Stale Clothes

From the back seat of the car I hear, "Mama, something stinks!" As a mom of boys, I assume its just par for the usual course this particular morning en route to summer extracurriculars. However, we are in a hurry, always, so I don't have time to examine this proclamation from the back seat. I quickly attribute it to the usuals:  my two precious boys who STINK and put everything in their pockets including the once living & now very unfortunate small creatures, as well as,  once edible food. I also thought it may be another tale of "What is hiding under the seats?"  Old banana? Dirty socks...or worse?!

We had a schedule to keep and I was desperate to get to the gym after being out of town for a long weekend with no exercise!  Besides, I didn't really notice any menacing aromas.

After getting the children to their destinations, I made my way to the gym. I was headed to one of my favorite group cardio classes, which also happens to be a favorite for many people at the gym! It is always very crowded. Immediately, when I walked into the aerobics room, an unfavorable smell hit me! As the class went on, and the sweat was pouring throughout the room like a water park, I determined in my mind who was the exceptionally fragrant culprit! Fortuitously, the stinky individual was located in the proximity of my personal space! A  narrative started in my head and I began to feel a little sorry for this smelly athlete.  It became a huge distraction to me during the class. The longer I allowed the dialogue to go on in my mind, the stronger the smell became.

At the top of the hour, after finishing the class, I made a fast exit to escape the aroma of the aerobics room on a sweltering summer day! An aerobics room that has had A/C problems ALL summer. No A/C and lots of sweaty people are never a good combination. 

With to-do list in mind, I jumped in the car and headed towards home to grab a quick shower. And...there it was...the awful, lingering, fragrance of yuck!!  There it was- me, the car and the smell. That is when God did, what God does. He brought to mind the gym clothes I packed for my extremely quick weekend away. The gym clothes that I pulled from the dryer that were only about 80% dry. Dry enough to put in the suitcase for the flight, but wet enough to think I may need to rewash them when I arrived at my parents home in Ohio. The day I left for my weekend away was consistent with my life.  I was in a hurry and I didn't have anymore time to wait on the dryer.  I packed my good intentions of going to the gym while out of town but never actually made it there! 

When I arrived back to South Carolina, I catapulted back into our busy routine. I was in a rush to squeeze in a fleeting opportunity to fit in a quick work out.  Despite having a closet full of gym clothes, while unpacking my suitcase, I decided to put on the untouched, clean gym clothes in front of me -  fully forgetting about the backstory behind them. The strange thing is that there was never an alarming or unpleasant aroma in my suitcase.  But, let me assure you, by the time I was enlightened to the aroma of the once damp clothes I was wearing, God dealt with my spirit! 

Apparently, my nose deceived me just as I am able to deceive myself when I can "smell" the yuck in those around me and miss it in myself! I really didn't want to write about this little revelation God gave me. I fought it. Truth is He gave me a tremendous writer's block and kept bringing it to mind until I finally just surrendered to it this morning and said...Ok, I'm going to write about the Yuck. As a Christ follower, I like to talk about the ways God has deodorized my life, so to speak. I like to share about the trials I have already overcome because it's easier for the "yuck" to seem less yucky once there is victory over it.  But, I'm learning,  it is equally as important to recognize the current strongholds in my life that stink! It is so much easier, and honestly so much more comfortable,  to see it others. 

I've been asking God to reveal himself to me daily. He's doing it y'all. It doesn't always come in a pretty package. I used to always rely on Jeremiah 29:11 and stop. Chapter 29, verse 11 says,  "For I know the plans I have for you,  declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." However, when you read on in verse 12-13 it says, "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of you heart. " There are areas of my life that God is dealing with me in a real way. Those areas stink and he's reminding me of it.  The smell isn't coming from others. It's coming from me, clothes washed in the water, clean clothes - clean clothes that grew stale. 

Do you, like me, have some stale places to deal with?  Are you like me in that you restart your washer multiple times a day instead of just simply finishing the laundry? It's crazy but right now God is dealing with my heart through laundry. He's revealing to me places where mildew can grow and simply asking me..."When are you just going to finish the laundry? Move it to the dryer,  girl, and put it away!" You have to give the mildew a place to grow. So stop it! Finish the laundry. 

It's one thing to know God's word. It's an entirely different thing to do what it says. Good intentions can be a very dangerous thing. My good intentions were the catalyst of my stale clothes. And guess what, stale clothes, stink - whether you can smell them or not!

Matthew 7:3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

An Open Door

By: Rebekah Page

We recently were staying with our neighbors for the last bit of our remodel.  One morning, we were meeting with a sub-contractor and our children were running back and forth between the two houses (despite me telling them not to).  

Returning to my neighbors, the doors were found wide open where bugs, mosquitoes, flies, and potential intruders were permitted entrance.

No one or anything was hurt, and despite my parental failure, I was seeking a Godly-reason as to why He allowed this to happen. Why had my children disobeyed? Why didn’t I leave my house to discipline and check on them at the neighbors?Why had they left the doors open?

It wasn’t until later that I got a sense of the Holy Spirit asking me, “What doors have you left open in your past?  Why are you allowing bugs in now? What intruders are lurking about your doorways ready to take advantage of your open-door? Have you forgotten to be on guard?  Are you allowing Me to be your gate, and gate keeper? Am I your way in and out of this world?

Researching this post I found this:

“What He opens, no one will shut; and what He shuts, no one will open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut (Revelation 3:7b-8a)”.

Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).  “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7: 13-14).”

I want be one of the ones that finds LIFE. Don’t you!

It begins by allowing  the Holy Spirit to lead and direct our path(s).  That means, when we leave or deal within our homes, we must go through the filter of the Holy Spirit before we think or act.  

We need to get quiet before we move.

We must listen and act in His good pleasures as He places them before us.

This causes us to show that God is at work within us to the world.

We must remember what Christ did for us and desire to obey God with deep reverence.

We must think and act on His behalf because His ways are best. 

If I am honest with God and my fellow man, am I allowing Him to make His good pleasures "my" good pleasure?

They should be intertwined.

A teenage-girl in my neighborhood looks lonely swinging on the pre-k swings. She doesn't get a conversation today because I do not stop. Is that the love of God?

Faith without actions is dead.

We need FAITH to trust that His promptings are good enough AND then WE must WALK through the doors He is asking us to walk through one open door at a time. WE must BRING heaven to earth with OUR actions.

I need you (Jesus)!

I give you my life.

I surrender it to you.

---

“Give Me Faith” by Elevation Worship

Do you allow yourself time to listen to Him? Do you wait to follow His direction in the simple and everyday decisions you will be making? Do you allow Him to change you? Do you believe He is good and that His love is great? Do you believe you are broken and will you give Him your life?

We need Him.

We need Him to break us apart, to pierce through the dark, and to cleanse every part of us.

Will you walk through the open door He is calling you into today?

Praying we take a step of faith in action today to change the course of this world!

Love, Rebekah

Reckless Abandon in the Moonlight

By: Jenny Abbott Edwards

Warm Summer evenings in our Southern state of mind, beckoned a  few girlfriends and I to choose the comfort of the coast over the walls of a restaurant as we met to discuss our study, Open Your Bible.  As I lugged far too much beach paraphernalia, dinner in a cooler and all the other things, I assume I looked like a pack mule embarking on a trip through the desert.  I guess all these years of having preschoolers has made me feel like I cannot travel lightly because surely someone will need something that I haven't packed ---- so I throw it in the bag and over my shoulder!

With toes in the sand, I shared in the confidence of accountable friends, victories God had recently been giving to me. After walking through a difficult season, yesterday I had the privilege of revelation where understanding began to take the place of confusion, where each piece of the complicated puzzle finally began to reveal a bigger picture. It was like I heard God whisper to me, I've been preparing you, piece by piece, for a time such as this.

Much of my life is spent racing from one place to the next. As I catapulted out of the house last night to get to my group, already late, I felt prompted to run back inside for extra towels and clothes.  I had toted them down to the beach, but was actually a little afraid to share with the group why I had this duffle bag filled with these things. I felt funny and even a little awkward but, I did it anyway. I'm learning with God, that feelings usually don't get a vote.  Doing what He says doesn't always FEEL comfortable.

I continued to share that I knew God was prompting my heart to recommit my life to him, and lay down the burdens I've been carrying because he already paid the price. When I shared this, I pointed to the water and asked, "Does anyone else want to come?"

My mind was saying JENNY, YOU ARE NUTS, this is a crazy idea!! I was expecting a long pause filled with crickets and awkward expressions..instead, one of our precious friends, a devout Christ follower, told us that she had never been baptized and had been waiting for the right time. She told me when I pointed to the water, the Holy Spirit moved in her.

We began sharing with each other some of the burdens that weigh us down. At that point, we rose and walked to the water. As we walked down the beach towards the ocean,  we each reflected on what we were "laying down" and leaving behind in the water.

Under the light of a full Carolina moon, together on a nearly empty beach, we baptized our precious friend, Christina, in the ocean. With no bathing suit, no fan fare, no professional photographer, no crowd, no change of clothes, no line of others waiting to go next, our friend knew she had all God needed - her willing heart and the obedience to do what He asks. 

She didn't have to bring anything - because He's already enough.  How beautiful of a representation is it that the day she chose to make an outward proclamation of her faith in Him, she brought nothing except the obedience to follow Christ's prompting on her heart in that moment.  Though, she has been a devout follower of Christ for many years, the timing had not yet come together for her to take this next step of faith. But His ways are not our ways.  Christina is a beautiful follower of Christ who is typically extremely prepared, planned, and thought-out. But guess what? With no planning or preparation, He said, "Go Now" and she obeyed his prompting.

Her act of faith is what Christ calls, us to do. Often when we hear the stirring or shouting of God's prompting over something in our life that says - GO, NOW - we say, "wait!"  We say, Not yet!"  We say, "I can't because..".  "But, they aren't here...", "I don't have...", "It's not the right time." Or we say. "No". Worse yet, we pretend we don't even hear the prompting. But not her. July 18, 2016 is her day. Not because something magical happened in the water but because the Majesty, the Maker of the Universe , the Lord of our salvation, transformed her heart many years ago. And yesterday, without any planning or even the anticipation of the possibility of it, the Holy Spirit stirred in her heart that it was time to proclaim outwardly the love she has for Christ.

In the warm water, under the moon, on an empty beach, four friends dove into the ocean together to recommit ourselves to Him. To lay down all we brought with us. To take off the millstone around our necks and let it sink to the bottom of the sea without dragging us with it. Our struggles, our issues, our sins, our striving. We took it off. We rose up and celebrated victory. We chuckled about what the lone bystanders (who we asked to video the baptism) must have been thinking as four fully-clothed women were triumphantly laughing and crying with reckless abandon.

It's almost as if we had forgotten, that the midst of  "adulting" and all of the challenges that come with a Christian walk, God continues to say, come as your are. Lay it down and rejoice in the moonlight for what I have ALREADY DONE  FOR YOU is enough.

His love washes over us. The waters carried away our sin and swept the millstone to the depths of the sea. Just as my friend didn't need to bring anything with her to be baptized last night, God doesn't need anything from us except the willingness to say, Here I am.


You see, most of us, are walking around looking a lot like I did in my grand entrance onto the beach. An exhausted pack mule with my overpacked burdens, the worries of others that I thought I was supposed to be carrying on my shoulders and of course my favorite accessory that is always chained around my neck.   My necklace made of rope and millstone crafted with broken dreams, life's bad hand, lies we've been told and series of unfortunate events that have shaped the heavy rock that weighs us down.

The crashing waves symbolically washed our sins, our stone and our burdens away last night. We prayed and ask God to help us wake in the morning and not dive back in the sea to search for it. Like ocean waters crashing to the shore & receding back to the sea, we can allow ourselves to be drawn back to His ways. May we always be reminded of the day we laid it down in the ocean - when we cut ourselves free from the the rope tied to our death and were freed to float to the surface. We are not consumed. He has allowed us to rise back up from beneath the waters.

In the darkness of the evening, the full moon illuminated our sillouettes celebrating Him - He who is the Light, the hope of our world, in the midst of the falling darkness around us. Even in darkness, we can still rejoice in the Light that is illuminated through his people who chose not to be overcome but instead, through his salvation are able to cut off the sins meant to destroy us and rise up from beneath the water.

Some beach, somewhere, just might be waiting for you to go and dance recklessly in the moonlight after you've laid it down for the one who gave it all.



"But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. " - Acts 2:24

The Path Out

Our struggles. Our suffering. The host of emotions that we feel on the path of life through the canopy of difficult times mold us. The same painful experiences that mold us, can be used to mend the breaking pieces of another. 

To share your story, is to hold the hand of another and help them find their way out of the woods of their struggle.

This Summer, while in the mountains of North Carolina, Zach and I went for a hike in the woods. I had recently read a passage in the Bible about being rooted near the water. In Jeremiah 17:8 it says, "They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

If you are in a year of drought or doubt, today I encourage you to have the faith of child who is on a walk in the woods. Zach didn't have to know his way out. The  thought of getting lost in the forest never even entered his mind. He knew the plans I had for us, for our walk, were good. He trusted the path. He knew as long as he walked along side me, we was safe and on an adventure with his mom.

If you are lost in darkness of the woods in this season of life,  look for the path out. With faith like a child, allow the Father, to take your hand and lead you. Today I ask that you consider that your own times of suffering have prepared you to walk ahead on the path. The very same path that someone is going to need you, and your understanding of the trail, to show them the way out of the woods. Today I am asking you, specifically, you...the one who is reading this...will you share your story of your path out of the woods? Would you be willing to share on this blog through your writing, your words or even a video what God has done for you?

I've been lost many times in the forest of life. I haven't always allowed the one who knows the way to help me find my way out. I'm learning to have faith like a child and trust He knows the way. I've  even found the strength  at times, to run in the midst of the forest following his lead, out. Isaiah 40:31 says, "But those whose hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Just as a tree apart from its roots, will come crashing down; the branch cut off from its vine will whither and die. His will for us is so much more than a pile of withered, rotting sticks waiting to become ash after the fire.  But, He who is Mighty to Save, turns our ashes into beauty if we simply remain rooted in Him.  For we each are a branch, none superior to another, that needs the support of the root. 

He is asking you to share your story. What was the canopy over you that created the darkness in your forest? How did He help you find your way out? Your story is greater than your insecurity about sharing it. People are lost, waiting for someone to say, I've been on the path you are walking and together we can find our way out. 

Like A Splinter

By: Rebekah Page

The other day, my thumb started to ache, but I couldn’t quite figure out if it was internal, or a piece of my nail or thumb causing the soreness.

As time and pain increased, I had to discover the culprit and get it treated.

I came to find a sliver from a thorny weed of my flower bed. I vaguely remember getting “bit” by the weed, but it was now deep within and invisible to the eye.

Often, this is what sin is like in our lives.

1. Our sin may not be detectable to us or others
2. Once sin penetrates, it causes physical, emotional, and spiritual pain and destruction affecting every area of your life.  

We must pray to discover, remove, and then turn away from our sin as we cling to Christ for victory, fulfillment, and sustenance.

A tiny sliver of a foreign object and boy can it hurt!  A tiny sliver of sin,  and it hurts us and others.  Another thing, satan would love to have us blind to our sin and have us think we “good people” and not in need of a savior.

The way sin hurts us, and others is nothing compared to what it does to our perfect and holy God.  It offends Him and disrespects Him.  Our sin separates us from God and the penalty is death.  In order to restore our relationship to God and save our souls, a payment for our sin must be made.  

In the old testament, before Christ came into the picture, the only way to pay for the penalty of sin, was through a sacrifice the priest would offer before the Lord on behalf of the believer (involving a dead scapegoat in replacement for the individual).

Today, by the beautiful plan of God, Christ died in replacement for our death (he is our scapegoat), and more beautifully while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). We are still sinners in need of a representative to take the wrath of God from us. But unlike before, instead of a priest day after day standing and performing his religious duties;and offering sacrifices again and again to save the sinful, we have Christ seated in victory in the heavenlies, who offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, Himself. And now, He beckons us come to Him. For by His one sacrifice He has forever made perfect we who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:11-14).

We don't have to do anything to fix ourselves before we turn our lives over to him.  We are toxic in our humanity, but we become transformed by the renewing of our mind through Him and His Word.  It changes us from the inside out. We need only listen and follow our shepherd.  He is calling you. Come as you are.  He loves you.

Like a girl in need of a splinter extractor, we are in need of a of a sin extractor in our lives.

He will do the dirty work.  He will go into our flesh and scrape away impurities to make us perfect and holy in His eyes.  He is faithful.  He will take our sins and remove them as far as the east is from the west,  He will replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh when He puts His spirit in us (Psalm 103:12; Ezekiel 36:26). If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Truly nothing else will satisfy us like renewing our minds daily with the love of God for us and sharing His love with others.  Pouring into someone else’s life will yield a double blessing.  You will be encouraging someone and while doing so, you yourself will be encouraged.  It may often be in an area where you have struggled in the past, but are now free from bondage, and standing in victory because of the hope you have in Jesus. If you need someone to walk alongside you, find a local church that is teaching the scriptures, aligns with scripture, and has believers that are following Christ and scripture.

Once our sin is revealed to us, we must turn them over to Christ and take action steps necessary to remain healthy in areas we are prone to sin. Seeking God, scripture, and wise counsel will help you determine practical steps you can take to guard yourself against every sin common to man.  Which is ALL sin, ALL sin is common to man, there is nothing that you are facing that others before you have not faced.  No temptation has overtaken us except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that we can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). We CAN endure it! We CAN do it because of the power of the Holy Spirit now residing within us.

We still have weeds, thorns and thistles, and though we are being deweeded daily, we will grow into a more healthy vibrant plant if we choose to cling to Christ.  Blessed are those who delight in God’s word, who chew on scripture day and night, who are not like the wicked, or unfit company, but let us be like trees firmly planted by streams of water, yielding fruit in its season, and whose leaves do not wither or fade (Psalm 1:1-3).

He is miraculously deweeding us and making us more beautiful, fruitful, and resolute.

Father, plant seeds into the hearts of your men and women today.  Lead and guide us to walk and take victory in the fulfillment and sustenance you have already bestowed upon us and help us to boldly share it with others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Many Blessings,

Rebekah Page

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Even Still

By: Jenny Edwards

Early this morning, I lay wide awake with a heavy heart for our world. So many people are hurting. So many friends are carrying such grief. In the midst of all the suffering it is easy to feel so small. The words to this poem, Even Still, came to me when sleep would not. They brought comfort in the remembrance that even in the midst of pain, in the midst of suffering, in the midst of a broken world, amongst all of my inadequacies, even still, He is good. He is powerful. He has not forgotten the broken hearted. Even still, in my restlessness, He is with me. So when my words fail me and I don't know what to do or how to comfort those I love... I will rest assured, that He, even still, is a God who keeps His promises.

When the heaviness closes in on me and the world around me seems to fall

When dreams come crashing to the floor and all I’ve hoped for is no more.

I cry out to you in my suffering, my words spoken in heavy tears 

When reasons and understanding cannot explain

He whispers in my ear

Even still

Even still I hold you, I hear you, I’m with you.

Even still you can be strong.

Even still, I am with you and will give you reason to go on.

When the phone rings with the doctor’s news that derails the hopes once had

When consuming ache fills the place where loved ones were lost

Month after month, when a test says “we’re not”.

When the world says all hope is lost, I hear Him say

Even still

Even still I hold you, I hear you, I’m with you.

Even still you can be strong.

Even still, I am with you and will give you reason to go on.

When a mother’s heart is breaking

When a father’s world is shaking

When sin’s temptation has buried all hope in the ground

God has overcome the grave

Arise now and hear him say, 

Even still I am with you.

When the weight of the grief,

I can bear no more and I find myself on the floor

I hear him say, Stand. Now. Even still.

Even still I hold you, I hear you, I’m with you.

Even still, you can be strong.

Even still, I am with you and will give you reason to go on.

When answers are not coming, and reasons don't explain

When all has been stripped away except the one who hears me say

Even still

Even still, Lord you hold me, you hear me, you're with me.

Even still you strengthen me

Even still, you're with me and have given me a reason to go on.

The grief that overcomes me cannot remain

Knowing the Hope of your salvation and the promises You contain.

Fight or Flight

        By: Beth Massey

             “STAND UP,” God said. I knew it was Him. It’s not often that I hear Him, but I’ve come to recognize His voice when he speaks. Once I would have chalked it up to my conscience or “my gut.” Now, I know it’s Him. It’s too clear, too bold, too loud to be anything else. Have I lost you yet? Is this too spooky-ooky for you? That’s okay! I felt the same way once. You don’t have to believe this particular part of the story in order to understand what God wanted me to learn that day, hovering twenty feet above the ground, paralyzed by fear. Just read on and pretend I’m a little crazy. I’m good with that.

            Our family celebrated Mother’s Day this year at Go Ape, a local zip-line and treetop obstacle course. I was so excited! Heights have never bothered me. I’ve done a Spartan race for heaven’s sake, so surely the junior course at Go Ape wouldn’t prove too challenging for me, right? I’ve got this, right? Right.

Fast-forward to me, half-way through the course, on an obstacle that was just the right combination of rickety and swingy (is that a word?) to scare the pants off me. With each tentative step I took, the faster my heart began to beat and the lower I sank into a crouch, until I found myself curled up in a ball. I was paralyzed. Then I heard Him. “STAND UP.” And I did. I just stood up – straight up – took a deep breath, and moved forward. It occurred to me instantly, as I stepped safely onto the platform, that the posture with which we approach life and all life experiences largely determines how we will experience them. If we cower, we are made afraid. If we rise and move forward, trusting in His power and goodness, we are made brave. 

In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul writes: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” God has not given us a “spirit of fear.” Let that sink in for a moment. What does that mean to you? I believe it means that God created in us the ability to fear only as a biomechanical means toward self-preservation, nothing more. For example, imagine you are out for a run or a bike ride and suddenly you hear tires screeching. An instantaneous chain reaction occurs in your brain (which can be explained by people much more intelligent and qualified than me), otherwise known as our “fight or flight” instinct. Your whole body goes on high-alert. Heart racing, pulse accelerating, hair standing up on your arms. Your body’s way of saying, “Girl, get off the road and into the grass NOW.” Fear can save your life. But, hear me, God doesn’t intend for fear to determine the course of your life. You are a child of God. You are called to a higher purpose. You are powerful. You are the living, breathing example of Jesus’s love for humanity. You are invested with the self-discipline necessary to put the desires of God above your own desires, and your faith above your fears. STAND UP.

Is this easy to do? No. It takes practice, a battle plan. The enemy knows our weaknesses intimately, and he will exploit our fears at every possible opportunity. In the moment a fear arises, I use this checklist:

1.    Name your fear. When you can accurately determine what it is you are afraid of, and you speak that fear out loud, you steal some of its mystery and its power over you.

2.    Locate the source. Where is this fear coming from? Who is this fear coming from? Hint:  If the answer is “not from God,” STAND UP and fight.

3.    Go with what you know. We all know these basic truths, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves: God chose you, God loves you, God will protect you, God has a great plan for you, and you will never fight alone because God lives inside you.

I would also encourage you to start preparing yourself for battle. How? I have recently chosen to do new or different things that challenge me, like the Spartan race, as a way to practice facing fear and flexing my faith muscle. I believe this repeated stepping out in faith in small ways is preparing me, though my eternal life is certain, for the uncertainty of my earthly life. Life is hard. I am not promised an exemption from facing hardship simply because I am a Christian. When those hardships arrive, I want to be able to look back over my life and draw strength from the challenges I’ve faced. I want to have a deep well of reference for how God has carried me through and how He will carry me through. How can you challenge yourself in a small way today? Is there something you aren’t quite ready to do, but are willing to step out in faith and commit to conquering? I promise, you will surprise yourself. You will grow. Your faith will grow. Your ability to be used as a servant of God will grow.

Friends, this broken world we live in needs warriors who operate less from a spirit of fear and more from a spirit of power, love and self-discipline. It’s with an abundance of caution I quote the Bible and Yoda in the same paragraph, but I’m a boy mom, so brace yourself: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Truth. Make no mistake, the horrific events of the last few months and the last week all originate out of fear. How would your life be different, how would the lives of all God’s children be different if we simply refused to be consumed with fears, both great and small, and instead… trusting in God’s power and goodness, we rose?