by Stacey | Jul 7, 2016 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
He is all powerful; I am weak. He is all-knowing; I am limited. He is ever present; I am perishing.
His holiness exposes the sin seeping into every chamber of my heart. Easily deceived, my tendency to wander leads me to worthless idols.
Again and again.
Yet, the Shepherd seeks the sheep and becomes the bridge that spans the gap between us. He relentlessly calls my name. He guides me to Living Water, inviting me to drink and never thirst again.
Because He loves me.
He was already there—in the beginning—and will be forever. His words breathe life and are life.
I am His.
Praise the Lord!
by Stacey | Jun 16, 2016 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement, For Writers
I love to write. These last few years have brought great joy as I’ve seen fruit grow after years of hard work. However lately, I’ve been evaluating the good things in my life and how all good things remain good things only when they stay in the right place in my life. A recent “time out” from fictional writing has proven to be a beneficial pause and reminder to me that occasional distance from the activities I love is healthy and good.
Consider 3 reasons why you should take a break from your passions:
Anything can become an idol
Anything, even good things, like writing to express my love for the Lord, can sneak into that space in my heart reserved for the Lord. Writing about God should never replace personal time spent with Him. Studying His Word should never become about finding material for a devotional or a growth arch for a character. I strive to know Him better and grow in love for Him because He is worthy of my praise and adoration. That is why I enter into His presence.
A well-rounded life is healthier, less stressful, and honestly – more fun
I’ve observed that closing the laptop, getting off the office chair, getting my nose out from under a pile of notes and papers improves my attitude, patience, and over all health. It is good to go for a walk / jog / bike ride. It is good to spend time with the real people living in my house and give them 100% of my attention. It is good to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, laugh with my children, stay up late or get up early just because. There is more to life than work and hobbies.
Real people are more important
That deserves a repeat because it is easy to say but also easy to forget. Real people are more important than the stuff you’re saving your money to buy, more important than the book you want to finish reading, more important than the training schedule you want to keep, more important than the blog post you are reading right now <grin>. For me, real people are more important than the make believe ones I create in my stories.
Maybe you’re not a writer. Maybe your passion is running, cooking, reading, playing an instrument, fitness, home decor, crafting, gaming, or anything else that might bring a person pleasure. It really doesn’t matter what “thing” fills your spare time, the truth still remains. Guard yourself against making it an idol. Keep God, and your time with Him, first. Balance your life by first meeting daily with Him, then exercising, easting healthy, and engaging with the people around you because real people—relationships—are more important than that hobby. And the most important relationship is the one you have with God.
If your passion has slowly overtaken your thoughts, time and attention, perhaps it is time to force it back into its rightful place. Sometimes, a break is good.
by Stacey | Jun 2, 2016 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
It’s been the kind of week that didn’t allow for writing because it required more praying. What joy is found in praying Scripture and depending on the words of God.
Hear our prayers, O Lord. Give ear to our pleas for mercy. In your faithfulness, answer us. The enemy is pursuing us, distracting us, and trying to crush life to the ground. He is trying to force us to sit in darkness like those long dead. He wants our spirit faint. He wants us to forget Your goodness and be fearful.
But, we remember. We remember what You have done before and know You can do it again. You created us. You have brought us from death to life. We meditate on Your provision and ponder the works of Your hands. We stretch out our hands to You asking, begging for Your mercy on our families, our church, and our lives. Answer us quickly, O Lord. Hide not Your face from us. For Your name’s sake, provide for our needs and teach us to let go of our wants. Go before us. Remain beside us. Be our God in such a powerful way we will know You are with us and, as a result, we will turn toward You in our time of need, trusting in You.
Hear our prayers, O Lord. Let our cry come to You. Do not hide your face from us in the day of distress. Incline Your ear to us and answer us speedily. Nothing is impossible for You. You set the earth on its foundations so it should never be moved. The waters stood above the mountains and at Your rebuke they fled; at the sound of Your thunder they took flight. The mountains rose and the valleys sank down to the place that You appointed for them. You made springs gush forth. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
You made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm. O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts, You are great in counsel and mighty in deed. Your eyes are open to our deeds. We know we are not worthy to ask anything of You, but because of Christ, we can boldly approach Your throne and plead for grace and mercy. Show Your power and might in marvellous ways.
In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.
by Stacey | May 26, 2016 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Life is going to unfold in unimaginable ways.
Sometimes life unfolds in crushing ways. Trials can challenge everything we’ve ever called good and if our faith is not built on the solid foundation of the absolute goodness and sovereignty of God, these trials will shatter us.
Trials may sever the limb, but a solid foundation knows it cannot sever hope. Trials might fold the car like tinfoil, but a solid foundation knows God remains on His throne. The enemy uses trials to try his bloody best to tear apart what the Lord has joined together, but a solid foundation knows, by the power of the Holy Spirit, love can prevail. Trials may manifest though a diagnosis, through a lack of funds, or through government-sanctioned persecution. However it presents, build your faith on the solid foundation of Jesus and these trials will not destroy your faith.
Every life will experience pain and loss.
The storm is certain. A storm has either just blown over, it rages now, or it is forecasted for tomorrow. I have never lived a year a life that has proven those words truer than this current one. The storm is certain. There is no avoiding the falling rain, the rising floods, or the blowing winds that beat against our house of faith. The storm is certain, but there is one foundation capable of upholding your house of faith—Jesus.
The foundation matters.
Be wise and build your house on the rock.
Hears what words? The previous verses in Matthew are known as the sermon on the Mount and go way back to chapter 5. It is where Jesus tells us what kind of person is blessed. He tell us we are salt and light. He explains He has come to fulfill the law. He speaks on anger, lust, divorce, oaths, revenge, loving our enemies, giving generously to those in need, prayer, fasting, storing our treasures in heaven, anxiety, judging others, approaching God with boldness, how we should treat others, discernment, and how the road that leads to eternal life is narrow.
We’ve heard the words, now we must do them. This is the hard part. It is hard to be salt and light in a tasteless and dark world. Every cell in my body opposes the commands of the Lord but in humility I must pursue the narrow road because I want to build my house on the rock. I want my house of faith to remain after the storm.
When we hear the words of Christ and live the words of Christ our house is built on the rock of Christ. Then, circumstance will not dictate the depth of our love for Him.
“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
Matthew 7:25
by Stacey | May 12, 2016 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Parenting challenging children grows my compassion toward others parenting challenging children
If you parent a challenging child, you’ve likely smiled through unrequested advice, bit your tongue when publicly corrected, and pinched back tears against feelings of failure. You know what it means to give endlessly, sacrificially, and entirely to a child and STILL know your best efforts are inadequate.
This grows your compassion. You have less judgment and more patience than your pre-child self. You have less advice and more empathy. You offer less correction and more grace because you know how desperately you need to hear that grace spoken to you. You do not deceive yourself. You know you need the Lord to parent every day, and you shamelessly share this with other moms, praying they will also turn to Him for their strength.
You learn to celebrate the small victories and know they belong to the Lord
I am not up to the task of parenting a challenging child. Perhaps, that is exactly why God gifted me with one. Every milestone is a victory because that milestone once felt impossible. I’ve learned the important lesson that prayer doesn’t always change my circumstances or change my child, but it will always change me. I’ve accepted this struggle is just as much about my sanctification as it is about rearing my child in the ways of the Lord. I know God desires to do a work in me as I pray for His work in my child.
There is a blessing inside the struggle.
There is a great blessing in the stripping off of independence and the putting on of dependence. Parenting a challenging child is a humbling reminder that all my talents and capabilities are nothing without God. Struggles turn my eyes toward Him, recognizing my complete dependence upon Him to do what only He can replace stubborn hearts with obedient ones—in my children and in me.
by Stacey | May 5, 2016 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
He propped those screws right up against the tire. Three times, they punctured. Three times, we limped our way to the mechanic for a patch. Three times, he saw the damage, the inconvenience, the interruption to our day, but never connected his action to the events until the mechanic handed over the screw.
The brother encourages him to tell, because “it is always better to tell,” instinctively knowing that confession is good for the soul.
He scrounged up all the courage his little frame could muster and spoke the hard-honest truth. It was his fault.
My heart swelled at his courage, his decision to speak and believe what we have been repeating for years.
Our family…
…says what we’re sorry for…
…never stays angry…
forgives.
With trembling lips, he waited to see if our mantra was true. Fearful eyes understood what we didn’t need to say. This was big—bigger than anything he could fix on his own. Worse still, he had no excuse or reason. Equal measures of boredom and curiosity set the plan into motion. Forgiveness, should he receive it, was undeserved, unmerited, and unearned.
Undeserved. He punctured those tires as much as my sin punctured the hands and feet of my Lord. We are both stained with sin.
Unmerited. Grace is the unmerited favour of God toward me. Grace is the best response to his hard-honest confession. He might not deserve it, but one thing I know for sure is that I certainly don’t, yet here I am, drenched in God’s grace.
Unearned. Even with all the coins in his piggy bank, he couldn’t pay for those three patches. It had to be done for him. And even with all of humanity’s good works stacked from bottom to top, the price of sin is still more. It has to be paid for us, for me.
Together we stand as recipients of undeserved, unmerited and unearned forgiveness. Praise the Lord!
and believe what we have been repeating for years.