I'm Ready To Listen

The news on TV can be stifling. People expressing their views about the news can be unnerving. Reading the newspaper is depressing. Magazines distort or embellish even the lies. More and more people wonder what truth really is and where they can we find it. Or buy it. Manufacture it. Make it. Or possibly create it.

I was sick and tired of being sick and tired of it all. So I decided I was better off being uninformed since I was having trouble shoveling through the mirage of “truths” to find a kernel of truth or none.

But let me share something with you. There are several verses the Lord has placed before me recently to pray over and remember as the Truth. I wrote about one in my blog post, Do You Believe.

The second verse God offered me was 2 Chronicles 20:12. I sat with this one a long time, holding it in my mind, and marinating in its profound lesson.

God hit the nail on the head with this one. It wasn’t the first time I had read it, but now its nuances became clearer. The words went beyond a physical army, applying to all aspects of life and living, and wrapping its meaning in the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. God verified this by sending me to other verses about His Truth and Sovereignty.

Proverbs 19:21 Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be frightened or discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Isaiah 45:6-7 This is so people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.

Psalm 22:28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations.

Hebrews 2:8 Now in putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him.

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the Truth; Your Word is Truth.

The verses came through devotionals, Bible study, faith-based blog posts, and sermons my pastors preached over a six month period.

The vast army Jehoshaphat faced was fearful. It was vast. The armies coming down on God’s people were fearless, mighty, and evil. Much like those people I heard about on the TV who were doing evil, despicable deeds. And scarier were those heinous crimes committed in my country and worse my hometown.

Jehoshaphat gathered the people together and went to God in a bold prayer-cry. Jehoshaphat asked God, “Are You not the God who is in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations?” God’s people knew their God and expected no less than His full deliverance from their attackers.

Here goes several life lessons God placed on my heart:

1.Go to God immediately with your concern.

2.Pray BOLD. Your God wants you to state who He is and then confirm you know He can do all things in His will and timing!

3.The vast army going against God’s people, instilling fear in their heart also occurs today. Satan, our enemy, tries to defeat us and disillusion us by distorting the truth in order to take our eyes off the Almighty God.

4.And don’t think it’s all about the horrid things on the news. That vast army is also the day-to-day mess we find ourselves in – being overwhelmed, frazzled, disappointed, angry, unforgiving, gossiping (yep, that one, too), and faltering in the steadfast knowledge that God is over all things, including rulers and nations. That’s Satan’s playground, too, trying to keep our eyes on worldly things.

The Battle is the Lord’s. Our job is to keep spreading the Good News, and at the same time, to keep vigilant by staying in Scripture to be able to detect lies and deception. We need to lift up our greatest gift to the Father, our worship and praise. Let Heaven ring with our rejoicing. Joy will overflow on us. That’s worth singing about and listening to.

Let God’s blessing flow over you,

(Opening picture is from Dear God Kids series book, Guess What, I'm Ready to Listen Now!; Flying Frog Publishing, 2011)

The Storm Inside

Trade the chaos of how you feel for the truth of who you are.

Christianity is a battle, not a dream.

-Wendell Phillips

Sheila Walsh pens a solid book on the truth of how we let emotions and feelings sideswipe us. Illustrating the overwhelming burdens women live under through testimonies, Walsh tackles each with scriptural wisdom. These are the ten most common burdens women strap to their back and bury deep within their soul.

Heartache

Disappointment

Fear

Bitterness

Unforgiveness

Anger

Regret

Abandonment

Shame

Insecurity

I love Walsh’s question to her readers. “But what if he (Satan) tailors his attacks to fit us, the daughters of the King? What if his demons launch their assaults at the very places where we have shown the most vulnerability? What if he looks over our shoulders on all the negative confessions we’ve made to hone an all-out assault on our hearts? It is not beyond his deviousness to tune into our pain and turn it into a weapon to use against us.”

As hard as Satan and his demons work to pull our feet out from under us, we have to remain strong women of truth, strength, and discipline. We are daughters of the Almighty God! And Sheila does an excellent job bringing us up out of the wreckage of our emotions, bruises, hurts, and brokenness to show us God’s template for living by using solid examples from her life, other women’s crisis, and scripture examples.

I’ve never read a book that has challenged me so much and given me concrete ways to pull out of the ruts of life and move forward. Walsh asks tough questions, then helps the reader peel back the layers of uncertainty to find the hidden black core that consistently trips us up.

“When we make a commitment to no longer live by what we feel is true but by what God’s Word tells us is true, we can stand in the strongest storms of life.”

I seriously urge you to read The Storm Inside. I can promise you will want to read it a second time, and you will be buying additional copies to give to the women in your life who are suffering because they don’t know how to get out from under their emotions and the hard time life presents us.

HUGE Announcement:

Sheila Walsh will be coming to Washington, NC

Heart to Heart Conference 2016

2020 W. 15^th Street (Harvest Church)

Washington, NC 27889

Tickets go on sale online October 1, 2015!

http://www.hearttoheartconference.org/#!heart-to-heart-conference/c1ddp

Music will be provided by Laura Cooksey

I urge you to mark your calendars and get ready to be amazed at what God will accomplish when His daughters come together to hear His truth.

God bless you always!

I've Been Snookered Again!

One thing you can do while you’re waiting in lines is witness to others through kindness. I’ve given several examples of this in previous posts.

Now comes the brutal honesty. . . get prepared . .  .

If I wait too long in line and my attempts to talk to my fellow shoppers end before I check out, my eyes feast upon the magazines. Well, the snicker bars, too. But it’s the magazines that lure me.

Here’s my latest deception:

Read the headlines. Forget home improvements. I’m going for a total reformation on me, inside and out. I checked off every one of them! I’m in desperate need!

            You, Body Beautiful! Genius Instant Fixes for Saggy Bust, Cellulite, Spider Veins, Belly Bulge (Never thought I could be so blessed!)

            Tired No More (Prayers Answered!)

            GI Woes Solved (Thank you, Jesus!)

            Sleep Helpers (Hallelujah!)

            Bye-Bye Stress: Carol Alt reveals her secrets to shedding tension & belly fat (It’s a miracle!)

            THE NEW THYROID CURE, speeds metabolism by 653%. Discovered! Poor iron absorption to blame for thyroid slowdown. The heavier you are, the better this food cure works. (Goodbye Dr. Odeke! Parting is such sweet sorrow! Here I come Skinny jeans!)

            So I bought the magazine. When the clerk started to put it in the bag, I stretched my hand out for the holy grail that would cure all my ailments, neurosis, and unsightly bulges. I would be a restored person, pulling out those dusty size 8 garments and then going shopping with my restored energy level. I couldn’t wait to get home and begin a new life in the new me.

            Do you know what I found?

            The same thing I found in every other magazine that promised something it could not deliver.

            I’d been snookered again. By vanity. By a need to feel younger, more attractive, less tired. To wake up and be a new me.

            Satan uses these tactics to keep us dissatisfied with ourselves. When we become distracted by the lures of the world, we acknowledge that Jesus the Christ cannot fulfill our needs.

            Philippians 4:19 states, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

           

Isn’t it strange how the Evil One knows exactly which button to push, hoping we will react and forget God’s promises?

            2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

            Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”

            Stand firm. Know who you are in Christ and stand tall. You are the daughter of a King. The devil holds no power over you except what you give him.

So . . . will I buy more magazines? Yes. I love the pictures, recipes, and a lot of the articles. But I will stand firm and use discernment when faced with lures and deceptions, those lies that a few articles declare will fix what time has taken away. My vainity is nothing but fuel for Satan.

This body will never be 17 again, or 45 or 60. But this mind, heart, and soul will be youthful, courageous, and filled to over flowing with the precious words of love from scripture. Owning who I am today is a statement of owning what God says about me. Others will notice.

            Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will rejoice over you with loud singing.”

God will quiet you by His love and sing over you.

Instead of reaching for a magazine or anything else for satisfaction, reach for Jesus.

Keep this song in your head when tempted. “Reaching For You” by Lincoln Brewster.

Go here to hear it and enjoy!

http://www.google.com/webhp?nord=1#nord=1&q=reaching+for+you+by+lincoln+brewster

God bless you!

What ifs: Defeat or Empowerment

 

Most of my life what ifs have seized me with an awareness of potential snares, often causing me to stumble down the slippery slope of self-doubt, insecurity, or recrimination. By the time I finished wringing out every possible scenario, I was a fractured mess. Once you travel down this path, it is never ending, branching off into a mind field of detonated thought bombs.

            What if I had been bolder?

            What if I had stood up to her/him?

            What if I hadn’t been so insecure?
            What if I had been more truthful?

These are all barren fields. I can promise you I’ve visited each of them. Why? Because I know the trail so well it has become a pattern. Who am I listening to? Who seeks to keep me wrapped up in my own frustration and remorse?

1Peter 5:8 says, “Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

Satan wants me to loose my focus on God. Satan desires to barricade hope. Every time what ifs grip me, dragging me into murky waters, I allow Satan to gain stronger footholds into my life.

Digging through Scripture one day, it dawned on me—— what ifs can also be an awareness of possibilities and potential. Did you hear that? Two words that dredged up defeat can also offer empowerment.

Putting the awe and wonder of God into what ifs creates a new panoramic diversion announcing, “All things are possible with God”. In this new mindset, our God-given creativity begins to explode into positive options. I see clearly that apart from God, I can do nothing but mess things up.

The hardest parts of what ifs is breaking our conditioning. We have to purpose ourselves to turn defeat into optimism. Who needs a zip line to failure? Remember God’s goodness in the past. “The Lord was on our side.” Remember every trial, concern or doubt has an ending. “The snare is broken.” Remember “our help is in the name of the Lord.”

“The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.” Colossians 1:5-15 MSG, paraphrased

I’m going to work on those what ifs. They’ve been negative for so long, but I think I have an example to share in the next post. It's the last what if post. It's probably the most profound.

What is your biggest what if? If it is negative, how can you turn it into something positive?

God bless you!

Why did you write a book?

 

My granddaughter asked me, “Why did you write a book?”

I told her people lived in my head. Her look said more than I’m willing to address here. It was the same look I gave when Haley Joel Osment announced in the movie, “The Sixth Sense” . . . “I see dead people.”

Trust me, writing a book is a huge endeavor. Finding time to write a book is near to impossible. My family comes first. Teaching Bible study classes and preparing for them comes second. Then there are friends and volunteer positions and housework and cooking . . .

So why in the world did I undertake such a monumental task as writing a book? The truth?

The characters would not leave me alone!

The year before I actually began writing the book, the characters were already dancing around in my head. I knew them. They were a mixture of people I had met and known. Some I lived next door to, some I worked with and others I observed from afar. I knew the places they went, and the areas of town they lived in. I knew how they talked, and the things rolling around in their heads. It was maddening!

Then one thing happened that drove me to put my hands on the computer and begin writing. On a car trip from Eastern North Carolina to California last year, I honed in like radar to things that caused me to pause. Things I read in the newspaper. Things on TV. I began asking people about them. No one seemed the slightest disturbed. I was appalled.

When we got to Henrietta, Oklahoma, we witnessed a scene out of a horror movie. No one did anything. I mean no one. We all stood wide-eyed, unable to move, and not knowing what to do. It was evil, pure evil. My skin crawls just thinking about it.

Years ago I sat with my grandmother and we’d watch old movies. One of her favorite was “The Russians Are Coming!” We laughed at how naïve the people were – how gullible or stupid they seemed to be. Yeah, I know. It was a comedy. But had it been real we would not be flying the red, white, and blue.

I’m beginning to feel we are becoming anesthetized to bad news. We hear it ad nauseam. Killings. War. Pornography. Child Abuse. Animal Abuse. Political lies. Economic disaster. Cheating. Scheming. Human Trafficking. And the list goes on and on.

No, I’m not a negative person, at all. But I do not want to be caught unaware to the trappings of evil in this world. We have to keep our eyes open and our ears pitched to hear. We cannot delude ourselves that we are protected in America when in actuality we are targeted by some of the most violent groups of killers in the world.

No, I did not write a Jihadist or ISIS book. I wrote about being aware of the evil that is present in our everyday lives. If Jesus talked more about Satan and Hell than heaven, we had best take note.

One particular incident on our trip out to California got me off my duff. The characters won. Cries of Innocence is their story. It is fictional. It is a cry for each of us within our normal day to live victorious in Jesus, but understand we live in a world of sin and evil.

 

 

Tackling That Scary First Posting

This is scary. Opening up and telling people about who you are, what you believe in, what you’re concerned about, and what you’re passionate over. You would think I would be more comfortable doing this since I actually do it a lot. I teach Bible Studies and speak in front of groups. But it’s not my comfort zone. At all. Writing is easier for me. I do it alone and on my own schedule. I can throw away what I don’t like or keep what I do.

Following Jesus isn’t always easy or comfortable. I wake up every day and purpose myself to follow Him. I believe in Rick Warren's purpose-driven life, but I have also endorsed Jason Benham’s stand, “We follow a Person-driven life. We let the Person of God take control of the purpose.” This grounds me further.

A Person-driven life keeps me focused on God. Sometimes my eyes fall to the right or left, and I let the world slip in and cloud my vision. Oftentimes I run into questions or situations that I don’t have answers for. There are days I just struggle for no apparent reason or for an accumulation of reasons. But, I’m learning that’s okay. It keeps me headed back to the Person-driven focus, to reading Scripture, and getting on my knees. I’m learning to trust that when I slide down the wrong side of the mountain, God will pick me up, dust me off, and point me toward the craggy end of the narrow path, the one I’ve skidded down so many times the base is rutted out. I never feel God's wrath over my struggle. I only feel His love. That’s the beauty of our faith. God loves us so much, even when we fail.

Picking yourself up is always an effort. Effort builds endurance. And trust. And intimacy. With perfect precision and timing. I notice I get up quicker now. I rush back to the start line with a sharper determination, realizing the pitfalls, and Satan’s taunting lures. Standing there with a lot of other folks is perfect joy. We’re running with one another, but not in a competition. We’re running to be encouragers and enablers to the whole assembly of Christ followers. It’s staggering and amazing. It's what we're called to do. So, let me ask you something.

 What takes your mind off Christ?
            My answer: Busyness. Filling up the calendar without blocking out time to worship.

What causes you to slip?

            My answer: Allowing Satan to drudge up my insecurities.

What's your answer?