Stand Firm. Stand Up. Stand Out.

When dreams are put on hold, life becomes mundane; creativity tanks, and things that once held excitement don’t spark joy the way they once did. Our internal thought-processing system downshifts to sloth speed, and we begin running our storyline through the rearview mirror of our lives, as though our best days are behind, rather than ahead. Mounting frustration fuels the fear that the dream will never come to pass. This is typically the place where bad decisions start multiplying.

The biblical story of Abraham (Abram) and Sarah (Sarai) is one such example.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the sordid details of their marriage. In Genesis 15:2, Abraham cries out to God that because he is childless, his estate will pass on to his male relative, Eliezer of Damascus. God’s response? God proclaims that Abraham will not remain childless, but will indeed have a son. Then comes an incredible prophesy that sounds too good to be true. As Abraham looks up into the sky, God tells him that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. This is truly bold and completely audacious as Abraham was already 75 years old, and Sarah, ten years his junior, was well past the childbearing stage. Although it is not specifically stated in the text, I’m fairly certain that Abraham and Sarah shared an assumption that God would move quickly to fulfill this incredible promise. I mean, duh, right?

But then a year passed. Then another. And another. And another. Their farm-to-table nomadic lifestyle continued year after year for 10 straight years. Each planting season gave way to the harvesting of bountiful crops. The servants had babies. The animals had babies. The life cycle rolled on and on and on except for Sarah; she remained barren. Can you imagine the dark shadows of disappointment, discouragement and despair that must have clawed at her each and every day for an entire decade?

Sarah’s fatigued, frustrated and exhausted soul is exposed in Genesis 16:2 when she confesses to Abraham her belief that the Lord has prevented her from bearing children. Having lost hope that God would come through on His word, Sarah called an audible — she instructed Abraham to sleep with her Egyptian maidservant, Hagar, in the hope that using a surrogate was the avenue by which she’d receive the promised baby which was long overdue.

Have you stood in similar shoes? Have you stared down the barrel of a long season of wait, but rather than let God handle it in His time and in accordance with His will, you devised your own solution? I’ll be honest. Sarah’s scenario is literally my danger zone; if there’s any wiggle room in the “get ‘er done” department, that’s exactly where the spiritual fight in me begins. I have to dig my heels in and actively resist the temptation to slip into manipulation mode. Otherwise, I begin hurdling the very road blocks that were intended to navigate me in another direction.

Despite our requests for a detailed map and an itinerary, we are handed a compass. While it always points us true north, it never outlines the exact route. Our navigational decisions — based on cues from the compass — will create journeys that contain mistakes and missteps. For example, we will veer off course, make wrong turns, and even take the long and/or difficult way around. In some seasons, when we expect to crest the warm mountain top, we may find ourselves in the middle of a dark, cold valley. These circumstances aren’t punishment — they are opportunities to depend upon God, the only One who can give us the course correction advice we desperately need, if we’re humble enough to ask.

Going back to the story, God did come through on His promise. Sarah, at the age of 90, finally gave birth to her one and only child, Isaac. What a beautiful ending to her incredibly long, difficult, and pain-filled 25 year wait for God to fulfill what He promised.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Our job isn’t to follow our hearts; it is to follow Him. And on those days when it feels like our story has stalled, we must keep in mind that it isn’t over. Instead of stealing the pen from His hand, we must trust the Master Storyteller to write the chapters of our lives, because what He orchestrates will always outshine anything we organize.

As a mom of three boys, having endured my fair share of dramatic tantrums, I can assure you this truth: not all meltdowns are the same.

First, there are the light weights: these are the flare-ups that end almost as quickly as they begin. Next are the heavy weights: these are the ones that last long enough to ruin your mood for the remainder of the day. And then there are the welter weights: these are like volcanic eruptions that must be met — head on — with a strong, unwavering response. And anytime the welter weight meltdowns occurred, I always had to get their dad on speakerphone. His voice had the power to break through the chaos when mine wouldn’t make a dent.

This same principle is highlighted in the story (found in Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; and Luke 8:22-25), in which Jesus and His disciples got into a boat to escape the crowds. According to all three accounts, a great storm arose on the lake while Jesus slept soundly on a cushion in the stern. Waves crashed against the sides of the vessel, and it began to fill with water. Gripped with fear, the disciples awoke Jesus, crying out that they were about to perish.

Sound familiar? Life is humming along. Work is steady. Family is healthy. Finances are strong. Everyone is happy. It’s all good…until…well…it isn’t.

Fairytales — which make great stories — aren’t actual blueprints we can replicate. Instead, life is a concoction of joyous milestones and amazing accomplishments, interspersed with messy relationships, sad news and bad decisions. Betrayal. Rejection. Disappointment. Bankruptcy. Divorce. Miscarriage. Disease. Addiction. Trauma. Death. At some point, we are all blindsided by some form of unforeseen, unanticipated event, and we will sink like a rock to the bottom of a dark and depressing pit unless we have an anchor that keeps us afloat. One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 43:2, which says:

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

While we cannot always prevent hardships, we do have a say in how we navigate them. Our options are to invite our Heavenly Father to join us on the pain-filled path or journey the rough road alone.

In the Gospel story above, when Jesus heard His disciples cry out for help, it says that He turned and rebuked the wind and the sea. Immediately, the raging wind stopped and the churning water settled down. That’s exactly what Jesus did for me. When I asked Him to guide me through rejection, infertility, betrayal and abandonment issues, Jesus supernaturally quelled my internal rage. Every. Single. Time.

So what anchors you when a tempest of trouble rolls in? Do you isolate? Self-medicate? Shove the emotions down and wear a mask to make it look like you’ve got it all together?

The next time dark clouds of difficulty gather on your horizon, and gale-force winds whip up a tsunami of emotions that threaten to pull you down into the great deep, remember this: you don’t have to navigate the rough waters alone. Jesus will always see you through it. Every. Single. Time.

Photo: pexels.com/@matthardy

While beverages purchased from various drive-throughs will always differ in price, there is one consistency: they all come with a lid. This is perfect for preventing spills, yet it’s also a hindrance — the drink cannot be refreshed or refilled as long as the lid is in place.

Spiritually speaking, our lives resemble a cup with a detachable lid. When the cup is topless, we remain ready to receive whatever God wants to pour in, according to His plan, His timing, and His will. However, if the lid is snapped firmly in place, we essentially cap ourselves off. In Spiritual Warfare lingo, this is called a block. An outright refusal to repent of sin certainly causes a block to form; however, most blocks begin much more subtly, such as through thoughts like I’m good…I don’t need God’s help…I got this. Just like a lid that caps a beverage, these self-reliant thoughts become barriers which prevent God from refreshing or refilling us. Blocks that remain in place too long lead to stagnation — nothing fresh is poured in and nothing rotten is poured out.

One biblical character who exemplifies this concept is King David.

As a young shepherd, David was the only Israelite brave enough to stand up to Goliath, the trash-talking Philistine, who openly mocked the God of Israel. With his trust firmly rooted in the Lord Almighty, David killed Goliath with one stone flung from his slingshot. While this was certainly an amazing display of faith, not all of David’s decisions led to grand results. Some, in fact, were downright disastrous.

For example, King David initiated an extra-marital affair with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. When David received word of Bathsheba’s pregnancy, he recalled Uriah from the front lines, hoping he’d sleep with Bathsheba. Unexpectedly, Uriah refused, saying he did not want to enjoy the comfort of his wife while his fellow soldiers remained on the battlefield. So after Uriah returned to combat, David arranged for his murder by instructing Joab, his commander, to order a partial retreat, ensuring that the purposely abandoned Uriah would die at the hands of the enemy. In an attempt to cover his sin, David took Bathsheba as his own wife. God, burning with anger, told David, through the prophet Nathan, that the baby to be born to Bathsheba would not live. After acknowledging his sin, David fasted and prayed for his son. On the seventh day, however, the boy died. As set forth in 2 Samuel 12:19-20, upon hearing that the infant had passed away, David did the unthinkable. Instead of raging against God, he got up and went to the house of the Lord to worship.

In another instance, in direct disobedience to God’s specific command NOT to count the people, King David ordered his commander, Joab, to conduct a census, which revealed that between Israel and Judah, there were 1,300,000 fighting men (2 Samuel 24:9). Again, David’s actions kindled the anger of the Lord. Speaking through the prophet Gad, God told David to choose a consequence: three years of famine; three months of pursuit by Israel’s foes; or three days of pestilence. Acknowledging the goodness of God, David chose the illness, saying that it was better to fall into the hands of the living God than to fall into the hands of men. As the plague ravaged Israel, David followed the Lord’s instruction — he built an alter and offered burned sacrifices in order to end the destruction.

Clearly, David struggled to control his fleshly desires; however, that’s not how he’s defined. According to 1 Samuel 13:14, David is remembered as a man after God’s own heart. In other words, David is known for his relentless pursuit of God, with a repentant and worship-centered heart. David is the G.O.A.T. for his faith, not his flaws.

In Psalm 23:5, David says of the Lord: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Even when he was surrounded by his foes, David kept his eyes on God and made sure he was ready to receive all that God wanted to pour into him.

If you want to ditch the lid, follow David’s model: Repent – Worship – Repeat. Then get ready — your Overflow is on the way.

Shortly after creating Adam, the Lord God acknowledged that it wasn’t good for the man to be alone. Genesis 2:21 says that after placing Adam into a deep sleep, God removed one of his ribs and used it to create Eve.

Medical research gives us a window into the rich, life-giving properties of the red bone marrow located inside human ribs. Containing two different types of stem cells, bone marrow has the capability of producing 200 billion new blood cells every day. Scientists and stem cell biologists hope to one day create human gametes – functioning sperm and eggs – directly from bone marrow. But despite our extensive medical knowledge, advancements, and breakthroughs, mankind still cannot spontaneously generate human life.

However, the One who formed the heavens and the earth, the sun, moon, stars, beasts, birds and fish — from nothing — is without such limitation. If it wasn’t necessary to use Adam’s rib, why did God jumpstart Eve’s life that way? My opinion involves placement. Eve was created to stand at Adam’s side. Not in front of him. Not behind him. Not beneath him. Not above him.

The View a wife holds — how she sees herself and/or her husband — drives her actions. A wife who stands in front of her husband doesn’t trust him to lead. A wife who lags behind has lost interest in (or has entirely given up on) the marriage. A wife who thinks her husband is above her will tear him down, and a wife who considers herself above her husband displays a perception of superiority.

The View I hold of my husband is that he is the leader of our home. While I see myself as his helpmate, I am not a carpet to be trampled upon, nor am I the Wise One who’ll solve all his problems. I don’t walk ten paces behind or ten paces ahead. Whether I’m head-over-heels-in love with him, or I’m so angry or hurt that I feel like walking out, I willfully choose to stand at his side. Some days it’s easy; other days test my resolve, but each time I make that choice, God faithfully draws us closer to each other.

Traditional marriage gets a bad rap, and the idea that a husband is called to lead his family isn’t popular. Culture, which mirrors a strong current, will pull us toward one ideology, only to shove us in the opposition direction toward another. I’d rather stand on the strong foundation of God’s word, which is neither flimsy nor unstable. I choose to stand alongside my husband because I believe it’s what God intended. As the designer of marriage, I trust that God not only knows the best place for me to be, but that He’ll honor my placement, even if others don’t.

I love getting invitations. As an introvert, the words — You’re Invited — quell the lies that say I’m forgotten, invisible or unimportant.

Perhaps that’s why I find Jesus’s response in John 1:39 so powerful. When several of John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus and asked him where he was staying, he issued this invitation: Come and you will see.

A few verses later, Philip finds his friend Nathanael and tells him that Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, is the Deliverer — the Messiah — the One prophesied by Moses and the prophets.

According to Philip, Israel’s long-awaited Savior had finally arrived. But a question burned within Nathanael, and he could not proceed until it was answered: Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

While the tone of his question is undeniably sour, there’s a valid reason for it. Nazareth — with a population of approximately 500 people — was tiny. Located roughly 16 miles from the Sea of Galilee, it wasn’t on any of the trade routes heading toward the Mediterranean Sea. Since no one traveled toward (or through) that region, opinion commonly held of Nazareth was that it was out-in-the-sticks, full of simple-minded (or possibly even ignorant) folk. Could the son of a carpenter, from a backwoods village, with no formal education or training in the scriptures, be the One?

Taking a cue from Jesus, Philip invites Nathanael to get his answer in person with these three words: Come and see. As Nathanael walks toward Jesus, he hears Jesus say to him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.”

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

That statement, which embodied the proof Nathanael needed, inspired this declaration: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

What about you? Do you have a burning question that needs to be answered before you’ll agree to place your trust in Him? If you’ve got questions, bring them to the One whose holding your answers. You’re Invited — come and see.

December 25 – the biggest gift-giving day of the year – is marked by lights, decorations, displays, music, and goodies, making the arrival of the Christmas season impossible to miss. Between the parties, festivities, gathering of friends and family, caroling, cooking, and shopping, it’s easy to exhaust ourselves.

If we don’t manage the hustle and bustle, it will manage us. That’s what happened to Martha, whose story begins in Luke 10:38. Martha invited Jesus into her home and immediately busied herself with hosting duties. Her sister, Mary, did not offer to help her, but instead sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to his teaching.

Martha focused on the preparation – what she could do for Jesus. Mary, on the other hand, focused on Jesus’s presence – what he could do for her. In the end, Martha was anxious and troubled, while Mary was filled with love and gratitude.

Perhaps you have tried to sit at his feet, only to be disappointed. Instead of a closeness, you’ve sensed a distance, as though your Savior isn’t there, or worse, doesn’t care. The more you try to connect, the farther away he seems to float. On top of that, there’s a growing numbness you can’t quite shake. If that’s you, you’re not alone.

For years, I struggled to accept Jesus’s love and forgiveness. Believing the lie that I was too far gone, I rejected scripture that said God loved, cherished and adored me. It took a Dark Season to teach me this lesson: trashy labels weren’t accessories God wanted me to wear. Before I could grow, that garbage had to go. This required vulnerability, which meant my walls had to come down. 1 John 4:18 says: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

This is why I love the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-30). If you’re not familiar with the story, this gal had been divorced five times and was not married to the man she lived with. Her entire community knew her Dirty Laundry, which followed her like a spotlight wherever she went. Yet Jesus purposely sought her out – not to condemn her past, but to affirm her future. Standing alongside her in the wreckage, his words of life restored her ruins. Where others saw ashes, he saw beauty. This is the Redeemer’s heart – to bring healing and wholeness to the discarded, the lost, the despised, and the rejected.

This Christmas, as you prepare to adore him, remember that he longs to adore you. The best gift you can give him is to sit at his feet and allow him to love you. In this gift-giving season, take the opportunity to receive his gift – the Perfect Love that casts out all fear.

Open Door

There’s something very unique about Halloween. It is the one night each year that people are most likely to Open their front Door to complete strangers.   

Matthew 5:14-15 says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.”

One truth I’ve learned about Halloween over the years is this – it’s an opportunity to greet people, to exchange smiles and perhaps even meet a neighbor who lives down the street.

This Halloween, allow your heart to be an Open Door. You may just be the Light your neighbor needs to see on an otherwise Dark Night. It may even spark a beautiful friendship.

Just like God speaks through people to encourage, the devil speaks through people to tear down. The devil is your enemy and his only goal is to bring destruction. The next time someone unleashes a verbal attack, look past their face and start digging — Satan, the Destroyer, is always at the root.

When it comes to meal planning skills, I’m definitely limited; I don’t think I’ve ever planned out more than two consecutive dinners. Feeding a family of five means constant grocery store trips. Daily shopping is normal; not finding what’s on my list isn’t.

With the onset of the Covid-19 panic, toilet paper, paper towels, cleaner wipes, bread, eggs, beans, rice, pasta, ground beef and chicken (just to name a few) are suddenly MIA. Empty store shelves and wiped out frozen food sections have became overnight norms — a glaring reminder of the power that the Talons of Fear can have on our lives. Fueled by a Lord of the Flies mentality, many items are gobbled up as soon as they arrive by truck.

Amid the picked-over aisles, I pondered this question — if we don’t have a food shortage, then what’s the problem?

There, in the market, the Lord reminded me of Exodus 16 — the story of the Israelites in the Wilderness. Hungry, afraid, frustrated, and in deep need, they cried out for help. In response, God provided Manna, a daily portion of bread that fell from heaven. Every day it rained down. Every day they had enough. Nothing more. Nothing less.

This pandemic is our Wilderness — it’s where we’re all stuck. Like the wind which changes direction, we cannot predict where new infections will emerge, how long the Coronavirus will continue spreading, or when shuttering of households or social distancing restrictions will be lifted.  Despite these Unknown Factors, we don’t have to live in Fear; we can choose to live in Faith by placing our trust in the One who is Faithful — who owns the cattle on a thousand hills — who shelters us under His wings — who provides what we need, when we need it.

In John 6:35, Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” It’s no coincidence that God gave the Israelites Manna — their Daily Bread — in order to sustain them. While we certainly need food, water, clothing and shelter, we also desperately need Jesus. Without Him, we succumb to Fear; with Him, we walk in Faith.

Each time I go to the store, I keep the word Manna in mind. It’s my reminder to buy what my family needs — nothing more — nothing less, so those who shop after me can buy their daily share as well.