A Stained Cushion = Love

The life group that my husband and I lead are doing a group study called "Not A Fan" based on the book of that same name by Kyle Idleman.
The other night we were watching the accompanying video and Kyle was telling the story of the time his daughter spilled bright pink fingernail polish on an off white couch in their home.
As a young child can you just imagine her horror?? The fear of what might happen to her?? What her parents would think?? What they might do?? And she did what many of us do - she tried to hide her stain. She turned the couch cushion over, and quietly walked away.
Oh no, I can't relate to that, you?!
Well of course, the stain was found one day when Kyle and his wife were cleaning (key foreboding music, dum dum dum).
They lined up all of their girls in the same room to ask them who did this. The youngest daughter that made the bright pink stain cracked before they could even get the question all the way asked - she fell to her knees and broke down crying.
As they knelt next to her to discuss what had happened she asked this question through her sobs - 'do you still love me?'
She learned a valuable lesson that day when she was shown unconditional love with these words from her parents "honey, you could never make a stain so big we would stop loving you".
But the most telling thing of all?
The fact that they noticed as a little time passed she began actually showing off the stain when people came to their house - she would take them to the couch and tell them that this is what she did but her mommy and daddy still loved her and it was all okay!
Wow. What a picture of forgiveness, love, and confidence in who she was and who loved her!

I remember such a time in my life, when I tried really hard to hide a stain - after the divorce in my first marriage when I spent most of my time trying to cover it all up so it didn't show, to quietly walk away from it all like it never happened. I also remember feeling like that stain and the related ones I had a hand in creating, were so very big. Too big. And wondering where am I now in this life, and where is God, and could He ever look at me and love me the same again?

Colossians 2:13-14 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

The answer is a resounding yes! It took me some time to process through it all, but my God has proven Himself faithful to show me forgiveness, restoration, unconditional love, and that He LOVES using my messy big stains to do great things!

If you have a great big old messy stain that you are trying to forget, to cover up, to walk away from without bringing it to the light of day, why not just walk right up to your Heavenly Father today and say "Here I am, stain and all. I'm sorry I've tried to hide it. Forgive me for that. I trust you to fix it, to make it beautiful and worth showing off. Because I believe you can take it and use it in a way that it can glorify you... use my stain to show me your unconditional love so I can show that same love to someone else!"

He's not mad at you. Let God turn the couch cushion back over, right side up, and look at the stain through His eyes for what it truly is - something He wants to make beautiful. He still loves you :)

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Joyful on the Journey,
Marisa

Lady Bug Lessons

Ever been “taken to school” by a lady bug?

I have. The wise little creature came to occupy space and time on my desk today,and she taught me a lot. The tiny delicate red visitor with black polka dots, in fact, reminded me by the end of the day of what I want but sometimes lack – focus and perseverance.

See this little lady bug, for the better part of almost 8 hours today I might add, was searching and seeking and working at whatever it was she was trying to accomplish. She was, in a word – diligent.
Ok, add one more word – committed.

She toiled. She was consistent.  All day long she took to task what was before her.

Philippians 3:14 says “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Me? I can become lazy – procrastinate – and then before I know it have never finished what I started. Or even if I do it’s not the result it should have been. But she just kept at it – her eye on whatever goal it was she was after that day.

But it was all in the WAY she approached everything on this day that REALLY got me.

# 1 – I noticed she rested. I would first see her crawling and moving and running and being about her tasks, but then she would simply just stop. For a while too.  And she stayed perfectly still as if awaiting further instructions.

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Me?  I can swing totally to the opposite boundary and get so caught up in my busyness I look up and all the hours in the day or week are completely depleted – and so am I. And the way I am doing life is not pleasing my family or most of all my God either. I need to continually stop long enough to truly listen for my instructions from the Lord. If I do this, then the results are two-fold for me according to God’s Word and His promises above - I get the rest that sustains me and my family, and the knowledge and guidance that will help me accomplish what He wants that will truly glorify Him!

# Two – I saw that she never strayed far off the course. The path she took had to change occasionally when something got in the way, but she maintained the set course through it all. When she encountered my coffee cup for instance, she went around part way and then explored it awhile, hanging out on the lid even for a bit. But then she crawled down the other side and continued on in the exact same direction she had been heading to begin with.  She stayed the course and she didn't let an obstacle stop her from the course she was instinctively on.

Psalm 119:1-2 says “You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. 2 You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.”

Me? I can become so distracted, frustrated, and then I can allow that to affect how I approach my goals for the day, or even for a season. And before you know it I’m off course – even giving up on the plan a few times. I can let things that come up out of nowhere that seem in my way defeat me sometimes.

Quite the little lesson for this New Year I think - and from a critter so small and that I could simply have overlooked it.
Focus, persevere, rest, eye on the prize – Lady Bug Lessons 101. 

Our God does indeed work and speak in mysterious ways :)

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

Unconditional

Today I looked up some of the definitions of unconditional ~ without a qualifying condition; absolute; all out; all in; not limited in any way; complete.

I am contemplating this evening the love we are given in Christ and the love we are called to GIVE in His name - unconditional... and I must readily admit I'm so still not as good at this as I want to be.

Knowing that unforgiveness, fear, pride, and even the bitter taste of complacency can close a heart to loving in this way each day has not kept me from embracing them at times. Holding onto a past that is just that - the past, fearful and unsure of those I don't understand, and too focused on myself and my needs to see sometimes what the needs really are right in front of me has caused me to be jaded and blind to the needs of others around me at times - but all the while saying "God use me"... Irony = one of the many words my picture must be next to in the dictionary.

I am loved so unconditionally by a God who saw what I was and wanted to know me and help me anyway... Oh God help me remember that limitless, absolute, all in, poured out, and complete way you love me -  a person with not one single qualifying condition, that you CHOSE to die for - and that all you ask in return is I love you and others the same way... help me CHOOSE to love that way!

And they asked Him "Lord, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: “ '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 others as yourself.’ " Matthew 22:36-39

O Little Town of Bethlehem...

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." ~ Micah 5:2

I love this prophecy from Micah regarding the birth of Christ... and that the name Bethlehem means "house of bread", and Ephrathah means "fruitfulness, life"

Now look at Christ's response in John 6:35 in this light... 'And Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'

From Bethlehem the One who brings eternal life had come... "the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight"

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

Christmas with the Angels

I was thinking today about how even though there are a few more days in November, its never too early to talk about that wonderful night over 2000 years ago - so I dug back in the archives and found this... Be blessed friends :)

As the most beautiful of heavenly creations, the angels played a part in the whole nativity story (foretelling Zechariah and Elizabeth to be the parents of John the Baptist, a few months later appearing to Mary with the news that she too was going to have a son, appearing to Joseph as well telling him of Mary’s pregnancy and reassuring him that it was all part of God’s plan, and then appearing to the shepherds, of course, announcing the Savior’s birth).

But have you thought about the fact that they were actually there at the birth of Christ? The point where heaven and earth actually met and collided?
These angels were created by Christ, they were with Him in His heavenly realm and glory, saw what he was giving up… imagine knowing this God who gave you life, created you to be the bearers of His news throughout creation… now He was giving it all up to go down THERE?!

As his cherubim and seraphim must they have thought that this was absolute madness? Would they have wondered at the sense of the plan? Ever since they had been brought into existence they had watched Him create - the earth, the universe, witnessed Him spinning the cosmos, creating us with such care and love, now they were to witness Him setting aside His glory, His heavenly home, His heavenly robe to put on a flesh robe, a very costly robe, a plan that would end in His pain and death…

When God decreed that He was putting on this flesh – coming as baby no less – needing diapers changed, needing food, being cold, hungry, alone in their eyes because they as His heavenly host, His army if you will, would not be staying with Him in quite the same way as they had before...
And the fact that He would arrive in a dirty stall or cave where animals lay and ate… that gold and frankincense and myrrh could not compare to all the riches
He would be leaving - what must they have thought of this sacrifice?
It would be easy just to say that they would think it crazy – and that may be true – but I think that when they were told of the plan, the cost, the sacrifice, they then must have realized just how precious we were to Him and how immense the sacrifice would be and that they were more than proud, more than humbled, more than blown away by the fact that they would play such a integral part of that night.
Of all the figures and beings hovering and kneeling around the stable at the first Christmas, only the angels knew just how much that Christmas really cost. Not in dollars and cents, of course, but in sacrifice and love. It cost Him everything.

They must have watched the event unfolding with wonder and love for their King… that He would leave their undying worship and love of Him to be with us. I think they thought how much more blessed we were to be receiving such a love, and how their hearts were breaking at the thought of the journey and where it would take Him.


I think those heavenly beings may have even bordered on jealousy for a moment – in my finite mind I can hardly comprehend them not being envious as they looked at the love Mary had for Jesus, the awestruck wonder of the shepherds, heard the earth whisper and rumbled on a deep level that only their ears and hearts could hear... and that the most important event in history was beginning right then and there before their eyes – and it was all for us… not them, but for us… and they realized we would have the choice to love Him and know Him in a way they never could.

Maybe this Christmas when we look at the birth of Christ through the eyes of the angels we can begin to truly see the sacrifice made only for us, and worship Him in a way only we can.

Marisa

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful for each of you, for my family, and for the gift of Hope in Christ - and am praying for a day filled with worship for us all!

Psalm 100 "A psalm for giving grateful praise."

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his peop...

le, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations!

Happy Friday!

"What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want... That is what love looks like."
~ Augustine
Be ready to be used today - need comes in many shapes and forms... eyes open on this Friday to see what He sees so we can love like Jesus :)

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

Its Time to Rewrite the Story...

There isn't much else to add or to say when a story like the one below is told so clearly...

If there is someone you are struggling with harboring bitterness and unforgiveness towards, and even if that person you haven't forgiven is yourself - grab some kleenex, find a quiet place to spend the next 10 minutes, and take a deep breath.

First, listen to Renee's story

Matthew West - Forgiveness: Mother Forgives Drunk Driver Who Killed Her Daughter from matthew-west on GodTube.


Colossians 3:13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Now listen to the song that all this inspired...
Matthew West - Forgiveness (Official Lyric Video) from matthew-west on GodTube.

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

God calls us, implores us, through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ that was freely offered, to forgive as we have been forgiven... are you ready to offer freedom to someone else? To yourself?

It's hard. It means giving over the control you have tried to keep, the power you tried to wield over the circumstance to feel like you had a footing to stand on. But it's done nothing but make YOU a prisoner of it all. And friend, the footing is ever shifting and not on THE ROCK - that's why you still feel so OUT of control all the time. The circumstance is controlling YOU.

I have had to be forgiven of a lot. I have had to forgive others of a lot. It feels good to let it all go!

Are you ready to begin to live freely again? Or maybe even for the first time? Your story is a part of God's story - its time for a different ending that will bring HIM honor.

Take another deep breath - Remember God loves you and so do I. Say the words, open your hands, make the call, write a letter, say it out loud to your Redeemer... GO AND WRITE A NEW STORY!

Marisa

Time for a re-post...

Something was said by someone today that brought to mind this earlier post from last year. So I went back through the archives, found it, and I pray it speaks to your heart either again or for the first time...
Marisa

A Refinement by Any Other Name

In the refining we are cleansed, we are polished, and we are changed...
Zechariah 13:9 I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’




I am always so thankful and encouraged by how in every season God has placed a few people in my life that are consistantly on a parallel path with me. Yesterday I was chatting with one of them, catching up on life, ministry, a lot of things. And we ended up talking about some similar refinement going on right now and about why we so often only think of a 'refining' as a time of suffering, of pain, a trial, of great change that we in the flesh will see as a dark time. Those are things God does use to grow us and stretch us for sure and how we relate to His suffering.
James1:2-4 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

But I know that my own refinement also comes from seeking with purpose to fully experience God's Holy Spirit. I DON'T want to wait on the trials or valleys to bring me closer to Him. I know those are a part of what will come when its the perfect time for deep profound life altering truth and change. But I want to run after Him before those come and offer more up of me for DAILY refinement, all the while looking for the lead of love His Holy Spirit offers to draw me closer to who He is and what He wants to do. There is soooo much to be said for the sweeping romance of Him speaking through every relationship, every twist and turn my feet and car take me along, at every store I frequent, every conversation I have, and in every moment He has created :)



I loved the fact that recently my pastor posed the following question when he did: He said "I have asked the question 'How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?' I now believe that the real question should be 'How much of me does the Holy Spirit have?' "
What I sense from God in my life right now is that I MUST seek to give more of myself over in every way DAILY because He has something special in store for me DAILY and I need to be able to see, hear, feel, sense Him at every turn to receive it!

Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.."
Fearless living - that is abundance!

But the biggest thing I am understanding about this? Is that the refining that leads to that life of abundance, the guidance, the wisdom, the right choices, and the change in me He desires, truly does hinge on how in tune I am to His Holy Spirit so I can receive what HE DEEMS as the abundance uniquely planned for me inside of each day.

The Answer is Coming

1 Thessalonians. 5:24 "The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it."

Don't mistake time passing for not getting an answer. His answer is coming. HE is coming. Don't we want what will best benefit our life? And if our very lives ripple out and affect others each day - and we know that they do - then so must our long sought after answers. Our God is working out each and every detail so that many are affected by your answered prayer - so that many see His glory - and so that the many touched by your life's ripples benefit from it as well.
Begin right now praising Him and thanking Him in advance for what He is doing!