Category: Faith

Community, Faith, Friendship

Created for Community

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Created for Community

Editor’s note: For the month of August, our focus scripture can be found in 1 Corinthians 12:27 where it says that “Now you, collectively, are Christ’s body, and individually, you are members of it, each with his own special purpose and function.” AMP

You wake up, ready to serve. You are filled with energy and purpose.

Then comes the bombardment: “You are not ready. You did not prepare enough. You are going to mess up and not be able to recover. Why are you doing this? You are tired. You have too much on your plate. This isn’t going to be worth it.”

You push against the thoughts. “I made a commitment, and I’m going to do what I said I would do.” The kids start complaining, you discover you have a flat tire, and you are running out of time. It would be easy to just give up. You are feeling frustrated, knowing you are under attack,
and you ask God to anoint you with His protection and provision. Finally, you reach your destination, and you are grateful that you showed up.

Does this story sound familiar? You experienced a similar attack before going to church, or helping another person, or going to work, or anything that involves community. The enemy fed you lies such as, “You are not worthy. They do not really like you. You will never be enough.”

You see, the enemy does not want us to gather in community with other believers. Why? Because when we are together, we are stronger. Jesus said, “For where two or three have gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 20:18). The enemy knows there is strength in numbers. Where one is weak, another is strong. Where one can only see a fog, another has clarity. God blesses us when we come together.

We are each unique, with different gifts, personalities, experiences, perspectives, desires, and purposes. We are wonderfully created. We are daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Each of our lives is an integral part of a stunning masterpiece.

“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

When the enemy attacks you with lies meant to keep you from others, focus on the truth: You are a precious child of God. You have a place in this world. You are needed. God has a plan for you. He created you, and He loves you dearly.

God also has a plan for the myriad of individuals we encounter throughout our lives. When we come together to accomplish the things He has written in our hearts, the results are incredible.

We, as women, tend to process our thoughts and emotions when we spend time together and share our hopes, dreams, and struggles. Vulnerability is a beautiful thing. Your story may be exactly what someone else needs to hear.

Be authentic. God created you just as you are for a reason. Every experience you have had can be used to further His Kingdom. If you have made mistakes, you can help others avoid those pitfalls. If you have struggled with certain things in your life, you can encourage others who are
going through the same things. It goes the other way too. The people you spend time with can also help you by sharing their stories.

God works in mysterious ways. Ask Him to open your eyes to the needs of others and to fill your needs. He knows the depths of our souls. Be still and listen for that small, soft whisper that is from God. He will guide you in reaching out. You will know His voice because there will be peace.

Be willing to listen to the perspectives of others. Sometimes they can see things we would never even contemplate. There have been times in my life when I thought I had considered every course of action, and after sharing my dilemma with a friend, I was surprised to find that my friend could see another way. One friend directed my focus to God when she questioned, “Have you asked God about it? Maybe He’s trying to tell you something.”

God did not create us to be alone. We need community. We need the unique perspectives and gifts of one another. We can use our strengths and weaknesses to help each other. As we gather, we can advance God’s Kingdom in a powerful way. God will guide you. Listen to Him.

Together in Christ, we are made strong.

We would like to thank Julia Franklin for writing this blog post.

Faith, General, Holy Spirit, Joy, Scripture

When JOY is Missing

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When JOY is Missing

Editor’s note: John 15:13 says that “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” For the month of July, each blog post will be centered around this verse and finding the JOY in a life of Christ.

“I’ve got the JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY down in my heart! Down in my heart to stay!!!” Do you remember singing that song as a child? For most of my life, I’ve been full of JOY down in my heart. But if I can be honest and vulnerable, there have been many times that I didn’t feel so joyful. Maybe you are in a season of JOY-LESS living right now! What can you do to get some JOY back in your life? 

1.Refocusing on God is the first step to rediscovering your joy.

Joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, who resides in the heart of the believer, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.”  (Galatians 5:22 ESV).  Since God is the author of all these good things, when one becomes a Christian, and is united to God through faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit imparts these qualities to the believer.  Rediscovering your JOY is found by looking back and seeing the faithfulness of God. One of the beautiful things about being middle aged is being able to look back on my life and seeing God’s faithfulness. He is a good, good Father and He will turn our hurts and disappointments to JOY through our lives if we allow Him to.

2. Doing God’s will increases our JOY

The writer of Third John experienced the joy of ministry, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4 ESV).  When we follow the will of God and walk in obedience to His ways, I believe that He will give us JOY in our hearts! 

3. Being intentional about seeking and finding JOY:  

A couple of years ago, my “word of the year” was JOY. I wanted to be intentional about recognizing JOY in all areas of my life.Throughout the year, I looked for JOY signs or scriptures. I underlined them in my Bible and placed JOY signs around my home and in my office. I wanted to seek out and recognize true joy. Was it a year of pure happiness? Did nothing bad ever happen to me? Of course not. I’m sure I had my fair share of disappointments and things didn’t always go as planned, but when you surround yourself with reminders of JOY, you can be confident in the goodness of God. 

4. Ask God to give you JOY within (fruit of the spirit)

Wherever people know, love, and worship God, His love instills a joy, that only He can give, into the hearts of His worshipers. Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you!”

This means that even when we are in the midst of a situation that legitimately brings us sorrow, our inner joy is never taken away.  The very core of our being can still rejoice in the fact that we are forgiven children of God who enjoy an intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe.  Our joy is strengthened when we remember that, no matter what the circumstances, God is with us and He is for us. 

The last verse of the song that I sang as a little girl, “I’ve got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart….and if the devil doesn’t like it, he can sit on a tack. ouch! Sit on a tack to stay…”

Satan wants to convince us that our circumstances mean God is not for us or He has abandoned us. That simply is not true. We can KNOW and BE CERTAIN that God’s faithfulness can bring us pure joy. Have faith that as you look back on your circumstances and see that God used your grief, your disease, your sadness, your disappointments…whatever it is you are walking through…to bring JOY into your life.

Have I experienced sadness over circumstances in my life? Absolutely. Have I been disappointed at times? Most definitely. But as I look back, I know that God is good and He wants to fill me with JOY. 

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with ALL JOY and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We would like to thank Vickie Young for writing this blog post.

Faith, Friendship, General, Joy

JOY in Uncertainty

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JOY in Uncertainty

Editor’s note: John 15:13 says that “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” For the month of July, each blog post will be centered around this verse and finding the JOY in a life of Christ.

You know, the Lord always has an interesting way of working things out for me. Of course, it is always for my good. I was asked to write a blog about joy, to which I obviously said, “yes!” and about a week and a half later, I entered into what I like to call a “funk.” I started enduring some personal trails like disappointment and discouragement. And I’m over here thinking, “Lord, I’m supposed to be writing a blog about joy! How am I supposed to do that in the midst of all this?” He quickly reminded me of where my joy comes from and to just share my story.

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you may have seen my post about my funk. I typically try to keep my page positive and full of cute pictures of my kiddos and my family while just sharing tidbits of life and truth. That day, however, I was just honest about what I was going through so that others may not feel quite so alone in whatever it is they might be going through. To be truthful, I didn’t really think much would come of the post, but to my surprise, I was bombarded with support and love from people near and far. I even had people private message me to encourage me or tell me I had been on their heart. It was as if the Lord was say, “See?”

You see, I had been feeling quite lonely, wondering why it seems like I am in a season of pruning. I was feeling left out, wondering when it would ever feel like anyone wanted to include me as their “bestie”. I had spent a day or two, unfortunately, allowing the enemy to creep into my thoughts and convince me I wasn’t good enough for anyone to call friend. One night, with my sweet husband asleep to the world beside me, I laid in bed and just cried myself to sleep crying out to Jesus. I begged him, “if I’m not supposed to have a bestie-type friendship right now, can you please show me how to grow so close to you that you’re my true best friend that I know will never leave me?” It was in that moment that I was reminded of where my JOY comes from.

My JOY doesn’t come from having a picture perfect day with my four sweet kids not fighting and actually obeying what I say. My JOY doesn’t come from everyone on the internet being nice to me and liking all the stuff I post. My JOY doesn’t even come from having friendships. My JOY comes from Jesus! Not my circumstances. Not when everything is going my way. In the midst of uncertainty, God’s word says that we will rejoice and that during various trials is an opportunity to choose JOY. And that JOY comes from Him alone!

So today, I choose JOY! I choose to seek the One from where my JOY comes from!

We would like to thank Paige Keller for writing this blog post.

Faith, Fruitfulness, General, God's Presence, good works, Holy Spirit

What does it mean to Do Good Works?

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What does it mean to Do Good Works?

Editor’s note: During the month of June, we are focusing on “Created To Do Good Works.” Ephesians 2:10 states that “we are God’s handiworks, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I pray that you will search for ways to be God’s handiwork as we learn from other women.

“We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!” Ephesians 2:10 TPT

Do Good Works.…oh yeah, easy! Such a simple phrase, yet such a difficult task in the day to day hustle. To me, it’s kind of like a watered down version of the golden rule that your mom used to recite to you when you were being less than kind…”Treat your sister the way you want to be treated!” We hear it all the time and make note, but how often do we really dig into what that truly means? To me, it means actively meeting people in their hardships and pain and serving them even when our humanity is uncomfortable. From my experience, sometimes showing up for people in pain can feel almost intolerable to our human nature, but I think that is the difference between spirit-led good works and good works for reasons driven by human nature. It doesn’t feel natural, but it’s a choice driven by a recreated spirit in Christ.

“However, I say to you, love your enemy, bless the one who curses you, do something wonderful for the one who hates you, and respond to the very ones who persecute you by praying for them. For that will reveal your identity as children of your heavenly Father. He is kind to all by bringing the sunrise to warm and rainfall to refresh whether a person does what is good or evil.” Matthew 5:44-45 TPT

If our purpose as Christians is to further the kingdom of God, then maybe this is our tool to do so, to be an example of what Christ would say or do when met with the pain of another human being. When I think of a person who is actively furthering God’s kingdom, I see someone who is taking the time and energy to meet hurting people where they are and serve them either with their empathetic words, actions, and prayer without judgment.

I believe we all have unique ways of doing good works. God has given EACH of us a destiny to fulfill. He said EACH, not ALL. To me, this implies individuality and it’s no surprise to us that we all have different gifts. For example, I have a precious friend who is great at connecting with teenagers. She pours into them by hosting their church group for dinners in their home, coming up with fun, engaging games for them to play, and her circle of influence is large! On the other hand, good works looks different in my life, like one on one encouragement of smaller kids at work, fostering my own children’s relationship with God, spending time talking to a friend or family member who is feeling down. My circle of influence is much smaller and the season of life I am in changes what good works looks like for me. The core of doing good works is intentionally loving God’s people, and the world needs each of us to show up authentically to show His love!

Back to Ephesians 2:10, the term “recreated” implies there was a before. Earlier in Ephesians, Paul tells us we are naturally prone to be driven by our selfish desires. I truly believe that good works driven by a spirit that is not transformed looks like doing good deeds with selfish intention. When God redeemed and recreated us, He gave us the capability to do those good works with a changed purpose and intention. Not just that, we get to do it joined to Jesus, who fills those gaps in our human abilities that cause us to doubt and shy away from brave, intentional acts of kindness. I don’t know how this lands for you, but it gives me immense peace to know I am not alone in trying to fulfill my calling at home and in my job. I can think of countless times I have been driving to work or struggling in my role as a wife and mother telling God, “I’m just at a loss here, God. I don’t know exactly to do and I feel less than qualified to do what I know you’ve called me to do”. You know what? He has shown up EVERY SINGLE TIME and guided me through. That gives me peace to know that if we come willing and with our intentions aligned with God’s, He will help us because He knows exactly what we need. So take heart. Be Brave. Do the Good Works!!!

We would like to thank Macy Williams for writing this post.

Faith, Fruitfulness, General, Listening

One Yes at a Time!

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One Yes at a Time!

Editor’s note: During the month of June, we are focusing on “Created To Do Good Works.” Ephesians 2:10 states that “we are God’s handiworks, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I pray that you will search for ways to be God’s handiwork as we learn from other women.

When I think about good works and the deeds that are pleasing to the Lord, I often think of my father. To me, he was the very definition of a “people person” because he loved everyone. His true good works that caught the attention of many longing and lonely souls during his time on earth were simply loving people as they were. It wasn’t anything fancy or complicated, it was just how he lived. That is what has stuck out to me since his passing – our good works are directly related to how we live!

In John 15:5, it says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” When we remain plugged into the Word and spend more time with the Lord, we tend to produce and bear more meaningful fruit – KINGDOM CHANGING FRUIT! John 15:8 says, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

None of us are perfect and the Lord knows and sees when our branches become a little too heavy and occasionally even break off. But even when we droop from the pressure of this world, all we need to do is ask for help. Ask for the Lord to help hold your branch up or even graft you back into the vine. It’s here in this vulnerable place that He begins to do a new work in us and allows our lives to become more like His. When we know His voice and can follow His direction, stepping out in faith to help a friend or even a stranger becomes a little less intimidating when we know He’s asking us to do so. Sharing our trials with those who may be facing something similar can be encouraging, both to ourselves as confirmation of the Lord speaking to us, and to those in the middle of the battle. Moments like these when others listened and obeyed changed my life.

Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that as children of the King, we were created to do good works. He chose YOU and ME and He has specific plans in mind for our lives. Receive that truth and dig into what He’s calling you to do. It will, in turn, bring honor and glory to Him and change the world, one yes at a time!

We would like to thank Christian Greer for writing this blog post.

Faith, Fruitfulness, General, Holy Spirit

Send Me, Lord

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Send Me, Lord

“I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’” (Isaiah 6:8, NKJV).

If I can be honest, before I knew God, I never imagined I could be useful to God or that He could use me to share Jesus with others. My idea of being a Christian when I began my walk consisted of a checklist. It went a little like this:

Go to church (check)

Own a bible (check)

Get prayer occasionally (check)

Follow Jesus (hmm–what does that look like?) (check)

Repeat weekly (check) 

The truth is that God wasn’t looking for me to check off a list every week. He was looking for my heart. We see this truth in the book of Samuel: “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7, AMP). ‬‬

As I began to get to know Jesus, I began to grasp the magnitude of what He did for me on the cross: “But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, AMP). The more I pondered this truth, the more I began to fall deeply in love with Jesus. That love was followed by a deep, burning desire within me for others to know Jesus. I wanted everyone to know what Jesus had done in my life.

I grew up an angry, rebellious teenager. I was a teen mom at the age of 14. I was holding on to so much unforgiveness, guilt, and shame from my past. I had allowed the enemy to whisper lies to me, and I had believed them all. But now, I recognized them for what they were–lies–and I opened myself up to God’s truth and the good news that I was forgiven (1 John 1:9). I wanted to share this Good News, but I wasn’t sure where to start. I began sharing what Jesus had done for me at church, with my family and friends, and even with people I didn’t know at restaurants, grocery stores, and work . 

When we think of impacting the world around us by sharing the Gospel, we naturally tend to think it has to be big. But God has called us to be faithful, even in the small (Luke 16:10). God has blessed my family with opportunities to travel spreading His Good News in places where numbers were vast and others where attendance was low. We’ve entered communities of affluence and also places that were destitute and afflicted with crime. All these places have one thing in common: God moved.

One of my favorite promises from God is “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20, NIV). I’ve always wondered why He started by saying two or three. Why not a hundred? Why not a thousand? Surely He wouldn’t be able to miss a thousand people praying in His name. But the God we serve doesn’t devalue our efforts because of small numbers. He’s looking for obedience that comes out of the abundance of our hearts. Our heart for God leads us into a deep desire to share His love with others and a courage to say, “send me; I’ll go” like Isaiah did. Isaiah didn’t ask God questions like, “How far is it? How many people will be there? How much work is it going to be?” He simply raised his voice and said, “I’ll do it! Send me; I’ll go!”

I ask God that He would give me the strength, courage, and wisdom to make myself available willing to be sent wherever He needs me to go. Through the years, I’ve learned the promises that follow when we submit to His will over our own for the advancement of the Kingdom of God–and those promises are eternal. He needs me. He needs you. Always be ready to share the Good News when and where God asks you to. 

I pray that you would submit to God in everything you do and have courage and boldness to step out in faith wherever you are sent, always inviting the Holy Spirit to guide you and lead you, imitating Christ everywhere you go with your actions and speech, walking in obedience, and loving people like Jesus did.

We would like to thank Cristella Urrutia for writing this blog post.

Beauty, Faith, Holy Spirit, Joy, Kindness, Women's Retreat

Influencing the Social Media World

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Influencing the Social Media World

Editor’s note: For the month of May, we are focusing on “Influencing the World”. In Mark 16:15 Jesus says to “Go into the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” One of the core beliefs of our church is that “The Church is meant to be the visible body of Christ, sent into the world to glorify God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.” We pray that you will be encouraged to go out into your world to make His way known.

I remember when social media was a new thing to me. I was in high school, and the idea of having a “space” to express myself seemed like such a neat thing! Getting to pick a song that I identified with to play when someone visited my personal page, telling the whole world, or even, better yet, my list of friends, that Beckah is…. craving doritos…all seemed so harmless and intriguing. It was exciting to see who was writing on “my wall” or page or whatever it was called back then. What a thrill, right?! Am I striking up some memories here?

Fast forward a few years, or maybe 15 to be exact, and look at what social media has evolved into. Political controversy, comparison trap upon comparison trap, the blasting of a business when the service was subpar, hate speech and screen fighting. I mean honestly, the list could go on and on.

Even though sometimes it feels like the bad can outweigh the good, there are still good things about social media, too! The sweet family pictures, those accounts that have the best inspirational quotes, LIVE sales at your favorite boutique, and even a way to livestream a church service during a global pandemic (Thank you, Jesus!)! But when you look beyond the surface level of the content on social media, it is so much bigger than what we are seeing. We have allowed social media to come in, and create an addictive space to find our sense of value, opinion, and what we want right now.

Unfortunately, we have seen a lot of negativity displayed on social media outlets that are alarming and a true display of deeper root issues, but what happens when we decide to be the change? If we decide to impact instead of impress, what good could we see?

A few years back during one of our women’s ministry events at the church, one of the speakers focused on being rooted in the characteristics of Jesus. One thing she talked about that really stuck with me was, if we are rooted in these things, the fruit of our branches display those also. For example, if we are rooted in the LOVE and JOY of the Holy Spirit, our sphere of influence receives those things from us.

Something that my sphere of influence included at that time was a women’s beauty tips and tricks Facebook page. I had always longed for that page to be more than just lipstick and eyeshadow. During this message at the women’s event, the Lord revealed to me that, “You can impact the beauty of the heart of the women you are reaching just like you are impacting the beauty of the flesh!” It took me back because, at the time, I didn’t quite understand what He was getting at. After spending time in prayer and in the Word, I believe that God gave me the vision of creating these beauty tutorials paired with devotionals that focused on Godly principles and Biblical truths to be displayed by me on my women’s beauty page. This was something truly different than what I had used social media for in the past, and different than what I had seen social media become.

It definitely took a leap of faith for me to get started, but the reward I saw through being different in the social media realm was abundant. When you get called to pray over women that you don’t even know, because they heard your devotional and felt called to reach out, THAT’S POWERFUL! When you are in a live tutorial and get a word from God that you share on a whim, and get a private message later that it was specifically for someone that was listening, THERE’S WALLS TORN DOWN THERE! When you have women that don’t know you, praying over your daily struggles via messenger because you shared your heartache, THERE’S HEALING THERE! I could give you numerous examples of God’s goodness being revealed to me via this social media outlet.

Now you may not feel lead to open a page with thousands of women on Facebook, but I challenge you not only to see the good, but to BE THE GOOD in the world of social media. Be the positive affirmation someone may be seeking. Speak words of encouragement over someone’s post that cries for help during a hard time. Write out your words of prayers over those that post about their struggles. Allow others to be truly “seen” by you when you are scrolling, and reach out to them. Choose a few people that you have seen when scrolling, and pray over their day. There are lots of ways that we can BE the positive. Take a leap of faith, be equipped and empowered by Jesus, and IMPACT those that you influence.

We would like to thank Beckah Hunt for writing this post.

Boundaries, Faith, Family, Grace, Kindness, Scripture

My Blooper Reel

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My Blooper Reel

Editors note: During the month of April, we are focusing on “My Words Have Power”. Proverbs 18:21 says that “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” Our words can speak life or death into those around us. Which will you choose?

As I began writing this blog post, I fully intended on sharing moments when my children reminded me of how awesome I was at teaching them to be kind… but I only wanted to do that out of pride. So, here’s my blooper reel. 

I remember the first time I picked Barrett up from school with a poor report about how he was speaking to others. His teacher informed me that he had called someone an idiot. I instantly felt my cheeks get hot out of embarrassment. Not even seconds later, I started going through the different sources that he could have heard that word from. Surely, it wasn’t learned at home!

Mind you, he had just loaded up in the car with me as I picked him up from school. We were headed through an intersection when someone pulled out in front of me. Out from my mouth, in a rather elevated tone, I said, “My gosh, idiot” as I slammed on my brakes. If you’re wondering whether that humble pie tasted just as terrible as the first helping that I ate moments earlier, the answer is yes. 

I often think about the importance of teachable moments in our home, but I’m better at noticing them when it stems from my children’s behavior. This one was clearly a heart issue that I was ingraining into my children and didn’t even realize it until HE was called out for speaking that way at school. That was a tough moment of truth for me.

I knew, before I ever had my own children, that I would have a major responsibility on my hands to raise them up to speak kindness and be respectful to the people they would encounter. Little did I know, I would fall hard on my face once I was actually in the motherhood role.

Now, I can usually find my way out of being wrong if I try hard enough. Can’t we all? I think God had to make this blatantly obvious that I couldn’t blame Toy Story 2 for teaching my child to say the word idiot in the right context, although, we don’t watch that anymore either. I did that. I taught him how to act out in anger and spread hate toward someone who couldn’t even hear me, thank goodness, in traffic. 

Here is something that I learned through the situation. I have a responsibility in my home… and my car to teach my boys, who will grow up to be men, that we can spread life in situations where our human flesh prefers death. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of yours mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”  Little people are all ears and we, as their parents, have the opportunity to expose them to the world through the lens of Christ rather than the lens of a stressed out mom who forgot to check in with Jesus before speaking death over the “idiot” who pulled out in front of her.

The Bible puts it very clearly in Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

I had a responsibility to use my words wisely LONG before he could repeat what I spoke. I could have ignored the fact that I was the one who planted that seed in my 2 year old’s heart, or I could admit that my tongue is a powerful tool that God intends for us to use to spread life in ALL circumstances, not just the ones that loving is easy. It’s easy to correct your children when they forget to use their manners. It is much more difficult to turn around and realize that maybe they aren’t using their manners because we aren’t teaching them from the way that we speak. Or maybe I’m alone in this. Either way, the driver wasn’t the problem. How I responded to them was, and I can use those everyday mishaps as an opportunity to teach my children how to extend grace or I can use them to demonstrate what it looks like to spread ignorant toxicity. That’s my choice that leads to teaching them how to make their choice later on. Deep breath. We can do this. We can participate in raising up a generation who spreads life. Proverbs 15:1 says, “ A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”. 

Let’s be in the business of turning wrath away, starting in our own home!

We would like to thank Bonnie Kate Olson for writing this post.

Beauty, Faith, Family, God's Presence, Scripture, Truth

My Words Have Power

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My Words Have Power

Editors note: During the month of April, we are focusing on “My Words Have Power”. Proverbs 18:21 says that “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” Our words can speak life or death into those around us. Which will you choose?

After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they wandered in the desert for 40 years. God was ready to settle His people in the land which He had promised them. But first, God had Moses send an appointed leader from each of the twelve tribes of Israel into the land of Canaan and report back to Moses what they saw there. Moses told the twelve scouts to see what the land was like, if it was fertile or unproductive. He sent them to see if cities were fortified or mere encampments. He told them to see if the people who live there were strong or weak, few or many. Lastly, they were told to bring back some fruit from the land. You can read all about this in more detail in Numbers 13:1-26.

Let’s pick up in Numbers 13:27-32:

27“They reported to Moses: “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. 28However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. 29The Amalekites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.” 30Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!” 31But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.”

The report from the eyes and mouths of the 10 scouts surmised how they saw themselves—like mere grasshoppers. And that’s when it happened. Words of defeat were spoken over the Israelites, and the Israelite community accepted those words into their spirit. They believed the report from 10 of the 12 spies—that they had no chance on God’s green earth to ever battle and win against the giants who occupied this land which had been promised to them by God. And so began their defeatist mentality. 

Have you ever had that happen to you? Have you ever been told you would never amount to anything? Have you ever heard voices in your head that said you weren’t good enough? I have. 

One of my earliest memories of feeling like a worthless grasshopper was as a young girl of age 4 or 5. Standing next to me, someone screamed to whomever would listen, while looking right in my eyes, “Why was SHE ever born?!” Her words spoken over me planted feelings of my worthlessness deep into my spirit.

I also remember struggling in second grade trying desperately to improve my handwriting so I could graduate from using a pencil to using my first blue BIC ink pen. For whatever reason, my being a left-hander proved difficult for me to master writing legibly. As our handwriting exam papers were passed out to each student after being graded, I was singled out before the entire class for being the lone remaining user of a #2 pencil. Unknowingly, this teacher had spoken words of defeat into my spirit.  

At the hands of 10 scouts, words of fear, doubt, and discouragement were spoken over every heart in the Israelite community. They had forgotten God’s promise—that He would give this land to them. They believed those powerful words of fear that had been spoken to the extent that they were prepared to head back into slavery rather than take a step of faith and take hold of the Promised Land.

In what area of your life are YOU struggling? I believe we ALL need to stop believing the lies in our hearts and in our heads that others have spoken over us or that we have spoken to ourselves.

Recently I read a book entitled Breakthrough-Living a Life That Overflows by Rabbi Jason Sobel, who is a Messianic Jew. In speaking of the time we are in now, Rabbi Jason teaches that the year 2021 is the beginning of a new decade. He states this is the decade of breakthrough as well as the decade of strength, and the decade of the mouth. Rabbi Jason writes, “We can become mighty and strong, and since this is the decade of eighty, the decade of the mouth, we need to openly declare, “I am strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.  I will overcome internal and external oppositions by God’s power.”    

Eighty is the number of the yesod. In Hebrew, yesod means “foundation.” This is a foundational decade and a foundational season. God is establishing new foundations in our lives. We need to remember the natural and the spiritual go hand in hand. If we are going to break through natural limitations, there are new spiritual foundations we need to establish. Proverbs 10:25 says, “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the foundation [yesod] of the righteous is everlasting.”

When we view life through our natural eyes, we will remain stuck in Egypt. When we view life through Holy Spirit eyes, we will be empowered to speak breakthrough over our life. Just like the Israelites, each of us falls into one of these two groups: those whose sight leads to “breakthrough thinking,” or those whose sight leads to “stinking thinking.” Both affect what comes out of our mouths. There is a spiritual significance here—there is power in the mouth.

Paul tells us that God is for us (Rom.8:31).  If we want a breakthrough, we need to know who we are in God and develop an understanding of what He is capable of doing for us and through us. God wants you to excel in both your identity and also your destiny! Knowing you possess a royal identity and a priestly calling is a critical experience that leads to more significant breakthroughs in your life. 

Coming into agreement with God and His promises for our lives is an essential part of any breakthrough we experience. Remember:  Our words hold power!

Speak life over your situation.

Speak life over yourself, your spouse, your children, and your coworkers.  

Speak His Truths into every facet of your life and be watching for the breakthrough to come!   

We would like to thank Cristie Harrell for writing this blog post.

Beauty, Faith, General

Beauty in Small Things

by hcfwomenLeave a Comment on Beauty in Small Things
Beauty in Small Things

Editors note: During the month of March, we are focusing on “Beauty in the Home”. Titus 2:3-5 tells us that women should encourage each other in the ways of the Lord. Focusing on bringing beauty to the home, not just in material ways, is an important part of having a peace-filled family.

The smallest of details can have the biggest impacts. What might seem insignificant to some will have the biggest impact on others: a quick phone call or text to someone God placed on your heart or a card sent to another that comes just in time for them to not feel alone and abandoned by others.

Changes and adjustments in life come and go, and it sometimes leaves us feeling lonely and discarded, but when you take time to be purposeful about the small things, the beauty of Christ’s love comes shining through. Change can be scary, but just a little encouragement can mean the world to someone who is facing those changes.

Jesus cared about the small things. The woman at the well, the children that the disciples told to go away, Martha in her grief, His disciples when they didn’t understand Him, and the well-being of His mother, even as He was on the cross. Jesus loves and cares about us, even the small and intimate things in our lives. Small details, carefully thought through, can change the world around you. We get so busy and wrapped up in our own lives, our own worlds, that we forget to stop and take care of what matters most. It’s the little things that count.

Those few minutes you take to spend with God each day makes a huge difference in how you receive and love others. It’s the small moments of time that are spent in communion with Abba Father that seem to have the biggest impacts. Praying for others may seem insignificant, but it has a powerful impact on the one for whom you are praying as they fight their battles. Taking time to push everything aside to share some quality time with your spouse says “you are worth my time,” and I want to invest in our relationship. The few minutes you spend in quality time with your children tells them they matter and are important. Housework and laundry will always be there, but your children won’t, so take time for the small things.

Take time for the small things that you need in your life. An hour of quiet time with God. Time to enjoy the beauty that God gives us every morning. Time in fellowship with friends and family. Times that you just sit and think about how much our Father adores us, how generous He is with His love, and then time to just worship Him.

There is beauty in the small things. Stop, take a deep breath, and take it all in as you hear God whisper “well done, my beloved daughter. You are my treasure, and you have chosen well to remember and pay attention to the small things.”

We would like to thank Janie Keller for writing this post.