A Change of Plans

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

Have you ever been convinced that God is calling you to do something that was scary? You thought long and hard about it and prayed earnestly before finally taking a huge leap of faith to follow Him, only to find out in the end that it didn’t turn out how you thought God had lead you? This recently happened to me. I was scared to make a particular decision but I was so confident it was what God was calling me to do. After many months of relentless pursuit, the end result turned out much differently than I had anticipated. In fact, if you look at it from a worldly standpoint, it appeared as if I had lost and was completely wrong to have started this journey.

In this moment, it’s easy to question God. Was it really You leading me? Was I deceived? Why did it turn out this way? What purpose did it serve? Was I wrong? 

If you know me, you know I’m a planner. I want to know ahead of time how things are going to work out. So when it comes to changing plans, it’s quite often hard for me to change gears. Throughout my life, I’ve had many opportunities to learn how to deal with this innate personality characteristic. In fact, sometimes I think it’s quite possible that God changes the plan for the sole reason of teaching me how to bend and mold into His plan, despite the one I had in my mind!

But in this situation, I’m not certain yet why things turned out the way they did. I do know this: God’s plan prevailed. He called me to make this decision for a reason. He allowed it to work out differently for a reason. Despite what I personally wanted and thought was best, God had a different idea. And though I have questions and tend to be fearful at times, I know I can trust Him with this. 

You see, we serve a God that knows the future. He knows how each decision made in this moment will affect YOUR future. And if you’ve been around very long at all, you can look back in your life and see the impact, good or bad, of one single decision made. God sees this ahead of time and knows what will happen. We don’t. It’s such a simple concept yet so hard to let go of what we think is best in the moment and leave it in the hands of God.

A God whose thoughts are higher than mine.

A God whose ways are better than mine.

A God whose plan is perfect.

Life is a series of decisions. Some are bad and some are good. But if we let God lead us in those decisions, even if it’s confusing at the time, He will take the reigns from us and lead us into an unknown but exciting territory.

I’m looking forward to seeing how God is going to work through this situation! It isn’t what I originally planned, but if I’ve learned one thing in my life, it’s that my own Godless plans only lead to heartache. I may not ever know what would have happened had I not started down that path, but I trust that He had a purpose for it. I serve a God whose plans are perfect! Even if things are hard and painful and even if I don’t understand.

Whatever you’re going through today, especially if God is taking you down a different path than you originally thought, trust Him. It may not be what you thought but He will not let you down. Sit back and watch Him turn this into something far more beautiful and greater than you could have ever imagined!

What We Can Learn From HGTV’s “Fixer Upper”: Part 1

“Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” Isaiah 43:9

HGTV’s show Fixer Upper has my husband and my undivided attention. We usually don’t watch tv except for sports and sometimes The Voice but we stumbled upon an episode of Fixer Upper not too long ago. We absolutely loved it! During the show, we laughed, shared glances, talked about what “we would do”, and just had a great time together. Since then, I have started recording them so we can watch together when we have a free hour.

The stars of the show, Chip and Joanna Gaines, make it the show we crave to see. They are married, have four children, and personalities that are thoughtful, fun and contagious. The premise of the show is this: Chip and Joanna are going to help a family purchase a home. Their goal is to find the worst home in the best neighborhood to renovate for the purchasers. They show them 3 houses and discuss with them the possibilities and financial overview of each. Then the family gets to decide which one they want to choose. Chip and Joanna start the renovation and by the end of the show, they reveal to the owners what they accomplished.

I think we can learn a great deal of wisdom from this couple. Over the next few blogs, I am going to write about what God has shown me through this show. There are several things that pop out to me but I’m going to write about the most important first.

This sweet Texas couple have me thinking about how my life has been like those seemingly nasty houses they find. Sometimes the exterior can look okay but when they enter through the door, there is not much that seems good. Occasionally, the purchasers will see one or two features they like, but for the most part, there doesn’t seem like much hope at all for this house.

Chip and Joanna see something completely different. They have visions of this house, with the right tools and touch, being completely transformed. They can see how beautiful, despite years of wear and tear, it can become. They see the beauty through the brokenness. They know the tools and work it will take to transform ugliness into magnificent. And by the end of the show, they can prove to everyone else what was there all along.

This is so much like Jesus. He sees inside of us to the mess that is there but He sees past the mess to the beauty. He can envision what we could look like and even has all of the tools and touch to get us there. Like these purchasers, we just have to trust Him. We have to hand our houses over to Him for a complete remodel. Even though we don’t know how it can happen, we have to hand over our life to the Saviour and leave it there for Him to work on and make beautiful once again. He wants us to forget the past and look toward the future, allowing Him to do a mighty work in us.

How does this look? We confess our ugliness. We turn our lives over to Him. We let Him work while we worship, show our devotion, pray, and study the Bible. We stop ignoring what is broken and we turn to Him for healing. We stop trying to fix our lives and instead lean in close to our Father and let Him fix it. We acknowledge the ugliness but we also see the beauty through God’s eyes in who He created us to be. We let Him restore us. We find a group of people who love Jesus to encourage us on our journey and we reach out to them when we need guidance and encouragement. We see the qualities God has given us that are good and beautiful and focus on those. We leave the past ugliness behind and look towards Jesus and our future with Him.

Chip and Joanna can make houses look new again. But God can make lives new again. Embrace His vision for your life and start letting Him remodel those ugly things that have taken over you. It just takes one step at a time. Take a step in the right direction, then repeat… then repeat again.

And in the words of Joanna Gaines, “Focus on the things in front of you and all around you. Enjoy and rest in today and embrace all that is good, lovely, and pure. Allow yourself a fresh start today …”

When Life Screeches to a Halt

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

Sometimes, by no decision of our own, things just slow down for us. Sometimes, life skids to a screeching halt and leaves us wondering what to do. It may be something serious, like a death in the family, or a bad medical diagnosis and everyone all around us is continuing but we feel frozen in time, like the world is spinning out of control. Or it could be that life just physically halts, as in the case of winter weather that keeps us from leaving our house.

As I sit on my couch drinking a cup of hot coffee, my view is of a snow filled ground that has been the cause of me staying at home from work today. I can’t leave my house because my dirt backroad is ice and snow covered. My children are with their dad this week and my husband is out of town on business. So here I sit, alone. Life seems to be standing still.

Of course, when there is time on my hands that I wasn’t expecting, I start thinking. Occasionally, my thoughts take me to negative places I shouldn’t go and I have to get out my bag of coping mechanisms to combat those thoughts. Spending time with Jesus is at the top of that list along with getting up and doing something that takes my mind off of the negativity. Writing often accompanies these moments as well.

Today I turn my attention to Jesus, and my loneliness suddenly disappears. My mind is turned toward Him and He gently urges me to consider others and move outside of myself.

I am reminded to “Be still and know that He is God.” When life halts, we have a unique opportunity to think on the things of God and praise Him for His hand in our life, whether we can see it at the moment or not. Life for me in this moment has come to a screeching halt because of weather but for so many others, life has been turned upside down by situations out of their control.

It’s harder to “Be still and know that He is God”  in moments filled with fear and pain. So as we go through our day, let’s remember those of us whose world have been turned upside down recently and pray for them. Their life as they knew it has halted. They may be struggling to regain composure and deal with a major turn of events. They may be struggling with their faith in God in the midst of an uncontrollable situation.

When life is busy, we must make the time to ‘Be still and know that He is God.”

And when our world comes to a screeching halt because of something so insignificant as the weather and we are tempted to complain about it, let’s make sure we make the time to focus our attention on God, listen to His word in our lives and pray for others.

So today, whether you are stuck at home or not, let’s:

  • Be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10)
  • Be still and know that God is my only source of true joy (Psalm 43:4)
  • Be still and know that God is the true healer (Psalm 103:3)
  • Be still and know that God will heal (Psalm 30:2)
  • Be still and know that God will provide (Philippians 4:19)
  • Be still and thank God for what He is doing (Isaiah 43:19)
  • Be still and thank God for the opportunity to slow down and enjoy His presence (Psalm 16:11)
  • Be still and trust that ALL things are in His hands (Romans 8:28)

Will you join me?

Stop Saying “It’s Just Normal Life”: It May Not Be

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

I Corinthians 12: 26

My brother is an amazing person. He has had a rough life and has made choices that aren’t good, as all of us have at one time or another. His choices landed him in the middle of a war. A war that he will have to continually fight for the rest of his life. A war against addiction and its devastating effects. HE IS FIGHTING that war.

We were having a conversation last week about things people say that do not help him. In fact, one thing said that really bothers him is “It’s just normal life. We all deal with that.” If he has enough courage to speak out about his personal struggles to someone, he doesn’t want or need to hear that.

You see, he deals with things that may seem “normal” to us but many of us have no idea how it affects him. The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines addiction as “a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long lasting and can lead to many harmful, often self-destructive, behaviors.”

It’s hard to understand this if you haven’t walked this path, and it’s even somewhat hard to understand if you have. But because of the nature of addiction, seemingly normal struggles can quickly lead to unhealthy thinking patterns and send his life spiraling out of control again. He has to work hard at fighting this addiction. To downplay anything he is struggling with doesn’t help.

I understand the reason behind saying this. I’ve probably said it myself to him at one time or another. I love him and I want him to realize that every little struggle he has doesn’t have to be a big deal. I want him to know that all of us struggle and that he’s not alone. But here is what’s true: We may all deal with struggles but we don’t all deal with the same struggles with the same outcomes. One circumstance that may not seem like a big deal to you may seem like a really big deal to someone else. When we make the statement “It’s just life”, it minimizes what a person feels and doesn’t convey true compassion. What could be heard in this situation is, “You may seem like you’re struggling but it’s really not a big deal.”

In I Corinthians 12:26, it states that if one member is suffering, we should be suffering with him. Rather than downplaying what he is feeling, he needs compassion.  He needs you to be there for him. He needs you to admit it when you don’t have the answers. Above all, he just needs you to listen.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I feel the same way. I want people to really listen and not downplay my struggles. It may seem silly or insignificant when you’re looking from the outside in, but to the person experiencing it, it is very different.

When someone shares with you their struggles, take the time to listen to what they are experiencing. Ask questions. Seek to find empathy first and shower them with love before offering advice that may be difficult to receive. There are times when it is needed; however, showing them you love and care about them enough to really hear them out is an important first step.

Take the time to dig deep to find out what is going on with them, as much as they are comfortable sharing, and try looking at things from their perspective. When we deliver canned lines in an effort to make them “feel better”, we miss an opportunity to identify with their unique perspective.

My brother and I share a relationship that I wouldn’t give up for anything in the world. But I still have no idea the battles he faces on a daily basis. He can tell me and I can imagine, but I have never walked in his shoes. So as I learn how to best support him, I will continue to seek ways to show him I care and will listen to him if I am doing or saying something that isn’t helping.

Let’s walk beside each other through struggles as well as good times, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Even if we may not understand each other, we can still stand together and pray to the One who understands it all and has the power to intervene. When we understand that God is the one who has all the answers, it releases the need to give advice even when we don’t have good advice to give and just PRAY.

For my brother, it’s not “just normal life.” It’s a struggle each and every day to take the steps that others take without even thinking. And because he is taking these steps and getting up after stumbling, I view him as one of the bravest people I know. I’ve never walked in his shoes but I will be the shoes walking beside him and a voice cheering him on as he takes each step.

The Mighty Move of God

Now therefore stand still and see this great thing

that the LORD will do before your eyes. I Samuel 12:16

My mind is a jumbled up ball of the goodness and greatness of God. I can hardly contain myself. I have to hold myself back so I don’t sound like some crazy religious lunatic and just run people off. I have given my life back to God and He is MOVING in it. Not only that, the church that He has positioned me in seems to be in the very same place I am. God is MOVING in our church. I can feel it rising up all around me. I am having a hard time writing this out because my heart knows what it happening but my mind is struggling to put words to it. 

About a month ago, after my declaration of my one word for this year (Fearless), I met with an old friend not having any idea that it would be more than a casual lunch date. She shared with me something she was dealing with and wanted us to pray about – FEAR. Fear is paralyzing and we both personally know that well. We ran out of time before I could share with her what God had been doing with me so we vowed to meet again.

Later that week, at the urging of the spirit, I went to the bookstore to look at any Christian books on fear that I could find. There were several I had found online that looked promising but when I went to the bookstore, I felt strongly that Joyce Meyer’s “The Battle Belongs to the Lord” was the book I should read. And I was working it out with my friend to read along with me. We decided to meet for lunch to discuss the first 3 chapters.

The Sunday before we met, our Pastor shared with us that his wife has been diagnosed with cancer. Our church was in shock but immediately responded as he has been teaching us – with WORSHIP and prayer.  You know what? Joyce Meyer’s first three chapters talk about exactly what to do in these situations and it includes exactly what our Pastor has been preaching about. What makes this life changing is that there is scripture to back it up and that it isn’t just the word of people. It is the Word of God.

Do you see how God orchestrated all of this? How all of this is a puzzle that I had no idea was being put into place until now. I have a strong feeling that He’s not finished putting pieces together yet either. And this is just the last month of my life! I could write a book about the pieces He put together when I didn’t see how it would fit over the course of my life!

I am on my knees and in awe of the One who moves in mysterious ways. He has a way of working things out for His people in ways we never expected.

There are battle blows dealt toward us on all sides but we battle back. On our knees in battle position. From there, we trust that God is moving and will continue to move. We  passionately, precisely, and persistently pursue Him. Because we know that all things are in His hands and in His perfect plan.

And I will fight alongside my sister doing this study with me as well as my church family. Because I have never been so determined to SEE HIM MOVE even more.

Watch with me and see what He is going to do. Come alongside me and see for yourself what the excitement is all about. It’s been so long… well maybe never… since I have felt His presence like I do now. And I want as many of you to experience it with me as possible.