Rejoice!

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice..."



One word:  Rejoice.  


This verse emphasizes this act of joy, calling us to take part always and again.



This year will be my year of rejoicing.


Hello, my name is...

I had already noticed the two men on their bicycles as they pulled up in front of the new shop I was entering.  It wasn't until we were about to pass through the automatic doors together that he turned and I saw who he was.  Instantly he flashed a smile of surprise.

I almost hadn't recognized him with solid weight filling out his frame even more than when I saw him eight months back, which was even then a year's clean distance from the skeletal home for drugs I had first encountered.  We were both beaming and shared a silent note of celebration for the dramatic change.

The man with him was his older son.  My friend pulled him forward and told him...

"This is Grace."

I chuckled and simply reminded him, "It's Holly."  He apologized through an embarrassed sigh and we quickly moved on.

He shared his how although he struggled still with other addictions, he and his girlfriend have remained clean.  Their new baby was already five months old, healthy and strong.

Throughout the conversation, he kept calling me "Grace."  Then catching himself, he'd shuffle around flustered words about being unable to call me anything else.

I could only laugh.  Trying to reassure him, I finally just said, "It's really okay.  Anyone who knows what grace is would be happy to be associated with it.  It's undeserved favor.  A love we cannot possibly deserve, but is given freely.  That's what Jesus did for you.  It's what the cross was all about."

I walked away thankful for the encounter, but also for the joy that comes with the practical reality of what the cross, and the resurrection, really means.

The hope we have through Christ's triumph is not solely a place in a glorious eternity,
              but it is also
                                     the joy of a new identity in the present. 

Because He conquered sin and death, He made a way for us to no longer be bound to them.  It is His finished work that has transformed us from sinner to saint.  His finished work alone.  I know we are still not perfect, that we still struggle.  However, the difference is that those failures are no longer the defining factors for who we are.

He has given us a new identity.  A new name.  His.

      For now we are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and we who have been baptized into union with Christ are enveloped by him.  
      We are no longer Jews or Greeks or slaves or free men or even merely men or women, but we are all the same—
                               we are Christians; we are one in Christ Jesus. 
                                                                                     -- Galatians 3:26-28

I've been to several different conferences where, at some point, we would examine the cross and consider what He has done, how He has changed everything. 

Next we blindly chose a name tag out of a basket, prepared with names God has described to describe His people in His word.

Every time, no matter where or when, at a different conference or even in a different country, I've always drawn the same word, "Overcomer."  It's significant to me.  Truth be told, I don't always feel like I'm overcoming the situations I face.  And in that truth I can say I absolutely cannot overcome on my own.

       And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
        And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 
                                                      -- Revelation 12:10-11

I am an overcomer because of what He has done.  I will continue to testify of Him and His greatness.  I choose His life over mine.  And in this surrender, I have new life.

When we surrender our own identity, leaving pride and ego at the cross, and moving in the victory of life anew, that's when others can see Him. They see the evidence of the resurrected Christ, the hope of glory.

My friend had seen Grace.  It's an identity to which I don't always feel I live up, and in my own flesh, I certainly can't be Grace.  It's evidence of Him in me.  It's identifying with Him.

Are you feeling bound to your old self?  Ask God who you really are through Christ.

• Have you been rejected?  God calls you "Accepted."  
• Have you been cast aside?  God calls you "His Beloved."  
• Have you felt worthless?  God calls you "Valuable."
• Have you felt damaged?  God calls you "Restored."
• Have you felt condemned?  God calls you "Righteous."
• Have you felt unredeemable?

God calls you redeemed!

As we celebrate the victory of His resurrection, let us choose to live in the identity He has conquered death for us to have.

Who does He say you are?

I'm keeping it real and serving it fresh today with Bonnie and others at Faith Barista.

Hunger Pains

"I'm hungry,"  I would say, coming in from playing outside with my sister. I would be remembering that last spoonful of mint chocolate chip stashed toward the back of the freezer, or be wondering if there was enough milk for a bowl of honey nut cheerios...

I hoped my dad would keep it simple and tell me to just find something from the kitchen.

But... without even blinking, my dad would say, "Fix yourself a peanut butter sandwich."

Ugh.

In our family I was the only one who seemed to lament that red five gallon can of Peter Pan Extra Crunchy sitting on the top of the fridge. Between every day school lunches and regular snacks of the spread with crackers or celery, never 'creamy' mind you, I couldn't have imagined a more unpleasant prospect.

 "But I don't want a peanut butter sandwich," I'd say back, hoping some mercy would provide another alternative. His response was always resolute.

"Then you're not really hungry." 

A pastor friend once described hunger as one of those qualities that, if expressed in our lives, would undoubtedly open a door to experience the intensity of God's spirit in a profoundly deeper way.

It's something we sing about.  It's something we pray for.
But sometimes I wonder if we knew what hunger truly meant,
                                would we really be...

are we really hungry?

     So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.  
     As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
     This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 
                                                                      -- John 6:53-58

 The disciples concluded that this was a hard word.  It's hard even now.  We want to tell people the meaning without saying the words.  We grumble about what He said, how He said it, how we think it would be better... looking for a way we can be satisfied.  

Many disciples that had journeyed with Him for so long left Him.  The answer was not what they were hoping.

Many of us neglect going deeper, because the answer is not the one we want.  It's not the sweet creamy treat we have in mind.  It's not even an unappealing, but somehow more palatable smooth version of the only option.  We cry out that we are hungry, but we choose to starve, even though a feast has been laid out before us.

Because the spread that really satisfies 

involves suffering, brokenness and death.

     Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”  
     And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  
                                                                                -- Matt 26:26-28

I imagine the twelve in the Upper Room that night.  Lounging together, they would remember with unleavened bread and full cups of wine.  They recalled the Exodus.  They shared in a feast remembering the joy of deliverance with all the solemness of leaving everything behind. 

When we partake of the bread and wine, we acknowledge the fullness of what it means to be broken. His body, broken... so we may live.  His blood spilled... so we may be forgiven. 
  
We are His body now.  Are we hungry enough for His Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven to die to ourselves?  To love without hesitation or reservation?  To give of generously ourselves regardless of the cost?  To leave everything behind?

Are we willing to be broken?

Sometimes I think we can be so frightened by the word "suffering" when we talk of "sharing in His sufferings" that we miss the biggest implication...

Sharing means we are with Him in it.

                                                  Let that sink in.

                                                                          We are "with Him."

We are "with Him" in our suffering, brokenness, and death to ourselves.  And because we are with Him, we also find comfort (2 Cor 1:5).  We find hope.  We find life.

There is no suffering bigger than Christ.  There is no enemy stronger than Christ.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
                                                                               -- Psalm 23:5

He has promised us a feast, and He has delivered.  But that feast is His body... broken.

This is the feast laid before us. It is full with bitter herbs and maror.  It brings about tears as well as laughter.  But it is the one feast that brings true deliverance from all enemies.

It is the victory of His love.  

                          Are we hungry enough to eat of it?

to not just nibble, but banquet upon it?

Am I?   Are you?

I'm keeping it fresh and keeping it real with Bonnie and others over at Faith Barista.

To Live Again

It only makes sense that my first post in bringing this blog back to life would be about dying.
It's been running through me for a few months now.

Somber, serious...
          Yes, it's been a deeply personal journey, but it's journeying with destination

and at the end of the road stands a cross.

The cross was a form of Roman execution outside the parameters of Jewish law because of its atrocity.  Even amongst the Romans, it was reserved for the worst of the worst.  It involved shame, humiliation and torture.  It was meant for people who were deemed as having no redeemable value.

Then Jesus told his disciples,  
               “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 
                                                                      -- Matthew 16:24-25

Even before He walked the road Himself, Jesus knew what true life cost.  
                             And He invited us to live.
                                                                            By dying.

In the Garden of Gethsemene, twice Jesus shows us what this means.  Twice He surrenders His will to the will of the Father.  In the very garden whose name means "oil press", we witness Jesus surrender His own flesh to be battered and crushed, so the work of the Spirit may be poured out.

As a result of this surrender, He was shamed, humiliated and tortured.  He was deemed irredeemable by the masses lest He prove Himself otherwise.

He didn't try to prove Himself.  He didn't try to explain.  He didn't shout out threats of judgement or promises of His return.  Not in that moment.  In that moment, He gave up hold of any last thread of repute. 

He endured in the confidence of His obedience.  He forgave.

                       He told us to take up our cross

                                                                     and follow...

We can sanitize His death with nice metaphors and treat surrender like it's simply an emotion that makes us feel holier, or that it's something we pray will passively happen to us.  However, Jesus showed quite graphically that surrender is an action we must take.  It's a soldier surrendering arms and any attempt to defend one's self, giving oneself completely in the care of the ruling authority.

Surrender is painful because we are giving up our rights, our complaints, and our desires.  We are saying that His ideas are worth letting ours die.  It is in effect, our last will and testament.

Jesus carried His cross down the Via Dolorosa, the way of pain.  But His footsteps didn't stop there because the suffering alone wasn't the point.  

His journey had a destination.  

He carried His cross all the way to Golgatha.  Only with death could there be resurrection.

And now, I am called to follow.
Am I willing 
              to let God show me what part of myself I've been hanging onto for too long...
                                                                                                                                 and let it die?
Are you?

Knowing full well it means:

• giving up the need to be justified, proven or vindicated
• forgiving the one who hurt you the most
• letting go of control
• taking time to talk to the one on the bus beside you when all you want is to sleep
• holding your tongue from speaking slander and gossip
• initiating conversation even though you're the introvert
• just listening instead of having to have the answer
• looking at the people around you, believers and unbelievers alike, through eyes of grace
• asking God's opinion on matters
• giving up your reputation for obedience

If we are really willing to let these things die, we need to stop feeding them under the table and hoping they just go away.  We have to choose to trust that He can handle it, that He can carry us.  We have to be willing to carry them all the way to the cross
                                          and leave them there
                                                                                with Jesus.

It's only in that death that resurrection can come in us.  
And in that, we accept His invitation to become more and more of the person He created us to be.  

In that, we find ourselves truly living.

I'm keeping it fresh and keeping it real with Bonnie and others over at Faith Barista.

The Impact of a Drop

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 

                                                               -- John 6:5-9

The people were hungry.  The disciples were dumbfounded.  A small boy offered his lunch.  In today's world, we are too often like the disciples who look at small acts and scoff, looking at the contribution and analyzing the details.  We end up doing nothing since we can't see how it could possibly make any impact.  Why put forth the effort if it won't make a difference?  It's just a drop in the ocean.

Even though Jesus had just been doing all kinds of miraculous stuff that day through His compassion and healing touch, the disciples somehow forgot about His power when considering those basic things, like hunger.  How often do we do the same?   We must be willing to do those small acts believing they will make an impact

        -- not because the act itself is great, 

                        but rather the God who works in it.  

The truth is that it doesn't even cost that much a lot of times.  For the boy, it was one lunch out of a lifetime.  For us, it could be that card, a shared afternoon over coffee, or even just a joke at the post office counter to get that one teller to smile.  Yes, we must be willing to obey God in doing those things that could cost us everything, that's a part of our surrender.  But let us also be intentional with the small everyday things too, recognizing God's role in these simple acts of faith.   Let us live deliberately with the love of Christ and believe God can do the miraculous.  He just might surprise us with the magnitude in the process.  Afterall, a simple drop, weighted with the power of God can create quite the ripple effect, transforming the whole surface of the water and affecting everything in it's path.

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).  Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”  So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

                                                                 -- John 6:10-14

Today, I am challenging you to think of simple ways you can live and act in faith. 
There is a world hungry for hope.  What will you do?

For more about simple acts of faith, visit Bonnie at Faith Barista.

A Call to Pray

I am one who personally knows that God works through prayer.  My most recent post, But God..., dealt with a very personal journey of faith.  For just over a year, a large group of people from various churches in Ireland and abroad had been praying regarding a government policy that directly affected workers in the church, and in turn, me.  This week I learned that earlier this year, God answered this prayer in a different way than expected, but in a clearer and more secure way.  On Sunday, my personal prayer was answered with great ease, as well as with healing from those related African wounds.  God is good and I am overwhelmed.

That's just one miracle of many, and yet I believe God wants to do more.  He asks us to pray, commands it really.  

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 

And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. 

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.  

-- James 5:13-18

Today I am praying for my friend who just got out of surgery.  I am praying for my home state which is enduring dangerous drought and heat.  I am praying for my country of residence which has suffered harsh economics, corrupt officials, and tragic religious abuses.  I am praying that His Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.  I would love it if you would join me in these prayers.

Even as we pray for these situations closest to our hearts, can I urge you to pray more?  Can we also look beyond our own circles and pray for the desperate situations of the world?  I am involved with 24-7 Prayer, a network of folk all around the world who have taken the initiative to pray in faith, living lives of prayer, mission and justice. You have heard me mention them before in several posts.  Today, Rebecca Dunning posts a call for prayer for the crises in the newly formed Southern Sudan where the northern Sudanese government has ordered the destruction of all the Samaritan's Purse churches and the clearing of the Nuba Mountains.  Now even as I write this, there are news alerts about the explosion that shocked Oslo, Norway today.  This is a broken world and we cannot ignore God's call if we want to see hope brought into these situations.

Even here in the blogosphere, we make an impact.  Our faith is strengthened by our shared stories of God's faithfulness.  How many more stories will we have when we also take the time to pray for each other, our blog followers, our local communities and our world?

Will you take a moment now and pray for these things?  
                                                                         I'll join you.

But God...

Today's story began feeling impossible, but God... 

I have been on a particular faith journey for a while now with a specific issue. Through prayer and perseverance, I have found myself encouraged and confident, walking in full faith.  As the time for resolution merges with the present however, I have found myself susceptible to shakiness, tripping over random potholes of doubt.  I knew this morning would be a critical point in this process, so I had been asking God how to really enact the faith I have in Him.  Without realizing that God was answering my prayer, I awoke overwhelmed with memories of Africa.

I remembered feeling strangled by the wireless lines of countless phone calls at every hour of the day and night, between officials and families, and never with any real news to report.  I remembered the heat from tears that burned my cheeks into a pink mess, mimicking the affects of the equatorial sun.  I remembered the government offices where the necessary stamps were slammed so hard they scarred my consciousness.  But I also remembered the conversations I had out loud with God.  They were desperate hours that left me broken and raw, but still convinced that God would deliver.  Faith was all I had.

No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith 

as he gave glory to God, fully convinced 
that God was able to do what he had promised. 

-- Romans 4:20-21

All the signs pointed to impossible, but God...

God did deliver.  Despite the pain in each of those memories, they came this morning simultaneously with their resolution as I remembered the miraculous ways God placed the children into families.  Despite the sorrow, the memories arrived with the joy of completeness.  Despite the trauma incurred, they resounded with triumph.  God's triumph. With this onslaught of images, God was giving me an emotional reminder of His faithfulness.

Abraham believe God and it was credited to him as righteousness.  He was absolutely convinced of God's ability.  He was looking at God and His nature and not the circumstances of his perceived reality.  God wants us to trust and obey, without worrying about the how and simply persevering in faith, taking God at His word.

Now I still have yet to arrive at the destination of my journey with my particular issue, but God...

God has reminded me of His nature.  My day has been a choice to focus on Him.  He is with me in this and He has paved the way so I don't have to fear.  He is the way, the truth and the light.  He is faithful.

By referencing Abraham, Paul not only encouraged the Romans, but taught us the value of sharing our faith journeys with each other.  They remind us all of the possible nature of God.  Let's build our faith together and share! The glory is His.

For more encouragement, visit Bonnie over at Faith Barista 

where we are keeping it fresh and keeping it real.

The Secret of Catch

When I was young, we had one of those standard family station wagons that marked the suburban landscape of the early 80's, even though ours stayed out in the country with us.  It was powder blue and on long trips, my sister and I would put the backseat down and use the stretch of the hatchback as our fort.  It was there we played games, read books and eventually fell asleep under blankets like our own moving hotel while dad and mom sat in the front.  We called it the Blue Bomber.

I mention it today because as I was remembering my father, and though there is so much to tell about this man some other time, I was struck by one memory of game dad often played with us while he drove that vehicle.  When mom wasn't occupying the passenger seat, my sister and I would pile in that space and whoever sat next to daddy would inevitably end up playing "catch the hand."  In essence, my father would put out his non-driving hand palm-up and we would try to tap the center and pull back without him catching our hand.  Then we'd switch.  He might have said it was some speed challenge from some Bruce Lee flick, but for me it was a chance to just have fun with dad.  The thing was, he always seemed to catch my hand and yet when we switched I couldn't seem to catch him.  I just assumed I was too small, too slow.  I didn't know his secret.

As the Bomber got older, the fabric covering the ceiling panel began to sag, making large upside down bubbles of baby blue felt that fell perfectly onto my tall father's head.  One day he was so frustrated, he pulled the whole thing off in one complete sheet.  The secret behind the puffy blue interior that had been my sister's and my sky when we lay back on those long journeys was revealed.  The newly exposed moss colored foam coating was a real tangible thing.  No longer a secret, it marked our hair with small bits of fuzz every time we got in or out of the car.  Some bits were so small, they stuck like dust to our foreheads and arms, a visible reminder of where we had been.

As I got older, I learned that there was no speed magic in my father's hand either.  His secret was just as tangible.  I remember the day I saw the action for how it really was.  I went to tap my father's palm, and I noticed that his hand was already reaching up toward mine, shortening the distance and assuring the capture and the giggles. 

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  

--James 4:8a

Despite my father's human failings, as a child I simply knew him to be someone I wanted to be around.  I felt safe when I was with him.  It was in that security that I knew I was loved.  

God the Father loves without failing and in Him we find ultimate security.  It is out of this love and mercy that God is constantly drawing us toward Himself.  So whether confident or nervous, when we take that step toward Him, we can be assured  He has already closed the gap to receive us.

The story of the prodigal son tells us that while the son was still a long way off,  the father saw him and came running, embracing him (Luke 15:11-32).  Isn't this the nature of our God!  Instead of a hand, He captures our heart; instead of giggles, He gives us a wellspring of joy.  We become marked with the dust of His grace, evidence to those around us of where we have been.  We have been with our Father.

The Grammar of Trust

                            
                  trust  (trst)

v. trust·ed, trust·ing, trusts

v.intr.

1. To have or place reliance; depend: Trust in the Lord. Trust to destiny.

2. To be confident; hope.

 

n.

1. Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.

2. Custody; care.

3. Something committed into the care of another; charge.

The beginning of this year marked a new season for me, one where God would show Himself as my source, even through the very food I ate.  Prompted by Bonnie over at Faith Barista, I found a word to mark this journey.  My word for this year is TRUST.  I remember the pain I was in and the emotional struggles that came with the pain as I felt the loneliness, guilt and shame that stemmed from my physical condition preventing me from doing what I thought I ought to be doing.  I wrote about beginning this journey here.  Now these few months later I am amazed at what God has done, not just in my body which is in a time of recovery, but also in my relationship with Him and the ministry He has put before me.  Even in my days of no "productivity," laying listless on the couch, He increased my territory even as He did Jabez.  We trust Him, because He is the One by whom all good things are done.  It is in Him that we live, move and have our being.   

      Trust is an act, 

           a verb that rests in my hands, my head and my heart.

I was recently talking with a friend who is crying out for freedom from oppression.  The words were simply, "I need a miracle."  This person confessed to being confused about God's very existence and yet experiences had shown that God would be the only answer, so together we prayed.  The miracle is up to God.  I knew in that moment that God would deliver, and that I do not have to strive for Him to do something great.  My God is good and He is trust worthy.   

      In that moment of confidence,  

             I realized my verb is also a noun. 

My friend is in the TRUST of the Lord, in His care, His charge and custody.

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,

   a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know your name trust in you,

   for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

                             --Psalm 9:9-10

The necklace seen in the above picture was just purchased on my very recent visit Stateside.  I had been wanting to wear my word as a reminder of the treasure that TRUST truly is.  This confidence, this assurance, this hope... it comes from knowing that God really is who He says He is.

I was thrilled to find this shop in my hometown of Tulsa.  I think Vintage Pearl did a great job making my word special and so I wanted to give them a little shout-out.  They have a lovely website and can ship internationally in addition to locations within the US.  Check them out! Perhaps there is a word or a person on your heart that you could use as inspiration for a piece.

Putting the Soul at Ease

Painting by Hiroko Sakai

Yesterday a couple of friends and I drove the few hours to Dublin to check out a car that I was considering purchasing.  I am not one to rush into decisions like this and a lot of prayer had gone into the whole process.  The night before, though, I caught myself panicking a bit.  Would I know if this was the right car or not?  Would I get suckered and have used God's money irresponsibly? If it was no good, would I have wasted both my and my friends' time and paid the costly petrol prices for nothing?  My emotions were all over the place and in the end I just had to pray, to ask God that He would do as He has done before, giving me that sense in my spirit of a definite yes or no.

Often, especially as Christians, our desire to do what is right becomes the stress that holds us back from doing anything.  We can easily begin to over-think things, like we are playing a game of chess and somehow have to figure in all the possibilities and ramifications of the each move, preventing us from actually moving. We get so lost in our own attempts to assses,

our emotions begin to dominate our choices 

and we either rush into something or retreat entirely.

Over the last few weeks I have talked about the REST God has been bringing to my body and the REST He calls us to spiritually, but what can lasso our emotions and bring them back into proper order, bring them into REST?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

--Phillipians 4:6

When we become anxious we are letting our emotions dictate to us based on what we perceive with our own eyes.  One examination of the word used here reveals a sense of being tossed to and fro, an emotional unrest.  In this verse, we are again being called to REST, this time in our emotions.  As Christians we know we are supposed to pray and trust God, but when our emotions get the best of us, it is hard to really let go.  If we read the verse again however there is something more mentioned than just the anxiety and the prayers; there is thanksgiving.  When we give thanks we are not just glorifying God, but speaking to our own heart about His faithfulness.  When we are struggling to find hope for the big things, we begin to thank Him for the small things.  Somehow our faith builds and we get so caught up in His goodness that it is easier to do that which He called us to do, to TRUST Him.  We move so much into Him that our emotions are restored to a proper functioning order and we have peace, even if the situation still seems uncertain.

 Thankfulness brings about emotional REST.

We arrived safely in Dublin, meeting up with a friend from our sister church there with a background with auto mechanics.  Upon investigating the car, I just had this gut feeling it was a no, but I waited as my friends checked over the engine.  My friend noticed details that were questionable and then more evidence that the car had been in a major crash.  When the salesman asked why we weren't buying it, we simply said we didn't want a car that had been previously wrecked.  He asked my friend to show him, after which he got very rude calling us liars and asking us in not so polite words to leave.  During the whole instance I had total peace without even my emotions getting riled at the behavior, because I had already begun to thank God for answering my prayer for giving me that definite answer for which I had prayed.   I continued thanking Him for things like the bonding between my friends during the journey, for the gift of service from my friend in Dub and his teaching us key things to enable us to check engines ourselves.  In fact, by the end of the day, I had been thanking God to such a degree that I was so full of faith, 

                            I was experiencing peace 

about other bigger emotionally fueled issues that I will face in this coming year.  I may not have come home with a car, but I was at rest and it didn't even seem to matter where the day or petrol costs went.  I can trust God with these things.

Are you ready to find rest?  In those toughest, most emotional times, will you begin to thank Him?  If you cannot thank Him yet for specific things regarding the situation because of emotional wounds, can you at least thank Him for the little things?  Just thank Him, and begin to experience His REST.

In the Beginning...

When most people think of the word adventure, they think of things filled with action, exploration and excitement.  When those same people think of rest, they may think of still, sleepy things.  I would challenge them to consider that  

some of the best adventures 

                                                   happen in a place of rest.

I first came to Ireland on a holiday from Uganda.  I was in a place where I was desperate for two things, Christian fellowship and rest.  Because of a lot of the challenges I was facing with my work in Uganda, I was broken and raw.  I knew I needed some space to breathe, to pray and listen to what God would say.  Going to Ireland, even for a holiday, felt too frivolous.  When I finally decided to go to Ireland for the visit, it was because my own emotional welfare demanded it.  I had finally become desperate enough to obey God's call to rest.  That visit ended up being one of my greatest adventures.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  ²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
 ²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
    ²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
    ³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.  
¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
 ² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.       -- Genesis 1:27-2:3

We know God considers rest as in important part of life, even from the very beginning of creation.  We see Him model this at the end of all His labours.  However when we look at man's place in this passage, we can see something very interesting.   Man's first day was God's seventh.   
                                Man was born into rest.

I imagine Adam, entering into his existence with the breath of God, being awakened not as a baby, but as a man into a world filled with the creation of God.  God had said it was his to live in and to tend, to oversee.  Can you imagine exploring the world God had given, tasting the fruits and naming the creatures?  I wonder if he laughed with joy as he marveled.  This was adventure.

As one who finds so much peace by just being in nature, my visit to Ireland was an amazing exploration of God's creation.  I was everyday meeting new people.  God was speaking to me about His plans for me.  At first I struggled to accept them, actively rejecting the notion, but when I surrendered to the idea that this was where God was calling me, I became overcome with excitement.  There is nothing like a transcontinental move to get your adventure meter into the green.  Mostly though, I was finding adventure in the time alone I was having with God during this time of rest.  He was showing me things about myself - wounds that needed healing, gifts He wanted to develop in me, and faith He wanted to stretch.  
In my rest,  
             I found adventure.

Last week, I wrote about God's river, and finding rest in His current.  When we surrender like this, we can hear God so much more easily, but it goes beyond just that.  When we are totally dwelling in His rest, imagine what great adventure we may have!  Action, exploration, and excitement are pretty much guaranteed... 
Are you ready to dive in and let Him take you on an adventure in rest?

check out more on the topic of rest by joining our JAM Session at Bonnie's

Expecting the Miraculous

Okay so this may be a bit of a stretch, but I am a product of the Star Wars generation and I couldn't resist.  Maybe someone used Jedi mind tricks on me...

So there's this little commercial that has been getting a lot of attention across the internet this week.  In case you haven't seen it yet, enjoy.



Cute, right? 

James 5 discusses how as believers we should pray, doing so with expectancy.  This is not a new concept for believers, so we press forward, believing for the impossible.  How easily though does our faith collapse when things don't happen as we believed?  In the process, many can put the blame either on the faith of the person or on God Himself, letting our unbelief change into a doctrine that denies the miracle-working ways of God.  Yet all this only causes us as believers to stop believing, and in turn stop praying, which is directly the opposite of what He commands in James.

I love how little Darth never gives up faith in the force, no matter how many times there has been no result.  It's frustrating for sure, but Lil' D keeps persevering.  When the impossible happens, there is shock and surprise, which is how we can be.  Kid Vader was shocked because he believed he did it out of his own will, which was afterall, unbelievable.  We however know that it is the father who does these great things.  Should we be so shocked that our Father could and would do the miraculous because of His love for us, when we know it is His nature?

Your ways, God, are holy.
   What god is as great as our God?
 

You are the God who performs miracles;
   you display your power among the peoples.
 

With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
   the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. 

Psalm 77:13-15

Since we know it is God who does the miraculous, let us persevere in prayer.  Let us believe for miracles according to His will.  This is what Elijah did, and as James says, he was a man just like us  (5:17-18).  He prayed and believed and God did a miracle.  God has not changed.  May we not give up in our faith.  Maybe we won't always get the answers we want, but unlike Kid Vader, it isn't because our father isn't around.  His word says God is with us always (Matt 28) and we can trust that, letting it encourage us in our obedience.  Who knows, God just might surprise us all with a miracle that causes us to jump back in amazement. 

This post is linked with the lovely folk at

It should be addressed...

While Valentine's Day may seem to be a little ways off yet, having two weeks still before it surfaces in all its red ruffled glory, the topic seems to be floating on candy heart clouds already.  I've seen the stuff in shops, heard it mentioned in churches and even read about it online.  This is one of those polarizing holidays that seems to have a profound effect on the majority of folk in Western cultures, whether it be swooning or snarling.  It seems it cannot be escaped.

I'll be honest, this is not a topic with which I am comfortable.  I don't like the drama, the presumptions and all the [insert flustered sound effect here] that seem to go along with it.  So when Bonnie over at Faith Barista urged us to get ready for Valentine's by asking what we wished someone had told us about dating/marriage, I couldn't think of a single thing.  I could however think of a thousand things I wish folk had never said, especially when spoken under the presumption that it was encouraging...

"Oh honey, you are still so young,  

too young to be thinking about marriage... oh, you're how old?

Oh.  Well.  Don't worry.  

You'll be just like my good friend so-and-so.

She didn't meet her husband until she was sixty-five, 

or was it seventy..."  

Ummm... thanks?

Sharing the frustrations of interchanges like this one often only lead to more of the same, which can be patronizing and, frankly, even more isolating. You see, as a single person, my experience has taught that whenever the topic of relationships comes up, others seem to forget everything else they know about the person.  Instead they fixate on this one facet and in their attempt to help, begin imparting all the how to's stored in their arsenal.  They attack what they wrongly presume to be depression, obsession, unbelief and advise more makeup and new clothes.  In that moment, the single person is treated as though he/she has no other identity.

I am so much more than the sum of my singleness.   

I was so relieved this week when I could vent with a friend who flat out admitted that she had no clue what my situation would be like, but she could still speak truth into my life because she knows me and she knows God.  No advice, no stretched attempts to relate, just God's truth about my attitude.  Because left unchecked, those thousand things I could have lived without hearing can lead to bitterness, which according to the Bible is pretty destructive.  Every mention of it in the OT has it paired with affliction and death.  It is where joy is not (Job) and it squelches righteousness (Amos).  Ephesians 4 makes it pretty clear that bitterness has no part in our Christian lives.

³⁰ "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, 

with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, 

along with every form of malice.  

³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, 

forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

No matter how secure I am in my identity, even the best-intentioned people will continue to dramatize, presume and [insert flustered sound effect again here] over this issue.  No matter how much I try to explain, there will surely be somebody who just won't see past it.  I cannot afford to grow bitter.  I can't control their focus.  I can only adjust mine by looking to God, who heals the wounds of their words and gives me the grace to forgive.  He knows exactly who I am and where I am.  He sees me for all I am, all He made me to be.

I am a daughter.  I am a sister.  I am a worshiper.  I am a pray-er.  I am a dreamer.  I am an overcomer.  I am an adventurer.  I've climbed Mt. Fuji and I've rafted the Nile.  I'd also been told to be more grateful I am single because I wouldn't have been able to do those if I were married.  I am very grateful for many aspects of my single life, but have seen many examples opposite to what I was told... that adventures of all types are not only possible within marriage, but can be greater.  I recall watching a certain sunset while floating across a sea in South East Asia and becoming suddenly aware of how much more beautiful it would be with someone beside me, sharing a lost breath at the marvel of God's handiwork.  Maybe that's the one thing I would want to be told about relationships, but where man may have failed in telling me the things I need to hear most, God has not.  He knows my heart (Psalm 139).  He has the best plans for me (Jer. 29).  He put in me these very desires and will deliver them according to His will (Psalm 37).   His is the voice I will listen to.  Will you?

Lord I pray that in this season when we acknowledge love, 

that we will keep our eyes on you, because in the light of who You are and all you've done, the offenses and wounds that have lingered in the darker corners of our hearts no longer have a place to hide.  Uproot bitterness and fill us with Your peace.  We are willing and we trust You with this most vulnerable part of our lives.  Amen.

Moving in Confidence

My favorite view of Lake Victoria on the way to work at the orphanage.

The process of shifting from Africa to Ireland wasn't easy.  I was moving from a world where need was visibly evident from every angle to a country that looked like a piece of heaven itself.  Because of that, it was a vision some folk couldn't latch onto at first and many would question.  I did not.  It was a move made in confidence, with the complete certainty that this is where God wanted me.

Sometimes I wonder how I can be so confident in certain things, like transcontinental relocation, and so insecure in other things.  I came here so excited to see what God would do, with no doubt that God's hand was in it.  I was eager to get involved in whatever God put before me.  When I was placed in worship, it confirmed something God had already spoken to me which should have given me more assurance, yet I was riddled with fears.  It took time and some emotional outbursts to get to a point where I was able to move in that role confidently, and yet it has been an amazing journey full of joy ever since.  I even spoke recently of how God continues to challenge me in that area here.

I was visiting with a friend yesterday and she was asking how I was feeling this first bit into my detox.  I replied that although I wouldn't have imagined so, I honestly felt as exhausted as I did when I was recovering from malaria.  That of course led to questions which ended in sharing a lot of wild memories of stories that still seem so unreal even to me who lived them, but are indeed absolutely true.  Stories of hardship, perseverance, and in the end, victory.  When my friend suggested I write these down, I shrugged them off, saying they were nothing compared to other friends I have there that are "really living it."

In one breath I had devalued all the miraculous things God had done, because it didn't compare to my idea of things. 

Oh, God forgive me.

I was reminded of one of those friends a few years back, when after hearing one of her wild stories from the unforgiving islands of Lake Victoria,  I made a similar comment.  She corrected me right then, saying I should not compare.  She went on to say how she'd rather deal with the actual cobras she had than the corrupt government officials I had to deal with, that if she were to compare, she'd see me as the one "really living it."

When we compare ourselves like this we find that we do one of two things:  we either push ourselves to accomplish His work out of our own strength instead of by the Spirit, or we give up part of our call to try living out everyone else's.  Both only lead to failure followed by more attempts to prove ourselves, followed by more failure and so on.  This cycle is not the victorious life to which God has called us.

Just as He did with worship, God is calling me to be confident in who I am in Him alone.  This confidence means making decisions based on His wisdom and not out of guilt.  It means letting go of hurts from folk (including myself) who have wrongly judged and accused me, forgiving them, and finding joy in the healing.  This confidence means sharing stories of faith without comparison.  Why?  Because it brings Him glory and builds our... confidence. 

You show that you are a letter from Christ,

the result of our ministry, 

written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, 

not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Such confidence we have through Christ before God.

Not that we are competent in ourselves

to claim anything for ourselves, 

but our competence comes from God. 

He has made us competent

as ministers of a new covenant

—not of the letter but of the Spirit; 

for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 

2 Corinthians 3:3-6

For more stories of how folk are moving forward with confidence, visit Bonnie at