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can any progress really be made unless we are willing to leave somethings behind and walk with trembling feet through new doors of uncertainty?

I was bemoaning and making an idol out of the mistakes I had made in this past season of my life. How many of you know that God will always sneak through a message your heart most needs to hear even when you aren’t wanting to hear it?

I was reading an online daily devotional from Elijah List and Randy Walter’s words hit the the bull’s eye on my resistance. I was seeing my surrendered flag as repentance – when all it really was, was guilt.

Randy said in his own bemoaning season he heard the Lord say, ” You’re not going to get very far until you stop massaging your guilt over the past. That doesn’t impress me…because you confuse it with repentance.  Woe is me is not the same as forgive me and help me move on. If you really want to please me don’t wave your past mistakes like a flag of surrender. Just learn from them and I’ll be happy.”

And just like that God’s arrow of love, grace, and redemption pierced through my resistance landing smack dab into the fragile tissue of my heart. With raw honesty I admit to you, I woke up this morning not wanting to spend time with God at all.  BUT, God clearly had another plan.

There are often messages God is trying to get through to us and he will keep gently pursuing us until we are ready to listen. For me, the verse was Isaiah 60:1. I had seen it pass before my eyes at least five times in the last week.  It says, “Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord]; for your light has come and the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you.”

The past season of my life did not go as planned. I’d been pushed down one too many times. I found myself spiritually depressed. Empty. Unfulfilled and afraid to move forward. My legs had not yet recovered from the fall of perceived failure and I wasn’t sure I was ready to try them out again. My heart was aching and felt like any hope it held was constantly finding a hole to seep out of. I was so tempted to place my white flag in the ground and walk away.

Months back, God had showed me a vision of an open door before me. I didn’t realize at the time that the Jewish year of 5778, which is now here, is also referred to as “the year of the open door”. I am no expert on the Jewish calendar and all the significance it holds. It wasn’t even until recently that I even knew it existed, but this was a sign even this gal could understand.

There is an open door God has opened before me and before you. I have been peeking through at times, but mostly, I’ve been hiding on this side of certainty. I’ve been letting the whisper of perceived failure define me and immobilize me. Because the truth is the open door, requires me- requires you, to abandon somethings and let go. For me I needed to forgive myself and not hold onto the guilt of my mistakes. There is a lovely quote that broke a little tether of the guilt that was wrapped around my heart when I read the words, “I never lose, I either win or I learn.” God was preparing my heart so that today he could break the rope completely with his truth!

The challenge before us is this , WILL WE TRUST GOD AND WALK THROUGH THE DOOR HE HAS GRACIOUSLY OPENED BEFORE US OR NOT?  What do you need to lay down so that you can walk through? Is it shame? Guilt over past mistakes? Is it fear of the unknown? Is mistrust or doubt? We all have our struggles – those things we are holding onto that keep us hiding from further pain.

God may just be trying to crack open your heart to a message you need to hear right now in this very moment! Pause and create some stillness to listen…

What my dear is God asking you to dust yourself off from so that you can walk through this new door of opportunity in your life and take hold of the destiny He has for you to ARISE AND SHINE?

He was sending me a very clear, beautifully displayed message. In true God like fashion he was speaking right to the heart of my struggle. He saw how I was weakened in battle, falling to the ground exhausted and weary. But as I was laying there, knocked off my feet and dazed by the fall, he hadn’t forgotten me. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Get up my sweet child. Get up from the dirt. Dust yourself off and move on. This is not the end. NO! It is just the beginning. The door is open. Will you take my hand and let me lead you through?”

This is your new beginning my sweet friend. Your door of opportunity awaits. But there is one more thing I cannot forget to tell you. Your progress will not come without a price. Paul states clearly to the Corinthians in the verse above that there is a WIDE-OPEN door ahead, but there are also many adversaries. The enemy will always attempt to steal your light. He will whisper to you as well. Trying to get you to tremble with fear and doubt that the door is for you. Don’t listen. GOD WILL ALWAYS PROVE TO YOU- YOU CAN! YOU, MY FRIEND, WERE BORN TO SHINE!

Your door awaits. I pray you find the courage within to take God’s hand and let him lead you through!

 

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zephaniah 3:17

In case you needed reminded like I did this week of God’s great love towards you! Here is a little snip-it from The 40 Day Journey devotional coming soon!

My heart adores you and I cannot wait to tell you who you are. You are beautiful to me. A masterpiece of all masterpieces. I designed you specifically. I carefully planned every detail – from the color of your eyes, to the heart you possess, and all the way down to tip of your toes. I gladly claim you as my own. You are loved! You are cherished! You are my treasure, my delight. I have made you completely new. No trace of the past. You lack nothing and you are worthy of the dreams I have for you. I created you just the way you are so that you could accomplish the specific plans I have designed for your life. Within your heart I placed my power, my might, all that I am. You are my warrior, my nothing-can-stop-you conqueror! You are gifted, you are full of grace, you are ready for the tasks ahead of you. I know you. I love you. I can’t wait for you to see yourself through my eyes because what I see just blows me away.

Be Blessed ~ Be a Light

 

It was for this freedom that Christ set us free {completely liberating us}; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery {which you once removed} Galatians 5:1 (AMP)

It’s true what they say, freedom isn’t free. Someone always pays a price. In our case it was Christ. He gave His life “completely liberating us“! Why then do we often feel so chained, held back, broken, and restrained?

We gain ground, find freedom, make progress then two steps back – maybe ten, or so it seems.

I’ve had moments in my life where joy abounds and I feel so free and then I have moments where I felt all progress was lost. I admit it, this woman who believes so much in freedom in Christ, sometimes doesn’t feel so free.

As I was wrestling with this dilemma in my mind, suddenly it hit me.

Freedom isn’t free which means we have to STAY free. Soldiers don’t stop fighting once they gain a little ground they keep protecting the land they fought so hard to gain. Once you win new territory, take new ground, find another layer of freedom you must defend it from intruders! We let down our guard and let invaders back in to plunder our soul . Robbing hope. Robbing joy. Robbing vision.

The enemy is a relentless intruder always wanting to steal back the ground we’ve gain. The truth is, he is a creature of habit. We know his main mode of attack. He always goes after our mind. Time and time again he plants seeds of negativity, doubt, and insecurity so that we back down.

And this is what Galatians 5 is talking about. We must stand firm on TRUTH or else we easily slip right back into the chains we once walked away from.

I’ve done it. I don’t blame you. Sometimes those chains are just all too familiar. I’ve let doubt and fear rob me of my vision, of the ground I’ve gain in Christ.  I’ve struggled to believe in the promises I can’t yet see and I’ve let my limited view, limit God’s work in my life.

I read a quote this week that gave me hope, however. It said something like, the wars are just preparing you to be a WARRIOR. I want to be a warrior for Christ. And to do that I’ve got to stop expecting there not to be a fight. Christine Caine laughingly said that sometimes she tells her daughters, “Suck it up sailor”, explaining that the fight is hard, but we can’t give up. Every new level in Christ comes with a price and as we progress in stepping into our calling and becoming the warriors we were designed to be, the fight gets harder not easier.

This is why there are so many starters but so few finishers!

We have to let the wars develop a warrior spirit in us. As we being to believe in the power within us, the greater we will fight!!! Women it is time we ARISE and stop giving up ground. The enemy wants us to fight each other, be jealous, and insecure of other women’s talents and gifts. He loves to consumed our mind with our own problems and rob our praise through circumstance.

He wins when we get so focused on ourselves and our own issues. We are drowning in our own self-absorption at times and the world around us remains untouched.

I had to look honestly this week at this giant log in my own eye. As I allowed the enemy to get me self-absorbed in my own grumbling, he stole my joy. He stole my desire to reach out and be a light. Temporarily that is! I am glad to say I am back in the fight!

I had to let praise lead the way!

Praise is a powerful weapon. The enemy knows this. He can’t stop the power of praise, but he can work darn hard at stopping us from praising.

I believe my vision of an unstoppable wave of women banning together and boldly shining their light for Christ will come to pass! It is time to draw our swords Ladies and believe in the light that is inside of us! We don’t have to back down, give up ground,or let the enemy win by robbing us anymore. BUT I do believe wholeheartedly that there is one thing we must do in order for this to happen – UNITE.

Soldiers don’t fight alone and neither should we. Women united, encouraging each other to shine their unique light causes the enemy to tremble with fear – because he knows something we don’t. The light inside us destroys his power. His only hope is to get us to doubt it.

So stand your ground! You are becoming a WARRIOR!

Be Blessed ~ Be a LIGHT!

THERE IS A LIGHT INSIDE YOU THAT CANNOT BE STOPPED (John 14:12)

I realized something early on in ministry. The majority of us want to find our place and shine our light in this world, but somewhere along the way we stopped believing we have what it takes!

We’ve been given a promise. Jesus said when he left this earth he placed in our hearts His light. A light that is unstoppable, and more powerful than anything we could ever know.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father … and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth.” John 14: 17

Did you see it? He died, and rose again, and left HIS light (the Holy Spirit) inside you to do EVEN GREATER WORKS than Him!

It is a crazy thought for me to wrap my mind around. So crazy in fact the enemy knows it. He doesn’t want us to grasp the idea that we have a force so powerful within us that it would literally knock him off his feet if we tapped into it.

When Jesus was about to be arrested, Judas led an army of 300-600 soldiers to capture him. One man against 300-600 soldiers? Really?

Picture this scene in John 18: 4-6. Jesus asked the soldiers “Whom do you seek?” They responded, “Jesus of Nazareth.” What happens next blows me away. All Jesus does is say, “I AM HE” and every last one of the soldiers were so overcome by the power sent out through Jesus’ words that they literally “fell to the ground” (vs. 6, ESV).  It was as if this invisible force swept them off their feet and they stumbled, staggered and couldn’t remain standing in his presence.

This is the power Jesus left inside you!

The enemy of our destinies is hard at work trying to distort our vision and make us doubt this Truth because he is SCARED! He trembles at the thought of us grabbing hold of this TRUTH! So he continually whispers into the ear of all light bearers – all believers, “YOU’RE NOT ENOUGH!”

It is an ingenious fear tactic! He is out to dim our light in any way he can. He wants you to hide it and make you believe you’re not worthy to share it, you’re not ready, you’re not ENOUGH!

Why have so many of us taken the bait? We have believed the enemies’ lies making it hard for us to believe that God would really want to use us – to shine through us. We have this unbelievable gift inside of us just waiting to burst forth and shake up the world around us for God’s glory. But in order for us to experience the power of God inside of us we have to begin to believe it is there for the taking. We’ve got to stop listening to the enemies’ voice. His voice causes fear to grow where power was meant to.

Any number of YOU’RE NOT’s can float through your mind throughout your day. It happens so much that we don’t even try to fight it anymore. Ladies, we have to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and refuse to listen to anything BUT the TRUTH of who God says that we are! Let me let you in on a little secret. GOD WILL NEVER TELL YOU YOU AREN’T ENOUGH! BECAUSE HE ALREADY KNOWS THAT YOU ARE.

The Truth is:  “Whom the son sets free is free indeed” (John 8:36).

We are free from all condemnation, shame, sin, hopelessness, depression, anxiety, fear, and despair, but the problem is our minds won’t let us walk free!

You, yes YOU, reading these words right now, have a POWERFUL light inside you that God handcrafted for your heart to hold and share with His world.  LET’S GET BOLD TOGETHER and have each other’s back as women! Let’s knock fear flat on its back by believing in who God uniquely designed us to be and encouraging other women to do the same! The world needs our light!

Ladies, if you’re not listening to the voice of God and who He says you are, you will never discover who you were meant to be! So perk up your ears, tune into His heart for you and set that LIGHT free. Boldly shine for him, unashamed, letting nothing hold you back!

Be Blessed ~ Be a Light!

P.S. Coming soon are two powerful tools to help you experience FREEDOM and walk in your destiny! Keep an eye out for the release of my new book, Shining Freely, and the companion devotional guide, The 40 Day Journey!

 

 Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant…For even the Son of Man came not be be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:26-28 NLT

This girl has had her comfort zone busted wide open! I feel like I’ve been plucked out of my cozy corner of the world and place smack dab into a sea of unknowns.  We don’t like the unknowns or to be uncomfortable but what I have found, is that the places I’ve most wanted to run from, but didn’t, allowed God to lead me to greater levels of freedom!

I’ve been my own boss for over ten years now, running things how I want it and doing what I wanted, when I wanted. But, life called for a change! I now find myself in a place where I have not only one boss but multiple bosses to answer to. The funny thing is, I asked God to teach me how to love like him. The first thing he did was take away the titles I’d been hiding behind: “Co-founder” and “President” .

What better way is there to learn to love like him than to be made completely low?

He came to serve. To become the lowest of low. Beaten. Whipped. Spit upon. The ransom for us. Never once did he place his needs above those he came to serve.

Sometimes we have to question, “Do we really want what we are asking for?”

To love like him – means sacrifice. It means allowing ourselves to be uncomfortable for the comforting of others.

When I finally was willing to give up what I thought brought me the greatest value, I learned what true love looked like – what it felt like in my heart! And it overwhelmed me. His love is so unbelievable. I believe that if we learn to love first and to love like him, everything else we are seeking will fall into place.

Are you willing to be made low? We change the world by the love we show. Change the world with me. Let’s learn to love like He loves!

Be Blessed ~ Be a Light

 

                                                            “I’m single-minded in pursuit of you” (Psalms 119:10, MSG)

I am so excited to introduce to you a new resource that is coming soon to Shine Healing Ministries call, “The 40 Day Journey”! This is online program and workbook that will serve as your next-step guide to assist you in experiencing and putting into practice the principles laid out in my new book, Shining Freely: Overcome Your Past and Set Your Purpose Free. Below is a description about The 40 Day Journey and a sneak peak into day 1! Enjoy 🙂

Jesus initiated the greatest rescue mission ever known – just over 2,000 years ago – when He died on the cross so that we could be free! Today, many of us still need rescued from ourselves! The 40 Day Journey is your guide to learning how to rest in God’s way and cease from yours so that God can begin to open your heart to the “immeasurably more” he has planned for you! And the best part about it, you won’t be alone. God wants to walk with you on this 40 Day pause of discovery with the goal of cultivating a deeper relationship with Him so that He can set you free from the limiting mindsets and self-protective strategies your heart holds. It’s time! Time to lay down your way for God’s way! Accept the challenge before you to pause for 40 Days to let God do in your life what only He can. Daily encouragement and simple action steps will be provided to help you succeed on your journey to freedom. May prayer is that your heart be flooded with Light and leave you forever changed. Don’t wait! Encounter God, Discover you, and Experience Freedom!

Day 1 Expectation and Praise

Thought of the day: Praise prepares your heart for what God is about to do!

I will CEASE today by choosing to:

Connect with God

Daily Word

Psalm 145:2-3 (NLT)

I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.

Daily Worship

Do it again by Elevation Worship

Note here how this verse and song spoke directly to your heart:

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Examine My Heart

Lord, is there something in my heart that makes it hard for me to abandon myself fully to you in worship and believe that you will do great things in me and for me during this 40 Day Journey? What mountains do I need to begin to believe that you can move for me? Now, seek God’s view. What does he want you to begin to believe about his ability to move the mountains and part the sea that appears impossible before you?

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Allow God to Open My Heart to His View

I want you to know that I have plans for your good, plans to infuse hope and life into the dreams I have fashioned in your heart (Jeremiah, 29:11). The things I will begin to speak into your heart during this journey will be hard for you to fathom because I see you and your situation so vastly different than what you can currently comprehend. It will require faith, but luckily, you only need faith the size of a tiny, little mustard seed and then I can move mountains (Matthew, 17:20). Take this journey with me and watch me do immeasurable more than you could ever think, dream, or imagine in your life (Ephesians, 3:20). Walk to the edge of the sea before you, the sea you don’t believe you can cross and take that first step. Feel the coolness of the water on your feet and watch as I begin to part the sea before you. I promise to make a way where there is no way! I did it for Moses, and I can do it for you.

Surrender to God’s Way

In this time of prayer visualize walking to the edge of the sea you thought you would never cross and taking that first step. God will meet you there. Be willing to hand over to him anything that you need to cease from that hinders your praise and ability to believe that God can do the impossible in your life during this 40 Day Journey. Cut your connection with the limiting mindsets (things you speak or believe) and protective strategies (things you do) that are holding you back by asking God to forgive you for partnering with views and actions that don’t line up with his truth!

Write your own personal prayer of surrender here:

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Expect God to Move on My Behalf

Expect mountains to move and the sea to be parted. The waters before you are no match for God’s presence inside you! Sing his praise. Thank him for what he is about to do in your life through the next 40 days and beyond!

Visualize a truth-filled thought based on what God revealed to your heart today and renew your mind in it all day long. Speak it, repeat it, be it!

My truth-filled focused thought for today:

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Pause and Be Still

Write down any thoughts, impressions, or images that are coming to your mind. Grant yourself the freedom to visualize it fully and creatively express what God is revealing to your heart in any format that is best for you. Let the images and words that come to mind become powerful snapshots you recall throughout the day to infuse your heart with hope for the journey.

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End of Day Reflection

Note how your truth-focused view impacted your day and any way that God moved in your life as you practiced ceasing from your way to surrender to his.

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Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. IS. 43:19

Do you struggle like me at times to believe that the new thing is ever going to come? Sometimes it can feel like we have been waiting forever for our wounds to be heal, our family to be restored, that new job opportunity to happen, or our hope to refill. And nothing. Or so it seems.

One of my favorite Pastors, Steven Furtick, said that, “Revelation is more powerful than reason.”  We don’t and won’t always know the “why” or the reasons for what we go through, but, God’s revelation (his truth) is always available to us and is jam-packed with his power. No matter what we go through we can seek God’s perspective and believe in his goodness and this is where freedom from the agony of unanswered “why’s” lies.

Here are a few things to ponder?

Why do we  default to thinking that the devil is attacking us instead thinking that God  is using this situation or uncomfortable place to free us from something planted in our heart from long ago? Maybe just maybe he is going to use this moment you felt rejected and unwanted at church to heal your heart from the rejection you felt when your daddy left and never looked back. Maybe just maybe he is going to use this trial to help you learn to trust him with your heart again, because he lost it years ago when you felt betrayed and broken by the very people who should have kept you safe. Maybe just maybe…(fill in the blank).

Could God be using this time in your life to propel you to something greater and develop the characteristics in you that you will need in order to not be overcome by where he wants to take you?

Is the enemy’s attack really bigger than what God can create out of it? Do you believe that Greater is He that is in you than in the world and that he can work all things for your good?

Why do we have a tendency to assume the worst of God? We need to flip our view. He doesn’t promise life here will be cheery and bliss, he actually promises the opposite. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT).

Do you know what was happening in Jesus’ life when he spoke these words to his disciples? ONE BIG HUGE TRIAL. He was headed to the cross to give his very life for us.  His next words were: “Father, the hour has come.”  Next came betrayal, arrest, torture, and death.  But above all came the greatest GOOD ever known! His victory became our victory.  A victory that gives us the ability to stare our past in the face and every last sin we have ever committed and say, “You no longer have power over me! Jesus defeated you –  sin, failure, hopelessness, depression, abuse, shame, abandonment, anxiety, rejection and I am free.”

Have you ever really thought about the fact that Jesus’ trial, sorrow, betrayal, death had to happen for us to be free? Pain is simply a part of this life, BUT I choose to believe that not matter what comes my way God will use it to shape me, transform me, and free me more and more from myself. His ways are beautiful and good and he always has our best interest in mind.

Could this trial, time of sorrow, betrayal, rejection, loss, hardship, loneliness be the very thing  he will use to free you, to bless you so that you can become an unstoppable blessing to others?

Hum…something to think about! If we keep perceiving God through the lens of punishing us or the enemy’s attacks as bigger than what God can do, we will continue to feel defeated. I often need to remind myself that GOD IS 100% GOOD AND HE IS ALWAYS FOR ME , even when time keeps ticking.

Believe, especially, when you cannot see, that God is working behind the scenes for your good!

Be blessed my friends and don’t let anything stop you from shining your LIGHT!

Until next time.

 

 

 

 

 

He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters.                                                                   Psalm 18:16

We all need rescued at times. I know I have gotten myself into some pretty sticky situations before and unfortunately have repeated the same mistakes over and over. Why do we do this to ourselves?

I was frustrated this week. I am changing roles- changing focus. New job, new ministry direction and nothing seems to be moving  fast enough.  In the book, Love Talk,  by Les & Leslie Parrott, I realized my #1 safety need is TIME.  I am a check-it-off-my-list kinda gal. Everything needs to be done YESTERDAY! So often when I find my timing and God’s timing aren’t lining up,  then my mind takes over and anxiety swirls around me like a mini tornado spinning me out of control. In frustration, I look at my watch and ask God, “Do you know how much time has past since you spoke your promises in my heart? That transition, Lord, you remember? You said it was coming? YOU’RE LATE!!!”

But then there is another part of me that screams, “Can’t I just stay right here?”  I wonder what must have been going through Peter’s mind when he was straddling the side of the boat with one foot still safely tuck within a place he knew well, and one toe about to dip into the complete unknown. The way the story appears, he jumped all in without thinking. No white-knuckle grip, just a full out leap (Matthew 14:28-30).

I’m there now, straddling the boat, but sheepishly admit, I don’t feel so brave. God is calling me to something new, something bigger than me. Do I jump all in? Or will I stay stuck in a place of false security and wonder why I’m so frustrated?

Sometimes we need rescued from ourselves. God’s hand is always there to catch us. Peter did it. Not flawlessly, but he did it. He stepped out completely and when he needed rescued from himself and the fear that over took him, guess who was right there? Yep, the One who always is. God’s hand is constant & never failing.  Boy, do I need that reassurance sometimes. Especially now, when I am straddling this boat of known and unknowns. I know in my head that God has big plans for me and is doing a new thing in me, but my heart is still struggling to perceive it (Isaiah 43:19).  It is blinded by fear.

“What if I fall?”

“What if I fail?”

“What if I totally screw all this up?”

So what if I do – God has already promised me his hand!

I don’t know when I am gonna learn that this life is a duet. I can’t but HE CAN through me! I guess I have to get the point where I jump out and abandon my comfort and my false security for the only true source of security I will ever know. God’s heart for us is unbelievably good. He wants so much more for us than we could ever imagine. I wonder how it must sadden him that so many of us spend our whole lives straddling the boat afraid to trust him and believe in his Word! 

Pastor Steven Furtick said, “Sometimes we want God to do a big thing and we won’t even do the basics.”

He can’t do the big things in our lives when we are too afraid to get out of the boat. Our job is to trust and he promises to do the rest.

Step out. Abandon your fear. His hand will be there. He is the greatest RESCUER the world has ever known!

Be Blessed ~ Be a Light!

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

I took a HUGE leap this week. I gave my book, Shining Freely, to a publisher! Three long years. The last three years have contained some of the hardest challenges of my life, but have also been the most life changing I have ever know! I was nervous, my heart was pounding as I went to press send.  Fear and excitement were fighting for their place in my mind. But I am proud to say FEAR DIDN’T WIN! I did it. I persevered through all the times I wanted to quit, all the times I questions who am I to do this. At every turn God kept reminding me of my WHY!

I want to see you, me, all of us, SET FREE to shine our light without restraint for Christ! I want nothing to hold us back!

Fear always surfaces before you are about to do something beyond you! But in order to be free to walk out the plans God has for us , we have to break-up with our fear. It is our most toxic relationship.  Fear stops us from believing that God can do great things through us. It stops us from connecting, dreaming, and being all we were created to be!

It is time to break up with your fear so that God can propelled you forward into the life he wants to give you! Pause for a moment and reflect on how you have partnered with your fear. What ways are you trusting your fear more than God? Take those things you identified to God in prayer – asking his forgiveness for trusting your fear more than him. Then write your break-up letter. Be bold and fight back! Break up with the words you speak that create fear. Break up with the actions you do that align you with your fear and clearly identify the lies your fear has convince you of.

Be real with yourself and God about the ways your fear has controlled you. You need to make a commitment to yourself to say and do the things that lead to healing and make the dreams God has for you possible!

Be sure to end your letter with a clear focus by crafting a phrase or using a quote or a Bible verse that encourages you to keep pressing on towards the prize that God has for you. This will help to reset your thinking in the right direction every time your fear resurfaces. Make a new promise to yourself and align your heart with the truth in God’s Word.

Why wait, don’t let fear gain any more ground in your life. Take a few moments to fill in the blanks of your Dear Fear letter now!

Dear Fear,

You have robbed me of the life I want to live for way too long. I have allowed you to tell me I am ____________________________________________________________________________. (E.g. worthless, unloveable, hopeless, abandoned, inadequate, a fake). You’ve convinced me_______________________________________________________________________.(Write what your fear makes you believe about people, God, or your future).

I promised myself ___________________________________________________________ (Write what you vowed to do because of this fear: “I will never…) and I protected myself by ________________________________________________________________________________.

(Write protective strategies here: isolate, people please, control others).

But now, I say, “No more!” Lord, I break up with my fear today! I sever the power that the fear of ________________________________________________________ (E.g. rejection, disapproval, being a disappointment) has had over my life.

Forgive me for the promises I made to myself and the ways I have protected myself that have kept me from being able to open my heart to believe in your desire to use me in great and mighty ways. I believe that what I confess to you, you break its hold over me and give me the power to overcome! Lord, I will no longer let fear guide my steps. I hand all control over to you. May your truth be my rudder. Lord, replace my fear with your peace and open my heart to love again.

Lord, today I partner with your plan for my life and embrace your truth in my heart. Every time fear creeps in, I will hold on to your promise and speak back to my fear by saying: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  (Write a truth in God’s Word you need to begin to believe here).

This is goodbye Fear,

Be bold and take back the dreams God is fashioning in your heart! Renew your mind daily in the truth that: God’s mighty power is within you to accomplish infinitely more than you  can ever ask, dream, think, or image! (Ephesians 3:20).

Be blessed ~ Be a Light

 

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

As a parent it can be disturbing to see in your kids characteristics you don’t want to admit you possess. Especially, when you run smack dab into the reality of, “Oh my gosh, I do that. She learned that from me!” I am grossly competitive. I don’t know if there is even a word to describe how competitive I am. I can’t even play a fun game of family baseball, an Easter tradition, without trying to win. Ugh. Ugly, I know. Even uglier is when the characteristic that are overboard in you, bleed into the little ones you are raising.

This became glaringly obvious one spring afternoon. We decided as a family to go to the local bike path for the first time since our youngest had learned how to ride without training wheels. Excited that we could all ride together and enjoy the scenery as a family, off we went. It turns out that competition turned into comparison can rob all involved of any fun that could be had. What should have been an exciting time, wasn’t. Our youngest had a new-found freedom to ride without restraint, but her mind couldn’t let her enjoy where she was. She was so worried about keeping up with her older sister, who had been riding without training wheels for three years now, that she failed to enjoy the journey.

My little one pushed herself tirelessly to try and keep up, always looking ahead at the distance between her and where her older sister was. At one point, she jumped off her bike, grabbed it with her little hands, and picked it up. She started running with all her might, but the weight of it dragged her down. Grunting, panting, and exhausting herself, all in an attempt to catch up to a place she wasn’t yet meant to be! When we are carrying something that was meant to carry us, we end up with skinned knees and wonder why. This was an “ah ha” moment for me for sure. God does that. He gives you a glimpse of something you don’t want to see, so He can free you from what you don’t know exist.

That little girl running with the bike, feeling left out and like she missed the boat, that was me; pushing, pulling, dragging, and carrying what didn’t seem to be going fast enough. Trying to make happen in my timing what God knew I wasn’t yet ready for. Thoughts swirled in my mind, “Look at what she is doing. My ministry isn’t as big as her’s. She is so young and I am so much older and I am not performing at her level.” When comparison mixes with competition everything turns ugly! Comparison robs destiny.

My eyes were always gazing too far in the distance, feeling as if I was being left behind. Never present to enjoy the moment. I was trying in my own strength to get to a place where my mind wasn’t yet prepared to go. God had places in me yet to heal and limiting beliefs that would keep me from maintaining the dream He had for me. If He gives things too early before we are ready, we run the risk of them slipping right through our hands. I was still stuck spinning on a hamster wheel, trying to catch up with someone else’s life. Until I let go of what I thought it should look like, He couldn’t give me what was truly mine.

The truth is, my back was about to break. I was carrying the weight of a ministry that God’s hands were meant to hold. God knew my legs were ready to give. He gently reached His hand out and asked if I wanted to jump off the wheel and hand back to Him what was His all along. He asked me to rest, to pause, and just give Him 40-days to prove to me His way was better. Thank God, this stubborn girl finally listened. I am forever changed. I have experienced what true freedom feels like. As I encountered Him, my eyes were opened to see things in a way I never had before, and I discovered that freedom is more about the journey, than the destination!

What are you carrying that God was meant to carry in your life? He wants to take the burden we’ve place on ourselves that we can’t possibly begin to hold.  Spend time thing week giving back to Him what was meant to be His all along!

Be Blessed ~ Be a Light!

 

*This is an excerpt from my new book Shining Freely, coming the end of 2017!

 

 

“He who created you, He who formed you, has called you by YOUR name” (Isaiah 43:1 AMP, emphasis mine)

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me. I am not sure what planet this phrase originated from – but it couldn’t be more wrong. Words hurt. They can sink deep into the very core of our soul and twist our insides into knots. If you’re human at all, you’ve had a moment where careless words spoken over you made your heart drop to your toes. You see, words matter – because the words we believe become our identity. The picture of ourselves that forms from negative words thrown around and painful experiences can become cemented in our hearts – making the truth of who we really are hard to accept.

In order to experience freedom, we must know and embrace our true name, the name given to us by the one who created us. The God who created you longs to show you how He sees you so that He can transform the negative self-perceptions that have developed within your heart. God’s Word says, “The moment I entered the world he named me” {AND} said to me, “You’re my dear servant … through whom I’ll shine” (Isaiah 49:1-3 (MSG). “He who created you, He who formed you, has called you by YOUR name” (Isaiah 43:1 AMP, emphasis mine). Let’s be seekers of His name for us!

What’s So Important About A Name?

Psychologist Erik Erikson wrote, “There is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity.” The messages we received from our earliest relationships either help us feel alive or far from it. Names become directional markers. How likely will the little girl who was always told she was stupid and worthless become all she was created to be? There are unfortunate consequences to negative messages. This little girl will likely believe exactly what she was told and refuse to try anything that would be deemed a “smart person’s” tasks. Limiting mindsets are often planted in our formative years of life and grow increasing stronger with age. Therefore, it is important for us to discover where the first seeds were planted and by whom. Taking an honest look at our family of origin helps uncover the roots system that produced the fruit of our self-concept.

In Biblical times the name a child was given held great significance. A name not only designated who they were to become but also the character traits they possessed. Therefore, parents often chose names that declared their future hopes and aspirations for their child. Jabez, however, had quite the opposite experience. We meet Jabez in 1 Chronicles in a short tucked away passage. The first words spoken over his life were literally a curse. Remember the Bible says that words are either “poison or fruit” (Proverbs 18: 21 MSG). His mother named him Jabez meaning “sorrow maker”. Right from the start Jabez was face with a label that could have become his identity. As Jabez grew older he cried out to God believing he had been created for more (4: 9-10 AMP).

Jabez is not the norm. We often don’t question as children the names we are called. We accept them as truth. Yet, Jabez, reached out to the true name giver nullifying the label he had received and the Lord answered his prayer for blessing. His life did not follow the label placed on him by his mother. He realized through Christ he was never meant to be a “sorrow maker”. God had a completely different view of him and his life transformed from sorrow to blessing.

God Renames To Reclaim

What I dreamed of parenthood and what transpired were two totally different movie reels. If I am being completely honest there were many moments I wondered what Tasmanian you-know-what had taken over my little girl. I had numerous names to describe her that I wouldn’t want anyone to know crossed my mind. Her behaviors were unpredictable, impulsive, and dangerous at times. In these moments, she acted nothing like her sweet, little self.

I had worn my carpet thin from praying late into the night over her and gotten to the point of shear desperation. My 2-year old had never grown out of the “terrible two’s” and actually had only grown worse with size. At age 4 the developmental pediatrician’s only answer was strong medication. Given that I was in the mental health field, I refused to believe that was my only option. In my experience, way too many kids had been placed on medication too early causing more symptoms to arise. “Most drugs prescribed for children have not been tested in children. By necessity, doctors have routinely given drugs to children ‘off label,’ which [ultimately] means the drug has not been approved for use in children based on the demonstration of safety and efficacy in adequate, well-controlled clinical trials.” (https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm143565.htm)

So, if there was another way, I was going to find it.

In the book The Love Dare for Parents, Kendrick states, “God repeatedly changed people’s names to honor them, encourage them, and help them view themselves differently.” He named them not after where they had been but for where they were headed! I knew my little girl hated how she reacted in the moments where she lost all control. Sadly, she had reached the point of not liking herself at all. It is heart breaking to hear your 6-year old say they want to die. When behaviors are so ugly and out of control it is almost impossible to begin speaking the opposite. Something had to change in my perceptions though if I was going to help her see herself differently. She was not her actions she was beautiful, she was a gift to me, she was creative, pure, and lovely. I realized I had to begin to speak over my daughter all that God saw in her even though with my earthly eyes it was far from what I was experiencing.

Many doctors, OT’s, holistic practitioners, and nutritional changes later we came to find out she had Sensory Processing Disorder along with severe Speech Articulation Disorder. One made it hard for her to express herself and the other made her body feel like she was wearing steel wool. We found with further testing that the main contributor to my daughter’s outburst was red food dye. We are beginning to discover more and more that the additives, preservative, genetically modified organisms, and dyes we are consuming are severely affecting our health and mood. This blog post is obviously not about healthy eating but I encourage you to do some research, because many of our mood problems and physical ailments can be dramatically changed by natural methods and dietary changes alone.

Some of you have been in your situation or reacted the way you have for so long that it has become your identity. My daughter began to perceive herself as this bad little girl who only brought pain to others. We can mistake our outward behaviors for who we really are. When we have hurts that are not dealt with, pain we are avoiding, or negative messages that replay over and over in our minds they seemly take over who we were created to be. I believe God renames us to help us see ourselves differently and to reclaim what the enemy has taken. How we see ourselves is so important to God because he knows that the enemy uses the pain of this life and hurtful words spoken over us to steal, kill, and destroy our destinies. God is the name giver! He longs to tell you how He sees you because he has a destiny to prepare you for!

Be blessed ~ Be a Light

*This is an excerpt from my new book Shining Freely, coming end of 2017!!

 

Let us strip off every weight that slows us down…and run with ENDURANCE the race God has set before us! Hebrews 12:1(Emphasis Mine).

I don’t know about you but change is hard for me. I am always thinking about how to change the things I don’t like myself and how I can guide others to change as well. Sometimes I wish I could flip a switch and turn my brain off. Seriously, it never stops.  My husband is always making fun of me because I talk to myself constantly – trying to figure out something, everything, anything!

Well, I guess all that thinking is good for something. I want to share with you what I have learned about change and what characteristics create the best conditions for change to be possible. The 7 healing habits described below, are based on years of personal experience and also the experience gained through the amazing individuals I have had the privilege to walk alongside on their journey to healing and change.

What I have found is, we all have a tendency to focus more on “How do I change?” and we forget to think about the things we are doing that make change impossible. Let’s discover together what characteristics most equip us to see the change we all want in our life!

My challenge to you is be to open. Be open to doing something new. Because one thing I know for sure is, we can never change until we do something we’ve never done before!  So here goes:

Seven Healing Habits

Healing Habit # 1 Be Reflective

We can’t change what we don’t know exist! Be diligent about slowing down, having quiet time to connect with God, and reflect on what is in your heart. Face it – don’t avoid it! Letting go of things that do not belong, frees us from our pain and gives us the opportunity to change into who we want to become. The Bible tells that we change by “renewing our mind” (Romans 12:2). One definition of renewing is to “repeat an action or statement”. We are constantly bombarded with things that seek to rob us of our peace, hope, and healing. We need a consistent inflow of Truth fighting the barrage of negative perceptions that creep in and steal our motivation to change.

Spending time allowing God to clear out of our heart anything that doesn’t line up with His perspective, breathes life, hope, and freedom into our dry and hurting places. His Truth is freeing! Create time for a daily practice of reflection – pitching what doesn’t belong and filling that space instead with the Truth in God’s Word. His Word – His very presence is healing to our soul and provides the encouragement we need to keep going when the excitement on the roller coaster of change has ended.

Healing Habit #2 Be Prayerful & Hope-filled

I heard the saying recently, “If you have time to worry, you have time to pray.” Prayer needs to become our default. My father used to say, “Prayer is the main entrée on the menu of a successful life.” I am trying to learn to be consumed by prayer instead of worry. I am realizing that the clarity and direction I am seeking, comes only when my heart is bent in prayer. Then my hope fills. When we fix our eyes on the One Who Is Able, our hope naturally increases. Expect Him to come through, even when nothing makes sense. It is when we are trying to do this thing called “life” on our own that our hope drains and once hope goes so does our motivation for change.  Let worry be a cue to sink to your knees. Then record what God does. Keep a prayer journal noting what you are handing over to Him and what He does for you in the process. We all need reminded.

Healing Habit # 3 Be Thankful

There is healing in living a life of thanks and gratitude. I believe we only truly live when we can be thankful for the moment we are in. Learn to be fully aware of the present with your eyes open wide to see and soak in the gifts all around you. Ann Voskamp realized through her tragic experience as a young child that, “The remedy is in the retina.” What we fail to look for, we fail to see. Slowdown from the crazy world around you by experiencing fully the blessings God puts in front of you. I have been amazed at how refreshing it is and how joy filled a moment can be when I stop to take in a simple blessing: the sun warming my face, the belly rolling laughter of my little girls, the sweet embrace of a loved one’s arms, the trust in my horses’ eyes, the dew shining bright in the morning sun. What joy a moment can contain when we pause to notice.

Start a habit of noticing every change you are making, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. My client’s always struggle to see how far they have come, because they are too focused on how far they still have to go. Savory every win. Write down the progress you are seeing so that you have proof in the ink that builds you up when the inevitable setbacks come. Unless we look for it, we fail to see it. By bringing awareness to even the slightest change, you give yourself grace, and grace is what picks you back up and keeps you moving forward.

Healing Habit # 4 Be Fun

This is hard one for me. I continually have to remind myself to not be so serious. Luckily, God gave me a husband who knows how to be fun! The other day I was stressing, going back to my old striving habit, and pushing myself relentlessly when my husband walked in. He said, “I know how to solve this. Come with me.” I tried my best to resist but God love that man, he wouldn’t quit. He drove me over to our 17-acre, nothing but wide open farmland, and made me soak in the sunset and the deer grazing in the distance. My stress began to melt and a smile started to spread across my cheeks. Then he lovingly pulled me out of our 4-wheeled Polaris, and insisted on pushing me on our girl’s spider web swing till every ounce of stress floated away with the breeze. I laughed. He laughed. And I realized in that moment fun and laughter can turn chaos into calm and frustration into peace. It settles our busy mind.

Make it a priority to add fun into your life. Pause. Sit. Laugh. Soak it in. Be fun! We all need a break from life to reset and give our brains the space they need to help us make better choices. They say a stressed brain is a stupid brain! Become smarter today by adding more fun into your life. Change happens when we can make good decisions and good decisions develop from a state of calm, not stress.

Healing Habit # 5 Be Physically Healthy

If you spend all your time getting your mind in order but fail to create a healthy lifestyle that nourishes your body, you are neglecting 1/3 of who you are. We are body, soul, and spirit. Our physical health is vital for spiritual and emotional health. God created us in such a way that our bodies can heal naturally, but we must provide it with the right ingredients to do so. Be diligent about researching healthy eating and adding exercise into your life. I am convinced that the processed foods we eat, jam-packed with all kinds of preservatives, additives, and genetically modified organism (which our body’s have no idea how to process) and the increase in sedentary activities are two of the greatest factors fueling the out of control number of mood disorders we see today. Kelly Brogan states in her book, A Mind of Your Own, that over 30 million Americans are on antidepressants today and that it is becoming one of the leading causes of disability in our country.

A full wellness regiment is beyond the scope of this blog; however, I encourage you to find out all that you can regarding natural ways you can heal and restore your body and mind. Understanding basics wellness habits are fundamental to healing and are the foundation of change. A couple places to start your search, are Dr. Kelly Brogan’s website www.kellybroganmd.com or her book (linked above). She is a psychiatrist’s who relies solely on natural methods of healing. Another resource is, Mark Virkler’s biblical based information on health and wellness at https://takechargeofyourhealth.today.

Healing Habit # 6 Be Connected

Surround yourself with relationships that encourage you to become the best version of yourself. It is vital that your relationships support you on your journey to becoming all that Christ has designed you to be. Learning to form healthy relationships and build a network of support, helps us to stay the course. Change is hard. We need others to pick us up when we fall-down, and refresh our hearts when we get discouraged.

We thrive most when connected with others. It is just a part of who we are! Take time to learn the art of creating healthy relationships and cultivate a support system. Your best chance for forming healthy relationships, happens when you are healthy yourself! Educate yourself on developing healthy boundaries, developing your true-identity in Christ, learning how to love who God made you to be, and cultivating self-awareness. Healthy relationships require work and only grown when we are purposeful and intentional. If you find your understanding of what a healthy relationship looks like is limited, and setting boundaries hasn’t been your strong suit be sure to check out , Michelle Farris’ blog, www.counselingrecovery.com.

Healing Habit # 7 Be Generous with Your Light

All healing is meant to be shared. As Joyce Meyer’s life testifies, “Your mess becomes your message.” There is a God-given purpose driven deep into your heart. You were created to be a light that makes a difference (Matthew 5:14). You were put here for a specific purpose at this specific time. Start being love. Start sharing your light. Start showing others how God sees you. This sets the stage for becoming all Christ intended you to be! Remember, is it the fear of uncertainty that keeps us from the change we want. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Facing your fear gives you the opportunity to discover who you are uniquely designed to be and where you shine your brightest!

So let’s get moving. Start putting a new habit in place today and create the right environment for change to take place in your life!

Be Blessed ~ Be a Light!

*This is an excerpt from my book Shining Freely coming late 2017!

This post contains some affiliate links but in no way does it determine what I write about or how I write it!