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NOW
I’ve heard it said that NOW is the only moment in time we have that touches eternity, therefore it’s the only moment we have to make a difference. NOW is always happening and it’s true, how we handle the NOW impacts everything and everyone around us. It can be a daunting responsibility to think of it as if we are constantly living on the precipice of change, ruled by our own free actions, but what a privilege to have that amount of power! God gave us this power and it is by this power that we show all manner of love and gratitude by living each day for Him.
NOW: three small letters instilled with such power! When something is urgent and asked of you NOW or something you weren’t expecting suddenly happens NOW, it can be jilting. You may feel like you don’t even have a say in what happens in life anymore. Your mind jumps straight from the sense of having an option or free will to just figuring out how to cope with it or do it and get it done NOW. It’s no coincidence that NOW contains the word OW .
OWS slip into our lives in the NOWS, in those moments where we react instead of respond to what is happening…
OW: an onomatopoeia signifying pain, two letters that bear such weight. Weight ranging from a stubbed toe to a broken heart…or a broken spirit… we may not always utter this word allowed when we hurt but we feel it. We feel the OW and sometimes…most times we don’t know why or how it came about. OWS slip into our lives in the NOWS, in those moments where we react instead of respond to what is happening, because we were unable to embrace the power of the first half of NOW….NO
NO: two little letters that have the power to protect, the power to save not only ourselves from heartache and pain but also from causing pain for others. NO doesn’t just protect us, it is not selfish, we don’t need permission to wield this word from anyone. We are free to say NO point blank, period, full stop. No explanation necessary because especially in those times when we stand to cause the most pain or distress, discomfort or destruction in our lives or the lives of others, we need NO and that is clear as day to us! It is the YHW that we don’t always understand so sometimes we hesitate because we can’t explain it until that three letter word completes and OW is upon us.
The YHW makes clearer sense in the rearview mirror but often is a little blurry and backwards to us in the moment. When we look back we will see WHY… When you get to the other side of these moments in time and you see the WHY clearly in that reflection, I hope you more often can find resolution for the guilt of saying NO in the moment instead of the dread of OW from falling victim to the “urgencies” and things done to us. We will all have samples of both in our lives and that is okay because in the end, if we belong to God we will also look back and see how everywhere we met and struggled with a NOW, God still WON!
Blessings FAM!
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ThTh.003: The Third Testament
We all know that the bible has two testaments, the Old and the New. I believe that these are guides for how WE are to be the third testament…let me explain what I mean. The word, testament, means 1. Testimony 2. A person’s will, especially the part relating to personal property 3. Something that serves as a sign or evidence of a specified fact, event, or quality 4. (in biblical use) a covenant or dispensation.
The Old Testament is evidence of events and promises made by God to His people from the beginning of time. It also establishes His intended will for humankind, His creation (property). The New Testament is Testimony of Jesus’ life, evidence of His miraculous ministry and promise of eternal life made to us through His sacrifice for us on the cross. In its entirety, the Bible sets an example for us of how we are to live as the third testament, a living testimony of His love to the world. By resting on the foundational Old Testament of God’s faithfulness and prayerfully pursuing the loving example of Jesus found in the New Testament, we can live by the power of the Holy spirit as the third living testament and be a shining light for others to see His goodness in all things.
I get that this is a lot of pressure and unfortunately, humans fail at being good examples all the time! I think we need to change what we define as a good example though. Have you ever had a teacher or boss that you idolize for their skill and knowledge of their craft? Maybe it seems like they never fail and so you feel like you can never admit your failures to them. It can be intimidating, stressful, and leave you feeling like you will never be good enough.
The best bosses and teachers I have had were the ones who related on a personal level. They humbled themselves to be transparent in their shortcomings and mistakes in order to prove to me that they are not special or perfect, meaning I could do it too! I could name so many names of people like this in my life and I am so grateful for them. Unfortunately, I can also think of some on the other side that were too prideful to allow their mistakes to show and act as lessons for their students/employees. While the ones who hid their mistakes would outwardly, to most, look like the prime spotless examples to follow, I actually learned and was encouraged more by those who let their guard down and were vulnerable with me. These are the examples that challenged me to be true with myself and about myself. I developed a distaste for those who fake and hide there sinful nature and an inclination to always hold myself accountable to others with what I am facing.
In order to be a good example for others, we do not need to be faultless. That is impossible! We must be humble and admit our struggles and failures, in order to gain respect and credibility from others and to show them the depth of God’s redeeming power. If people cannot relate to you, they most likely will not listen to what you have to say. The Bible says that though we live in the world we are not of it. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God! While that is true, we must still live our lives on earth as an example before men. While we are here, we are tempted by the devil just like Jesus was and just like everyone else is. The difference is, we know that we are on the winning side and in the end we have hope in our eternal gift of salvation. We must meet people where they are and not alienate ourselves as “holier than thou” types so that they will listen and learn that they too are invited to the winning side! This is how we effectively fulfill our calling to be the third living Testament.
Blessings FAM!
What are some ways that you live in the world but not of it? Do you feel like people respect you for your honesty and transparency? If not, why not? Maybe this is a sign that you have been evading your purpose and putting up walls to keep people from seeing your full testimony. Pray and ask God to give you wisdom in opportunities and boldness to show people your struggles and failures. Let your character and attitude in hard situations be a shining example of the peace, grace, and love of God. Be the third testament before men, of His redeeming power and eternal promise!
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WW.003: Every Move I Make | by David Crowder Band
“Waves of mercy, waves of grace” These are the lyrics that made me choose this song for this weeks Worship Wednesday spotlight. If you grew up in church like I did and 30 is creeping up on you, then you are probably vary familiar with this song! The moves we did were slightly different than this video but for the most part, they are the same. I loved this song and still do but for different reasons. When I was a student I loved it for it’s energy and excited movements. I served in the children’s ministry at my church back then, leading the small children in worship which, with them, always had to be full of creative movements. Most songs we lead them in had to have moves made up for them and I have many fond memories of choreographing those songs with my fellow KidZone Singers! (You know who you are! I miss you all and those sweet times we had together!)
My love for this song has taken on new meaning in my current season. As I was thinking this morning of what I wanted to write about for this post, I couldn’t stop coming back to one of my favorite analogies for when things in life look overwhelming. I liken it to standing on a beach and staring out at the water during a major storm which creates this giant wave! Think of the tallest wave you can and then double or triple it’s height! When we see things going on in life that are outside of our control, it can be easy to react in fear. Those things that seem so big and inevitable are like that giant wave. It is one hundred stories tall and coming straight for us. We feel like we may drown or be washed out and lost to the sea.
But “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” {2 Timothy 1:7} We can only control ourselves and we can choose to stand our ground against those waves by His power! In the end, just like that giant wave is pulled down to earth in submission to the moon’s tide, The waves in our lives will be crushed beneath our feet in submission to the unmatched power of God! Just as the wave, after crashing down, still comes towards us to softly ripple over our toes and around our ankles, the waves we face in this life will still come for us but to produce in us refreshing ripple effects of growth by God’s grace and we will see more clearly each time just how well we are surrounded by God’s merciful protection!
‘Waves of Mercy, Waves of Grace” Lord help us all to remember that the giant waves we face in this life all work for Your glory! You bring lessons and reminders of your grace and mercy in each one if we will only stand firm in Your power and look for the blessings. We trust that you will protect us and force these waves to bow at your power and break in your time!
Blessings FAM!
What are some waves you are facing or have faced in the past? How has God blessed you through them or how are you praying for His blessings out of the ones you are currently facing? If you are not praying to Him about them, why not? He cares about us through every situation. Go to Him with your fears even if they seem silly. Sometimes when we are less mature in our faith, even the small waves in life can scare us. There is no shame in that, just remember that no matter what we bring before Him, He will help us through. Worry about nothing, pray about everything and He will bring you peace!
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ThTh.001: “…As Yourself”
In Matthew 22:36-39, Jesus answers His disciples when asked what the greatest commandment is to keep. He says “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Lately I have been noticing how often that last part gets glossed over. So many times this commandment is brought up in church and sermons but it always feels like they say to “Love the Lord your God and love your neighbors asyourself…” This makes it seem like it is a two part commandment but in reality there are three distinct calls to action here and each one is significant in that, without it the other two are impossible to do well!
The first part “Love God” Is the most necessary since, without loving Him, you have no idea of what true love is in order to even begin to understand how to love anyone else. Without truly understanding how great His love is, that He would send His Son to die for us while we were just scummy little sinners, we fail to gain access to the deepest well of love that exists, which fills us up and overflows from our lives into the lives of people around us. The second part, “Love others” is important too because, if we are not showing love to others then why would anyone want anything to do with the God we love, who taught us to love. If we cannot show love to them it doesn’t reflect well on the true depth of God’s love or make a great case for why we declare our lives as His. I think most people would agree with those first two parts. However, the third part, which I am seeing so many gloss over lately, “…as yourself” seems just as important. it means that, before we can love others well, we must truly love ourselves. If we love others as ourselves but have no true love for ourselves then arguably we have no true love for our brothers and sisters either!
In today’s culture we #treatyourself #selfcare #selflove #blessed and those tags are usually at the bottom of a post talking about how we bought ourselves something extra nice or took a bath with some fragrant lit candles… well sorry not sorry but those examples of “loving” yourself are as shallow as that bath water! Yes, a bath can be nice and relaxing and yes, sometimes you deserve to buy something that you worked extra hard to earn BUT those are not what it means to truly love yourself. Those are ways to reward yourself. The deep work of learning to love yourself doesn’t normally make it to the Instagram highlight reel.
learning to love yourself is a result of the hard work inside your own mind that you have to battle with every day. It is waking up and not judging yourself for not feeling like you can work out that day and instead giving grace to yourself to do what you can and be thankful for the ability to do that. Loving yourself is setting boundaries in your life that keep you from things that you know are harmful to your mental health. Not binge watching Netflix and instead getting some good rest. Not scrolling forever mindlessly through social media and instead taking a silent walk outside to appreciate what God has made…etc.
Taking the time to talk to Him and thank Him for it all is the biggest thing we can do to learn to love better. When we show God our thanks, He reveals more of His design to us and part of that design is how He made us uniquely and loves us unconditionally. Our God-designed uniqueness demolishes any comparison trap we may find ourselves in as a result of too much social media time, which frees us from resentment and instead allows us to rejoice with our friends in the things they are celebrating or experiencing. And the unconditional love we receive from God should free ourselves from our own over perfectionist view of how we think we should behave. This doesn’t mean we don’t have to try to be better, but it does help us find grace for ourselves to get back up when we fall and try again.
We can only love ourselves well when we truly understand how God loves us and we can only love others well when we get those two things right. So talk to God! Get to know the one that made you and knows exactly how He is making you perfectly into the person you are meant to be. We are all God’s masterpieces in progress and I can’t wait to see His finished work of art!
Blessings FAM!
How have you been practicing true self love? What are some ways you remind yourself of God’s love for you in order to fuel your ability to love yourself and love others? Let me know in the comments below
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TT.001: …How has God been working in you through this crazy season of life?
I think it’s no secret that He has been ramping me up more and more each day towards doing the things I have felt called to do for a long time. The least of which being to actually utilize this domain which I have owned for about 7 years now! hahaha I don’t know why I have put it off for so long. Life has a way of distracting you and making other things seem so important. I am certain no distraction was a waste of time though! I have grown and learned so much in every situation of life that has lead me to where I am and I continue to grow through the things I am facing each day. The difference is now I have a more focused drive towards creating than ever before. I want to do great things with creative people and in so doing make the world a better place, spread God’s love and advance His kingdom!
I am learning to balance my life in such a way that I am able to properly care for myself, be present and effective at work, as well as make time to create and hopefully soon begin to organize projects with other creatives under the FAM umbrella! I am so excited and expectant for God to do great things through this ministry. I already see so many ways that He has been working to equip many of my friends to be a part of it all too! I am not perfect and so I experience setbacks often but the trick is to give yourself grace for a while and then start again as soon as you are ready. So who is ready to get started with me?! Seriously, let me know if you have some free time and want to brainstorm something creative to do together. I am always up for a creative collaboration!
Blessings FAM!
Leave a comment below and let me know what God has been doing in your life through this strange season! If you would like to keep it private, just between the two of us, feel free to use the form instead. The form also provides an opportunity to express interest in a Creative Collab
