Learning Along The Way

Are You Too Busy to Count?

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I’ve been reading 100 Days to Brave and sharing some of my reflections here, but I’m curious for those who have been reading along too:

Are you too busy leaning in to being brave to count where we are?

Just this week we’ve achieved 31 days; I know this because we started October 1 and Wednesday is October 31, Halloween. We’re a third of the way to unlocking our most courageous selves!

Just two quick questions for you to reflect upon;

What area(s) of your life have you seen that you’re already brave?

 

What is keeping you from taking a brave step in an area that you know you need to lean into?

 

 If you want to let me know I’d love to hear your answers!

If this is your first time dropping by, welcome!

I’d love to have you join in the community to receive encouragement and have some laughs (sometimes) but most of all to consider how your story and my story connect to God’s story!

Do You Have a Dream that Died?

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I didn’t write last week. I had the chance to be present with these sweet faces.

I hope you weren’t too disappointed you didn’t hear from me on Monday.

I’ve still been reading Annie F. Downs devotional 100 Days to Brave. It’s been good and it’s been challenging.

But honestly, I got derailed on Day 28 when Annie titled the entry “Mourn Dreams that Have Died”.

I got derailed and it’s been hard to get back on track. She asked “What dead dream do you need to mourn?”

I’ve had dreams die. And when they did, I thought I was supposed to just acknowledge the loss as an ‘Oh Well that didn’t turn out as I hoped’ kind of way, trusting it wasn’t God’s plan for me. I read Annie’s words as if I had written them in my journal and she copied them into her devotional. 

To recognize it is ok to mourn the death of a dream, like the death of someone dear, was revolutionary. I have told myself hard things like “Don’t be a baby! Things don’t always work the way you want them to. Grow up!”

And while those are true statements, Annie was inviting me into a space of mourning, a space of acknowledging my loss and disappointment before I moved on. And she tells me that is a brave thing to do.

This derailed my train of thoughts generally moving on toward the future. I spent some ‘think time’ combined with some ‘feel time’ admitting I had suffered a loss; was hurt and disappointed by the death of a dream.

My dream of having a forever home for our family died when we moved away for my husband’s work. We lived in a beautiful house for 15 years: the place where our kids grew up and would eventually bring friends home from college; someday that special someone; then grandkids and family holidays with lots of traditions in a Hallmark cards kind of way. That dream died and I didn’t do well in mourning the loss.

I’m not sure why it’s hard to admit; maybe because I tell myself I’m not supposed to be disappointed with God’s plan. That kind of story doesn’t line up with people whose stories are in scripture. Abraham and Sarah were disappointed with God’s timing; Jonah was disappointed with God’s call to go to Nineveh, Job was disappointed with the circumstances of his life (death of his children, loss of his wealth should have been enough, but boils, too?) Even Jesus begged God for a different way out of the Garden. 

It’s okay to be disappointed. It’s not okay to make your own way out or succumb to bitterness when your way didn’t work. I’ve struggled these past five years because I haven’t honestly mourned the death of that dream of a forever home.

And Jesus? Well He asked for another way if possible, but if not, He wanted God’s way most of all. He struggled in extreme agony over what He knew lay ahead, yet He chose to trust God’s plan.

It can be the same for us. We can be disappointed and can mourn the loss of our dreams. Mourning gives space to be honest with ourselves and most of all with God.

I loved what Annie said at the end of her entry

“But when you look them (the dreams) in the face, head-on, and let them go, you will see how God’s plan for your life, although different from what you expected, is a beautiful story of its own that you never could have dreamed up for yourself.”

Have you had a dream that died? Have you made time to mourn it’s death?

Who Does God Say You Are?

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In 100 Days to Brave Annie F. Downs shared a story of a friend who was newly employed at a bank. Her first day was filled with the task of counting money.

Why? To learn to know the real thing. Once you handle the real thing you can tell counterfeit from real.

We need to know what is True about us in order to live a brave life.

How do we know what is True?

We have a guide book with lots of loving encouragement and promises. Truth to know and live out.

I received this beautiful card last year at a retreat I attended in the redwoods of California. Being in that place is a big enough reminder of God’s goodness yet this takeaway has reminded me of God’s love and care on many occasions in the year since.

This list is from ONE place in scripture: Ephesians 1.

Annie mentioned several more places to be reminded. If you are curious, start mining the Word to find the nuggets you need for your own reminding of God’s love for you, of His faithfulness to you, of His provision of courage you need to live a brave life.

Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved…

Can I Live a Brave Way and Complete Something?

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I have struggled with finishing what I start. ALL.MY.LIFE.

Significant adult voices called me lazy. A quitter. Undisciplined. Not a lot of encouragement there.

Perseverance has been a personal struggle; one I push toward in many areas daily. Finishing books can be a struggle. Creative projects. Housework. Conversations.

And blog series.

I began this summer a sharing a series of reflections on Matthew 11:28-30. A series that I have written and loved…but didn’t finishing sharing with you! So in effort to live in a brave way, I’m going to finish. Here goes:

Picking up in my reflections on Matthew 11:28-30

The last passage of our study is

My burden is light

I spent some counting time as I looked for ways other versions translated this passage. Did you know that Bible Gateway lists 53 versions of scripture that are translated in English? O those 53 only 13 translated this phrase differently. For fun I’m including them below:

AMPC My burden is light and easy to be borne.

ERV The load I give you to carry is light.

EXB the load I give you to carry is light.

GNT the load I will put on you is light.

ICB The load I give you to carry is not heavy.

MSG Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

NCV the load I give you to carry is light.

NET my load is not hard to carry.

NIRV my load is light.

NLV My load is not heavy.

NLT the burden I give you is light.

WE What I give you to carry is not heavy.

WYC my charge is light

Matthew said it straight. Jesus’s Way of relationship faith instead of religious rules is a light load.

Why do we make it so hard? How has being a Christian become such a negative thing? Lots of reasons I’m sure but in the context of this verse my answer is we’ve added on things that Jesus never said were needed.

Maybe you’ve heard me say Paul was the first commentator of scripture; he unpacked what Jesus said within the context of the Hebrew scriptures and what Christ’s finished work means. Paul kept telling all the churches to live under the grace and freedom from the Law. In our passage of study, Jesus is contrasting the burden of the Law to the burden of grace. He was preparing His followers to walk alongside Him, to be in step with Him and not to work out their salvation through the rules of the Law. That work was finished on the Cross. Now we have right standing before God because of Jesus’s perfect, holy sacrifice.

My burden is light.

He carries the weight. IF we keep in step with Him we won’t feel the burden much at all. If we get out of step then we bump into the yoke and we feel and see our circumstances as if we are alone and overwhelmed.

Just like He said to Peter, Jesus says to us

Come.

We can walk above our circumstances, in step with the Holy Spirit of God and amazing things will transpire. Our attitude shifts. Our worries and fears fade. Our wounds and hurts get cared for by the only One who can truly heal us.

My burden is light.

Our job is to get in the yoke and keep in step. He gives us what we need in order to do that. He carries the weight.

Because of LOVE.

We can learn to live in a brave Way because we’re LOVED. Not shamed in our ways. Loved, forgiven and encouraged to let go and lean in. Hanging out close to Jesus is worth the effort of change.

Live Brave friends.

Why is Faith Such a Mystery?

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The sun is shining, birds are twittering in the yard, taking baths in the bubbler. It’s peaceful here. Quiet. Room for my soul to breathe. Life is good.

Why am I sad?

The sadness isn’t a bad thing. It’s not something I need to push away, cover up, muscle through. I’m learning to be brave and feel the sadness.

There isn’t anything wrong with my faith. This is something God is teaching me. Some days we have more heavy feelings than others. Perhaps like the tides, there is an ebb and flow in the expression of feelings.

God made us with feelings. Feelings are amoral. I’ve learned that the value of my feelings is in taking them to God.

Learning to brave the uncomfortable feelings, the ones that can overwhelm me sometimes; to have courage to sit in the sadness for a time, letting the tears flow; crying and praying for others whose lives are hard right now; feeling the feelings, connects me with what God is doing in their lives.

My feelings are not a waste of time, or a weakness, or shameful. They are a good gift from a good, good Father.

He invites me to be with Him no matter the circumstance and that includes when I don’t understand why I am sad on such a beautiful day. He invites me to learn from Him, to watch how He walked through His time here and how He wants to show me the unforced rhythms of grace. 

This life of faith is a mystery to me. I don’t always understand and I often can’t see what is really happening. I don’t know why faith is such a mystery but I ask anyway. I’ve learned to ask for eyes to see. I’ve learned to ask for ears to hear.

And I’m amazed when He gifts me with evidence of things not seen: His Presence, His work in the lives of others, His Word coming alive to me as I ponder.

God wants to grow your faith too. 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen

If you’re struggling with feelings like me today, take a brave step and ask for more faith. Ask expectantly and keep on the look out for how He grows your faith.

I can assure you of two mysterious things: He will and it will not be as you expect.

What Is Your Brave Step?

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It’s Monday. 

What does this day hold for you? What are you looking forward to being a part of? What are you dreading?

Asking these questions can be prayerful moments if we invite God into the questions.

I was so struck by seeing this planter in the garden of the chapel where I had privilege to encourage women in the Way as they walk with Jesus.

 

Chosen Women, Choosing Wisely

I’ve seen their faces daily in my mind’s eye; reminded of their stories, their prayer requests. Seeing and hearing them has spurred me on in my own brave steps.

How about you?

Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

What is your brave step today?

It doesn’t have to be a huge leap, unless that is what God is calling you to. Your brave step may simply be making breakfast for others who don’t see that Jesus is making that meal through you.

Or maybe your brave step is speaking Truth to power at work. Or perhaps your brave step is writing a letter, the old-fashioned way, to bless and encourage someone you’ve not spoken to in awhile.

Whatever your brave step is, know this

Whatever God has asked, He will accompany you to complete. You can move forward in confidence since His ability will equip you. The time is now to pursue all that the Lord has for you! Priscilla Shirer

I’m honored to pray for you in your next brave step. Let me know how it goes!

Are You Hanging onto Fear?

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Two days this week I came to the computer with ideas about being brave and found I had nothing to say. I was stuck. I told myself its ok come back later, but of course, later never came. I didn’t guard time to write, so time wasn’t there.

I wrestled with why I challenged myself to work through this devotional 100 Days to Brave? I questioned my sanity, my purpose, my raison d’ etre (five years of studying French peeks out on occasion)

I came to an existential crisis point. Why do I want to tell you to let go of what’s holding you back and lean into the unique creation you are? Why do I want to encourage you to be brave, to learn what that looks like in your life, to take a first step?

I want to help women connect with the passions God has placed in them for their good, for other’s good, and most of all, for God’s glory. Click To Tweet

I have been hanging onto fear. Fear that no one will care about this message. Fear that these words go no where, that writing and speaking this message is a waste of time and money. Fear that I’m not listening to God’s Word accurately and I’m doing this for my own selfish gain. Fear of resistance, of ridicule, of rejection.

Getting honest about fear is a bit scary; as I continue to learn about myself through the lens of the Enneagram, it makes more sense why I get scared. At my core, I don’t want to feel pain. I want to have fun. I avoid conflict because conflict is painful and looking at the underside of my emotions is hard work.

But God.

My two favorite words in Scripture. Best search I ever worked through; try it.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

I came to my time with Him this morning without an agenda. I simply wanted to sit in His Presence and have coffee with Jesus. After I read the portions of Scripture in my Bible reading plan, I read today’s entry for Jesus Calling. 

Take time to be still in My Presence. The more hassled you feel, the more you need this sacred space of communion with Me. Breathe slowly and deeply. Relax in My holy Presence while My Face shines upon you. This is how you receive My Peace, which I always proffer to you.

I got comfortable in my chair, held my warm cup of coffee and sat quietly looking outside through the sliding glass door into our garden space. I watched the changing morning light illumine the persimmon tree in our neighbor’s yard, the orange-red fruit standing out against the green leaves. I noticed a finch search the feeder for just the right seed. What caught my attention was a hummingbird lighting on the bubbling water feature. It dipped its beak into the water hovering slightly above the water spilling over the slick turquoise orb, then all of a sudden, the hummingbird sat in the center of the bubbler and began to take a bath.

The freedom, the enthusiasm, the fearlessness all spoke to me in the hummingbird’s hesitation, then the jumping in. As I watched, these lyrics crept up to my consciousness

So let go my soul and trust in Him

And just like the shifting morning light, the awareness of my fears paled in the Light of this phrase.

So let go my soul and trust in Him

I was being invited forward. Come, Further up and Further in.

The invitation is for you too, my friend.

I see your face in my mind; your eyes rimmed with tears you’re blinking back; your brave smile trembling.

He is for you, just like He’s for me. God wants His daughters to walk in freedom; to be able to live as He has designed each of us; moment by moment learning from Him the unforced rhythms of grace.

The invitation to Come to Me isn’t a one time invitation. Jesus invites us again and again and again. You might take your eyes off of Him for a myriad of reasons; Come to Me remains the same, simple invitation. 

Learn from Me, watch how I do it. 

I’ve been hanging on to fear. I’ve been clinging to things that have weighed me down, hindering me from the life purpose God has given me. 

Right now, I’m choosing to be brave, to share my inner struggles to help you see you’re not alone in yours. The beauty is the precious invitation to Come is whispering at the edge of your conscious thought; listen and respond.

Let go and lean in.

You won’t regret it.

Perhaps you’re wondering how to get started? Or how to get back?  

Call a friend. Message me. Comment below (I read them before they get published so if you don’t want your comment published, tell me.) 

Bravely take the first step.

I leave you with this beautiful offering. Enjoy.

It is Well 

Being Brave in the Little Things

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It’s Monday evening and this is what I’m up to:

(shout out to iBloom planner)

I struggle with structure. Don’t get me wrong, I like a certain amount of structure. It creates the frame around my days. But sometimes I feel too constrained by structure so I reject it; I act as if I don’t have limits of time or energy or focus and just do what I feel like doing. I go back and forth from detailed planning to simply having appointments on the calendar. I like to tell people I am a recovering Type A personality.

Anybody else?

  I lived rigidly structured for quite a few years of my life. I took it upon myself to be the organizer within our family; somebody had to bring order out of chaos! But I learned along the Way that rigidity isn’t actually a  life style that leaves room for God’s plans. I began to be challenged in my rigidity when I read the book Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George. 

I read the book the year it was published, 2002. Both our sons were school age: Matt was 14 and a freshman in high school and Mark was 7 and in second grade. I was a full time SAHM, not homeschooling either of them at that point, and so, in an effort to establish my worth, (I didn’t believe I had inherent worth at that time; more on that brave change later) I created an action plan for my life that was scheduled down to the minute; filled with good things like teaching Bible study, volunteering at both schools, helping with AWANA at church, making meals for new moms & for end of life needs, leading children’s worship on Sunday mornings, early morning walks for exercise and prayer with a different friend each morning of the week. In those days I was getting 6 – 7 hours of sleep in order to fit it all in. If anything unusual happened, like an invitation for a spontaneous coffee with a friend or anything else out of the ordinary (which of course wasn’t on the schedule), I might be known to have a meltdown. Can you say hair trigger emotion? My poor family! I have no idea how they still speak to me! 

The book had lots of practical ideas to help people create structure in their lives; which I didn’t need help with. There was one mind blowing take away that has stuck with me: the principle of “leaving room for God”. Her point was, if we are so committed to our plans, our schedules, we often say ‘no’ or ‘I don’t have time’ when an out of the ordinary opportunity comes. 

Sometimes it’s in the unplanned, off the schedule opportunities where God wants us to be His hands and feet in the world. If our lives are too full, too scheduled, we don’t have time for God’s Plan B for our day. Click To Tweet

It took several big, brave steps in my life before I made the shift from my rigid, over scheduled plan to leaving room in my days for God’s plan. I have learned that being brave in the little things, like not over scheduling my day, saying no to too many commitments, and leaving time margin between one thing and the next has given me courage to say Yes to God’s plan for my day. 

How do you handle the need for structure? Is the whole idea overwhelming? Or do you have so much structure you don’t have time for spontaneous, out of the ordinary events? Let’s share how we are brave in the little things like bringing order out of chaos. We need to hear how others are brave because it encourages us to be brave, too.

How Do We Learn to Speak Truth to Lies?

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There’s a joke told among musicians and performers who aspired to the stage of the world renown venue Carnegie Hall:

“ How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice.”

This is no joke when we consider how we learn to speak Truth to lies.

We must know what the Truth is. And then we practice, practice, practice.

In today’s entry in 100 Days to Brave, Annie recounts Jesus’ 40 Days in the wilderness and the temptations by the enemy. You may know this portion of scripture: Jesus is tempted three different times by Satan and in each temptation, of body, of power and of worship, Jesus speaks Truth to the lies presented Him.

Simple enough right? 

Know what the Truth is. Speak Truth to the lies we hear whispered in our ears. Repeat.

But wait! How do we know the Truth? 

This reminds me of what I was doing last weekend. Encouraging a group of women to search the scriptures to know if what they heard me saying to them was true. Like the people of Berea who were commended by Dr. Luke in Acts 17, we are to be “Berean” in the way we handle God’s Word. When Paul had to flee Thessalonica, he, Timothy and Silas came to the town of Berea and began teaching in the synagogue. The people of Berea began searching the scriptures to see if what they heard was True.

As Christ-followers it is our personal responsibility to know what scripture says. There are any number of teachers running around saying partial truths and claiming it is all truth. How do we know who to believe?

Search the scriptures. 

Where do you start? What tools are most helpful? What voices do you listen to? Isn’t there someone who can do all the work for me, so I can just do the things I want to do? What difference does it make anyway?

You may ask any of those questions. I’ve asked all of them at least one time in my faith walk. Asking questions is one of the best ways to learn! If someone tells you to stop asking questions, I’ll just say that person is either annoyed that you’re asking questions, or they’re trying to control you. Sorry that they’re annoyed. Don’t stop asking questions!

In this post-modern era, there are many people who choose to believe many different things about the Bible. I’m not a Bible scholar. I’m a Christ-follower who wants to learn from Jesus. For me to learn from Jesus, I need to read the Bible. So I do. A little every day. I read it a lot when I’m studying and preparing to encourage women from the Word.

A good place to start is to read the recount of Jesus’ life and ministry found in one of the first four books in what is called the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the names of the gospels. Pick one and start reading a little every day.

If you use your smart phone, YouVersion is an app that has many versions of the Bible and also has a lot of Bible reading plans if that is something you’d like to do.

this is the image you’ll find in your App Store

What tools are the best ones out there? I now use online resources to study. I used to have physical copies of Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Matthew Henry’s Commentary, and a copy of Nelson’s Bible Dictionary, but when we moved I donated a ton of books, hoping they would be a blessing to someone else. Blue Letter Bible is one of my favorite online resources for study and word origin references.

Bible reading and study isn’t something to offload. Here’s why: your soul is wired for connection with the One Who created you. Getting out into Creation and reading His Word are two tried and proven methods for learning what is True and being able to connect your soul with God.

How do all these things tie into being brave? Glad you asked!

It takes courage to realize you have a need. In this case the need is know the Truth. 

It takes courage to take a step to meet that need.

It takes courage to carve out the time to meet that need.

It takes courage to guard that time as a priority.

It takes courage to ask the questions of God; what do I need today? How can I grow more Christ-like?

It takes courage to begin to hide God’s Word in your heart. (Scripture memory is work people)

It takes courage to speak God’s Word to the lies that we hear whispered in our thoughts by the enemy of our soul.

Those are seven ways that learning what Truth is has impact on being brave.

Annie wisely suggests we combat lies with Truth through prayer. I’ll leave you with hers:

God, tell me the truth of who I am. I’m listening. I want to be free from the lies—do that for me. Rescue me. Bring truth like a waterfall.

Is Speaking Up a Brave Act?

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Sometimes I don’t know how to start living brave. I sit in silence pondering how to take the first step, the small act that says I disagree and my voice matters.

I guess I just say what I believe to be true.

I don’t think Jesus cares about our political parties or our nation’s government or whether you are a diehard red or blue.

I think Jesus cares about how we love God and how we love others.

And I haven’t been seeing or hearing a lot of love in our country from people who claim the name of Christ.

It hasn’t mattered what side of politics one stands; there have been a myriad of hateful voices yelling toward the others. I imagine the crowd in 1st century Jerusalem sounded a lot like crowds at any given rally, stirred up against an ideology, or a person or political position, or (fill in the blank)

I’m not saying we all need to believe the same thing. I am saying that if you claim the name of Jesus then your standard of living is higher. 

Love is your standard.

Not a warm fuzzy puppy or a cute cooing baby or a bouquet of flowers kind of love.

This kind of love

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut.

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first”, 

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, 

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end. (The Message)

This kind of love is God’s love that flourishes in our lives when we surrender our “I’m right and you’re wrong” attitudes. This love flourishes in our lives when we look at those who are different than our outer selves and realize Christ died for them, too. Especially if they don’t know Him yet.

It takes a lot of courage to say this. Why? Because speaking up is a brave act.

Here’s the thing: the next time you hear someone saying something that is hateful about another person what will it take for you to say ‘that’s not okay?’ Click To Tweet

I’m clear I’m not to be another’s judge; that is to be left to God alone; yet there are those who say they love God, love Jesus and are downright hateful to anyone who doesn’t agree with their political point of view.

When we stop seeing the humanity in each person, and see others who are different from us as an object of wrath, then we can easily go along with heinous acts that are perpetrated against people. And we’re also going along with the enemy of our souls who doesn’t want the love of God to take hold in this world.

There are countless examples of people going along without considering the consequences. Roman citizens who supported Emperor Nero. German citizens who supported Adolf Hitler. Cambodians who supported the Khmer Rouge. Chinese citizens who supported Mao Tse Tung. It’s a short step to saying American citizens who support and/or hate Donald Trump.

Instead of being against opinions, what if we chose to be for Love? 

Corrie ten Boom chose love. Gladys Aylward chose love. Elisabeth Eliot chose love.

Why can’t you and I choose love?

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

As Christ-followers we are called to a different Way. The mystery is how do we live this out, moment by moment. Maybe if we asked the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, guard our lips and love through us, and we considered others as more important than ourselves, we might look different to those who don’t yet know Him and need to know there is a better, different Way. 

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