LOL: Scooping

Memory/Meditation Verse: As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. “Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for people!” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him..." ~ Matt. 4:18-20 (HCSB)

Living Out Loud (LOL). We continue our journey into what this means...

Looking at our scripture above, what one key thing does Living Out Loud require? What action needs to be present to Live Out Loud? Notice I said action.

“Follow Me”

However, there's an action within an action required to follow Christ. It's a willed obedience, a choice, a denying of self. Its an action required every day. It's an action that will make you a witness for Christ.

“and I will make you fish for people!”

Living Out Loud. Drawing others to Jesus. Maybe not so easy within our human efforts but as we draw closer to Him have you noticed how much more you want to share Him with other? So how do we share Him...how do we bring other to Him? Is there a right way to do this or a wrong way?

I remember as a teenager growing up in a strict evangelical Baptist upbringing and going door to door passing out tracks and asking strangers:

"If you were to die today do you know where you would go?"

I remember how uncomfortable it would make me. It wasn't that I wasn't strong enough in my faith to share about my Jesus, it was the emptiness I would feel with this approach. I remember a few times these perfect strangers would pray the prayer but then we would never see them again, they never crossed the threshold of our church doors though we had invited them to.

Bringing others to Christ can be done this way. Many lives have been given to Christ meaningfully but it definitely took me out of my comfort zone. Salvation is clearly about a dying to self when one accepts Christ into their lives. They change. Their life changes. Yet the approach I had learned and the emptiness I experienced in doing this seemed to be tied to the unseen fruit of it.

Though I may have accepted Christ as a young child, I didn't really grasp the relationship part with Him until I was broken and all I could do was seek Him. That was a transformation that went far above anything else in my spiritual life. It has been with this transformational process that I now have something to share that is more convincing..more producible in the realm of eternity. Not to offend anyone but I find this manner of sharing Christ more believable. A faith that is delivered from a foundation of love and grace in action.

As I was examining the book Mornings with Jesus 2012, I read the following from the January 20th post:

"What if winning other to Christ involves casting a net-with the help of others? And that net-cast by a community gathers others into the community, where they experience life-changing love and grace? What if we thought not of "hooking" unbeliever, but of scooping them up into community where they are convinced not by arguments, but by seeing and experiencing the love of Jesus lived out?" Keri Wyatt Kent, Mornings with Jesus 2012

Keri's written words really struck a cord in my heart. Yes, like her, as a child I would sing the childs song "I will make you Fisher of Men" while animating the casting of a fishing rob. But look at the above passage again. There were no rods...just nets. Jesus gather people into His community to experience His redemptive love and grace.

As a teenager, I was taught to witness by what seems to me to be a hooking technique. And now, I practice a scooping technique. My net? His testimony in my life. Where am I scooping? In my community Bible study. At work. Though outreach programs at church. Prayerfully in my home and community. Am I doing this on my own? No. My church family, my Bible study girls, we are all in this together because we can't keep silent about His love, His grace, His healing.

"I want to store up so many treasures in heaven that heaven will feel familiar the moment I arrive." Stormie Omartian, Just enough Light for the Step I'm On

Scooping...it leaves me feeling spiritually gratified that I have added to kingdom work. Storing up treasures in heaven. Living Out Loud in a non-threatening way but by a life changing love and grace. Amazing.

Living Out Loud~ Pamela

LOL: Minutes That Count

Memory/Meditation Verse: "Be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ~ Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Would you like to win a devotional book today? Litfuse and I have one for you!! Read on...

Living Out Loud (LOL) is my goal for this year. Currently I am exploring this topic a little deeper in my blog post. I have to say, it is pulling me out of my comfort zone. In my last entries I wrote about being deeply rooted in Christ, the foundation of Living Out Loud and being compelled by the Holy Spirit, our fuel for Living Out Loud. So lets examine this fuel that drives those roots deeper just a bit more?

Dare I say its found in minutes? Yes...minutes. Minutes that count. Anyone who has a intimate relationship with their Creator will know what I am talking about...minutes that count are found in minutes with God. The more time we give Him, the more of Him we gain. Like exercise-the more you do it, the closer you get to your desired goal.

We tend to refer to it as our quiet time, minutes spent meditating on scripture, a song, or in a Bible study. Minutes that nurture the soul, the body, and the mind. Minutes dedicated to our spiritual well-being and our relationship with God.

My husband will often comment that he can tell when I haven't had my quiet time in the morning. For me, it shapes the rest of my day. Usually it is after everyone has left for the day in those 30-40 minutes before I too have to leave for work. In a corner of my bedroom, next to the window, I have my red paisley chair, the bedside table for my coffee and marking pens, a lamp, my lap blanket that my mom made me, my Bible, and at times a devotional book or bible study...a perfect and peaceful meeting place where I can be still and Know that He is God.

Maybe mornings were not meant for you. Trying to squeeze in some God time is just not conceivable with your current schedule or morning vitality, right? Night time devotions may be more your style. Awesome! But, I may have the perfect solution for you here in this devotional book Mornings with Jesus 2012 to help you incorporate God into the beginning of your day!!

Mornings with Jesus 2012 is a sweet nugget of inspiration mapped out in 366 one-page devotions. A piece of spiritual fuel to get your day started as you take those first sips of coffee or tea. A dose of encouragement to awaken your spirit and charge your day. Loaded with scripture and graced with a daily challenge, its seven authors help you to develop the discipline of starting your day off with God.

Minutes that count...minutes that become a life line...minutes that transform...minutes that renew...minutes that heal...minutes that lead to a life time commitment in a relationship that will carry on into eternity.

Leave me a comment today about what fuels your quiet times with God. Maybe your new and trying to establish a consistent habit of meeting with Him, maybe you have a special practice or place for such a time as this-tell us about it!! Don't forget to include your contact information and I will randomly pick a winner for this book.

Also, go to Tricia Goyer's blog here (one of the authors) for another contest! Go here to buy this book! And to learn more about participating in book reviews from Litfuse Publicity click on their icon at the top of this blog!

In my next post I am sharing a devotional topic from this book that really stirred my heart. Come back!

Be still and know that He is God!!

Living Out Loud ~ Pamela

LOL: COMPELLED

Memory/Meditation Verse: For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. ~ 2 Cor. 5:14 (HCSB)

LOL: Living Out Loud. This is where God has me. This is where my heart remains fixed. This is where our blog journey continues.

There remains an uncertainty in this "Living Out Loud". As much as I would like to be in the know of what I am specifically called to Live Out Loud for, like a mission, a project, a vision, the clarity of such a thing is not there. The clarity I do hold is that Living Out Loud right now is about the day-to-day walk of obedience of willingness.

In a church service this weekend our pastor spoke of our memory verse above and I was draw to one word...compel. What drives you to do what you do? What motivates you to complete a task or to give of yourself? What compels you in life?

Webster defines the word compel as "to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly; to cause to do or occur by overwhelming pressure".

Do you know what it is to be so compelled that it overwhelms your thoughts, your heart, your living? When one knows they are called for something greater than their present, they are driven to seek that purpose. The Holy Spirit will show you God's plan and purpose when you walk closely with Him, seeking Him with a hunger and thirst that can not be quenched by one simple act such as attending church alone. You have to seek Him by communicating with Him continually, reading His Word, memorizing His Word, reaching out to others in His name, fasting, praying...the list goes on.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. ~ Prov. 19:21

His purpose...the end result. For most of us, it is that end result, the completion that compels us. This is good. Yet the memory/meditation verse above is a reminder of what is to compel us in our every day living...Christ love. That alone should be enough to compel us to live with His purpose in mind, not our purpose, our wants or our desires...His purpose, His wants and His desire for our life and His kingdom.

Do you see God in your living? Is God honored by your living? Is God glorified by your giving? Is your success measured by God in the same way you measure it? Do you seek daily God's direction and control in your life? Are you positioned minute by minute to act on his promptings?

There is an old expression that states, "Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good." God compels us to move on something, to act on His behalf and sometimes we get so lost in the spiritual we miss the mark. Religion can be like that. So many rules and practices that one is not able to reach out "in His name" and minister to others, let alone reflect His presence in their life.

Living Out Loud for His purpose. That is what I desire. Like Paul in Acts 20:22 I am compelled to live out loud for God, to give out loud for His kingdom, not knowing what lies ahead for me.

"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there..." (NIV)

Even so, I want to be able to live out loud spiritually on this earth for His good. Touchable. Believable. A living example of what God can do with a broken life compelled by His love and healing.

Living Out Loud ~ Pamela

LOL: Deeply Rooted

Memory Verse: Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. ~ Col. 2: 7 (NLT)

Living out loud spiritually just doesn't happen. One cannot just wake up and say "today I am going to live out loud". Well, I suppose you can try but failure is bound to happen. Kind of like a New Years resolution. How many people do you know who have already broken their New Year resolution for 2012?

"Willingness is the lever God can use to change us, but willpower alone cannot do it". ~John Burke, Soul Revolution

Living out loud spiritually takes work. It takes brokenness. It takes being pruned. It takes nurturing.

Living out loud requires experiences that most people, if given the choice, would prefer to do without. Living our loud often requires stepping outside of the box and getting out of your comfort zone. You don't just get there by chance and you don't get there on your own strength.

My favorite flower by far is the rose. I know there are so many other amazing creations of flowers out there but every facet of the rose intrigues me. Not one is the same and its life is fragile.

Roses can resemble our life. Its growth is slow and requires specific nurturing. Each bud eventually blossoms into a beautiful display of our Gardeners touch.

Every fall you have to painfully prune a rose bush back to just a few short inches. I hate this part and love it at the same time. I hate the thorns that eventually stick into my skin during this process but I am also thankful for the beauty I was able to watch all summer long.

If your Christian walk has been anything like mine, there has been plenty of pruning in it. Pruning for things such as stubbornness, selfishness, regrets and sins. Do you think God feels the sting of sadness over the pruning it requires to get "the stuff" out of ones life that keeps them from His Holiness?

Following the pruning of the rose stems, the bush must go through a season of hibernation. So often a Christian finds themselves is a season that feels like hibernation. A season that resembles emptiness, silence or closure. Usually when we enter this time, this valley, this darkness as some have called it, we enter it without trying to. Most will get frustrated, depressed, maybe even angry for being there. It often follows a mountain top experience or a chaotic event.

Over the years I have learned to view this hibernating season with new eyes. It doesn't need to be frustrating. The pain can become something worth enduring. I see these hibernating seasons as a waiting time a time meant to grow us. These hibernating seasons sting a little less when you view it as a time of waiting on God.

"A time of waiting on God"...makes it more embraceable don't you think? A season of time of preparing that leads to re-birth. Life may seem too hard, maybe a bit too painful in this season but the reality of this period is preparing us for something greater...a season of re-birth, a season of release, a season of beauty. The more we embrace this seasons of spiritual winter, the more breath-taking greatness of God we will experience.

"If life as you have known it and the path that you have walked seem to be ending, draw especially close to God and He will reveal what your next step is to be". ~ Stormie Omartian, Just Enough Light For The Step I'm On

It is during the seasons of waiting that we are to grow our roots deeper in Him. It is time meant for digging deeper into His Word, memorizing scripture, meditating of His life, learning to depend on Him in a more in-depth way. What may start out painful will blossom and embrace a new and refreshed spiritual beauty. Isn't that our hearts desire anyway?

As the spring comes and we find the hibernating season leaving, we can bloom to be more of what He created us to be. His presence in our life becomes a fragrance that draws others to Him. The sweet aroma of Christ, the beauty of His love, grace and redemption demonstrated through our life, our failures, our short-comings.

"God often allows the hard things to happen in our lives in order to bless us in some way. " ~ Stormie Omartian, Just Enough Light For The Step I'm On

How deep are your roots? What season are you living in? Are your days built in His truths? Is the fragrance of Christ evident in your living? Is you faith growing strong?

My Holy and Sovereign God, you are the most amazing creator. The hands of your work amaze me. As I reflect on your creation of the rose, I am humbled at the details of its existence and how it resembles my own life. I desire to be a rose in your eternal garden, deeply rooted in you. I embrace your seasons of pruning and am thankful for the spiritual growth and the breath-taking fragrance of you that I can live out loud for. May my life worship you like never before. I too am the amazing work of your hands...be glorified in my living.

Living out Loud ~ Pamela

Live Out Loud...Give Out Loud...2012

Memory Verse: Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established. Don’t turn to the right or to the left; keep your feet away from evil. ~ Proverbs 4:25-27 (HSCB)

Happy New Year!! I am entering 2012 with great peace and contentment. Does that mean life has been perfect? No.....far from it but 2011 was such a good year for me spiritually. It has left me in the embrace of God. Can't think of a better spot to be in!

God took me on a journey in 2011. I was tried and pushed beyond my own limits to say the least. Yet life with God allows one to reached a point of living beyond any circumstance by living in His embrace. How? Prayer, praise, obedience, perseverance, and faith. It is amazing how such peace and comfort can come, even in the worst of times, when you keep looking up. As I journey back through my scripture cards and the verses I have memorized in 2011, a reflection of the year magnifies God's work in my heart, my mind, and my life. So far from perfection but so much closer to my God!!

"The things that preserves a man from panic is his relationship to God." ~ Oswald Chambers

Are you excited to see where God will lead you and use you in 2012? I am! The glimpses He has given me up to this point is leading to a deeper focus on glorifying Him. First I heard Him say "Lose control for what I want you to do for Me". I so want to!! I have begun to feel a yearning to reach out in ways I haven't before. It will not come easy for me. I will have to step outside my comfort zone. Serving comes easy, being bold about my faith with others maybe not so much. I don't like being in front of a crowd-not something you would expect from a previous college instructor, right?

Coming from a fallen and broken life filled with plenty of grief and disappointments, it's hard to stand up strong and radiate God when you fear the past is all others will allow themselves to see. Moving beyond ones regret can be so difficult but not impossible. When a person is able to step beyond their unwanted past, they are able to experience an amazing God and that is where I stand today. It's a humble place to be but also the best place I have ever been.

Other little things have illuminated the path ahead for me on to this new journey for 2012-such as a new church with some of the most amazing worship and sermons I have ever experienced. He spoke to me through a new worship song: "From the Inside Out". In this song He convicted me that I need to give Him more control...I'm still being selfish with some areas. OUCH. My life, my heart, my mind is made to consume Him from the inside out by giving Him praise in all that I say, think or do. I didn't think I could hunger and thirst for more of Him but I do and that makes me want to do more for Him. No more selfishness, no more living in the shadow of my past but instead 2012 calls me to live in the shadow of His cross OUT LOUD!

Another message came from the childrens Christmas program at this new church. As they were reaching out to save a mission about to be closed, they changed "LOL (laugh out loud) to "Live Out Loud". God has laid on my heart a deep desire to not only live out loud with my life in Him but to also reach out in a big way. This confirmed Isaiah 58: 10-12 was indeed to be my scripture for 2012 (captured by my heart a few months ago when I started asking God what He wanted of me):

...and if you offer yourself to the hungry,

and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,
and your night will be like noonday.
The LORD will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden
and like a spring whose waters never run dry.
Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live. ~ Isaiah 58: 10-12 (HCSB)

A more recent message came from a Bible study I have the privileged to lead. Within this study I was lead to the memory verse above. This verse is about making peace with our past. It's about coming into God's light one step at a time. It's about putting on the armor of prayer, praise, obedience, perseverance, peace, and faith. One step at a time in His light. Trusting Him and stepping out.




Living out loud...giving out loud...from the inside out...praising a most amazing God. Hold me accountable friend.

What are you living for in 2012? What mission has God laid on your heart? What path is He illuminating for you? Live it out loud with me!!

Striving to Live Out Loud~Pamela

No Matter the Cost...Christmas 2011

Meditation Verse: But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." ~ Luke 2:10-12

Yesterday, Christmas day 2011, I snuck away to my red paisley chair that serves as my devotional chair. It was mid-afternoon and very peaceful in the house. I had this yearning to review the birth of Christ in the scripture. I felt the Holy Spirits urging me to look at this amazing story and to note what each of the main character brought to God and to His Son. Upon doing this, I found a beautiful gifts that I myself could give Jesus for His birthday...



Lets look first at Mary in Luke 1 (NIV):

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary was favored by God, so much so she was His chosen choice to bring forth His Son. Was she chosen because she was perfect and without sin? Impossible. But no doubt she has a gentle spirit, an obedient heart and a love for God. Even after the angel spoke to her, she may have question her worth, her ability to do such a thing but as quickly as those words left her lips, she gifted God with a willing heart-willing to accept this blessing no matter the cost.

God calls us to fulfill His will today. We may not be called to such a task as Mary but we are called to something. Our gift to God is to have a willing spirit...no matter the cost.

What about Joseph? Look at Matthew 1 (NIV):

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Can you imagine the chaos surrendering Josephs thoughts when Mary revealed she was carrying an child...not just any child but God's child? His heart and his mind had to battled each other as he decided how to handle it all. Yet, when the angel spoke to him it reads that he awoke and did what he was commended. Joseph gave God the gift of an obedience...no matter the cost.

Often we are wronged by others or a situation. Our heart may tell us to fight back or run while our mind might tell us to seek revenge or hold a grudge. Maybe, just maybe that wrong is all part of a bigger plan of God. Our gift of obedience is a perfect response to God in any situation.

How about those shepherds? We see their story in Luke 2 (NIV):

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The shepherds got a glimpse of heaven which made them seek after Jesus. Then when their eyes laid hold of Him they praised Him and immediately took out to boldly tell of Him. They gifted God with spreading the story of Jesus and glorified them both with their praises...

At some point, everyone gets a glimpse of God, something that makes them want more of Him. It is a continual process for those who have a relationship with Him. It's a hunger and thirst that is unquenchable by worldly standards. It's a satisfaction, a contentment, a peace when chaos surrounds. Its an unspeakable joy that allows for worship and praise no matter what surrounds a persons life. God is pleased with our gift of seeking and praising him no matter the cost.

And we cannot exclude the Magi, the wise men we read about in Matthew 2 (NIV):
⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Assigned to find this Christ child for purposes other than Gods, it didn't matter to the Magi. They knew they were sent to worship a promised Savior and to give Him their best...no matter the cost.

Sometimes it feels like we are in a dead-end, no-win kind of situation like the Magi. Do we give God our best in it? A failing marriage, a serious health condition, a rebellious child, a staled ministry, financial hardship, emptiness, loneliness, busyness....are we giving God our best in even these? Gifting God with our best, no matter how big or how small it may seem, will be worth any cost that comes with it.

Many of you probably celebrated Christmas this year with a birthday cake for Jesus. Most of you read the story of His birth around the Christmas tree or in a church candlelight service. Special remembrances that lead us to ask "what gift are you giving Him this year?".

Maybe its the gift of willingness like Mary, or obedience like Joseph...no matter the cost. Maybe your gift is the eagerness to seek more of Him and the boldness of praising Him...no matter the cost. Maybe it is to give Him your best whether you are having a day of weakness or strength...your best in any situation...no matter the cost.

God gave us His best in so many ways but none more tender than through His Son.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ~ John 3:16-17 (NIV)

Jesus gave us His best so we could share life with Him forever.

Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. ~ Gal 1:4 (NLT)

I don't know about you but that's a pretty amazing gift...almost more than my mind can wrap itself around. What more can we give back than a heart and mind that is willing and obedient, a life that worships and praises Him for all that He has been and all that he is. An effort to give Him our best no matter the cost.

Happy birthday Jesus...I hope you are pleased with this gift!

Living in His Embrace~Pamela

The Godly Woman's Journey: Seasonal Confrontation

Memory/Meditation Verse: And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. ~ Micah 6:8 (NIV)

The Christmas season is upon us. Black Friday has come and gone. Christmas trees and house lights have been put up. A wreath most likely hangs on the front door of most houses and fireplace mantles shimmer with pine branches or glittering ribbons.

I'm not in the mood this year for those seasonal traditions. I haven't unloaded all my Christmas decorations and scattered them through my house. This year the tree is not being decorated with ornaments, as suggested by one of my daughters. I was all over that suggestion. Outside of the lighted ribbon and Nativity set gracing my fireplace mantle, and a Christmas table runner and candy dish decorating my dining room table, I think that is all I can muster up at the moment. Thank God my children are teenagers and older because activities surrounding Santa Claus nauseates me.

Why so blatantly scrooge like?

It's not because of the economical affects on our family finances (which are not very good right now). It's not because we have out-grown the Santa Claus stage. It's not because we don't appreciate the value of tradition or family gatherings. It's because my heart is in a different place.

This past years journey brought me here. This is not a Scrooge attitude but an attitude of submission from a seasonal confrontation. Craving simplicity over the dramatization this world has made of the season. The Christmas season has become to busy, too worldly. I am horrified at times at the forsaking of a sacred moment in history that is often replaced with worldly celebrations that often leaves one dissatisfied.

I am instead humbled in a new way this year by the true meaning of Christmas and find myself even more dependent than ever on my God. Yearning for a simplicity that is far from simple or easy.

A seasonal confrontation that leaves a longing for spiritual resolution. A seasonal confrontation of the significance behind a manager and a cross verses the bright lights and abundant decorations we see in this season. A seasonal confrontation yielding a spiritual magnitude that can be too comprehensive for the heart and mind of a human race that does not know God. A seasonal confrontation that can only be understood by those who walk faithfully with God, seeking to love as His Son loved, and live as His Son lived.

A seasonal confrontation of the impact of God's gift of love that emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, relationally and behaviorally transforms one's purpose in life. A seasonal confrontation that gives one the desire to model His appearance by radically living as He lived. A seasonal confrontation making one restlessness for more of Him. A seasonal confrontation leaving an unsettling need to share His story of amazing love that is wrapped with life-giving grace, healing and redemption.

A seasonal confrontation that calls one to radical dependence. A call to lose control for what Gods wants in and of one's life. A seasonal confrontation to live without the things of this world that hold no spiritual value, and the power to live moment-by-moment with God.


A seasonal confrontation leading to...

Total surrender.

A responsive heart.

Maximum faith.

Holy living.

Simplicity.

But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!
~ Romans 13:11-12 (Message)

Holy and Sovereign God, You are here, not just in this season but in every day, every moment. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for wanting to do life with me. Thank you for guiding me to this place of seasonal confrontation and commitment. Continue to teach me. Continue to lead me. I adore you. May my life worship you and bring you glory.

Living in His Embrace~Pamela