the times I have heard of how people got out of Church and away from the Lord all the while justifying their actions not realizing they took it out on the Lord.

Some of the common roots of bitterness would include, but are not limited to:  Deception, depression, division, distraction, delirium,  and bitterness can determine your destiny because you become bound in its chains and you are not walking in freedom.  The longer we allow bitterness to fester, the more damage it will do.  Bitterness will undoubtedly condemn, confuse and control a Christian.  If you are bitter, you will not get better until you deal with it.  Satan will do what he can to entice you to feel justified in your bitterness, but then you are imprisoned and he is holding the key.  Are you a Bitter Betty or Bitter Billy?……It is a choice.  I hope you will choose to walk in freedom instead.

Romans 12:9-21

Love in Action

⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Being Confident

     God is so funny.  He has been so faithful in using my mind the way it works best, to show me things in just every day life circumstances.  I've been a coach for nearly 25 years.  Within that time frame I have come across a lot of referees.  Some refs were good and others not so much.  If you have ever seen any kind of a game, you KNOW that any really good ref has to be CONFIDENT in His calls.  
As a Physical Education and Health teacher I have had to ref many games in my gym over the course of 21 years.  With every call, there always seems to be someone in class that wants to argue or question it.  Today as I was refereeing a game, and I blew my whistle and called  a player "out of bounds" as his foot hit and crossed over the line while he had the ball.  Immediately upon my call, I got questioned and he wanted to argue.  With confidence, I simply looked at him, with a bit of my "teacher look", and said, "Your foot was out of bounds, other teams ball!" and blew my whistle and signaled to the other team and away we went.  I did not stand there and banter with him.  He stood there for a minute in a bit of shock and then accepted my call and moved on.  It was at that moment the Lord said to me "this is why you need to be confident in my Word".  I began to laugh and as I was running down the court still refereeing the game.   I laughed and said "Lord you are so funny" right out loud.  To me, it was funny for Him to again, take a second to use my simple daily tasks to illustrate something to me and use it to minister. He does that to me so often.   Hes so clever. He knows me, He knows my mind and I am a visual learner...so right there is was. 
 We need to not only be IN the Word and KNOW it, but we need to be CONFIDENT in it.  The world or someone will always question it.  They will want to water it down, they will want to argue it.  The truth is, however, that He is the same yesterday today and forever.  He is unchanging, unwavering and we need to be confident in His promises.  If He says that He will supply all our needs then we need to be confident in that (Philippians 4:19). If He says that no weapon formed against us shall prosper, we need not only hold on to that, but be confident in the call He made (Isaiah 54:17).  If He says that we are an overcomer, than we are (Romans 8:37).  Meanwhile the enemy will come a knocking trying to convince you otherwise, wanting to banter with you, throwing whatever he can to try to detour your thinking to get you to question (John 10:10).  Be confident in what God has said in His Word.
Stand on it, move forward and don't let the enemy banter with you. 

Proverbs 3:26  The LORD will be your confidence. He will keep your foot from getting caught.

When to Reposition

     Years ago when my oldest daughter was an infant and sleeping in her bassinet next to my bed, I got up to change her in the middle of the night.  I placed her changing pad on my bed, laid out the new diaper, cream and wipes and had everything in order ready to be used because I knew I would need it.  I made sure to have all of it ready because any of you who have changed a squirmy, poopy infant know that you need everything where you can get to them efficiently and quickly in order to manage the situation.  I laid her toward me with her bottom facing me, peeled off her pajamas, and then her diaper and assessed the "damages".  It wasnt too bad so I knew it would be a quick change.  As I was lifting her bottom up to clean her up, she apparently finished what had gotten us there in the first place because apparently she was not done.  If you have ever changed a breast fed baby, you know that anything that comes out of them is loose...and I mean seriously loose.  As sat there in my shock, this child, in one push, littered me with poop from head to belly.  It happened so fast, all I could do was close my eyes.  She literally had sprayed me with poop.  I had it dripping from my hair, my face and down my pajamas. The first instinct is to drop and run, but clearly I could not do that as she could have rolled off the bed and was laying there naked and bottom covered in poop as well.  I quickly cleaned her up, redressed her and place her back in her bassinet.  All the while, poop is dripping from me and I admittedly was freaking out.  I assessed the damage to myself and my surroundings, and realized that it was only on me and had not hit anything else, so I quickly got up and literally entered the shower with clothes on at 4 am.  From that moment on, to this day, I have learned to never change a baby, any baby, with their bottom facing me. 
I didnt blame her for the mess, she was just a baby.  I blamed myself for not knowing enough not to have her bottom facing me (new moms take note).  I learned quickly never to set myself up like that  to allow it to happen again by using wisdom from there on out.
   We have all had to deal with messes that we didnt expect, and often are the ones sprayed with the consequence, left to do nothing but clean up.
When this happens enough times we learn to put barriers in place to protect ourselves.  For me, in this situation, it was re-positioning my daughter when changing her because I did not trust that it would not happen again.  Of course my daughter was just a baby and didnt know any better.  What about when its a situation where its someone who should know better.  I agree with forgiveness, as hard as it can be at times, when we become part of the mess someone else has created.  Forgiveness is always the best resort, but even with forgiveness, that doesnt mean you allow yourself to stay in a position of becoming sprayed with someones mess again.   Eventually you get tired of cleaning up.  A wise person knows when its time to still love and of course forgive, but when its time to re-position.  Many use the term "forgive and forget", but if by “forgive and forget” one means, “I choose to forgive the offender for the sake of Christ and move on with my life,” then this is a wise and Godly course of action. As much as possible, we should forget what is behind and strive toward what is ahead (Philippians 3:13). We should forgive each other “just as in Christ God forgave” (Ephesians 4:32). We must not allow a root of bitterness to spring up in our hearts (Hebrews 12:15).  However, if by “forgive and forget” one means, “I will act as if the sin or the mess had never occurred and live as if I don’t remember it,” then we can run into trouble. Forgiveness involves not holding a sin against a person any longer, but forgiveness is different from trust. It is wise to take precautions, and sometimes the dynamics of a relationship will have to change. “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (Proverbs 22:3). Jesus told His followers to “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). In the context of keeping company with unrepentant sinners, we must be “innocent” (willing to forgive) yet at the same time “shrewd” (being cautious).
The ideal is to forgive and forget. Love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5) and covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). However, changing hearts is God’s business, and, until an offender has a true, supernatural heart change, it is only wise to limit the level of trust one places in that person. Being cautious and re-positioning ourselves doesn’t mean we haven’t forgiven. It simply means we are not God and we cannot see that person’s heart.

Bonding or Bondage

     This weekend I woke early in the morning to find myself with arms raised and somewhere between sleep and wakening, I was praising and worshiping the Lord.  I had such peace when I awoke and truly this is my heart.  As I was thinking deeply about this, as I often do about things, I was thinking about how my desire is to be in His presence...constantly in His presence.  Pressed up against Him.  Immediately I pictured a child crawling up into the lap of a parent snuggling in right into the crook of His neck.  Then I pictured the birth of a new born, placed upon the chest of its mother.  This is done after birth to form a bond, a connection.  There is nothing standing between the baby and the mother, they are skin to skin, and the baby surely could hear the heart beat of the mother, something it has heard for 9 months in the womb.  Peace, assurance of safety and security, completely unaware of anything else around it.  That is my hearts desire, to just be that close, nothing to come between that bond, and fully hearing His heart beat.
Then the Lord placed another picture in my head, that of sand. 
 I am blessed to have had and will have the opportunities to go to the Bahamas and enjoy time in the sand and sun.  I am looking forward to that again this year.  Only one thing I can think of that I am not looking forward to about this trip is sand in my bed.  We are seriously surrounded by sand at our hotel.  Tracking it in to your room in inevitable.  As hard as I try, and as much as we sweep, take our shoes off at the door etc.... sand gets into the room.  Without fail, I somehow end up with at least a grain of it in my bed....IT DRIVES ME CRAZY.  One grain of sand between the sheets and my skin can really wreck havoc on a good nights sleep.  Its the difference between restlessness and peace.  It can be the same in our lives.  The smallest most minuscule thing, that may seem as small as a grain of sand, can get between you and God and steal your peace and your joy.  What is it that we have in our lives that is getting in the way of that complete peace.  You may think that you can ignore it, but lest you get rid of it, it may steal from you that which you desire.  Nothing is hidden from God, He knows every detail of our lives.  He knows our name.  
He desires to be "skin to skin", nothing standing between you and He.  He could shake out the sheets, but He wants you to take a hold of a corner.
God knows your name.  He knows your personally.  He has inscribed your name on the palm of His hands, you are always that close to Him.  Isn't that wonderful!  Isn't that enough reason to feel safe in His hands?  Why would we ever want anything to get in-between us and God?
I don't know where your find yourself today.  Perhaps you feel lost or alone or far from home and you're not sure how to find your way back.  Remember that He knows your name and He is willing to help you get rid of anything that stands between you and He...things we have placed there, not Him.  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Ask Him to help you shake out your sheets and get you back on track.  If you need direction, He will give it to you, just ask.
I love this passage from Psalm 139.  Meditate on these scriptures and remind yourself just how intimately your God knows you.

Psalm 139

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.