GREEN-LIGHT revolution

Last post I discussed a change in our Christmas traditions in delving deeper into the Christmas story by looking into different perspectives.

A second Christmas change was reflecting over what we felt God has shown us in the past year.
In my reflecting over the past year, my first thoughts were over all the things I wished I would have done in my relationship with God. What I should have read, how much I should have prayed, people I should have ministered to, etc... all my so-called failures.

Then I actually thought about the question: "What has God been speaking to you over the last year?" It wasn't "What did you do for God this year?" Not "How good were you this year?" Nothing that reflected me. I was not the focus of the last year. God didn't send His Son to earth because I was good enough, pretty enough, did enough things right... He did it because He loves me. He loves me just as I am. That's what He's been teaching me. A while ago he gave me the verse Song of Songs 4:7 "You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you."

It's so hard to remember that in this time of singleness when so many around me have gotten married or engaged or pregnant in 2011. It can be so easy to think "why not me? when's my turn? what's wrong with me?" The truth is that Nothing is wrong with me. God made me just the way I am for a purpose. I am worth it. I am worth waiting for. And Jesus loves me unconditionally. The Author of Love chooses to love me... just as I am, because he knows me inside and out. My so-called flaws... which don't really exist as defined by Songs 4:7.

I am loved by the King... and that makes 2011 and every year worth living.

Going green,
Jenny

A belated Merry Christmas and an early Happy New Year to all you ladies!

Christmas-time is full of family traditions. In my family, all of us kids get together when we wake up and wait for mom and dad to give us the go-ahead, then we run to our stockings just like we did when we were little. After we have sufficiently emptied our stockings and laughed at all the little gifts, we have a full breakfast together and read the Christmas story together. Then we exchange the rest of the gifts and Christmas is considered over with at that point.

This year we did a few things a little bit differently.
The first was: When we read the Christmas story (Luke 1-2), we each took different perspectives and thought about what they were thinking in that moment.

Joseph: what faith to take a woman who was not pregnant with his child against the rumors of society and love her to the fullest...

Mary: what a responsibility and a blessing to stand against society's rumors pregnant yet still a virgin (who's gonna believe that, right?) Did she know the fullness of what this child would do? Luke 2:19 says "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

The shepherds: minding their own business and this impressive figure comes in the sky and starts talking to them out of nowhere.. but "Do not be afraid"... yeah, ok, sure... and the depth of what they heard. Multitudes of angels singing "Glory to God in the Highest" What would that have resonated in their souls? Who would believe them when they went and told all they saw that it was all true? That they found a baby in a manger who is Christ the Lord.

The angels: 1 Peter talks about the angels longing for what has been revealed to us. What was it like for the angels to be a part of the declaration of Jesus coming? What it a normal thing for them? They are in the presence of God all the time, yet for a brief moment they left heaven to tell the lowest of the low (the shepherds) that God himself had come to earth. Were they all jumping at the chance to come, that's why there were thousands that lit up the sky?

How often do I take this story for granted? Growing up in the church, it's told all the time that Jesus came to earth to become a man to live a perfect life, to die an undeserved death on our behalf, defeating the sin we placed upon Him, so we could live in eternity with Him. How often do I overlook the gravity of His sacrifice? How did His coming directly affect those immediately around Him? How does it affect us today and every day?

Going green,
Jenny

When I say, "I am at home here," what I mean is: I am secure. I am in such a state where I am free from danger or risk... a state in which I experience freedom from anxiety or doubt... a state in which I possess well-founded confidence.

One of the reasons I would like to be married is that I love what marriage symbolizes: the relationship between Jesus and the Church. To work with another person at representing this relationship seems like a privilege and a joy. It is easy for me to grasp the value and importance of marriage. However, I’m not married today. Today, I am a single woman and I wonder, what's the value in being single? Are there any big truths about God that my life can demonstrate?

Yes, actually, and that leads me to the topic of the final post in this series: why God values singleness and subsequently, why we should, too. In my last post, I wrote about singleness as a tool for our sanctification and for building the church, and those purposes certainly add value to singleness. I also believe God values singleness because, like marriage, it has the potential to uniquely display significant truths about Him. Here are four examples:

1. Singleness demonstrates that relationship with God is the most satisfying relationship of all. I see this lived out in my circle of single friends. They are feasting with God regularly and finding that he supplies all they need. They do not see themselves as incomplete until they find spouses but rather, are rejoicing in how wholly satisfying God is.

2. Singleness demonstrates that God grows his kingdom not through physical birth but through spiritual rebirth. Under the Old Covenant, God's people increased in number as women bore children and families grew. We are now living under a New Covenant in which His kingdom no longer multiplies through childbearing but through spiritual rebirth and the adoption of sons and daughters from many different families. People who have never borne children can still participate in adding people to God’s family.

3. Singleness reminds us that Jesus is waiting for his wedding day. More than you or I long to wear a pretty white dress, He longs to meet his Bride at the altar. Singleness is an opportunity to grow in our longing for that eternal Wedding Day while we hope for an earthly one.

4. Singleness highlights the fact that marriage on earth is temporal and in heaven, the only covenant that remains is the one we have with Jesus. Whether you are single or married on earth, neither will last forever. They are temporary states intended to prepare us for our eternal Groom, Jesus. And when we are joined with him, that will be forever.

Going green!

Lynn

The first time I saw a tire gauge I had no idea what it was. A pen missing the ink cartridge? Some kind of stirring apparatus? I could tell by the look on my dad’s face that I wasn’t even close. Once I understood what a tire gauge is and how to use one, I was thankful to have it. Understanding the purpose and function of that funny-looking piece of metal made all the difference in my appreciation for it.

God has purpose for our singleness, too. He considers it a valuable tool in his Kingdom and has given us instructions for how to use it . Paul highlights two of God’s intentions for singleness in 1 Corinthians 7:

But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:32-35 NASB)

First, the unmarried person is meant to be “concerned about the things of the Lord” (vs 32) in order to “promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord” (vs 35). The way Paul sees it, one of the premier advantages of singleness is the freedom to be heavily involved with the Lord’s affairs, the things going on in his house (the Church). That means our singleness is not intended merely for our pleasure. It is meant to contribute to the joy, progress, and strengthening of others.

This is one major difference between why our culture celebrates singleness and why Christians celebrate it. Magazines and TV shows, when they are not lamenting the lack of romantic love in a single woman’s life, portray the benefits in a purely selfish light. Singles can spend all their money and time on themselves. Singles can stay out late and nobody cares. Singles can pour all their energy into their jobs and pursue success without distraction. That is not what Paul had in mind, and it is not how Jesus lived his life as a single person.

At the same time, using our singleness as an opportunity to be devoted to the Lord’s work is not drudgery. One of the delightful discoveries I’ve made is that my desires for home and family can be fulfilled by directing them towards building up God’s house. Rather than lament the long wait for these gifts, the Lord has allowed me to exercise my desires for family and home now by getting involved in the affairs of Jesus’ household. His home is big and it’s always busy. He has many children, young and old, who need care. There is immense joy and satisfaction found in being "concerned about the things of the Lord.”

The second purpose Paul identifies for singleness is that it sanctifies us: “that she may be holy in both body and spirit” (vs 33). For me, the absence of a spouse has given God unique opportunities to demonstrate that he is my provider, my comforter, my leader, and my closest friend. Our singleness affords not only the extra time to spend pursuing God but also many opportunities to trust him. Elisabeth Elliot says that God will use the matters of the heart to sift our hearts, and that has been true for me. In fact, most of the posts on this blog are stories about how God is teaching us, challenging us, and encouraging us through singleness--basically, they are accounts of God making us holy in body and spirit.

God uses singleness to build his Church and to make us holy, and in my concluding post, I'll list a few more reasons why God considers singleness a valuable thing.

Going green!

Lynn

One blessing that comes with a long season of singleness is having time to contemplate what Paul could have possibly meant when he called singleness a gift. This designation puzzled me for years. I remember sorting through a stack of books at Barnes and Noble and finding one titled If Singleness is a Gift, What’s the Return Policy? I laughed. But I could also identify.

When Paul writes about singleness as a gift in 1 Corinthians 7, he uses the Greek word, charisma. The root of this word is charis, which means grace. Paul saw his singleness as an extension of God’s grace to him; not as a problem, not as a punishment, but as the overflow of God’s unmerited favor toward him. That challenges me.

What is the gift of singleness? What do we mean by that phrase? A few years ago, I sat in a classroom at Bible college listening to a professor teach on this topic. He distinguished between two different forms: a lifelong gift of singleness and a gift that lasts only until you get married. Others say there is one spiritual gift of singleness (celibacy), it lasts your whole life, and everyone who doesn’t have it will probably get married. Some see singleness as a season, a context, a set of circumstances that everyone finds themselves in for some portion of their life. I have agreed and disagreed with all of those views in turn, and I’m not sure which to recommend to you, friends.

I do, however, recommend that we bet our lives (and our love lives) on this: God is happy to meet our every need, he withholds no good gift from those he loves, and he has freely given us the blindingly beautiful righteousness of Christ to wear as our own. Meditating on those truths, it becomes less important to identify whether I have a spiritual gift of singleness or whether singleness is merely the context I am living in or how long this is going to last. The Holy Spirit is a river running from the throne room of God to my heart and he is constantly (daily, hourly) transporting the goods I need to to be fruitful, content, and pure as a single person. I’m not sure how to label this transaction, but I know it’s good.

In my early twenties, I could say, “Singleness is a blessing,” in the same way that I could recite, “Exercise is good for me.” A known truth, but not a felt one. Two things changed: I got a better understanding of God’s intentions for singleness and a better understanding of why He values it. I plan to share more about what I’ve learned regarding those subjects in my next two posts. Until then...

Going green!

Lynn

"Don't bother too much about your feelings. When they are humble, loving, brave, give thanks for them; when they are conceited, selfish, cowardly, ask to have them altered. In neither case are they you, but only a thing that happens to you. What matters is your intentions and your behaviour." - C.S. Lewis

When I first read this quote, I thought “What do you mean don’t bother too much with them?! They are a huge part of who I am!” Because it seems I am always feeling something, even if I'm not consciously paying attention to how I'm feeling! I might feel efficient at work, or tired hitting the mid-afternoon slump, or excited about my birthday, or fustrated with a friend. I actually found myself a little annoyed with good ol’ Clive Staples saying that they weren’t me.

What I did like about this quote, however, is that he describes feelings as a tool I was talking about in my last post: an arrow. Humble, loving, brave…give thanks. Conceited, selfish, cowardly…ask for help. God gave us feelings not to understand ourselves, not to dictate how our mood would be, but to point us back to them. Yes, they are our feelings, but they are not actually about us.

I don’t believe C.S. Lewis was trying to be dismissive of our feelings, I think he was trying to help us understand our feelings aren’t our identity. Martin Lloyd Jones contends that one of the causes of spiritual depression is putting too much emphasis on emotion. It’s NOT that emotions aren’t real or aren’t present or aren’t wonderful/painful, but our identity is Christ. We ARE His living temple. Thus, we can’t claim the emotions as our identity. God doesn’t look at us and see our feelings, He sees Jesus. He gives us feelings to point us back to Him (a behavior well worth developing).



I don’t know about you girls, but I can put a lot of focus on my feelings, even with good intentions. I usually think I’m doing the right thing by trying to understand them. Most of the time, I generally only get more confused. He is fully capable to then fill my heart with gratefulness if the feelings are glorifying to Him, or lovingly reveal a lie or attitude that is not producing good fruit in my life. Either way, I don’t need to try to figure them out, I just need to let them be a tool to further propel me into dependance on God.



Going Green!


Martha

Hi Green Light ladies! It’s good to be back here; it’s been awhile..in fact, since the last time I posted, I have graduated college, started a new job, and gotten married. Whew! Needless to say, I’ve been busy in these months..and in these months, I have experienced a roller coaster of feelings.

Samantha’s ‘Exposed’ series last week completely resonated with me, and was definitely a platform for what I had on my heart to share this week. This past year has been one of the hardest times in my spiritual life, and I made friends with a lot of lies too. I think with a lot of women, lies start as thoughts, but soon take over an emotion or feeling. And since we are the one who FEEL the emotions, the feelings belong to us and are about us, right? Actually, wrong. I read a quote from a random blog not to long ago that said this: ‘Our feelings are not about us; they are pointing us to the One who made them, feels them, and can heal them.’

I’ve long believed the advice that you can’t really count on feelings, because they are fickle and change, & that we have a choice in how we’ll respond. While I knew that, I still thought the fickle feelings ended with me. They showed something about ME, they explained ME, they are an issue in ME.

I thought over my past year and the various feelings of disappointment, fear, elation, anxiety, excitement (there were a lot, I’m telling you) that I felt, and how I internalized them. I asked myself what seemingly is a good question, “Ok, what’s this emotion telling me about myself?” thinking that would help me understand WHY I was feeling anxious, frustrated, etc. In reality, the enemy just used that to keep my eyes on me. This is something I am recently learning & understanding.

What would my life look like if I took everything I felt as an arrow to the One who knows the whole range of emotions that a human can feel? What if I took something that is so core to a woman, her feelings and emotions, and instead of claiming them as my own, acknowledging that they are a wonderful tool to point us to the Maker of them?

I am not trying to minimize or degrade emotions; I am simply suggesting the notion of changing their function in my mind from showing me about myself, to showing me God. Because you see, God is an emotional being, and understands them so well. When we take them to God, He’s able to help me understand what’s my heart much more clearly & quickly than I could trying to understand myself.

I’ll be back later this week. Until then,

Going Green!
Martha

I've struggled with knowing exactly how to end this series of thoughts on my experiences with God exposing sin & lies in my heart. I want to look to the future; to what my life might look like as I continue to walk hand-in-hand with God into new freedoms and deeper revelation of the identity He's given me. But the truth is, only God really knows what the future holds. However, I've learned some things along the way that I think give me a pretty good idea of what I can expect to some degree. Here are some things that I know:

- God doesn't change. He's the same yesterday, today and forever (James 13:8 ESV). If He's been faithful, trustworthy, determined, powerful and kind to me in the past, then I can be sure that He will continue to be those things in the future.

- There are a lot of things about God that are a mystery to me. However, I've never known Him to be elusive, unknowable, or vague. Anytime that I sit and listen to Him, He's faithful to show me more of who He is, what He's doing and what part He wants me to play in it.

- God likes to make promises. He is very capable of doing everything He says He will and has every intention of following through on His word. He's given me some pretty outstanding promises both in His written word (i.e. Jeremiah 29:11-14, Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 7:25, and on and on) and in the words He speaks to me personally.

- God is who is says He is: "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness..." (Exodus 34:6 ESV). That mercy, grace, patience, faithfulness and unwavering love make up the foundation on which I stand throughout every situation.

- My sin, my compliant and active rebellion against God - past, present, and future - has been pardoned. My debt wasn't just cancelled; it was fully paid by the blood of Jesus. That blood was valuable. It wasn't all that valuable to me at the time because I was dead. But it was valuable to God and He agreed to accept that precious sacrifice as payment for my life. This is a reality I can't dwell on enough, and one I can't act on enough. Why would I ever take God's exposure of my sin and pain as malicious acts of vengeance? The vengeance has already been taken out on Jesus. He exposes sin in my life out of love: a deep and jealous love for the life He bought at a very high price.

So, in short, I know that God never makes a hole in my heart by uprooting a lie or a sin without then filling it with His presence. He never exposes what's in me without also exposing what's in Him. And that's really the most important thing I need to know about my future.

Going Green,
Samantha

God is so amazingly patient and kind. Here I was standing face to face with my Rescuer, my Knight on a white horse come to free me from captivity and what happens? I freeze up from spiritual Stockholm Syndrome.

God has been so faithful over the years. I think that I can sometimes expect Him to so badly want the sin, lies and fears out of me that He'll remove them like a surgeon not using anesthetic. He doesn't do that, but neither does He give in to my whining and pleading to keep things that aren't from Him. He very gently takes my hand and walks me through the whole process.

In this case, He exposed how I had attached my identity to the lies that Satan, life events, and sometimes other people had told me about myself. Remember how I described those lies as being friends? I'm the kind of person that is pretty loyal to her friends, and also pretty proud to have them in her life. I treated these lies the same way. If God would pull me away into His truth and the lie jumped up to pull me back, my loyalty would kick in. I would think, "Oh yeah. Life experience and relationship [with the lie] have taught me that I'm supposed to be like this, or act like that." And if God, or anyone else, tried to speak truth into that area, I would feel offended, thinking, "Hey! That's me you're talking about!" unable to separate myself (who God declares me to be) from the lie. I wore the lie with pride and, like an old tattoo it seemed forever imbedded in me.

I'll say it again: God is so faithful! He's never given up on me. Even when I haven't known exactly what He's been doing and even though I haven't always been on board with His methods, He has been hunting down those filthy little lies and killing them one by one. His chief weapon has been a massive sword of love, followed very quickly by a powerful punch-in-the-face of truth, sending it into oblivion. (That's how I like to imagine God fighting.) Many battles have been won and I can honestly say that God has, and still is, transforming my identity. Not only am I no longer friends with the lies, but I grow in my hatred of them day by day. I don't know for sure how many still remain, but God does and He is faithful to complete the work that He starts! (Philippians 1:6)

In many ways, exposing the lies and replacing them with truth has only been the beginning of this massive identity transformation. God has also been showing me how my response to the lies and hurts of my past have many times been sinful and have led me into patterns of sinful thinking and behavior. But I no longer fear the exposure like I did in the past. I'm grateful that God doesn't leave me wallowing in the muck. Now the question is, am I going to let Him pick me up and carry me out of it, or am I going to try and do this one on my own?

...to be continued...

Going Green,
Samantha

A few years ago, God showed me a picture of what He was doing in my life. He showed me how He was decimating the city that Hurt, Betrayal and Lies had built in my heart: not just a little, fortified stronghold, but a well-established, industrious city. The scene looked like one out of a World War II movie and the bombings of Germany. God had torn down things in me from which I never thought I would be free. However, the war didn't end there. There were survivors that needed to be found out and destroyed. I saw God slowly shining His search-light of truth and conviction into every crevice of the dark and dusty rubble of this thing that once had such power in my life. Imagining that light passing over every inch of my heart sent a shiver of shame and fear down my spine and left me with a feeling of utter nakedness.

It was then that I realized how at home I had felt living in that city. Sure it was a horrible place, but it was all I knew. I had made friends with the lies and made peace with the pain. I had developed a pretty successful lifestyle of hiding their existence when I was around other people. It was almost like driving to the quiet, peaceful suburbs for work, but always returning at the end of the day to the darkness, despair and bondage of the home these "friends" had built for me.

I didn't need to dig very deep to find that place in my heart where I knew these things were no good for me. Nevertheless, something in me wanted to leave things as they were. I was happy to have the city itself in ruins, but was equally happy to let my surviving "buddies" stay where they were. God wasn't having it. He knew that even if one stubborn, manipulative lie was left, it would one day stand up and declare, "We will rebuild!" And so the search-light continued its probing.

But why was this so difficult? Why did I want to hold onto these remnants of pain and lies that had tormented me for so long? What was keeping me from eagerly running into the light, knowing it would bring complete freedom? It's like I said, we were friends! I had welcomed them in and given them access to so much of my life long before I even realized what I was doing. We had lived together for a long time and I didn't know how to live without them. They would bring me all the comfort that only a self-loathing pity party could, and would protect me about as well as a pimp. Their exposure meant my exposure. And it felt as if their destruction would mean my destruction.

...to be continued...

Going Green,
Samantha

It's me again! :D

Happy Belated Thanksgiving, Ladies!

I hope you all enjoyed a day filled with food, good company, relaxation and thankfulness! :) As I promised a few days ago, this is the first of my posts about Thanksgiving. I look at the day as an amazing opportunity to check my attitude. The very reason why we celebrate this day is to “give thanks” and I can’t think of one person who deserves more of our thanks than Jesus Christ.

I don’t know about all of you but I need many reminders of God’s goodness. Some days I’ll be in a state of awe, thinking about Jesus’ sacrifice and then other days I’ll be consumed with some petty issue and not even thank Jesus once. This frustrates me so much! How can I forget such an incredible blessing so easily? While this frustrates me, it also makes me more aware of God’s grace. What an incredibly gracious God I serve! If I had a child who stated they loved me one day and then acted like I didn’t exist the next day, I would become severely irritated. (Thankfully, this is not how God is) He has so much love and grace for us that He continually reveals Himself to us, and lavishes His love upon us. Even when we fill our hearts and minds with distractions, He brings us back to Him and he doesn’t just do this once or twice in our life, He reminds us often in creative and wonderful ways.

It’s always the times that I’m filling my mind distractions that my attitude is in need of an adjustment. So that’s one of the reasons I love Thanksgiving, because it's a great reminder of God’s love towards me. It’s a day to reflect on everything that HE has given me and it’s always a great reminder for me to pour out my thanksgiving to Him! He is so worthy of all the "thanks" that I'm capable of giving. I'm thankful for Thanksgiving (hah, that sounds funny) because it's a needed reminder of how much God has blessed me and that He is worthy of all my praise!

Thanks Jesus for being so good!

Going green,

Abby

Greetings fellow Green-lighters!

Yes, I know that I am extremely late in posting this week. Let's just say I've had a hectic week planning a birthday party for an 8 year old and gearing up for tomorrow's feast.

I suppose that it's kind of a no-brainer for me to post about Thanksgiving this week. I know, I'm being super original. I love Thanksgiving. There are so many pleasant memories floating around in my head concerning this holiday. Memories of stuffing myself with food, having laughing fits with my brothers and sisters and of course, the Baker family tradition of making turkey paintings with our hands. Living in Joplin makes Thanksgiving a little bit different for me... I will not be spending Thanksgiving with my immediate family, and this is something that I have struggled with in the past but God has been so gracious and faithful to me during this season of my life. In the next two days, I'm planning to post some different thoughts that I’ve been mulling over for the past week or so. Stay tuned...

Going green,

Abby

“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.” – 1 Timothy 2:11.

This verse used to get under my skin more than any other verse in the bible. When I was in high school, there was a particular boy from my youth group who would always lord this verse over me. He used it to belittle me, make feel less than what I was worth, and completely made me feel captive and beaten down. I thought this verse meant complete loss of will for me as a woman. Any time I had a thought that disagreed with him, he would quickly remind me: “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission, Missy… Now do what I say.” The relationship I had with him was crippling and threatening to my soul, and the lies I learned from him I thought were truth; the meaning of this verse being one of them.

But praise be to God! He saved me from that sinful place I had put myself! The years that went by after I was rescued, God used His love to heal my ruined heart, and also to reveal and reject the lies I thought to be truth. One by one He replaced them, and again this verse was brought up. This time God wanted to show me the truth about it, instead of the manipulating definition I had believed.

A woman should learn in quietness

When I think about how God created me as a woman, I know that my heart is the home of everything. It’s the place I treasure things, it’s where I feel my emotions, where I store my dreams, and where my King lives. My heart is the key. In my heart is also the place where God teaches me, and I learn. So, if I am thinking about it that way, shouldn’t the place I learn be the place that is quiet? It’s always easier and more fruitful to study and learn in a quiet place, instead of a busy and hectic place. Learning in quietness means keeping a quiet heart. God teaches me, and I learn best from him when I’m quiet, when I’m not worrying and stressing out, when I’m not trying to take control of situations with my own hands; when I stop talking and just listen to him.

and full submission.

I looked up the definition of “submit” and it simply means to “give over or yield”. How many times has God asked us to do this for Him? To give over our desires to Him, to yield our wants to His will? Every time I do this with something precious that I’m afraid to give over, after I do yield it, I always see how it is safer with Him than me anyway. The yielding is always hard, until I see the effects of how it grows in the Father’s hands. Our acts of submission to Him, are our acts of obedience. There is always joy in obedience. And the good thing is that we always know what obedience looks like. In this season, (and the rest of our lives!) obedience looks like trusting Him with our hearts.

This verse isn’t a binding chain to throw around us to keep us bound up and pushed down; it’s a call to obedience by trusting Him in quietness and confidence to take care of our fragile hearts. We are in the safest place of all when we do that!

Going green and feeling free,

Miss.

"Life is tough. Decisions are hard. I wish I could stop the world and get off. I wish people would stop trying to "help" their way into my decisions. It's making it worse." Ever feel like that? Life gets confusing so quick, doesn't it? Decisions are rarely black and white. People are never exactly how you expect them to be. With everything seeming to shake where you stand, it can be difficult to hold your resolve.

I often find myself overthinking. Relient K has a song that says "I've been thinking over thinking, cause there's just too many scenarios to analyze, to think about..." I get that way a lot. I can think/talk myself out of so many things. It's easy to get caught up in the what-if's. It's easy to second guess choices and decisions once they're made. Was that really what God wanted me to do? Did I just screw that up? Maybe I should go back. If only I had a reset button.

It's hard to keep the faith. To keep resolve in those tough decisions that make your heart ache or make life different. To live counter-cultural.

Here are some verses about standing firm that are encouraging when life gets too rough, too confusing, too unknown or when decisions become too unsure:

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." 1 Peter 5:8-10 (NIV)

Isn't it great to know that we are NOT alone in our suffering and that even suffering has a purpose: to strengthen and make us steadfast?

"But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Wow, we get to share in the glory of Jesus Christ! And He, the Author of love and grace, wants to "encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word'. Incredible!

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he
will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." 1 Corinthians 10:12

It is easy to become shaken by the common, unseen things. BUT God is faithful! I never cease to be amazed by God's faithfulness. He won't give us too much to handle and He will make sure we have an escape.

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

God doesn't let obedience fall unnoticed. His work is never in vain. The decisions we make have meaning and purpose. Hold fast! Stand firm! Let nothing move you! Stand on the solid foundation of Jesus. His truth means something.

Stand firm, my sisters! Hold fast to Jesus! Hold tight in your decisions for Jesus.

Going green,

Jenny

In the great Disney film Aladdin, a street boy asks a princess this question, "Do you trust me?" then proceeds to take her by the hand and... jump off the side of a building or step onto a floating magic carpet. I was thinking about this and found it very strange. I understand his motives, having seen the movie. Jumping off the roof was the only way to escape. Aladdin trusted Carpet to carry him and the woman he loved safely. Jasmine had to have had second thoughts before saying "yes". You want me to WHAT?!?!? But what if we don't land right? What if the rug gets caught and we start unraveling? What if...

You know that feeling that builds up inside that tells you that you are doing something you shouldn't be. That tells you not to start something that you can't finish. Some call it your conscience, I tend to believe it's the Holy Spirit attempting to guide my rebellious heart. I recently had an experience of ignoring this voice and it got several hearts tangled up and broken. I was recently in a relationship-without-titles with this guy who doesn't love Jesus. I knew it was doomed from the start. That little voice, that feeling told me so. But it felt so good to be wanted, to be held. I have never really been pursued by anyone, no man has ever stated affection for me outside of genuine brotherly-sisterly love. I didn't feel pretty or good enough to be wanted. And it was now happening... to me! I knew in the back of my mind it couldn't work, but I let myself believe the fantasy that flirt-to-convert just might work this time. I let it go too far. I let my heart get too deep... and Jesus had to wake me up... I had to end it. It was the hardest thing I had to do. I am still finding it difficult to forgive myself for hurting him. He truly is a great man, but without Jesus, not the one for me. I cried for hours; I cried myself to sleep that night; I held back tears all the next day. I was a wreck, but strangely enough I felt a peace about the decision I'd made. I knew that Jesus was in it. I had let this man become too much of a priority. He was distracting me from the TRUE Romancer.

One of my favorite verses in Song of Songs 2:7 “ I adjure you, O Daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and does of the field, do not stir up or awaken love until its time” went ringing through my head. I knew I had forced love to stir a bit in its bed before it was ready to wake up.

In my grieving, Jesus made time for a little romance one morning. He told me to read Song of songs 4 “Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! …You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” WOW!! The Perfect Creator of the universe told me I am perfect, beautiful, wanted. And you know what? It clicked! I had a revelation. I AM beautiful! I AM a catch! I AM someone worth pursuing, worth waiting for! It was a wake up call like I couldn’t believe!

Some days it’s hard to get out of bed and face the day. Some days it’s hard to wake up in bed alone. And some days, Jesus wakes you up with a kiss saying, “My sunshine, come, face the day with Me.”

Going green!

Jenny J

I'm ticking off my week days, my work days, my task days, like business cards in a rolodex. Since when did my life change from just that, life... the joy of living... to work? How many responsibilities can I hold, how many things can I get done, how many tasks can I complete, how many deadlines can I meet, how quickly can I maneuver through the traffic jam, how many pages can I read, how many people can I please, can I impress, can I find acceptance in, approval from... etc, etc, ETC.

I'm still ticking off my week days when I'm blindsided by the stomach flu. Suddenly, I'm down and out for the count.

My soul and my mind and my body cry out: "UGH... ENOUGH REBEKAH!! I can't live like this any more! You keep sending me in for the next round and I keep getting beat up, and when I sit for a break in the corner, all I hear are the lists of things, places, people that need to be checked off in the next round.... NO WATER?? NO REFRESHMENT?? How do you expect me to keep going in, round after round after round, and have the strength to fight the next fight? To do the things you're asking of me?"

I explode. I re-collect the pieces. I process them. I reply: "I don't know. That sounds like a lot of work to me, and an awful lot of work for the wrong reasons. I don't know why anyone would want to do it. Who the hec is your COACH? He sounds awful. You may consider switching teams."

I lie on the floor in a heap. Covered in my own sweat, my own blood, my own hot tears. I'm down for the count and I can't get up. I don't have the will to get up anymore...

My eye catches the Coach in the opposite corner, and He looks so familiar. A wise, kind, gentle, gracious, loving man. His name badge says Jesus Christ. He's motioning me to come over to His side, into His corner. It all starts coming clear.

How did I end up on the other team?!! At what point did I wonder away from the refreshment of Jesus, into the corner belonging to Coach Striving Works. I get the feeling this isn't the first time it's happened.

I begin to move towards Jesus Christ, and instead, He comes out of His corner, into the ring, to move me... for He says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Going Green and Finding Rest,
blogger bek

Today is one of my favorite kind of days….. a rainy, Autumn one! There is something about fall that ignites my soul. But I digress..

There are so many neat things that happen when it rains. The colors on the trunks and leaves of the trees darken and pop against the contrast of the cloudy sky. The water drops make a soothing sound against the roof and windows of the house, acting as a natural alarm clock, causing my waking up to be more pleasant than painful (haha). The wet, cool atmosphere makes hot coffee more warming to my bones, a fuzzy jacket more comfortable. I’m huddled up in my car on the way to work, in my own little space as the fog and wind shield wipers surround me from the outside. I don’t feel like I’m missing out being under a florescent light bulb inside at work all day, since the sun isn’t shining. Granted I’d prefer to be at home snuggled under some covers with a good book, but again I digress…

There is something else that happens when it rains: lots of especially slow moving traffic. I adjust. I take a different route to work… a more scenic route. Surprisingly, there is hardly any traffic going this way this morning. Ahh yes, I can breathe.

It is a road I’ve driven many times, usually coming from the opposite direction, on my way home from work rather than to it. I’m driving down the road, drinking my coffee, enjoying the rain, and I notice a house on my left… a house that I realize I’ve never taken notice of before until this very moment! The irony is that I must have driven past this distinctive little house a million times (not too far from the truth).

How refreshing! Something new to take notice of, something new to wonder about, to investigate, to think on, to enjoy. Some of you may be thinking: “Rebekah, it’s a house… for real, is it really a big deal?” And you’re right, the house itself is not a big deal… but I ask myself “how could I just be noticing this for the first time?” …And God turns a little thing into a big deal. He speaks:

“It’s because there’s been a change in your perspective, Rebekah… a change through which, the house has been revealed to you.”

How often in life do I get tunnel vision? Things become mundane, routine, repetitive... until God breaks in and changes my perspective... and suddenly I’m refreshed, I’m in awe, I’m in wonder, I’m intrigued, I’m interested, and I’m in love with the One who breathes Life into my bones. Oh how His Spirit is like rain to my soul.

All for now and going green,

blogger bek

This past spring, Tim Chambers gave a talk at Christ’s Church inspired by the old hymn, “Rock of Ages.” He told us the story of the Hebrew nation passing through the Red Sea as God held back the water and all its slimy creatures with his mighty, invisible hand. He told us about their wandering through the dessert, about flakes of manna falling like dew and a rock that, when struck, gushed with streams of water where it was cleft. The story is rich with symbolism.

If you flip past Exodus and turn to Numbers 20, you’ll find Moses still leading the people through their long dessert wanderings. They are thirsty, and God instructs Moses to speak to the rock so that water will flow once again. Instead, he yells at the people and strikes the rock twice with his staff. Water does flow out, but Moses loses the privilege of going with God’s people into the Promised Land because he forgot Who was holy and who was human.

When Tim talked about this story, he suggested that there might be another reason God was upset with Moses. 1 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.” The rock that was struck symbolized Jesus Christ. In the same way that Jesus was struck once so that Living Water would gush forth, the rock should have only been struck once. Now that Jesus has been struck, crucified, all we have to do is speak to Him and water is released. That should have been the case with the rock in the dessert, but Moses messed up the symbol.

While I listened to Tim’s talk, I wondered if the lesson could apply to our lives, too. Does God give us instructions which make very little sense at present, but which will be revealed as hugely significant when the story unfolds? I know God has a plan for my life, but I’m beginning to think it’s not just a sequence of prearranged events. It seems that with every twist and turn, he is telling a story about himself that is meant to reveal his perfect wisdom and unfailing love. There have been sorrows and circumstances I wouldn’t choose, instructions which don't make a lot of sense. But I want the story of my life, God’s story, to be told exactly the way He has imagined it. I don’t want to mess up the symbols. While I do have a few questions, I think I’ll save them for the day when I can step back and survey the whole beautiful tapestry of his will and the thread of my life woven in. I suspect at that point, though, my questions will dissolve into wonder and worship.

Going green!

Lynn

Recently, I attended the Newfrontiers-USA Equipped for Mission Conference, and one of our guest speakers was Ed Stetzer. Ed believes that gender roles are a huge issue in culture right now and that Christians should engage in the discussion. I also read William Bennett’s controversial article this week, “Why Men Are in Trouble,” and last year I caught Hanna Rosin’s article in The Atlantic, ominously titled “The End of Men.” It seems like American culture is collectively asking, “So what’s the deal with guys?” I wanted to pause and think through my response to this question, and to ask for your thoughts, too, GLR readers. Here’s where I’m at so far.

First, I don’t think men are the problem. I think sin is the problem.

Secondly, all the failures of men and women were paid for by Jesus Christ at the Cross. The sinful nature we inherited from Adam died with Jesus, and now we live a new life in Him. We wear His righteousness, embrace His mission, and enjoy His reward. We also have the Holy Spirit, transforming our minds, bodies, and hearts from instruments of sin into instruments of right living and right relationship with God. Despite the stats, I am not hopeless about the future of men because I think that God will continue to win the hearts of those caught in downward spirals and give them purpose.

The third conclusion I’ve come to is that I don’t need to spend much time dwelling on the problems that Rosin and Bennett point out. I know that many women, single or married, are frustrated by the extended adolesence they sometimes observe in men, especially those in their 20s and 30s. Honestly, me, too. Sometimes I get this idea that it will help me to talk about it. But I also know that my tendency to nag and complain is always looking for an excuse to make an appearance. I want to say things like, “Finally! Some stats to back up what I’ve been saying all along!” That’s really, really not helpful. I don’t need to keep reminding myself that men have problems. (As stated before, their biggest problem is the same as mine: sin.) What I need to do is find a way to respond that glorifies God and encourages men toward all that God intends for them.

Today, I read Genesis 2-3. Adam was given dominion over the garden, and Eve was uniquely made to help him function in that role. He wrote the first love song for her in Gen. 2:23. They tended the garden together and enjoyed daily conversation with God as they carried out their assignment. Sounds ideal to me. But somewhere along the way, things began to break down. Eve started hanging around the wrong tree and eyeing that forbidden fruit. Her conversations with the serpent started to make more sense than her conversations with God. Adam didn’t interfere, and she didn’t ask his input. Eve was deceived; Adam followed her lead. The issues that arose between the first man and the first woman are not very different from the ones discussed in the articles above.

Both Adam and Eve failed to obey God. Both men and women still fail in that respect.

Sisters, if we are frustrated by men who appear to be reluctant, apathetic, or immature, let's humbly consider the path that Eve went down and firmly decide not to go there. We have a perfect example of how to respond to the "problem with men" in Jesus Christ. Our Lord reacts with compassion (not anger) when he observes weakness; He hasn’t given up hope but is fully confident in His ability to make disciples of all men; and He intercedes constantly on the saints’ behalf. Who cares about the statistics?! Let's remain gracious, hopeful, and prayerful, because we want to be part of a vibrant church where men and women are fully embracing what God has called us to together.

The theme of progress through pain has been rumbling around in my heart lately. It all started to unfold when I used it as a sign off for a work project the other day…and BTW that project is about to kill me. In that magical moment I started to think about how progress through pain applies to my life and the stories of those that I love.

One very dear friend of mine in particular has been battling depression and several other very painful medical issues for the last few years, yes I said years. I don’t mean pain like, “ooh ouch I scraped my knee,” she has been suffering without relief and yet through it I hear her growing closer and deeper to God in ways that I’ve never seen in her life before and it makes me think, now that’s serious progress through pain. Another childhood friend of mine is in the process of coming into relationship with Christ while facing the pain of sexual abuse from her past and this I think is the ultimate progress. And as I think of my own journey the things that have been the most painful God has used to bring me to a better place in Him if in the midst of the pain I will draw close to Him. Hardening my heart is a choice I’ve come to realize.

Good friends of mine have a beautiful dining room table that has an amazing knot in the middle of the wood, which apparently is a scar from some massive infection. Without that knot, the table wouldn’t be special. The knot gives the table a beautiful element of character and makes it a very valuable work of art. The furniture maker found that scar and turned into something beautiful. In a similar way God has demonstrated to me that if I yield painful things to him, He turns them into something beautiful that He will then use to help others.

Joseph’s life is an example of someone who did not allow the pain he lived to cause him to withdraw when he could’ve. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, unjustly sent to jail, forgotten by those he helped and yet he was not consumed by the pain he’d been through. The words he shared with his brothers in Genesis 50 ring through my heart often, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about for many people." Joseph’s life reminds me how God will take the snarly, ugly things and turn them around so He can use them for the better in our lives and for the better of others.

I wonder what pain God might be asking you to give to him; that scar, that infection, the thing that you don’t want to face that He would like to help you through and bring you to a better place. Like Joseph, we have the same access to the healing power of the one who makes things right so that we can say with confidence, “I am in the place of God and these things that are ugly are now being used for good!”

Going green!

Ginger Price

I apologize for not posting earlier this week. As some of you know, I work for Newfrontiers USA and we've been very busy this week getting ready for our Equipped for Mission conference!

This conference is my favorite of all the ones we have each year and I'll tell you why....

This is our annual leadership conference, which means 95% of the people attending the conference are leaders in their local church in some capacity or another. This gives everything a different feel and a different perspective that I love seeing. There's something about seeing a room of 300 leaders worshiping God together that gives me goosebumps. I feel my gaze being lifted off of my own circumstances and issues when I hear the testimonies and hopes of what God is doing in our family of churches all over the country. I feel challenged and, oftentimes convicted of petty navel-gazing, or prideful withholding of the gifts God has put in me as I watch leaders ministering to other leaders and hear their passionate vision of the Kingdom of God being established in their home towns and around the world.

I've been in the church all my life. I've been a Christian for 28 years (holy moly!). I've been entrusted with various responsibilities - many times in leadership capacities of some kind - throughout the past 20-ish years. I never want to get to a point in my life where I think I've learned it all, or know everything that God is doing in and around me. I want to continue to run hard after God and everything that He has for me. These leaders that I'm about to spend the next 3 days with are a very real inspiration to me. I feel myself beginning to tear up as I think about how grateful I am to have such amazing and godly men & women to follow.

How can we ever think we can successfully walk this life alone? Thank you, God, for these leaders you've put into place (Romans 13:1)!

(I'm hoping to get to post more during the conference this week - if I have time and internet connection.)

Going Green,
Samantha

I have a confession... I’m obsessed with the full moon. Every time I see it, I’m overwhelmed by it’s quiet and magnificent beauty. Before you start becoming concerned, don’t worry...I will not be blogging about werewolves in this post, despite their immense popularity in pop culture. ;) Instead I wanted to share a story about how this obsession started.

A few years ago, I was hanging out with some friends and I felt God prompting me to leave the group and go outside. So, I quietly slipped out onto a balcony where I was alone. For a while I was wondering why God had led me away from my friends to this empty balcony, and then I looked up and saw the fullest moon I have ever laid eyes on! I was overwhelmed. Immediately, Psalm 8:3-5 came to my mind...

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

While staring up at that magnificent full moon, I prayed this Psalm back to God and He simply whispered to me, “I love you more.” I couldn’t help but gaze up at that moon in awe. I was left speechless thinking about how amazing it is that God who created the glorious moon in such a special and marvelous way loves ME! He loves me enough to send His ONLY son to die on that cross and bear the weight of all of my sins, so I can live a guilt-free and purposeful life here on this earth. He even loves me more than His glorious creations like the sun, moon and stars! What?! That was just too much for me to handle.

It’s been 2 years since I had this experience with my Father. Yes! I have forgotten about this awesome experience since then and I have even had some discouraging times. Still, God is so gracious to give me a reminder like the moon because every time I see it, I am overwhelmed. Each time, I remember just how much He loves me and just how undeserving I am of that love. Wow God, you’re so good!

I hope that you’re encouraged dear sisters and that you remember and are overwhelmed daily with just how much our Father loves us! Maybe you’ll even remember the depth of His love the next time you’re looking at a full moon. Who knows! :)

Going green,

Abby

Happy Monday!

Can’t believe it’s my turn to post again! It’s amazing how much has changed in such a small timespan. Guess what ladies?! I’ve moved back to Missouri and actually, I’ve been back for a month now! I guess you could say God has been doing some major prompting in the past few months. A long story short, I was here in Joplin for the tornado and realized that I really wanted to be here again, so I asked God to either give me a reason to stay in NH, or a reason to go back to Joplin. A few days later, I was given a reason to go, so here I am. Needless to say... I'm pretty excited! :D

Since moving back to Joplin, I’ve been thinking a lot about the meaning of “home”. For the majority of my life, I've lived in the same house in NH, so is that my home? Or is Joplin my home now? Does your home have to do with a location? People? Feelings? Where is my home? Maybe you’ve also pondered the same type of stuff before. I know that every time I start getting caught up with these thoughts, one word of encouragement always comes to mind. Just before I left NH for the first time, a friend of mine had a word for me saying, “As you leave your family, the places you’ve always known, maybe feel out of place or lonely remember to ABIDE IN JESUS. He is your home. He will always be you home.” Ok, maybe this doesn’t sound like such a revolutionary idea, but for me it was and continues to be.

The answer to my previous questions about home find their answer in Jesus. My home is with Him. In His presence. What a great reminder! Our home is with Jesus and it will be with Jesus for eternity! It doesn’t matter if I’m feeling lonely, or if I don’t know where exactly I belong, I’m ALWAYS home. I’ve probably quoted this Psalm before but I just can’t help but type it again...

You make known to me that path of life, in your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasure forevermore.- Psalm 16:11.

My goal is to rest in this encouragement! No one knows what journey is set before us. Maybe some of us will live in the same town for the rest of our lives, and maybe others will travel the globe... Either way it doesn’t matter because if we have Jesus, we have our ETERNAL home that will NEVER change...experiencing fullness of joy in His presence and pleasures forevermore. Amen to that!

Going green,

Abby

Oh and PS...Congratulations to our very own Rebekah Kruvand who got engaged last week! We are all so thrilled for you Bek! God is good! :D

How many have I crushed on? Let me count the names.

Who here knows what I’m talking about? Sometimes I think I’m the only one, but I know I’m not. I’ve talked to too many of you and know I’m not alone. I know how us girls think.

It’s a common thing for girls to ask each other “what’s going on with that one guy?” or “what are you thinking as far as guys right now?” It’s an answer that I am always all the more ready and eager to give, to talk about, to giggle about.

But it profits me nothing! There are so many good guys in my life. I know we’re all in different stations and seasons, at different ages, in different parts of the country (or world!) but this applies, so stay with me! : ) Maybe there aren’t the awesome guys that I’m about to describe in your peripherals right now, but hang on, because they’re out there and they’re worth waiting for!

So I was saying: There are so many good guys around me. There are friends I’ve stayed in touch with from college, guys I go to church with, guys friends introduce me too – they are good! They are impressive. They are responsible and kind and courteous and helpful. I thank God for brothers like this!

With so many of them out there and polygamy not being an option, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t get to marry them all. So, instead of crushing on every single nice guy, I’m trying out some advice I received at a time I wasn’t willing to receive it…but it stuck in the back of my mind and now I’m sharing it with you. A wise friend told me to, “treat every guy you meet as your brother.” What good advice! I experience less anxiety and less self consciousness when I think of guys this way. I’m also less apt to have flirty, regret-it-later interactions with them if I treat them like a brother. In place of awkwardness is natural get-to-know-you interaction…which is good since I don’t want to marry a stranger anyway!

I used to look around and say, “Well, this is the best guy I’ve ever met. I guess I should go for this one?” No way! I’m confident that whether I’ve met this guy yet or not, everything will fall into place in perfect time. And he’ll be the one after me, not the other way around.

Going green!

-Andrea

So, I’ve never really been a huge Taylor Swift fanatic… but as I was driving home late Friday night, I was skipping through radio stations, and heard these few lines:

“Brace myself for a goodbye
Cause it's all I've ever known
When you took me by surprise
You said 'I'll never leave you alone”

I felt a familiar twinge when hearing those lyrics. I’m sure we’ve all had past crushes, relationships, friendships, or hopeful crushes that never ended the way we would have liked them to. “Goodbye” has been a really familiar vocabulary word for me. After a while, my heart began to expect an “ending” to always happen. When I think of past relationships that God’s saved me from, and who I could have been if left in sin, I can completely see God’s rescue. When it came to my relationship with my heavenly Lover, I carried that same expectation for a “goodbye” with me. There’s always been an ending to every other relationship, so surely this one is too good to be true….

But that’s what’s amazing to me, there never has to be any “goodbyes” with my King! I am His, and He is mine. Forever. We never have to end things, say goodbye, or leave each other. He has said to me, “I’ll never leave you alone”. I don’t have to brace myself to be hurt by Him. I don’t have to wall up my heart. There is freedom in His love for me. Pain, disappointment, regret don’t have to be “all I’ve ever known” anymore.

Here are some verses that God has really used in my life when I was broken, disappointed, deserted, and rejected:

“They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.” – Isaiah 61:12

“Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy…” – Isaiah 60:5

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” – Isaiah 58:8-9

“Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion.” – Isaiah 52:2

The last verse God sent to me as my anthem when I was in bondage to a sinful relationship. He freed me from that relationship, thank you Lord(!), and rescued me from captivity. I love Him for freeing me and saving me from myself.

Rise up beautiful Daughters of Zion! He is our Lord. We are called Sought After.

Going green,
Miss.