strength

Go with what you know

~ Extravagant Hope ~ Leave a comment

Go with what you know.

Every season of life tends to bring with it different situations, relationships, and challenges that we aren’t prepared for and are unsure how to navigate.

Those changes might come as blindsiding chaos, or slow shifts into different seasons of parenting, friendships, health issues, and managing our time.

Perhaps one key to getting through these seasons is to fall back on what you know about God. I mean back to the bare bones basics–He is sovereign, good, Savior, compassionate, and omnipotent.

What He promises in His word is true. He is closer than our next breath and has never left us alone. Never.

We are so deeply loved.

It’s good to remind ourselves of what He has already brought us through, given us His strength to handle, and the times He has simply carried us when we couldn’t go another step.

When I was battling an aggressive form of breast cancer there were days that I had nothing left to give and very little hope. Fear, pain, and the unknown were too overwhelming and that is when I KNOW He carried me and my family. He made a way where I couldn’t see one.

I had to go with what I knew about God even when it felt like I was walking down a dangerous, crooked path with no clear destination in the dark.

I knew He was good, kind, merciful, Healer, Warrior, Provider–Emmanuel and the God of the impossible. I knew He loved me and that is what I held on to.

When we focus on what we know about God and seek out moments of joy and blessings, I believe that the spirit of heaviness and sadness that the enemy desires to cover us with, can become a garment of praise and an oil of gladness that soothes and protects us, drawing us into the arms of Jesus.

I pray that whatever season you are in right now, you will take a minute to go with what you know about God. Breathe Him in. Ask Him for reminders, blessings, and precious bits of joy to sustain you, comfort you, and give you hope. He’s got you, my friend. You will be okay.

Photo credit: Luis Becerra Fotografo

Weakness from Divine Whispers…

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Weakness. This isn’t a word most of us want to ascribe to ourselves. However, strength needs weakness. When we are at the end of ourselves is when Jesus has room to come in with His strength to protect and do the miraculous. I don’t believe He views our weakness as something to look down on or shake His head at in annoyance. I believe He views our weakness as a beautiful opportunity to shower us with His grace, love, and protection—to impart His perfect strength into us and our circumstances. He shows us glimpses of the future as He opens and closes doors. We see a foreshadowing of eternity as we watch Him do the impossible, comforting and healing us when life doesn’t turn out how we prayed it would.
He is the Weaver of our life tapestry. He sees the beginning, middle, and end. He intimately knows where our lives will intersect with another’s journey. Perhaps the unique and specific strengths He has given us will be exactly what is needed to help another—our strength perfectly matched to their circumstances.
Weakness doesn’t have to hold a negative connotation. It has much more depth than that. Perhaps there is a richness to it that speaks of humanity needing each other to get through life.
In another’s weakness we get the wonderful opportunity to be His hands, feet, and comfort. We are also blessed with opportunities to be on the receiving end of another’s strength. The life-song of humanity is a thing of beauty that intersects and strengthens as we witness startling acts of bravery and kindness, a chance to bring hope. There is beauty in weakness.

Photo credit: Dilara

Majesty

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Not only is He our Creator filled with compassionate and kindness, He is All-powerful, Almighty, a Warrior, and King of Kings.

It’s good to remember He alone has ALL authority on Heaven and on Earth. No one can match Him! That’s our Jesus – the One who loves us more than we can fathom. Amen!

Peace, Be Still

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Photo Credit: Connor Scott McManus

“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

Jesus is right there with you in whatever storms are brewing on the horizon or that are already surrounding you.

Can you hear Him speaking to your heart even now? “Peace, be still.”

He will never leave you or forsake you. He stays. In the calm, in the peace, in the joy, and through the storms, the heartbreak, and chaos.

With a word, a glance, a brush of His robe the storm is stilled, fear is silenced, and worry is blanketed with His unending peace.

Whisper His name. He’s got you. Even the wind and waves obey Him.

Thread of Hope

~ Extravagant Hope ~ 3 Comments

Life is unpredictable. We go into each day not knowing what is waiting for us. Will that prayer finally be answered, will that hard conversation go the way we want it to, will this health issue be resolved, can we just get some peace, will our loved one be safe?

Right in the center of this unpredictability is Jesus. He’s good, steadfast, true, and omnipotent. He has everything concerning you well taken care of.

The chaos that swirls and looks for a way into our hearts is held at bay when we reach out and take His hand. Fear must bow, anxiety must quiet, control must release its vise grip.

The lovely, gentle, glimmering thread of Hope that binds us to Jesus is protected and cherished. It can’t be broken or snipped by the vagaries of life. It is our strong and holy connection to the heart of Jesus.

Hope trusts that He’s got you, will never leave you, is always with you. You can’t be snatched up.

The holy, sacred, mysterious thread of Hope is tethered in His power, compassion, and deep love which cannot be taken away.

Declaration

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In this scripture, the Lord is declaring what He delights in – kindness, justice, and righteousness. I want to be about what He delights in. I want to love those that He loves, see those that He sees, exercise kindness, stand for justice, and do my best to be like Him. He knows we are not perfect and can’t do this on our own.

May we be people who follow after Him, go where He leads us, be clothed in kindness, and treat others the way HE would treat them, the way He treats us.

Blessings

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I’ve been thinking about blessings lately and the different forms it can take. This excerpt from Divine Appointments… talks about blessings and the different ways it might show up in our lives.

“Some blessings come after the hurt and wounds. The Divine often shows up in miraculous ways, turning devastation into glory, failure into victory, wounding into strength, and the impossible into something to be remembered in awe and reverence because there seemed to be no good ending, yet there was.

To live blessed, we need to be alert and seek it out. It won’t always show up immediately. Blessings may not be dressed up in blissful happiness and a cute outfit. Blessings may come dirty, scuffed up, straggling, and a bit off-kilter, but they will come. I have seen them come in both forms—equally holy, sacred, and consecrated. Blessed.

I want to live with an extravagant hope expecting blessing. I want to bloom where I am planted and thrive, no matter what it looks like. Holy, divine, sacred, and blissful happiness is all around, waiting with open arms for us to slow down and seek it. What is sought will be found.”

His strength

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“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Phil. 4:13 NLT

What a comforting reminder as you go about your day – He is with you. You have all that you need to accomplish what today holds. You are loved. Peace be with you.

Maple Leaf’s Journey

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The autumn wind breezes through the park singing and snickering as it tosses and turns upon itself. So fickle and capricious! It’s going to be a blustery day. The Maple leaf waits in anticipation as the merry wind threads through her tree branches dashing her to and fro. Lovely chaos.

All summer she’s watched from her shaded bower as blankets were spread under her tree and picnickers relaxed and napped in the warm afternoons. In the early mornings, squirrels and a variety of birds hopped and scurried through her tree branches, busy with their task of finding breakfast.

The Maple leaf has looked forward to the coming autumn with such excitement! As she grew and filled out in the early spring, she listened to tales from the park trees of the wild adventures that await her once the cooling winds of autumn arrive.

She knows the Creator has a plan for her journey on the autumn wind. She hears Him pass by in the cool of the evenings, His breath in the flowers, His laughter dancing with the spritely breeze that is ever with Him. His presence creates ripples of joy and love that He sends forth to do His bidding. Tonight, the Maple leaf watches Him in fascination as He stops and speaks in heavenly languages over a weathered picnic table under the old pine at the edge of the park. She often sees lone walkers stop and sit at this shaded table – sometimes serene and relaxed, other times crying out pain and worry with or without words. Miracles happen here… Holy ground in a city park.

The day of her long-anticipated journey arrives with full force! As the wild autumn wind blows and gusts through the tree branches, the Maple leaf feels her hold on her tree loosen and release her. She’s off!

The whims of the wind, precisely orchestrated by the Creator toss and carry her up and down, all around the park. Exhilarating! She soars higher and higher, swirling with other leaves caught up in the gusts and plunges down quickly to brush over benches and playground equipment where she lands near the swings. Busy children run and shriek with joy as they climb, slide, and soar on the swings. Their laughter is full of carefree happiness and boundless energy. Their smiling caregivers enjoy a warm spot in the sun as they sip their coffee, chat and monitor the goings-on.

Suddenly, in a burst of wind, she is thrown up and away on another gust twirling over the park, swooping and soaring, joining some spent flower blossoms on a ride of their own.

From her vantage point, the Maple leaf notices a middle-aged woman walking slowly, but with purpose along the gravely path surrounding the park. The woman is making her way to the picnic table under the old Pine, the very table The Creator spoke over last night. The Maple leaf senses the wind slowing and gentling as she descends down, down, floating toward the picnic table alighting on the edge. There is a snap and vibrancy to the air around this table. The supernatural is afoot and it’s palpable. The woman sits and sighs deeply. Her eyes are weary. Her trembling shoulders look as if they are carrying a burden that is too heavy to bear. Tears slip down her cheeks as she pours out her sadness, and the deep fear that needles and pricks at her constantly. She is so tired – tired of carrying a burden that was never hers to carry, tired of expending energy on someone who wounds her heart again and again. She’s tired and afraid of the future. The Maple leaf listens to her heart-cry. The Creator knew she would find rest here when He spoke healing, love, and release over it; speaking and prophesying in the language of heaven exactly what her spirit needed. This divine exchange between the hurt and the Healer is the most beautiful, sacred thing the Maple leaf has ever witnessed. A life healed and restored here under the old pine as His whispers floated on the autumn breeze, His love surrounded her and the Divine mystery of Him healed her aching heart.

Rising from the picnic table with renewed hope and His peace on her shoulders, the beloved woman finishes her walk in the park with a lighter step. The Maple leaf is full of awe and wonder at all she witnessed. Beautiful. Intentional. Holy Ground.

Understanding that her adventure on the wind is coming to an end, the Maple leaf senses Him calling and singing to her, as He buoys her up, higher and higher into His glorious presence where angels and heavenly beings dwell.

Storms

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Storms

Looking out my front windows to the north I see a storm brewing. Clouds in various shapes and sizes in varying degrees of grey, black and white are simmering and building. They appear to be motionless, but they’re not. The wind is picking up. The wind chimes on the patio are strumming and singing, growing more insistent as the wind announces the approaching storm. Rain and wind are coming. Will there be thunder and lightning? I notice the absence of bird song and chatter. My bare-bones apple tree branches are filled with little birds watching and waiting. Nature knows…

Friends and family in various parts of the country are experiencing storms in varying degrees of severity. Some have below-freezing temperatures that turn deadly, some are being devastated by tornadoes and blizzards, while others are facing floods and record rainfall. Other parts of the country have milder temperatures and the fear of drought looms from the lack of water.

When the weather forecasters display their satellite generated models of atmospheric pressure, wind, moisture and all the variables that make up a storm it can bring a sense of security in knowing what’s coming, how to plan, protect and predict. Sometimes these predictions are spot on and other times not.

Watching and waiting for this storm to make its entrance reminds me of life. There are times when all the little hairs on the back of the neck and arms stand on end and our discernment and awareness are heightened. We feel a storm approaching. We become alert and aware of every changing nuance in our atmosphere. We watch body language and what is and isn’t said; we are hyper-aware that something is off-kilter and become quiet as we observe our surroundings. The unsettled feeling of knowing something is coming but not knowing how to plan, predict and prepare stirs feelings of chaos, fear and urgency into a thick brew of panicked helplessness.

Other times because of circumstances, conversations, or a diagnosis we know what is coming and because of that we attempt to predict, sometimes with fairly good accuracy and sometimes not, what the outcome might be. Having that knowledge simmering and stewing in our minds is a terrible and exhausting feeling, as we rehearse, play out and attempt to control what’s coming. But we really can’t, can we?

Our limited humanity is an an exhausting, frightening, chaotic thing, isn’t it? We so desperately want to control and order our lives. We want peace and happiness and attempt to forge for ourselves a chaos-free zone that bubbles, protects and shuts out all things hurtful, harmful and terrible. We might succeed for a bit in keeping at bay all that howls and thrashes outside, but there are cracks – flaws in our construction and the storm knows the way inside. Sometimes it will patiently wait, prodding and poking the infrastructure, testing and observing where the design flaws are hiding. Little by little it oozes in causing small bits of erosion and damage that we don’t notice immediately until chunks of our carefully constructed barriers begin crumbling and falling.

Other times it strikes so violently, fast and hard that our safe bubble pops with terrifying suddenness and we are left in a ruin of rubble and disaster and have no idea how to rebuild. Blindsided.

In the midst of all this ruin is Hope. Jesus.

He’s the Master Designer, Creator, Lover. He is the Light that breaks through all darkness and commands it to flee. He’s done it before, is doing it and will do it again. Why He permits the storms and darkness to enter our bubbles, I don’t know.  Believe me when I say I have asked Him, cried, raged, screamed and demanded answers from Him for the bubble breaking storms I have endured. I do  know that He wants to take the hurt, rage, fury, and heartbreak from us because He is the only one who can take the wounded devastation and rebuild the ruins and horror into something breathtaking, holy, and beautiful. It becomes sacred ground. What He rebuilds is strong, graceful, thankful and hopeful. He positions us to be light to another who finds themselves in the midst of a storm. He takes ashes and gives beauty, He takes mourning and gives joy, He takes heaviness and despair and gives a spirit of praise and peace as is said in Isaiah 61:3 “To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.”

Sometimes what we’ve built has to be torn down in order for us to experience what is waiting for us on the other side of the storm. Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. That is Jesus and He is our hope – our true anchor in the storm.