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Silence is Golden Sometimes

December 17, 2018 1:58 am / 4 Comments on Silence is Golden Sometimes

About a week ago, God highlighted this verse to me: “But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” Luke 1:20 (NLT)

Abba has been using this verse to make it clear that I’ve not been careful with my words. I’ve not been considering the power and weight in them. I’ve not been acknowledging what Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.” (AMP)

Ever since God reminded me, “Your words are powerful.” I’ve been singing “Oh be careful little tongue what you say. Oh be careful little tongue what you say. For the Father up above is looking down with love, so be careful little tongue what you say.” (Note: Author of this lyric is unknown so I cannot give credit as I normally would).

More thoughts on the power of that little tongue of yours…

“Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” Proverbs 17:28 (NIV)

“Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.” Proverbs 21:23 (NIV)

“If someone believes they have a relationship with God but fails to guard his words then his heart is drifting away and his religion is shallow and empty.” James 1:26 (TPT)

“A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” James 3:3-6 (MSG)

“Whoever wants to embrace true life and find beauty in each daymust stop speaking evil, hurtful words and never deceive in what they say.” I Peter 3:10-11 (TPT)

The angel Gabriel delivered a heart’s desire promise to Zechariah. He told him flat straight out, you’re going to have a son, and he’s going to be a big deal. (Take a minute to read Luke 1 to hear the full promise). Zechariah was an older man. He wasn’t a 20 year old kid who just got married to his fertile 20 year old wife. He’d probably gotten to the point where he’d given up hope of having a son. So his response was the “um…okay well prove it” response. It’s the response that the majority of us probably would have had, if we were in his shoes.

“Zechariah asked the angel, “How do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is too old to give me a child. What sign can you give me to prove this will happen?”

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel. I stand beside God himself. He has sent me to announce to you this good news. But now, since you did not believe my words, you will be stricken silent and unable to speak until the day my words have been fulfilled at their appointed time and a child is born to you. That will be your sign!”” Luke 1: 18-20 (TPT)

If this passage doesn’t illustrate the power our words have, I don’t know what will.

Gabriel muted Zechariah so he wouldn’t speak against the promise God gave him.

Literally.

Muted him.

As in Zechariah did not utter a single solitary word until after his and Elizabeth’s son John was 8 days old. Think about this. He’d gone to do his annual service.
“See ya in a week, Elizabeth.” Then he shows up at home a mute.

Then Elizabeth gets pregnant, just as Gabriel said she would. Nine months go by. His son is born. 8 days later, Zechariah is finally able to speak when He speaks to confirm his son’s name. The name Gabriel told him the boy’s name would be.

He was only able to speak when he was confirming the promise!

What?! Come on people! That’s amazical!

This passage just blows me away. This promise to Zechariah and Elizabeth was a dream they thought was not even possible. And this dream meant everything to them. And when God made the promise to them, through Gabriel, it mattered so much, that God allowed Gabriel to mute Zechariah, so he couldn’t speak against the promise God had given him.

Silence is golden sometimes.

I think sometimes it might be better for me if Gabriel would show up and say, “Hey Jill. I’m gonna have to mute you for a while so you don’t speak against your dreams and God’s promises for you.”

A few short months after Zechariah’s experience with Gabriel, he visited Mary. Mary’s reaction was decidedly different. ““I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”” Luke 1:38 (TPT)

Now Mary’s situation was just as out there as Zechariah’s. Both of them were told not to fear and received a mind blowing prophecy. Both asked questions that were answered. But their responses to those answers were opposite. It might be that Zechariah had much more experience with disappointment, while Mary had no negative experiences.

Whether you’re seasoned like Zechariah or young like Mary, your words are powerful.

How are your words right now? Are they something that Gabriel would mute you for? Or are they more “bring it on” like Mary’s?

In my life I’ve experienced some “What in the bluebells is going on here?” seasons. The “Where are you, Lord?” seasons. And even the “I can’t do this anymore. It hurts too much.” seasons. I’m sure you have too. The times when things are not logical. The times when you’re looking at the situation and your rational mind is blown. Times when you don’t understand why bad things are happening and keep happening. Times when promises aren’t coming to pass the way you expected them, and disappointment starts to shift your perspective into the negative.

These are not the times to go off at the mouth. This is when you need to remember silence is golden sometimes. Like Mary after the birth of Jesus…

“But Mary treasured all these things in her heart and often pondered what they meant.” Luke 2:19

If you cannot muster your faith to speak in agreement with God’s promises, remember silence is golden sometimes. Ask a trusted friend to pray for you, and shut your mouth.

In recent months, I’ve been in a season of this hurts to much. I’m not sure I am capable of believing anymore. But I know in my heart God is faithful.

So difficult to be between the full understanding that God is faithful, and looking at your situation and thinking…how is this even possible anymore?

If you’re in a rough season with me, I’m going to tell you how I am handling this really difficult place. I texted (I didn’t trust myself to speak) 2 trusted prayer warrior friends and simply said, “I cannot speak positively on this topic. I don’t have the faith to believe in this specific area right now. I need you to pray and speak for me.” And they are reminding God of His promises to me, for me. They are speaking the faith words missing from my vocabulary right now. And I’m praying and believing with them in their promises, because my faith to believe for them hasn’t been affected by this season.

Maybe that’s not how everyone would handle it, but I sure appreciate my friends who are willing to stand in the gap for me. They are even more golden than the silence.

Point to ponder while you wander… Gabriel muting Zechariah is the same lesson as what Thumper’s Mom was teaching him about silence. (Bambi, 1942).

thumper

Hey Judas! You need a Heart Check.

October 4, 2018 7:46 am / Leave a comment

Elijah’s List posted this recently.

WOW! Heart check!!!

Seriously though, take a minute and ponder that.

I’ll wait….

When I pondered…I thought of the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. When Screwtape tells Wormwood to focus the patient’s attention on petty things while he was at church. So the patient wouldn’t focus on the Word and how it applies to himself.

Judas did focus on the petty. The negative. And he remained a sceptic despite seeing miracles right before his eyes. He didn’t read about the miracle of the fish and bread feeding 5,000. He actually ate the bread and fish! He didn’t read about blind eyes being opened, he watched it happen.

Truthfully I feel bad for Judas. He didn’t enjoy His life. He clearly didn’t like himself. Seriously. Judas was with Jesus Himself for 3 years, and never actually absorbed anything about who Jesus was. Jesus was, is, and will always be love personified.

Who spends 3 solid years with Jesus, and comes out worse than where he started?

Truthfully…a lot of people.

What? Why? Who? Sacrilege!!

I know. Because I was one.

I confessed Jesus as my Savior at 16. And promptly tried to be perfect (as in without flaw) and do all the right things. I focused on behavior and looking the part.

Nothing reached my heart.

I couldn’t be perfect. And it frustrated me. My life didn’t change. No miracles happened in my life. And I was disappointed.

I ended up flipping around and going absolutely in the opposite direction. I became more critical. More judgmental. I loved less.

And it took a good 7 years before I gave it another shot. At 16, I shoved the Word at people…but at 25 I started applying the Word inward. I began to deal with my heart issues. My broken places began to heal. It was a process that still continues. It’s a day to day walk.

I can tell you that it’s much easier to point fingers and throw rules at people than it is to love them. It’s easier to criticize, scoff & judge.

But…if you take that pointing the finger and judging everyone path. You won’t heal. You won’t grow.

I think that’s what happened to Judas. I think he allowed his natural skeptic to dismiss miracles. He chose not to receive the love and teaching from Jesus. He chose not to heal and grow.

We have a choice too. Perspective and attitude are everything. Being open isn’t alway easy. Neither is change. Not for me. Not for you. Not for the disciples either.

Let’s be real…the 12 disciples are like us. They screwed up. They didn’t always understand. They acted without thinking. They lost their tempers.

But the difference between Judas and the other 11 is that the 11 grew and changed. They applied what Jesus taught them and walked it out.

Were the perfect? Um…definitely not. And neither are we. Neither are your leaders. We are all human. Doing our best. We are all given a choice.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT

Judas got to choose too. Unfortunately we all know how that worked out. (Spoiler alert…it can’t get much uglier).

Judas was bitter. I don’t want to be bitter, but some days I see myself heading in that direction.

Judas was a cynic. I don’t want to be an eye rolling cynic, but sometimes I am.

Judus had a greedy, selfish & negative outlook. Sometimes I do too.

I don’t want to be a complainer or a gossiper either. But some days I am.

So this is a heart check for me. To go back to Jesus on the rough days. The days I’m more Judas-like than Jesus-like and ask Him to show me what is going on in my heart and head so I can deal with the root of it and have a better attitude and perspective.

Especially with all the chaos in my life right now…I need more Jesus time. More worship. More Word. And less judgmental attitude. Less pessimism.

Point to ponder while you wander…..

Musical Monday: Dream for You

June 11, 2018 12:10 am / 2 Comments on Musical Monday: Dream for You

The song today is a Casting Crowns’ song, Dream For You

The link contains the official lyric video, but I typed a few of them here for you to ponder…

“I’m stronger than you think, I am
I’ll take you farther than you think you can
You sing and call me Great I Am
So take your stand
My child, if you only knew
All the plans that I have for you
Just trust me, I will follow through
You can follow Me”

(Lyrics by John Mark Hall and Matthew West)

Point to ponder while you wander…Mark Hall of Casting Crowns, when talking about said song, noted that he could picture David sitting with his sheep, dreaming about being a influential and wealthy shepherd. And he could picture God watching David dream, and smiling.

Knowing all the while, David would be shepherding His people, as King.

You Think Too Small

June 4, 2018 1:15 am / 2 Comments on You Think Too Small

I’ve honestly lost count of the number of times that God has told me that I think too small.

I’d love to tell you that every time He said that it grew my faith and inspired me to speak some words that would amaze all around…

“Show me how to think bigger!” “Teach me to see like You, to think like You!” “I want all You have for me! Bring it on!” “I’m ready to cliff dive, Jesssuuuuuus! Let’s dooo it!”

But I’m honest.

So a handful of times the above have happened (except the cliff diving….heights and jumping from said heights are not my jam). Sometimes I feel brave and let words like that escape my mouth.

But usually it was more along the lines of “You made me this way, and I like small.” “Let’s just go with my plan this time, Abba. We’ll try your way next time.” “Uh…have you met me?” “Jesus, let’s just stay here all cuddly. You’re my guy. All I need. Can I just stay right here with YOUUUUU, FOREVERRRRRRR?”

There are times when I’ve rolled my eyes in response to the “too small” comment.

Other times I’ll remind Him of His Word, “Um…point of order God…doesn’t Zechariah 4:10 say “not to despise small beginnings.”

“What is the context, Jillian?”

FYI…the context God showed me is that in verse 6 the Lord told Zerubbabel that it wasn’t by force nor by strength, but by Holy Spirit that Zerubbabel would accomplish what the Lord declared he would do. So when you get to verse 10…which actually says, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (NLT)

Essentially this is God’s way of saying, “Hey Jill. I’ve sent Holy Spirit ahead of you to prepare the way. I’m even more excited about this project than you! So what are you waiting on? Let’s get project started!!”

God loves it when I quote scripture to Him. It gives Him the opportunity to reveal things to me that blow my mind wide open, and pop my little eyes so wide that I resemble a cartoon character. Makes His day.

There are also the times that I put my hand up before He has a chance to say anything, and say “Yes, I know. I think too small.” Surrender fast. Like ripping the band-aid off.

Rarer of my responses, is the Jill’s got her sassy pants on, and she’s ready to go toe to toe. Then I’ll talk a big game about my screenwriting Oscars (That’s Oscars, plural. And I have a speech if you want to hear it.) People binge watching television series that came from my own imagination. Funny shows that both inspire and move people. My own photo studio. Multiple galleries with my work. Shelves of books with my name on the spine (Me and Jesus are productive partners, you know.) A stack of tear-stained letters from people I’ve never met telling me the words Jesus and I wrote helped them heal, grow, and step out into their own wild unknown. Book awards. Dreamy husband who sings to me. Stacks of money that I get to give away, funding other people’s dreams and visions from God. A passport so full of stamps they had to give me more pages.

When I pull this kind of Jill-ness, I can see Him smiling at me. The you’re so cute smile you give a small toddler when they think they have mastered the universe by putting on their own clothes. Their clothes that don’t match.

Then…

just as I’m about to finish…

I feel it….

rising up in the core of my inner most being…

Ephesians 3:20

Here’s the TPT: “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for His miraculous power constantly energizes you.”

Why am I sharing this? Well, because it’s true, first and foremost.

But also because I do think too small. I find myself looking for scraps and thinking I can make this work. And there are seasons in our lives when all we have are scraps and we do need to just be grateful for the scraps. I’ve had those seasons. I’ve lost a house to foreclosure. I’ve had cars repossessed. Been under employed and unemployed for far too long. Had 2 operations in one calendar year. I lost 3 of the most important people in my life in 5 months, and too many other family members within that same year. I’ve been betrayed. I’ve been gutted by loss, and swam in self-pity. I had a string of sprains and a broken foot. Then the same week I FINALLY got off crutches, I fell off a ladder in front of 100+ coworkers, including a 2-Star General thank you very much, and cracked my wrist. Not every day is gonna be a bowl full of cherries, kids. It’s life.

The difference between believers and everyone else is that we’ve got Jesus. We’re not in it alone. We have hope.

Don’t think a pruning season is the end of your growth. Don’t think a season of loss is now your new permanent life. God is a great, big, mah-vel-ous God! And the Dude is straight up funny. He is joy personified.

For those who don’t believe me, who say show me in the Word…read Psalm 16:11 NKJV “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

You can also reference Nehemiah 8:10 NLT “And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

And we can add to that Proverbs 17:22 TPT, “A joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both body and soul. But the one whose heart is crushed struggles with sickness and depression.”

God is all about the joy.

He does mourn with us. He is close to the brokenhearted, and does rescue those whose spirits are broken. He does heal the brokenhearted and bind their wounds, so that they can move forward. And embrace life again! Not just life though..Abundant life!

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” John 10:10 AMP

Lest you think I’ve begun to rabbit trail, Why am I sharing this? 1. Because it’s true. 2. Because I do think too small. 3. Ah…yeah, no judging. You do too!

We need to be reminded, you and I, that God is the Great Creator. His imagination is endless. His love unending. He always wants to spend time with us. He’s never too busy. And in His generosity, the more time you spend with Him, the more revelation He shares you. He never runs out of anything. Ever. He’s the God who multiplies.

But here’s the part where the rubber meets the road…Are you willing to trust Him? Do you believe that He is? AND that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him? Do you believe He is pumped to partner with YOU in YOUR dream?

Do I believe that He enjoys partnering with me from the first line of random, through the not so awesome editing phase, all the way to the published book? Yes I do. But I haven’t always.

I’ve quit and told Him I was done, more than once. I have given the Christian auto responses more often than not, when people asked me questions I didn’t want to answer, or I couldn’t answer because I hadn’t the foggiest idea what I was doing! But in my own private time, I wrestled and fought to understand. I’ve cried. I’ve told God off. I’ve lamented in the way of Jeremiah and David. And you know what, I came out on the other side, knowing more about myself and about the God I serve. I love Him in a way I never could before. So that’s how I know He’s hilarious. And sometimes infuriating. But always in it with me.

Point to ponder while you wander….I ain’t the sweet, pliable, easy type kid, who just says, “Yes, Lord.” I’m the one with the hard head, that goes around the mountain more than once. I’m the one whose mouth just gets her into trouble repeatedly. I’m the one who thinks too small.

And yet, He enjoys my company. He appreciates when I tell Him first, before anyone else. He sees me. He knows me. And He loves me.

And that is why He continually tells me I think too small.

Deep Thought Thursday…Dreaming Someone Else’s Dream

May 31, 2018 1:14 am / 2 Comments on Deep Thought Thursday…Dreaming Someone Else’s Dream

I remember my first introduction to Jane Austen. It was 1996. I was 21, and studying abroad in Derbyshire. The guy I was dating took me to see Emma. The Gweneth Paltrow/Jeremy Northam version, obviously. Jeremy Northam’s Mr. Knightly. Sigh. I loved him instantly. He was my favorite Austen man until I encountered Rupert Penry-Jones’s Captain Wentworth. But I digress….

That same semester my friends and I went to see Pride and Prejudice (in a play form). Who is this Jane Austen? I must check her out.

I remember hearing about Jane Austen’s life for the first time. Realizing she died young. No spouse. No kids. I thought to myself, how sad. This amazing woman left behind no descendants to carry on her legacy. To someone who is passionate about family tree research I was devastated on her behalf.

And honestly she lived the fate I feared.

I wanted to be an Austen heroine…like Anne Eliot who lands her soul mate Captain Wentworth. All the Austen heroines win the man of their particular dreams. The one that uniquely fits them.

With that perspective, I could never understand why Jane chose to be a spinster. To devote herself to writing and to being Cassandra’s (her sister) companion after her fiancée dies. She could have been married and still been a writer.

What I didn’t understand was that, she couldn’t have been the writer she became, had she chosen to keep her engagement. Not in the 1700’s.

When I read her books and watched the movies, I saw all the heroines finding the dream man, so they could get married and have children. How sad that she didn’t get that happily ever after she gave to her heroines. I know I’m repeating myself here, but I was really upset about it.

Growing up, all the women who influenced my life had between 2 and 12 children. My mom. My grandmothers. My aunts. Great aunts. Great Grandmothers. They were mothers first. Everything else in their lives came 2nd and beyond. So my dream as far back as I can remember was to be a wife & mother. I went to college planning on that life. I graduated from college planning that life. I waited for that life. For that dream to come true.

What I realized is that I wasn’t really upset about Jane’s life, she made her choices. What I was really afraid of was not having kids myself.

I turned 28. 32. 37. Then 42. At 42, the rubber hit the road, and I began to grieve. I began to grieve the death of the dream of having children. I grieved it like it truly died. I ugly cried. For months. I never told anyone or talked about it. But I felt it, I assure you. I battled the depression that accompanied this grief for months and months.

At this same time, God asked a friend of mine to pray for me. After a while, God invited her to approach me about it. She asked me how I was doing with the no kids thing. I sobbed again. She continued to pray. I am so grateful for my friends who cover me in prayer, they are gifts.

A few weeks before I turned 43, I had a stunning revelation…I never got what I didn’t want.

What?

The truth is that I wanted children because I was raised in an environment where kids are loved and valued. So I love and value the kids in my life. You only have to know me about 15 minutes before you start hearing about my favorite people in the world, my nieces, nephews, and lil cousins. They are my people.

But I never actually wanted to have kids. I was stunned. I just grieved a dream to the point of depression…for a dream that wasn’t even my own? Really?

How does that happen? How do we acquire dreams that are actually someone else’s? Or someone else’s dream for us?

It happens with kids and sports or ivy league schools, parents living vicariously through their kids. Thinking they’re giving their kids what they never had, but maybe not asking if this is what the kid wants.

No one pushed this dream on me. My mom’s always believed I could be or do anything I wanted. She’s never put her will on me. Not ever.

This was on me.

I didn’t want to ask myself what I really wanted, because I was afraid. Afraid to know what the answer was…afraid to fail, afraid to succeed…because people would expect things of me. Afraid of leading, because what if no one followed.

So in truth, my not being married young, or having kiddos, was the protection of God. Because He knows me. Because He designed me.

“Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence! You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. With your hand of love upon my life, you impart a blessing to me. This is just too wonderful, deep, and incomprehensible! Your understanding of me brings me wonder and strength.” Psalm 139:1-6 TPT

God knows me better than I know me. Never have I ever been so grateful for ths fact.

I am designed for partnership with Jesus. I am designed for a partnership with a spouse. I am not designed to be a mother in the traditional sense.

My jaw dropped at this revelation. I processed this revelation for weeks and weeks. How is it possible that I don’t want kids?

Who doesn’t want kids? Isn’t that selfish? Abnormal?

How does a person leave a legacy without having kids?

Who will remember me when I’m gone if my family tree ends with me?

Then God showed me something that left me speechless for quite some time…You’re not designed to be an Austen heroine, you’re designed to be a Jane Austen.

Wait, what?

No, I’m not declaring myself to be the new Jane Austen. I’m Jill not Jane.

But God used her life to show me there’s more than one way to have an impact on generations.

Jane was a brilliant author. She wrote stories that are still impacting generations. Maybe it was intentional on her part or maybe it is just how things worked out, but she stands forever as an example that being a wife and a mother is not the only way a woman can have purpose. In her time a woman had two options, marriage or poverty accompanied by shame. Women deserve the right to choose God’s best for them. She used her God given intelligence, wit, and humor to craft incredible stories. That was Jane’s purpose. It wasn’t motherhood.

Then it clicked! I finally got it.

A legacy of words…

That is my actual dream.

That is my actual heart.

That is the legacy I want!

I want to craft stories that people still want to read or watch in 200 years. I want to leave words that inspire. Words that give hope and encourage. Words that reveal the love of the Father, and the greatness of Jesus. Words that remind people that being human is the best there is in all of creation. We were created in God’s image! Nothing else in all of creation was given that honor. I could go on here, but that is not the point of today’s post.

The point is that like Jane, I am a story teller. I can’t help it. It is who I am. I am a scribe. A writer. A lover of words. My purpose is to create stories. I’m still trying to process all of this because I still am stunned by this revelation.

Stunned. But free. For the first time, really free.

I’m not quite sure what to do with all this as I’m still processing…but be assured that writing is my priority. My goal is to write something every day. Blog. Short story. Work on a chapter of one of my longer stories. Send encouraging texts.

We were all created with eternity in mind, and we all have a purpose. One isn’t better or worse. One isn’t greater or lesser. All the body of Christ is important and absolutely necessary. Embrace who God made you to be, and how you are wired. The world needs you to be your authentic self, not a copy of someone else.

“I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling —that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones! – Ephesians 1:18 TPT

Point to ponder while you wander…

“Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” Ephesians 3:20 TPT

P.S. To all the parents out there…You have a tough job and I commend you for your consistency. I respect you for loving, disciplining, and raising those little humans day in and day out. It’s not easy. But they are worth it. You are a hero. Hang in there!!

Becoming a Whole Me

March 10, 2018 11:03 pm / 2 Comments on Becoming a Whole Me

I spent a lot of my life trying to behave perfectly to earn the approval and acceptance of God. Then for a few years, trying not to be smited because I had full scale run amok.

Truth is God loved me the whole time. He saw me. The real me. He knew the truth. He knew the lies I had been believing about myself and about Him. His heart broke for me.

I am clearly not fully living life to the fullest yet…but in reading Your God Is Too Safe today, I was reminded me how far I’ve come, and just how grateful I am for my relationship with Him. ❤ I continue daily to be in awe…

“Holiness is not a bid to be noticed or loved or accepted by God. Holiness, rather, is acting out and acting upon the truth that God has noticed, loved, and accepted us long before we did anything to warrant that. It’s a discovery that we’re alive when we thought we were, and ought to be, dead. Holiness is simply living into and out that aliveness.” -Mark Buchanan (Your God Is Too Safe)

This whole book is hitting me where I live because I like my safe world with Jesus. I love it being me & Him.

But Jesus didn’t heal me so I could sit here be safe and hidden forever. For a season or two yes, but not forever. He healed me so I could live my life fully! Abundantly! He is the God of bigger than I can ask or even think.

He tells me repeatedly two things…

“You think too small.”

“Be open.”

Those two things are super scary…because I am very aware of just how BIG my God really is. I know what He is capable of doing with His kids…

Turning a shepherd into a king. (David)

Turning a barren old woman into the mother of a nation. (Sarah)

Turning a stutterer into spokesman who literally walked his people out of slavery. (Moses)

Turning an introverted girl into an outspoken Queen who risked her life to protect her people. (Esther)

Turning some guy from the sticks in a defeated country into a mighty warrior. (Gideon)

Turning an unknown wife living in a tent in the desert into a war heroine. (Ja’el)

“For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. ” 1 Corinthians 4:7 MSG

I believe that there’s potential in everyone to do amazing things. I can see the gold in people…even myself. I believe that the people above were born with everything they needed to fulfill the destiny they were born for!

Just like us, life kicked these folks down, and the world disappointed them. They were told no. The enemy lied to them. Maybe they believed it…maybe they didn’t.

But there came a point when these regular people stepped out of the safety of their little lives..and believed God. They chose to parner with Him.

As a result…a king, a mother, a deliverer, a queen, a warrior, and a heroine stepped out of the shadows and changed their world.

Knowing all this…I cannot help but wonder what will He do with me? And you?

You may not be a king…but maybe you’re a community leader, a state representative, or a mayor in the making.

You may not give birth to a nation…but maybe you’re one who empowers kids as a teacher, a mentor, or a foster parent.

You may be called to fight modern day slavery or sex trafficking.

Maybe you’re be introverted and shy…but you still have a voice!

Maybe you are designed to be a military leader or a police officer.

Maybe you are designed to raise a family and invest in those little people who will one day lead.

Whatever it is you’re designed for, walk in it! Live fully! That’s what freedom is. It’s why Jesus was resurrected!

Point to ponder while you wander… Freedom isn’t running amok and doing whatever you want whenever the mood strikes. It’s being able to be the whole you. Healed. Healthy. Real. It’s stepping out of the shadows and becoming who you were designed to be.

“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NLT

Deep Thought Thursday Promise Keeper

February 1, 2018 8:11 am / Leave a comment

God is love. And love is patient, kind and believes the best. (See 1 Corinthians 13)

And yet the majority of people I know, myself included, doubt that God is for us, and wonder if He has forgotten us and His promises to us.

Doubt creeps in on hard days and suddenly we are believing the lie that we are on our own and need to fight for ourselves. We doubt God’s love. We doubt God’s promises. We doubt God’s goodness.

So if today is one of those days of doubting, remember…

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

“What a wonderful God we have- He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the One who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“With the Lord a day is like a 1000 years and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8-9

Point to ponder while you wander…

In the days of doubting remember you can invite Jesus to help you in your doubt. Jesus said “Everything is possible for one who believes.” in Mark 9:23, and immediately a doubting father asked for help to believe.

“‘Everything is possible for one who believes.’ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'” Mark 9:23-24

The Truth About Me & You

January 25, 2018 8:25 am / Leave a comment

So this morning I started thinking about wisdom while reading Proverbs 4. Then I sent out the verse of the day.

God’s word is both alive and life giving! “Fill your thoughts with my words until they penetrate deep into your spirit. Then, as you unwrap my words, they will impart true life and radiant health into the very core of your being.” Proverbs 4:21-22 TPT

And I was inspired me to write this, to share it with you. It is important.

If you are believing something about yourself that causes you to feel less than or to be sad more often than not. Then that belief is a lie that needs to be replaced by what the Word says about you!

I’ve been told that I am annoying, that I’m not worth being with until I am my high school weight and size again (95 lbs in case you’re wondering), that I am invasive, that I am lame, and a host of other things I won’t mention on social media. Some of these things cut me deeply and I carried them for a long time as truth because of who said them to me.

But I was listening to the wrong voices. I should have been listening to this voice….

I am wonderfully made and mah-vel-ous!
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:13-14 NKJV

I am chosen. I am unique and peculiar and that is by design! I am bathed in mercy. I am necessary, and I have a purpose in life.
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 KJV

The Word also says I am crowned with glory and honor, that I am beautiful, that I am loved, that I was created in His image, that I am more than a conqueror, and that I was made to be in partnership with God.

That isn’t pride…it’s believing what God says about me. Believing a lie about yourself over what God says about you is actually pride. #truthbomb

I am nerdy…full stop true. I am weird…full stop true. I sometimes care about people more than they care about themselves….full stop true. I don’t trust easily and I don’t just let anyone into my inner circle. I am not the best money manager…I’d love to just spend it all doing things with people, giving to people going on missions & charities, or buying things for people than saving. Jesus holds my heart completely. Although I do want to marry a fictional character named Clark Kent. I prefer older people and kids to everyone else.

I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, and not everyone is my cup of tea. But I try to be kind and patient and gracious. I do my best love people like Jesus does but it is not easy.

That being said, I cannot claim to be perfect or even near normal. I tried that path once…it’s stressful and boring. I ended up sick and depressed and I almost married someone completely wrong for me!

Point to ponder while you wander….Maybe it’s because I’m 3 months shy of 43 and am nearing that threshold of being that old lady who just doesn’t care anymore or maybe I’ve finally embraced who I really am on the inside.

Either way I want you to go to the Word and see what it says about you! Ask God to show you verses that will speak to your inner most person. Or private message me if you need some truth and can’t seem to get there.

I may not always have a lot to give but I can always be counted on for bad jokes and encouragement. Truth is that is who I am and how I was designed.

Reading vs Skim Reading

June 1, 2017 3:00 am / 2 Comments on Reading vs Skim Reading

I love to read. When I am into a truly good story, I get mildly obsessed and can generally put down a 300 pager in a day.

But when I read that way, I’m skim reading. Meaning that I am reading it fast enough to get the main things, but I’m not picking up the detailed descriptions or the subtle nuances. That is also why if a book is good I’ll read it more than once. So I’ll see all the fabulous things hidden in plain sight by the author.

This is completely different than how I read The Word or a book about The Word. I can read one verse and ponder in it for several days. Or look up other verses on the same topic and spend several hours reading and rereading these verses until I understand what Jesus is showing me that day.

For example…it took me nearly 2 years to read “Captivating” by Stasi & John Eldredge. That book gutted me. I’d read a paragraph, or a sentence even, and I’d have to go to Jesus with what it brought up in me and let Him help me with it. Once I was healed, I’d go back to that book. This happened repeatedly for nearly 2 years.

One of the best and hardest to read books ever.

With The Word, from a single verse on one day I can get a general overview meaning that inspires me that day, and come back another day and get a deeper meaning from the same verse. A revelation that changes my whole perspective. It’s what I love about The Bible. It’s living and double edged.

I’m currently reading Good or God? by John Bevere. God has revealed some things to me over the years about the Garden of Eden that are being confirmed by this book, and I’m only in chapter 2! So I’m reading it slowly. Pondering. Chewing on it. Going into The Word from the verses mentioned and chewing on that.

What made me write this post today is something that I wish more pastors and teachers would remind people….

…verify what you hear for yourself!

How many people leave church after a sermon and just accept what they’ve been taught without going into The Word for themselves? Without taking it before God and asking Him to reveal how this can be applied to their life and situation.

I’m not judging….believe me…I’ve done it too. It’s easy when you sit under an excellent teacher to just take what they’ve spent hours and years to learn and move on with our day. But how effective is that in growing and maturing you?

Be honest. It isn’t. Not for you or me.

Think back to something you’ve learned in school. Like a foreign language or subject you didn’t care about. I took 2 economics classes as a part of my major, International Relations. I can tell you that economics is about supply and demand and that Adam Smith is the founder of modern economics. That is all I remember from 6 months of study.

So it’s not effective to just listen and not verify or study it for yourself. It only stays for maybe a day or a week at the most. If, we don’t apply what we’ve heard, the excellent teaching we received is wasted.

The person speaking is also human. They may have taken what The Word said and twisted it to support what they want it to say, rather than what it actually says. One of my favorite pastors, Duane Vanderklok, used to remind us every so often that he is just a man, and that we should be checking up on him, by reading The Word ourselves.

I’d like to believe when this happens it wasn’t intentionally done, but there are people in the world with selfish intentions or even dark motivations. We’ve all seen news stories about people who have been fooled by someone claiming to be good.

So it is always best to verify for yourself.

It’s like gossip or “fake news” on the internet. People read it and share it before verifying it’s true. One of my big pet peeves!!

Just because someone said it doesn’t mean it’s true. So if your skim reading your way through life, and never verifying what you’re hearing is true, then you’re probably believing at least one big fat lie. So take some time to verify for yourself.

Point to ponder while you wander… “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25 NKJV

Rainbows are a Sign

April 17, 2017 11:04 am / Leave a comment

Rainbows. I love them. And I usually start singing Rainbow Connection by Kermit the Frog…or at a minimum just smile.

There are lots of things associated with rainbows…the most popular being pots of gold…of course. Who doesn’t want a pot of gold?

But the truth is that rainbows have a much deeper meaning beginning after the great flood as recorded in Genesis.

”Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.” Genesis 9:12-17

What a beautiful promise and covenant sign!

But to me, rainbows are reminders that God keeps His promises. All. Of. Them. Including the ones He’s given to me.

He is a good God who keeps His promises. But sometimes life gets to us and we begin to doubt. We doubt that His promises are true for us. But they are true. They are true for you. They are true for me!

About 3 weeks ago I saw a double full rainbow. It was incredible! I saw it happened in middle of a frustrating situation. Seeing it gave me peace, because it reminded me that I wasn’t forgotten.

Yesterday I saw another huge beautiful rainbow! And then another one this morning out my window at work. I am so thankful that God speaks to me in pictures when I’m struggling to hear His voice clearly.

And I have been frustrated and that’s causing me to struggle to hear Him. I have begun to doubt a particular promise He gave me (one of two promises that mean the most to my heart).

God didn’t try to convince me or argue with me. He simply reminded me with beauty that He is God. And that He keeps His promises. He is the best Daddy.

Point to ponder while you wander…He is good. All day. Every day. He is always speaking and encouraging us. We just need to keep our eyes and ears and hearts open to receive what He is trying to say.

jillbeingstill