Quiet Reflections: Spiders in the Shower

Quiet Reflections from a Mothers Heart to her Daughters...






Dear Daughters,

This morning there was a spider in my shower. He did not belong there. I don't like spiders. We was too big to wash down the drain and the hot water seemed to have no effect on him. There wasn't a shoe for my to smash with with in the bathroom so I did the next best thing and took my toothbrush holder and put it over him until I finished my shower and could get my weapon-a shoe-to alleviate his presence from my shower.

During the whole shower I keep looking at that upside down container making sure it didn't tip or moved. Washing my face was a challenge. I allowed the fear of that hairy little spider paralyze me from something that could have been so enjoyable and relaxing. As I think on it now that was so stupid!! My bare foot alone could have stomped that unwanted guest out of existence-I was so much bigger then he was. GRIEF.

Life is like that. Too often we allow the "unwanted" to enter our life and paralyze us from what God has in store for us. The unwanted, like that spider, can be a rough time or a sin that God never intended for us to live with but we allowed it in. It comes from satan with the sole purpose to keep you from God. We allow it in by not keeping our house (body, mind and spirit) protected. We allow it in by choosing to be in places where we cannot honor God. We allow it in by not facing up to it and covering it up like I did that spider in the shower.

Anything not of God can represent that spider. It can paralyze you from reaching your full potential in life or from having the best that God has in store for you.  When I was fresh out of high school my life became my life and I lived it for me. For 10 years my selfishness yielded plenty of regrets...regrets I still have to live with today. Though God's grace and forgiveness and relieved me of the responsibility of carrying those regrets it doesn't free me of their consequences-most of which I will not fully comprehend until I come face-to-face with Christ.

I don't want that for you. Be smart. Be realistic about what satan puts into your life. Choose to be on God's side of life and watch Him blow you away with His protection and interventions...watch Him stomp satan right out of your life!!

And so while there has never been any question about your honesty in these matters—I couldn’t be more proud of you!—I want you also to be smart, making sure every “good” thing is the real thing. Don’t be gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus! ~ Rom 16:19-20 (Message)

There is a simple action that can keep you from experiencing those spiders in your showers. That simple act? Keeping your focus on God. Seeking Him daily through His Word, talking to Him constantly, growing your love for Him and becoming desperately dependent on Him.

Your momma has done this. It is living this way that I have found I have less spiders in my shower. And when those unwanted guest show up, I know I can count on God to stomp them out of my life. Instead of fear for these spiders, I learn from their presence and I grow stronger when I allow God to be in control of my life-all of it.

So what did I do with that spider in my shower? It met the back side of a summer sandal as soon as I had dried off. Next time I won't wait so long to take action. I encourage you to do the same!!

Love Out Loud girls!

I love you!!

Mom

Quiet Reflections: Chain Reaction

Quiet Reflections from a Mothers Heart to her Daughters.....


Dear Daughter,


God has really laid on my heart the need to leave you His truths. I tried to live them out but I am afraid the failures of our life have created a blockage for you to see them. This verse motivated me to write these blogs just for you...
 
But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. Col 1:23 (NLT)


I want God's truths I found in my relationship with Him to be a chain reaction in your life.

You have seen the TV commericals, heard the stories where one act of kindness causes a chain reaction of kindness, right? A driver let's you in their lane on the busy highway, you allow another driver that close parking space you came upon first, that person holds the door open for an elderly couple, that couple pays the extra money the single mother at the registered is in need of....and the chain reaction continues... 

 

Chain Reactions. They can be positive like I wrote above, they can also go the wrong way. Paul and Silas set a chain reaction that models living a life with a servants attitude, loving other unconditionally (Diakono's Living). Acts 16 reads how these two men were push to the limits but in their reaction of being chained they choose to respond in a way that is not typical. I want you to learn from this reaction and encourage you to incorporate this response into your life when times get tough. I have and it works!

A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. (verses 22-24)

Paul and Silas were chained to their situation. Their feet were in wooden stocks. They were beat up and in pain. It looked hopeless for them. Death seemed more likely than freedom.

Our bad times can feel like this. Our pain can put us into stocks...chains...and keep us from moving forward with our life. Many people live in chains of alcoholism, depression, abuse, shame, fear, pain. I have lived in chains of unforgiveness and regrets for decisions that have hurt those I love the most. It's debilitating.


Is there something that chains you-, that prevents you from moving on?


People don't have to live chained to these things. You don't have to. I don't have to.

Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!   (verses 25-26) 

Instead of a pity party, Paul and Silas step out in faith and others followed...

The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”....He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God (Verses 29-30, 34)


A chain reaction. Once person steps forward, another follows, then another. Love handed out unexpectedly from one person to another and passed on yet to another. One family member believing in God, living that faith, passing it on to another family member and yet another and another...

The other day on the way to work I was in line at the drive through getting my favorite peppermint mocha. When I went to pay the cashier stated the car in front of me had paid for my order. WOW. I have done this before for others but never been the recipient of such an act of kindness. I decided to pay it forward so I paid for the order of the car behind me. A chain reaction was started!

I encourage you to do this when you can...offer an act of kindness to someone. It doesn't have to involve money, an considerate action or a thoughtful word can cause the same kind of reaction.

 

And when the going gets tough, turn your reaction into praise and worship for how God is going to use that situation for something better in your life. I want to be that person, like Paul and Silas, who steps out and does the unpredictable and openly praises and worships the One who is above anything that chains me.

God places the lonely in families; He sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land ~ Ps 68:6 (NLT)
 

Praise and worship, as displayed by Paul in Silas, is a key act for breaking those unwanted chains. Coupled with acts of servanthood-doing for others, a positive chain reaction can happen from person-to-person, generation-to-generation.

Love out Loud girls. And when life hands you some tough times, give them back to God by praising Him instead of crying in your pain. And I am always here to walk with you in the good times and the bad times.



I love you.

Mom

Quiet Reflections: Love

Quiet Reflections from a Mothers Heart to her Daughters.....






Dear Daughters,

I begin this new year with a new focus...a focus on you. As I have reflected back on almost 50 years of living, I am burdened by my failures. One of the things that I regret most is that I was not the perfect mother for you. Everyone will say it is impossible to be perfect but every mother wishes for that. But no matter how many flaws I had, one thing remained constant...I loved you, I love you even more today.

Love can be amazing. Love can be tough. Love can feel good, it can hurt. Love makes a wrong decision right such as when I have to choose to disciple you for a poor action. Love is comforting and safe, such as when I could reward you for something well done.

Can we love enough? Yes, but too often we allow other things to get in the way. Did I love you enough? Yes, in my heart but I allowed other things to get in the way of my actions. How we should love was model for us by our Maker with an unconditional love.

Unconditional love. To love "without conditions or limitations; absolute". That's how I want to love. That means no matter what one does in life, you love them fully. The perfect model of this is God.

The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. ~ Psalm 145:1-2 (NLT)

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children’s children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments! ~ Psalm 103: 11-18 (NLT)

We are instructed by God to love as He has loved....

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. ~ Ephesians 5:1-2 (Message)

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12 (NIV)

We are to live in love as Christ did...

And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. ~ 1 Corinthians 11:1

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.  ~ 1 Peter 2:21

Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. ~ 1 John 2:6

The one who says he belongs to Christ should live the same kind of life Christ lived.  ~ 1 John 2:6 (NLT)

So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." ~  John 8:28-29

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 2:5

Here is what I can promise you after all these years together...you can do nothing to take my love away from you. I may not be able to support some of your life choices but I will always love you. I may not always say what you want to hear but I will always love you. I may seem critical or not understanding but I will continue to love you. I may be upset and angry with you but I will love you more.

I may not have loved you perfectly in my actions but I have loved you perfectly in my heart. I have found that I cannot live this life with out clinging to my faith and belief that God is Ultimate and Absolute. His ability to love me and forgive me through all the ugly has been my strength and my healing. I want you to love as Christ has loved to avoid the mistakes I have made. I want you to know Him like I know Him, to crave Him like I crave Him and to seek Him as I have, daily. There is no love like the love of God!

And my prayer is that from this day forward, you can say you experienced this kind of Christ-like love from me.

I love you.

Mom

LOL: Diakonos Living

 

 

 

Memory/Meditation Verse: Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. ~ Hebrews 13:16 (HCSB)

It's time to close out 2012. It's time to look back and examine what God set my heart my to do - to "Live Out Loud", to examine what I learned and how I have practiced it. It is also the time to open my heart to God's purpose for my 2013. As I do this, seeking my greatest need spiritually and physically, a word jumped out to me during a quiet time: diakono's  (dee AH kah nahs).  It is a Greek word (διάκονος, οῦ, ὁ, ἡ) that frequently refers to a person who attends to others needs.

"The term diakonos, like many biblical words, has both a broad general meaning (servant) and a specific technical meaning (deacon). Most of the instances of diakonos in the New Testament have the broader sense. In other words, they are not referring to the specific office of deacon, but rather to the general role of helping or serving. " ~ Robert H. Thune, Deacons: A Theological Study

 

Diakonos living is to love out loud. To be Jesus to others. It is having the heart to do something radical for God.

 

My heart is not seeking the deacon approach of this word but rather the general role of helping and serving. My heart is seeking less of me and more of Him, more of what I can do for other for Him. To give out loud, to love out loud.

Last year I explored living out loud my faith. In this new year I will explore what it means to Love Out Loud (LOL) my faith, my Jesus.

As I look back on my almost 50 years of life, I often see the selfishness of my living. I yearn to change that. A new desire grows for servant-living. It will start in the home first and foremost,  and then should extend to my church family and to my work family. It should include the community I live in. It will require much of me I am sure but I have a new mission to explore-a mission of servanthood.

2013 word: Diakono's
2013 theme: Loving Out Loud (LOL)
Spiritual Goal: having the heart to do something radical for God
2013 Scripture: Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. ~ Hebrews 13:16 (HCSB)

To live a diakonos life. Giving out loud. Loving out loud. Looking daily to do something radical for Christ. I'm excited about this new charge God has given me. If you are reading these words, I pray this journey will also lead you closer to the Master.

Diakono's living is the call on my life-the action of my living. As I said above, it will start in the home. So this blog will change it's focus. As a mother, my heart aches for our girls to live a life with a heart like ours that yearns for more and more of God. There are so many things that I feel I have failed in as a mother to them, especially spiritually. This nagging feeling has been with me every time I come here to post a blog...the feeling that I should turn these posts into letters for our girls. Reflections from my heart to them about the grace and love of God. Legacy letters. Spiritual nuggets of life lessons learned.

Here's to a happy productive New Year for our Lord in 2013!!

LOL~ Pamela

LOL: Putting on Christmas

Memory/Meditation Verse: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires. ~ Rom 13:14 (HCSD)

Living Out Loud (LOL) Christmas...putting on Jesus! Literally the most beautiful wardrobe you can wear. But why can it be so hard to put on, to leave on, to lend out?

What did Paul mean when he wrote Rom 13:14? Romans, a long letter written while he was in Corinth to the churches, Paul is laying the boundaries down between the current age and the age to come. The current age representing Christ salvation at work in and through us, the coming age representing the completion of our salvation. That salvation that started in a manger and manifested on a cross.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” ~ Matt 1:21 (HCSB)

 



To unwrap this more, look at the verses preceding Rom 13:14...

 

 ¹¹ This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. ¹³ Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.

 

Paul is calling us to step out of spiritual lethargy. Salvation rescues us from the dominion of darkness and the night of sin, and a new realm of light is exposed. We take off the dirty clothes of sinfulness and dress up in Jesus. Walking as He walked. Seeing as He saw. Hearing as He hears. Speaking as He would speak. Living boldly as He lived. We know that putting on Jesus  is a daily act of obedience and submission to mirror Him. 

 

You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. ~Matt 5:14 (NLT)

 

 

I encourage you to examine your heart. Is there any lethargy in your faith? Are you living Jesus out loud? Are there any areas of your life where His presence is hidden? What can you gift to Jesus on this His birthday?

 

 

 

 

As this Christmas season peaks, may we be alive with Jesus-celebrating His salvation, anticipating it's completeness in the age to come. As we enjoy the time with family snuggled around warm fireplaces  or decorated tables...as we appreciate the Christmas lights and special holiday adornments.... and as our taste buds dance and savor the holiday foods, let us keep focus on the reason of this season...

 

 

He meant more for us than to be created from dust to return to dust. We were created to have fellowship with Him...for eternity. Wrap your mind around His love, cherish the gift, be humbled by His sacrifice, and live anticipating His return!

 

Put on CHRISTmas.

 

Put on Jesus.

 

 

Merry Christmas ~ Pamela

LOL: Living Beyond the Manger

Memory/Meditation Verse: "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy]..." Ecclesiastes 3:11a (HCSB)

Living Out Loud is above all things Living Beyond the Manger. As we walk through yet another season of Christmas, should we not be convicted to live beyond the manger? I  know I am.

What is living beyond the manger? It is being moved by the wonder of Christmas and looking beyond the manger to the cross. The wonder of Christmas...prophecies foretelling His arrival come true, the integrity and honor of a young man set to marry his bride who now carries the Son of God, the tough journey of the determined Magi to find their King, the heavenly invasion witness by the shepherds, and the faith and willingness of a young girl who embraced her miraculous assignment that was conceived of the Holy Spirit. It is one of the most adventurous and amazing stories ever told...and lived.

In the wonder of this story though we must look beyond the manger, beyond the birth to the purpose. Everything about Christmas leads to the cross...

Read more “No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.

^16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

^19-21 “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”here: http://www.bradenton.com/2009/11/28/1879429/beyond-the-manger-the-meaning.html#storylink=cpy

 

“No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”~ John 3:13-21 (Message)

 

Choosing to live out loud this holiday in the truth and reality of God's light, the gift of His son to a broken and fallen humanity. Living out loud  beyond the God-work of the manger to the God-work of the cross-our gift of eternal salvation. If He loved me enough for that, how can I not love Him back with my life?

I came across a song with the title "Just Beyond the Manger" written by a Joseph Martin. You may have heard it before, I hadn't. The words reflect my heart as I embrace this Christmas season in 2012. YouTube has several versions of the song which you can hear here. I encourage you to pause and soak in the lyrics....

Just Beyond the Manger by Joseph Martin

Just beyond the manger
I hear no lullabies,
I see no golden hay,
I feel no star light

Just beyond the manger
I hear the hammer fall,
I see the rugged cross
I feel the chill of night
Just beyond the manger

Just beyond the manger
I see no swaddling clothes
I hear no angels sing
I feel no candle glow
Just beyond the manger

I see a lonely hill
The Savior crying still
I hear the thunder roll
Just beyond the manger

Forgive us Lord
and grant us eyes to see
In every Christmas, Calvary
Implant it in our hearts
Help us recall
'mid trees of red and gold
On another tree raised long ago
We hung God's brightest star
Just beyond the manger
I hear no lullabies

I hear no lullabies
Just beyond the manger

As you celebrate the 2012 Holiday season, focus on the glory of the Christmas story-the birth of our magnificent Savior then look beyond the manger to the purpose of the birth and the purpose of the cross for you an for me. Then live what your heart experiences out loud as a gift to God.

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.~ Hebrews 12:28

Shalom~Pamela
.

LOL: Unwrapping Christmas

Memory/Meditation Verse:  In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. ~ John 1:1-2,14 (NLT)


Living Out Loud (LOL) Christmas...

What does that really mean? When you hear the word Christmas most think of decorating that perfect trees and hanging bright lights on our homes. This is fun but....

There are Black Friday sale's and long lines at the check out counters as we find that great deal or that perfect gift. This is trying yet worth it but....

There will be family gatherings with an abundance of food and warm drinks by a fireplace. All this is good, but...

Many families will follow the tradition of reading the Christmas story from God's Word before exchanging their gifts for each other. This too is good but...

Many people will go above and beyond to help someone else in need by their giving of time or monies. This is great but...

Is it living Christmas or is it living the holiday?

I believe living Christmas Out Loud can be all of these but more importantly it is living out our salvation that came from the baby in the manger. It's unwrapping salvation's story. My Pastor Michael Craft said it so well in his message this weekend...

"Could the word Christmas be a verb...and a mission? God interrupted history and was birthed into the world. He was what everyone needed and what everyone was craving. Jesus wants to Christmas (birth himself) in you and through you and you have the chance to birth Him anywhere and everywhere that you go."

Jesus Christmases in us. Christmas in action. Our salvation in action. Living like God is with us and in us. The gift of God himself coming to earth, the gift of His Holy Spirit left for us when Christ returned to his Father's side.

See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” ~ Matthew 1:23 (HCSD)

Christmas is living out loud Jesus all year long. Making it our mission. No matter where our life has been, what we have done, how we have lived, we allow God to interrupt our life and to be everything we need and the one thing we crave the most.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen. ~ 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (NLT)

Christmas is seeing the gift of salvation found in the manger lived out on the cross. Christmas is to embrace a love so undeserving to the greatest of sinners-you and I.

Christmas is embracing the love of Jesus and gifting it back to Him by falling in-love with with Him more and more each day.  It is Christmasing Jesus into the lives of other.

 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. ~ Romans 12:1-2 (Message)

Beth Moore penned it well when she wrote the poem (Jesus Day By Day, 2008):

He is Jesus.

The One and Only.

Transcendent over all else.

To know Him is to love Him.

To love Him is to long for Him.

To long for him is to finally reach

soul hands into the One true thing

we need never get enough of.

Jesus.

Take all you want.

Take all you need.

Till soul is fed.

And your spirit freed.

Till dust is dust.

And Face you see.

Jesus Christ.

He's all you need.

 
Christmas in action. Christmas as a mission. Unwrapping salvation's story. Embracing God. Jesus Christmases in us.

Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth. ~ Psalm 115:1 (HCSB)

Striving to live Jesus Out Loud~Pamela