The Freedom to Abide

Last year my sister, Dalayna, asked me to join a team of her friends that were starting a unique work.  It's an online magazine called The Pearl Press.  This month is the one year anniversary of the launch that that endeavor.  I am so proud of this group of women who are seeking the face of God and have a desire to be molded into His image.

Last month, I shared this post on their magazine, but I thought I would share it with you today.  I hope it blesses your heart and compels you to abide in Christ and in all He created you to be.

One of the most difficult challenges we will ever be forced to face is a challenge we see everyday.  We stare into her eyes.  We hate many of the things she does.  As a matter of fact, we often tell her how much we hate her for the ignorant decisions she makes.  Does she listen?  Usually not.  Instead, we find her a week or two later right back in the same broken place.

We tried to tell her.  We tried to warn her.  We tried our best to get her to listen.  We flapped our arms and raised our voice.  We even slapped her around just a little bit--not much though--just enough to get her to stop.

She's always doing it:

Over-scheduling.

Over-committing.

Over-eating.

Over-spending.

Over-working.

Oh, but the list goes on.

She doesn't work out enough.

She's a procrastinator.

She talks too much.

She makes herself look like an idiot.

She doesn't spend enough time with her family.

She doesn't cook home meals.

She doesn't invite people over to her house.

She doesn't take vacations.

She doesn't keep her house spotless.

And to top it all off, she drives way too fast and passes over-sized loads on the shoulder.

The worst challenge, the most difficult person we will ever be forced to face, is That Woman we stare at everyday in the mirror.

She's a sly one, That Woman, and far too often we find ourselves in a love/hate relationship with the eyes staring back at us in the morning as we brush our teeth.

I'm not here today writing to compel you to accept That Woman and love her completely as she is.  I think we should all love ourselves.  We should all accept our personality.  We should all accept our flaws, but we also have to remember that we are all on a journey to become more like Christ--to become less like ourselves and more like Him. (click to tweet) 

Paul wrote in Romans 7:15, "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate."  Sometimes we do live out the actions we hate.  We're human.  We mess up and sometimes a lot.  But it's in this journey, this walk up a long hill, that I really want to write about today.

Last week, I found myself sitting at a table with a group of women at a retreat.  I love all of these women so much.  We have too much fun.  Literally, too much fun.  The retreat center was very large and there were multiple retreats happening at the same location.  We all had separate living quarters, but we shared the dining hall.  One of the other retreats that occurred on the same camp ground was a men's retreat.

We're sitting at this table and in walk the gentlemen.  I'm not the only single woman at the retreat, but the odds were definitely against me.  It's just kind of a joke that most "still single" woman (and especially in the church) have to face is the uh-which-one-do-you-like game.  For the most part, I'm fine with it.  It's just for fun.  Plus, I have my share of celebrity and not celebrity crushes too.  The rouse is usually the same.  I say in a hushed voice, "Maybe table 2, but let me show you a picture of who I'm really after."

It's always great fun.  Everybody always laughs.  By the end of the conversation it's usually very loud.

After the guffawing quieted down I sat back in my seat and look around the table I was sitting at.  It felt like every single eye was on me judging me.

Now, I know they weren't.  I know those woman love me.  I know they value me.  And I love and value them.  But there was something about the stillness of their eyes that made me feel about three inches tall.  And then I said, under my breath, "I just hate when I make myself feel like a fool."

And I do.  I hate that.  I do it a lot, but I hate it.  I hate that action about myself.  But, I'm working on it.  

On this life journey there has to be a level of grace that we extend to ourselves.  We have to give ourself grace grow.  We have to give ourself grace to take the journey.  We're not going to get everything right all the time.  In fact, we're going to get life and this journey wrong most of the time.  Still, we have to give ourself grace to develop into the women of God we are called to be.

We can only live in that grace when we start to accept who we are in Christ and to abide in That Truth.  We have to live in That Truth. (click to tweet)  

I love what Ann Voskamp wrote about the practicing of abiding in Christ.  She wrote:

Abide. Because it's never about your capabilities. When you're in covenant with Christ, it's His responsibility to cover your cracks, to be all your competency and completeness. Inabilities, in Christ, are made all-sufficient, just-right abilities. Abandon worry--and wholly abide.

Jesus said it Himself in John 15:17, "Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who abides in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing."

There's a freedom that comes from recognizing and accepting that without Christ I can do nothing.  There is equal freedom in recognizing and accepting that in Christ I can do all things.  In the journey, we all have roles to take.  We all have positions to play, but ours is never to judge ourselves or others.  Our role is never to lead.  It's always to rest.  It's always to follow.  It's always to abide.

When we give grace to ourselves and accept That Truth and learn to abide--to rest-- in Christ, it sure does make That Woman easier to live with on this journey of grace and abiding.

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Intentional Encourager

Recently I got the opportunity to participate in a community theater project in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.  It was a lot of fun.  I made many good, good friends. (All that's another story for another time.)  But there is one new friend added to my circle that truly amazes me.  She is absolutely the most thoughtful, most gracious, most intentional person I have ever met.  

She brought gifts and cookies to celebrate each cast members birthday during the production.
She brought gifts for everyone opening night.

She invited us over to her house after one of the performances.

She took time out of her busy, successful professional life to create a game for the cast party unlike any other game.

She invited her entire acting class she teaches and purchased their tickets.

She is completely encouraging while being completely honest.

She perfected the character she portrayed to the highest standard.

Like, seriously, the list goes on and on and on...

I don't think I've ever met a person who lived out Paul's admonishment to the church at Philippi more completely.  "Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others.  Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3).

This lady, only a little younger than myself, puts me to shame.  Humble, thoughtful, detail oriented.  Everyone loves her because she makes everyone love themselves.

The way you make other people feel about themselves is the way they will feel about you.

Tweet: The way you make other people feel about themselves is the way they will feel about you.@danettedillon http://bit.ly/1sbxvSP #liveyourfaith #dayspring

Sitting at my desk now, overwhelmed with emotion and conviction and a little bit of shame, I recognize that I want my life to be marked with intention.  And yet, I remember Paul's words to the church at Rome, "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it.  Instead, I do what I hate" (Romans 7:15).  So many times I feel like Paul.

I want every single action to be executed with one purpose.  Not for selfish gain or ambition, I want to encourage people.  I want people to believe in themselves.  I want people to see that they have infinite potential.  I want to be able to encourage people to reach the greatness that is possible.

Investing in others takes time.  It takes thought.  It requires a sacrifice of yourself.  But investing in others is always worth the cost.

Tweet: Investing in others takes time, thought, & sacrifice. But investing in others is always worth the cost. @danettedillon http://bit.ly/1sbxvSP #liveyourfaith #dayspring

I've decided to join with DaySpring for the 21 Days of Encouragement.  For the next 21 Days I'm going to intentionally do something to encourage someone else.  DaySpring has so many different resources to help me on my encouragement journey.  You can check them out here. 

I hope that you will join me on these 21 Days of Encouragement, but even if you don't remember that when you encourage others suddenly you find yourself resting in contentment and joy.

Tweet: When you encourage others suddenly you find yourself resting in contentment and joy. @danettedillon http://bit.ly/1sbxvSP #liveyourfaith #dayspring

What are some ways you can encourage others?  I've been told it's all in the details.

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Short & Sweet: Look Out and Reach Out

Today's Short & Sweet is a little different.  Normally, I'd just share a picture and quote and be done, but when this video came popping up in my Facebook feed, I knew it needed to be shared here.


I think this video illustrates a very real truth.  From time to time, we all need some help.  That's just how life is.  That's how we were designed.  We are designed to need other people.  Even the most self reliant, introverted person needs help.  They just seek out one or two friends.  Other's desire to be surrounded by many people.  Both are fine.  Both work.  But both need relationships and help to succeed.

What's more, we have to recognize when we're needed.  It's so important to look out and to reach out...to keep our head up and looking for opportunities to serve our friends, our family, and our community.

Recently, I finished J.K. Rowling The Casual Vacancy.  I have to tell you, this book moved me.  There is a lot of language in the book--more than I would usually read--but I was so moved by the story.  I don't want to give the book away, but in the story a child dies as a result of a completely avoidable tragic accident.  On his way to certain calamity, the young child passes three adults all of which could have saved the child's life if only they had been paid closer attention.  Instead they were focused on their own circumstances.  Unfortunately, far too ofter we're focused on our own circumstances too.

Today, can I challenge you to help someone.  Look around you, I'm certain you will find a person in your sphere of influence who needs help.  What if you're the only one who even notices?

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Love that will Never be Lost

Love can seem so evasive.  We look for it.  We think we find it, but then, just as suddenly as we found it, the feeling is gone.  Maybe that's because love is an emotion.  It's not visible to our human eyes.  We can't taste it.  Smell it.  Hear it.  Love is intangible.  In order to experience love at all we have to rely of the actions of other people.

I've been in love before and I've thought I've experienced the complete depth of love. I've cried because love felt so good.  But I've also cried because love heart so, so deeply.  In those moments of joy and pain, I truly believed that love was both the greatest and worst thing that had ever happened to me.

Before long those feelings went away and I began my search for love again.  Always searching.  Always hoping.  Always looking.  And always experiencing this deep seeded fear that love would never come to me again.

It felt, and sometimes still does, like love was over for me.  I had lost it and it would never be found again.

But there is one person's love that will never be lost.  We can't earn His love.  He just loves.  That's who He is.  God is love.  But understanding that--that there's nothing I can do that will gain God's love and there's nothing I can do that will remove His love--is so overwhelming.  Unfathomable really.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul describes what it will be like to see, to truly feel, God's love for the first time.  He writes, "Love never ends...but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away." (1 Corinthians 13: 8-10, NLT)

Obviously, there's no way to know for sure, but I can only imagine what it will be like to experience true love...God's never ending, never failing love.  Right now, I only experience love--this feeling--through the filter of my humanity.  Deeply flawed, I know that my "vision" of what true love looks like and feels like is wrong.  But one day, maybe soon, I will understand fully His powerful love.

And maybe it will feel a little like this...

Don't miss this sale from Mary & Martha.  Check it out here.

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Beautiful Blooms

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"And do not let us grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Galatians 6:9

If you follow me on Instagram you know that every year I anxiously await the return of peony season.  Their blooming season is so short but so glorious.  Almost as soon as they enter the market I'll be there, bag in hand, to collect a dozen or more.

I rush home to fill little vases all over my room and office with the blooms.  Over the next few days I watch them explode into fireworks of color and scent.

I believe my fascination with these flowers started many years ago as I thumbed through the pages of Martha Stewart Living.  The magazine would be full of pictures from her gardens and her parties. They were beautiful.  And I wanted to be just like Martha.  Naturally, only peonies would do.


My neighbor has a peony bush right in his front yard.  He planted for his wife before she passed away.  As Mother's day and the last days of spring approach I watch that plant.  Every year he prunes it's branches back to nothing.  Slowly, day by day, green branches and stocks begin to appear.  It seems like every night a new set of leaves is added and every morning they reach up to the sky longing for it's warm rays to nourish it's growth.

It only takes about two weeks for this bush to grow from nothing.  The next step in the blooming process seems to be the longest.  The bush that grew from nothing in two weeks suddenly reduces it's growing speed.  Storing all the energy this small plant can, it begins, internally, to create blooms.  Invisible to the eye, the blooms begin to grow.  They begin to suck their life from the long woody stocks.  But this growth...it can't be seen or felt or watched.

For weeks, I walk past that bush hoping against all hope to see a single bud, one flower, force itself forward and into bloom.  That's what I hope for...just one look.  But I also know peonies won't bloom--at least not in Tulsa, Oklahoma--for several more weeks.

And then, just when I'm about to give up hope that they will bloom, I see a single white peony burst open.  And then two, three, four.  So many more that I could count.  So many more than I thought possible.

Isn't life like that sometimes? 

It seems like you've seen so much of our hard work pay off...that our dreams are about to come true...and then the waiting starts.  You thought the waiting was over, but it's really just beginning.

In moments of waiting it's far too easy to give up or give in or just move on.  I've felt that way far too many times.

Encourage yourself.  Don't give up.  Know that the waiting will end.  

And when the waiting ends, you'll find all of that dreaming and all of that hard work has rewarded you with beautiful blooms.

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Short & Sweet

Every week, usually on Wednesday, I post an inspirational picture or quote that I found floating around the internet. It's just something short & something sweet.

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///missed opportunities

Memories are a funny thing. These little pictures into the past can bring so much pain or so much happiness. But one thing is certain, we can stay held captivated in these little masterpieces for hours, maybe even days, if we'd allow ourself.

I had one of those memories today.  It wasn't actually my own experience, but I still remember just as clearly as if it had been...

Oklahomans can be characterized in a few words--three to be exact--God, Country, and football.  So naturally one would think when my sister, Dalayna, came in from the bus announcing the arrival of a famous ball player to her class my parents would have rushed to Wal-Mart to purchase a football.  Instead, they rushed to Wal-Mart and purchased a baseball.

I can only imagine the questioning looks when Dalayna walked up to the Seattle's Seahawks Hall of Famer, Steve Largent and hands him a baseball of all things.   His response?  He snatches up the ball, rolls it in his hand, and signs it...right on the sweet spot.

Over ten years later, that ball is still around somewhere, collecting dust, a testament to a missed opportunity.  Out of curiosity I found myself searching for the price of Steve Largent signed memorabilia.  You know, if Dalayna had taken a football that day instead of a baseball there's a good chance she could have made some money off that thing.  People will pay the most ridiculous prices for things like signed footballs and autographed helmets and original jerseys.  But we don't have a signed football or helmet or jersey.  No, we have a signed baseball.

It's easy to get side tracked in our memories especially the memories of missed opportunities.  Haunted by these pictures discouragement seizes it's opportunity.  Because we're discouraged we lose hope.  And because we lose hope we fail to remember who God is and what he wants us to do and who He's called us to be.  Hopeless, lonely, doubtful...anger just tends to become who we are.

But I challenge us to look past the hopelessness and the loneliness and the self loathing to see the truth.

Psalm 46:10, 11 (AMP) says this, '"Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God..." The Lord of host is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.' (emphasis mine)

Reality is every missed opportunity is gone.  It's not coming back.
Reality is missing opportunities brings us disappointment.  But disappointment can only paralyze us if we let it.
Reality is there's no going back.  There is only moving forward.

But in moving forward I have the assurance that God is with me.  In moving forward I know I have a refuge.  Let it be.  The past is gone.  Let it be and then be still and know that God is fighting for you.  There's no one better to fight for us.  He's the one who works all things for good to those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

We don't have a signed football or helmet or jersey.  We have a signed baseball.

But I don't know anybody else who has a baseball signed by the Football Hall of Famer, Steve Largent.  Do you?

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/// my word of the year

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Learning to say "no" is quite the challenge.  For me, I supposed this inability to say that little word comes from some sort of pride...to think someone needs me.  If I don't come through no one will.  And besides, no one will do it as well.  

How egocentric is that?!

Reality is much different than the thoughts that run through my mind.

In reality, I'm just one person.
In reality, many people can do what I do just as well.
In reality, life should not be about hopping from one task to the other.
In reality, life should not be about doing everything for everybody else and wasting the calling God has on my life because I'm too tired or too spent.

In reality, "no" is not a dirty word.  (It doesn't even have four letters.)  "No" is just a word.  It brings balance into our lives.  It brings rest to our minds.  It frees other people to do what they're called to do.

I think my pastor, Mike Buie, said it best.  "Sometimes we have to say 'no' to good opportunities so we can say 'yes' to God opportunities."

Truthfully, for me, this is very difficult.  I want to change the world so much more than I have and experience so much more of life than I have and be so much more than I am, but reality has to rule here.  If I'm so busy with good opportunities, more than likely I'm going to miss the God opportunities that are passing right in front of my eyes.

Leonard Ravenhill once said, "The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of that opportunity."  That's the thing...opportunities will pass right in front of our eyes.  They can slip through our fingers.  We can run right past them with every intention to return.  But when they are gone, they're gone.

In the past, I've missed opportunities.  I've missed some because I was scared to jump.  I've missed some because I was trying to be submissive.  I've missed some because I was just flat out lazy.  I've missed some--many--because I was too busy to recognize those opportunities as defining moments.

I've written about this truth before, but let me just remind you of Paul's words in a few of his epistles.

Ephesians 5:15, 16

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Make the best use of your time.  Make the best use of your God opportunities.  Say "no" to good opportunities so you can say "yes" to God opportunities.

This next year, 2015,  I'm not making a resolution.  I'm working to adopt a word.  Purge.  Purge the things in my life that clutter my attention.  Purge things that distract me from God's purpose for my life.  Purge so I can make the most of every opportunity.

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/// redemption + black friday deals

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I stand amazed and overwhelmed by God's great love.  He surrounds us in our weakness.  He comforts us in our trials.  He carries us through the dark times.  He never stops loving us...extending His grace to us...running after us with mercy.

And now, Thanksgiving has come and gone.  We've enter the busiest time of the year.  We'll get bogged down in our schedules.  We'll forget the reason we live.  But He, the Lover of our souls, will always be waiting, arms open, ready to take us in.

And now, in life, we see how absolutely devastated we are.  We've tried life on our own...to make it...to finish alone.  In our pride we've pushed and pulled to escape our dependence of a being--the Being--greater than ourselves.  But here He is now.  Still ready.  Still waiting.

And now, in our hearts, we've substituted a love for Christ with a desire for approval from mankind.  A father's love, a mother's embrace...these actions we long for, but none, no, not one single action will could replace being Home again seated at God's Table.

In truth, life is busy.  We are broken.  We desire relationships.  But after we've searched the world over we will never find a love so sweet, so peaceful, so true, so forgiving, so full as the love of Christ.

And in that love redemption becomes ours.

Let me help you take care of some of you Christmas shopping.  Mary & Martha is having a very special Black Friday sale and you can take part. 

Below are the images of them items that will be discounted, while supplies last, from November 28th-November 30th.  I know I will be purchasing two of these deals.  I can't wait.

Email me with your order danetteleah {at} gmail {dot} com or visit my independent consultant webpage.

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/// i am determined

I am determined to live life in the present
      to act bravely
      to inspire creativity
      to love fiercely.

I am determined to change myself so I can change others
      to move in justice
      to respond to opposition with grace
      to give mercy.

I am determined to be my greatest, not for my own accolades, but for the glory of God.

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short & sweet

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This really challenged me today.

Sometimes--most times--it seems like I'm going no where.   That I'm just stuck, but that just simply is not true.  I'm moving forward.

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Short & Sweet

"Read His words and you find His heart. Obey His words and you do His will."  

While I can't say that I've always been faithful to deep Scripture reading or to obeying His words, my heart longs to know Him.  To find Him and to know Him.

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Short & Sweet

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He loved you and me, against all odds, and He will love you and me for an eternity.

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Short & Sweet

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I think this is one of the hardest lessons to learn.  It makes us realize that we are replaceable and that we really aren't as important as we think we are.  We are just one person...one person in a sea of billions.

And even though we are just one in a sea of billions, we are still loved.  We might not be able to do it all, but God can.  Not only does He have the ability, He has the will.

Find strength and rest in knowing that you don't have to do it all because you can't do it all.  But also remember that there is a God who can.  And more than that, He wants to.

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this should not be

Let's face facts. Relationships are difficult. Friendships cost us something. People can be mean and selfish. People can hurt us. But, to quote the epistle of James, "...my Brothers {and Sisters} these things should not be" {James 3:10b}.

James is right. We should bless our brothers and sisters. We should love them, encourage them, strengthen them, fight with them, fight for them.

I grew up in a home with two other sisters.  We love each other very much, but we can tear one another down more than anybody else. Maybe it has something to do with living in the same bedroom for the majority of our lives, or maybe it was sharing the bathroom (ugh), but there are few people that can hurt me worse than my sisters. 

The same is true for me. I've hurt my sisters many times. Sometimes I knew I was hurting them.  Other times it was a complete accident.  But every time, our relationship was strained and painful to resolve.

Ultimately, our discomfort has always lead us to resolve our problems, but I think it was mostly because we did share the same bedroom and same bathroom for the majority of our lives.  We couldn't escape each other. When it comes to relationships outside of our family, resolving issues becomes increasingly more difficult.  It's much easier to ignore the problem and hope that it will go away.  It's much easier to not invite someone to the party.  It's so much easier to criticize and tear down than to build up and love and help.  

I am guilty of this.

But as James said, "this should not be..."

When we exclude people from our lives we are isolating them from community.  We're leaving them to try and make it on their own.  Worse, we are isolating ourselves from community.  We are not allowing the Holy Spirit to use relationships to mold us into His image.  We are limiting our influence all because it's easier...it doesn't hurt as much.

Here's the problem with that, "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgement" {Proverbs 18:1}.  So when we exclude ourself or someone else from community we put our own desire for comfort ahead of what God's desire is for our life.  

God wants us unified, sharing in love and grace and mercy, with each other and the world around us.  This action alone makes us a city on hill that cannot be hidden.  And it gives our lives saltiness that flavors the world around us with good. In a world that desperately needs good, this action demonstrates, more than anything else, God's great love.

So, my friends, this fighting--these petty arguments--this back biting--"should not be."

But how can we move forward from here?  How can we move past this?

We have to humble ourself. We have to say we're sorry. We have to recognize that there are two sides and whether we realize it or not we are part of the problem. Here's the fun part. If we're part of the problem, we're also part of the solution.  

Look at what Paul wrote in Romans 12:

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceable with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God...Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let's look specifically at Romans 12:18.  "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."  In other words, do everything you can to live at peace. Peace is important to God, so important, in fact, that Jesus addressed this issue in the Sermon of the Mount. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" {Matthew 5:9}.  

I love being "right."  I highly value my opinion.  I honestly think that if people would listen to me I could help them. (Egotistical, I know, but just go with it.) But, for myself, I can say that being at peace with God and man is more important to being "right."  I can learn to accept another point of view.  I don't have to agree with it, I don't have to condone it, but I need to hear it and then I need to choose live at peace.  If God Himself lets let's us have the free will to decide what we want to do with our lives, how in this world do we think we--humans--are ever going to control someone else's decisions?  

That's foolishness. 

If you want to be upset because someone thinks you're wrong, then do that, but I just have say it's better to let God do the changing and you do the loving.  That's how you become part of the solution.  That's how you find peace.

Unity is a gift.  It's a gift that we have to work for, it's a gift that we have to sacrifice for, but there is no greater gift that we can give to each other.  

I challenge us. Let's live the life God wants for us and quite isolating each other from community. Let's encourage one another through our words and actions and stop tearing each other down because of opinion. Let's walk in grace and mercy and love and divorce ourselves from all forms divisions. Let's open our arms and our hearts to each other and realize humility is a sacrifice worth paying.  Let's accept that we have different opinions and recognize that God doesn't care about our opinions anyway.  If we will, we will become the city of the hill, the light that cannot be hidden, and the salt of the earth.

My friends, this should be.

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Short & Sweet

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Putting myself to bed is much easier than putting my mind to sleep.  But there's nothing I can change by worrying.  There's no problem that will go away by lying awake at night.  The best thing is to just go to sleep and trust God to take care of the rest.

I haven't mastered this and maybe I never will, but I'm working on it.

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Short & Sweet

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I was just combing through Pinterest.  Just enjoying my morning.  And then, BAM!  Instant tears.  Instant regret.  Instant action.

Life doesn't have to be boring.  In fact, that's the last thing God wants for us.  He want's us to live a dramatic, full of life, adventure in Him.  It's not easy.  It's not supposed to be.  It might even kill you, but it's an adventure.

For now, all I can say is that I'm working on it.

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clean heart ~ a look at Psalm 51

Probably my favorite psalm is Psalm 51.  It’s my favorite for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it is a song of repentance.  If you grew up in church, or even if you didn’t, I’m sure you know the story of King David’s fall into sin with Bathsheba.  The Bible describes in 2 Samuel 11 a time when David lusted after a woman, Bathsheba, impregnated her, lied to cover it up, killed her husband, and then broke Jewish tradition and married Bathsheba.  I’m sure the day he married Bathsheba he breathed a sigh of relief.  The secret of his sin was safe.  That is until Nathan, the prophet, openly rebuked David for his sin. 

As a result, David was broken, embarrassed, ashamed.  But he was also repentant.  During this time of brokenness he wrote, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence, and don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey.  Then I will teach (or sing, or declare, or play) Your ways to rebels, and they will return to You…You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.  You do not want a burnt offering.  The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” (Psalm 51:10-17, NLT)

I can’t even imagine how humbling this experience would have been.  I can’t imagine the depth of David’s brokenness.  I can’t imagine the pain.  But David’s brokenness came as a result of his own personal exultation.  David got a little bit too big for his britches.

After all, he was David the giant slayer.  He was David the conqueror.  He was David the King of the greatest nation of that time.  He could do whatever he wanted.  He was the chosen one.  God chose him.  God deposed the first king, Saul, and established him as king.

But now, David, nothing more than a broken man, crawls in humility to the throne.  He asked for forgiveness.  He asked for mercy.  He asked for grace.  He repented.  He changed.  And he found God again.

I see myself so much in this story.  I’m not talking about the adultery, but the haughty, puffy attitude that David showed.  God forgive me for having that attitude.  

Every position we have...every gift God has given us...every talent He’s placed in our hands...is a responsibility.  It’s an obligation.  It’s a calling.  It’s a mission.  That gift is not for our own glory.  Even if we use our talents outside of a church building—which we should by the way—it’s still not for our glory.  Everything He has given for our hands to do is to point people back to God…to His love…to His truth.  It is our primary objective to lead people into the presence of God.

David had a calling on his life.  God chose him to be king because He trusted David with His people.  God has a calling on your life.  And you know what, just like David you're going to mess up.  If you're called to be a mom, you're going to yell at your kids.  You're going to have arguments with your spouse.  Of course you are.

Our ability to fail is not really an option.  It will happen.  Our response to our failures will define the outcome of our lives.

Let God use the brokenness in your life to reform you.  Run to Him and you will find Him.

"...when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  I will be found by you...I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes..."

Jeremiah 29:12-14

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Short & Sweet

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Playing nice can be really difficult when you're working hard.  Let's just be honest.  Fatigue doesn't just weigh on our physical bodies.  It limits our emotional and mental strength.  (And to be more honest, sometimes my mental and emotional strength is not that strong.)

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."

I'm so thankful that even in my weak moments Christ is strong.  He's strong in me and He's strong through me.

Special thanks to shopruche.com for the use of their image.  They are having a sale through tonight.  Get an extra 25% off your entire order with the code BIRTHDAY25.

May we become ever more weak in ourselves and ever stronger in His grace.

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Short & Sweet

This quote has it's roots in a famous quote by Anna Gould.  She said, "Be beautiful if you can, wise if you want to, but be respected-that is essential."  While I don't completely disagree with Ms. Gould she did get some things wrong.  You can only earn respect and respect is earned through being gracious.

Take time today to defend the defenseless...to stand against injustice.  Use every gift in your arsenal, wisdom, wit, and beauty, but always remember--never, ever forget--that respect is earned.  It's earned when you are full of grace.

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