by Stacey | Jan 10, 2013 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Children never seem to lack confident energy. At least mine don’t. They scoop up the hairbrush and bellow with all their might, strum the umbrella guitar, bang the tissue box drums and sing until the windows rattle. They are sure in their ability to make a joyful noise – regardless of the sound that results.
Oh, to be uninhibited. To provide vocals and music, inspiring scribbles, and culinary creations with childlike enthusiasm.
My kids have never turned down a chance to try something new. Sometimes they succeed. Sometimes they fail. But they attempt with absolutely everything inside of them.
At what age do we lose that wonderful courage? The courage to step into the spotlight and perform with everything inside? The courage to try? The courage to succeed? The courage to fail?
I suspect many adults secretly wish to be capable of something… else. Anything else. But are afraid to try.
Never let fear stop you. Go ahead. Make some noise. Seek and discover the unique giftedness God has placed in you, then use it for His glory and with all your might.
“You have a ministry. However insignificant it may seem to you, it is very significant to God (Lori Salerno).”[i]
“I hope you realize how much your family, your friends, your church, your community, and this world need you. Don’t allow who you truly are to be lost, buried, or devalued… what is most truly you matters (Lynne Hybels).”[ii]
“If year after year our lives are consumed with activities we’ve been neither gifted nor impassioned to do, and we never have the chance to slide into the sweet spot of giving out of our true self, we pay a higher price in ministry than God is asking us to pay. And the saddest thing is, when we allow this to happen, nobody wins (Lynne Hybels).”[iii]
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive (Gil Bailie).”
How do we discover our unique calling? Tim Challies offers some sound advice in his book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment (Crossway Books). He writes about five helpful principles to discover your gifts. These principles are: prayer, passion, asking others, trying, and trying some more.
- The obvious place to start when we are searching for wisdom is to go directly to the source of wisdom Himself. Ask God to reveal the areas in which you are gifted.
- You may find you already have great passion for an area of service in which God has gifted you.
- Asking friends that know you well, whom you trust to be mature Christians, may provide great insight and wisdom regarding your abilities.
- Try and try some more. The Holy Spirit may surprise you by uncovering a hidden passion as you try various activities and ministries.
[i] Lori Saleirno, Real Solutions for Ordering your Private Life. (Ann Arbor: Michigan , Vine Books, 2001) 52
[ii] Lynne Hybels, Nice Girls Don’t Change the World. (Barrington: Illinios, Willow Creek Association, 2005) Inside cover
[iii] Lynne Hybels, Nice Girls Don’t Change the World. (Barrington: Illinios, Willow Creek Association, 2005) 58
by Stacey | Jan 3, 2013 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
A new year stretches before me. 365 days of opportunity. The blank page full of possibilities. Will this be the year my agent circulates my book among publishing houses? Will my one year contract with the MB Herald be renewed for another year? Will we install new windows in our drafty home?
God willing, it will be a year of hugs, kisses, smiles and laughter.
On days like this, as I ponder the joy of maybe, the awesome responsibility of the absolutes hit home.
I am blessed to have three soft and pliable souls under my care. I don’t wonder if I will mother this year – I know. But the catch is, these kids don’t really belong to me. They are on loan from God. And He really cares about how I raise His kids.
That thought overwhelms. My knees buckle. No knows better than I how unworthy and ill-equipped I am for this task.
God entrusts five additional children to me as their parents work. Five more souls shaped by my responses. My tone of voice. My ability extend grace and love.
My knees ache but I remain. Bowed at His feet. Confessing my need. My lack. Dependent on Him.
This year, this blank page waiting to be written doesn’t need a book, a contract, or windows to be a success. It won’t be limited to kisses, hugs and happiness. There will be tears.
But hopefully, when I sit here next year writing a post at the beginning of 2014, I will not think in terms of achievement. I will think in terms of relationship. Am I closer to God? Do I trust Him more fully? Did I praise Him in the good and bad? Did my example illustrate to my children what it looks like to walk with Him?
You might remember my Thanksliving list – 1000 reasons to be thankful. This year my list is about possibilities. 365 positive choices I can make that God might use to change me or to change those around me. Today is the 3rd day of the year so we start with the top three:
- Instead of housework, I spent some time with my youngest playing trains. I pray this time together enforces how much I love him, cherish him and value these short but precious days.
- I responded with gentleness. I pray this is how my children remember their childhood. Gentle tones. Loving looks. Peaceful home. Patience. Fruit I desire for them.
- We turned off the T.V. and invented. Marble runs. Lego. Snow forts. Snacks. We engaged our imaginations where anything is possible. I pray for the energy to remain involved with my children in a joyful and encouraging way.
by Stacey | Dec 24, 2012 | The Weekend Visitor
December 14, 2012
Dear Jesus,
It’s a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.
These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil demonstrated.
The whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?
Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod’s jealousy. Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.
Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.
Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won’t you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.
This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.
Hopefully,
Your Children
© 2012 Max Lucado
[A Christmas Prayer] Max Lucado
Copyright [UpWords Ministries, 2012]
Used by permission
Visit Max Lucado’s blog here
by Stacey | Nov 8, 2012 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Have you ever known someone who lives in the past? It could be the guy who peaked on his high school football team. It could be a mother who constantly dresses like her teenage daughter. It could be a leader or politician who served God faithfully in the beginning but eventually strayed.
It could be a person like King Rehobam. You can read about his family in 2 Chronicles 11 and his depart from truth in 2 Chronicles 12. Rehobam began faithful. He started strong. But by his fifth year as King he had become unfaithful choosing to rely on his own strength instead of God. His days of pleasing God were history.
No one can depend on former correct actions to ensure a future relationship with God. God is concerned with the choices I make today. He is concerned with the current state of my heart.
No matter how I failed yesterday, today is a chance to start over. I do need to address yesterday’s failures and confess and repent as scripture directs, but they do not hold me back from restoring a broken fellowship with my Father. Furthermore, a former spiritual high or walking closely with God for years past means little if I chose to ignore Him today. God is concerned about the current state of our relationship.
Ouch! I know I’m guilty of coasting through days without picking up my bible depending on last week’s prayer to get me through today’s trial. The big question is: What am I going to do about it? How did Rehobam move from a faithful beginning to becoming a King who abandoned the law of his Lord? Did it start with a short stretch of depending on last week’s prayer? Did he stop listening to sound teaching and start listening to his own voice instead?
King Rehobam’s story contains a warning I intend to heed. I’ve started meeting regularly with three other woman. We all attend different churches, we all have slightly different opinions on various topics. But there are many things we have in common.
We want to be found faithful.
We want to glorify God in our actions, thoughts, and words EACH day.
We want to live without regrets.
We want to give sacrificially, love unconditionally, and deepen our walk with God.
We want to be held accountable.
That’s why we meet. That’s why we bring our prayer journals and share from them. That why we confess the ugly truth about our fears, doubts, and trials.
That’s why we hold up one another in prayer.
Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
by Stacey | Sep 13, 2012 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
“It’s not about whether I can do this but about whether I am willing to surrender and fall into my Saviour’s arms. It’s about whether I’m willing to let Him carry me through this moment and every moment from here on.”
There are days I feel like a complete and total failure. There are days I think I can’t do it anymore. There are days when the next step feels too huge to even try to take it. These days beg one question:
Will I trust God to carry me through this moment and every future moment?
When the job feels unproductive, when I run like crazy but get nowhere, when the diagnosis is grim. Will I trust God? Not just with my future, but for the strength required for each step?
You see, it’s not about whether I can handle any of these things, it’s about believing that God can handle them.
It’s not about doing my best. It’s about surrendering to God’s will and trusting Him for His best.
It’s not about getting stronger. It’s about knowing God is stronger and depending on Him.
It’s not about pushing through the difficulty on my own strength. It’s about trusting God to provide for each step, one step at a time.
Picture by Morgan Falk Photography
First posted Nov 15th, 2010
