Just past the Trees

Sometimes it feels as though there are things almost within my grasp and yet not close enough. It is as if they are just beyond the trees! The moments when I'm standing on my tippy toes and I'm trying to reach but my 5 foot 4 inch body is only so tall and that cabinet that I thought I could reach into is out of bounds! I can't, no matter how much I stretch, reach, wiggle and jump! I just can't seem to reach that object that I want so badly.

Inevitably I need assistance, I need to get a chair, a ladder, or one of those really cool gizmos that you click a button and it is like an arm extender. It reaches in and grabs the object for you. Best invention ever.

These tools enable me to reach where I could never have gone on my own.

In my stubbornness I always try to reach it by myself, but in reality I will never reach anything unless I use these tools. It's the same way in our Christian life, God never intended for us to be all! We were not made to rely on ourselves for anything.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

His tools for us include the power of Jesus, the righteousness of God the Father and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us that we have been given everything we need for godliness and yet our human nature says work it out by yourself. Like me stretching and wiggling and reaching and getting frustrated on my own this occurs in our Christian life as well.

We also have the privilege of having another tool alongside of us, The Body of Christ. I know this tool so well! In a few weeks we will be gathering as women to wrestle with the question, If God is real then how does that impact our lives? I am part of a team of women who represent a variety of ages, spiritual gifts, talents, abilities, wisdom, life experiences and varying degrees of humor. What they can do together is indescribable!

God never intended for us to do things alone he meant for us to be in community with himself and with his body.

Today I am thankful, thankful for the power of Jesus, thankful for his authority, thankful that he made us more than conquerors. I'm thankful for righteousness, justice, graciousness and wisdom of God the Father.  I'm grateful for the guidance, direction and the conviction of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And I am filled to overflowing with the joy of being part of the body of Christ who inspires, encourages and exhorts. The body of Christ can do things that I am not capable of  doing by myself because I am not gifted in all areas! Thank you God for giving me women and men to come alongside of me in ministry.

When things seem to be just beyond your grasp and you are struggling, remember that you were not intended to do it by yourself!

What are you trying to do by yourself? Who could you invite to join you in your struggle?

It is Well

What is he doing with his coat unzipped in this kind of weather? There he was, not dressed well for the weather that was way below 20°. On this day it was only 1° There he stood in his snow boots, hat, warm jacket that was completely unzipped with no gloves or mittens on his hands. Staring at him I had so many questions.

Where's your mama? Aren't you cold? Why do you come so unprepared when the weather is so freezing? How is it that for you?

Deeper questions came into my mind as well.  They made me think of moments that I felt cold and alone unable to take care of myself. I felt those feelings recently when I spent time with my mom. Now it requires extra amounts of patience because of her dementia. There are those moments when I feel cold and alone. Not knowing scares me, often terrifies me if I only look at it. It feels like a deep vacuum of not knowing questions.

Not knowing

How long I have with her

How long this stage will last

If there will come a time that she doesn't remember me

Not knowing!

I feel cold as if my jacket is open and I feel so vulnerable.

It is a constant struggle to trust Jesus to completely take care of me. I have issues with control.The truth is that God is faithful and I can rely on the love He has for us. I John 4:16 Because of this fact no mater how cold or alone I feel, I can confidently say, "It is well with my soul".

When do you feel cold, alone and vulnerable?

Prayer

Jesus thank you that you were the one that comes in and zips up my jacket, tells me to be warm in your love and to be comforted by your embrace. I am warmed knowing that you have all things ready. I take comfort in your plans for me.

One of those days

Yes it is true, children say the funniest things!

I am a teacher and that means that in any given day a young student may say something that is politically incorrect for adults but hysterical to hear.

Yesterday with a room full of students one student asked to use the restroom. I gave permission and was working with students when I noticed that the bathroom door was open. Where did he go I wondered. It would not be unusual for this student to leave the room and use the bathroom in the hallway. I asked the class if they knew where he had gone.  Just then a voice rings out from the bathroom, I in here, I go poop!”

I quickly walked over to the door to shut it giggling the whole time!

Today, a little girl in kindergarten asked me what was wrong with my face! “It’s a mole”, I told her. She replied, “did you get it from scratching yourself too hard?”

These are so funny! I love that they say what they think, ask questions when they do not understand and then just move on.  We can learn a lot from these little ones!

Maybe this is why Jesus says for the little children to come to Him! 

Prayer

Father, help us to have childlike eyes to see, simple hearts to receive and questioning minds that ask questions. Help us to just move on after things are over.

It has been a long night

I awoke to my husband leaning over the bed, staring at me. He was in pain, no words were necessary, his forlorn face told it all. That and the fact that he was holding onto his stomach. “What’s wrong?”, I managed to mumble.

Immediately I went onto the WebMd to look up his symptoms and try and discover what might be wrong. At first it was a horrible diagnosis, but then I found my way to Gall stones. Everything fit his description of the pain. For the next 7 hours, I listened to him toss and turn, get out of bed and back in, painful sounds of discomfort that I could do nothing about.

We could have went to the ER but I thought that we could just see our doctor in the morning. Easy for me to say, I wasn’t the one in pain. In the morning I called the doctor only to find out that the soonest we could be seen was 4 in the afternoon. There was no way that my husband could have lasted that long. We decided to go to emergency.

It’s so funny how your mind plays tricks on you. Immediately I began to think of terrible things that could be wrong with him. Each time, a thought came into my head I stopped and Praised Jesus for reminding me of himself.  That He was bigger, stronger than any disease, and diagnosis. I was at peace.

My husband was so much better too after they put him on a morphine drip! It’s amazing how calm he looked in morphine land!

After an ultrasound and a ct scan it was determined that he has gall stones. We praised God for this simple diagnosis.

Here is my take away from this long night.

God is good! He was good before, He was good in the midst and He is good after.

Free at Last

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

There has been much said about what Christians should and shouldn't do. I am grateful for God who has given us the gift of choice. When we were forgiven of our sins we were set free from the power that they hold on us.

Think about that. Sin has no, absolutely NO power on us because of Christ's sacrifice. Why then do we place ourselves willingly back into it's grasp. It is as if we say, "I miss you, come and play!" We know that sin has consequences, it separates us from experiencing God's best in our lives and yet we mingle with it any way. We are truly confused. Now lest you think that I am not preaching to myself, I am well acquainted with this dance .

There have been many years that I thought I was not good enough. 

Not good enough to be included in certain groups

Not good enough to be considered popular

Not good enough to be blessed by God

Not good enough in what I wore, how I looked, how thin I was

Not good enough as a mother

Not good enough as a wife

Not good enough at my job

Get the picture? I struggled with this for so long. It was painful and it caused me to do some really stupid things. Thanks be to God that he saved me from this and began to teach me that He could set me free from all of this if I would give it to Him. Easy enough I thought, so I lifted my hands and said take it from me, I don't want it anymore. It felt great to be rid of that weight, that burden that had been dragging me down.

Notice in the Galatians verse it says, "Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery" As easily as Christ had taken that burden from, I began to put it back on. Every time I allowed myself to compare myself to others instead of following What God had for me, I placed a weight on myself.

I began to cry out to God, Why am I so overwhelmed, I thought you set me free? He whispered, you are free, unlock the chains and step out of the weights that you have placed onto yourself. Be Free! Live in the Freedom that I have given to you. Only Follow Me and Abide in my love.

Have you been here? Are you struggling with things over and over again? Stop weighing yourself down with all of this and step aside from it all. You were called to be free.


Father,
thank you for loving me and setting me free. Thank you for giving me time to figure it out and to finally let go of the weights and the burdens that were causing so much pain and stress. Praise Jesus that you have given us everything we need for a life of blessing and of freedom. Help me to walk away from anything that would entangle me into a life of captivity.

The real work has just begun

Almost a week ago we gathered together to learn, worship, be inspired and encouraged, convicted challenged and the growth began.

The real work has only just begun!

There’s always this tug of war when growth begins to happen. I don’t know if it’s our natural response to change and possibly pain that puts us almost in the stalled position.

I feel kind of numb to be honest. Perhaps, it’s because I know the work that is to come and so I’m beginning to gear up for that work or maybe, just maybe there some fear inside of me.

I hear whispers, lies that fill my head with things like, “you have nothing to say, who would listen to you? what do you really know about… Lies from the pit of hell, from the deceiver himself. He tells me that I’m not good enough, strong enough, equipped enough, woman enough, to step forward.

And so I’m stalled a little. Thank you friends for listening, because just speaking these lies out loud helps me to see the fallacies inside of them

The truth is that I am a daughter of the King, I belong to the one who’s already written the story that I get to live! He is preparing me for what he has prepared for me and I believe it’s mentoring.

Last week I was in Austin at the IF:Gathering. God is so good! The way he orchestrated things was truly amazing. Two fabulous women that I’ve had the privilege of walking alongside of, who I consider daughters in the faith,  all of us were assembled in the same home. Not only that special gift, but also someone who is walked alongside of me and mentored me was also in this grand gathering. If that wasn’t enough I brought someone with me to visit these dear friends. Someone who is now a daughter in the faith to me and I am in a mentoring relationship with. We’ve had countless hours of mentoring and loving and doing life together.

I felt as if I was Paul with Silas and Timothy. It was beautiful to see these relationships all together representing the years of celebrating our life together. God whispered, “Jann this is what I have for you, this is how I’ve been preparing you, this is how I will continue to prepare you. Don’t you see the plans that I have for you?”

I’ve asked him to spell things out for me because I’m a simple gal with the simple mind and I get confused if this is what God wants for me. Often I cry out, “please make it clear to me Lord”  he answered my prayer on this wonderful night!

So ladies thank you for coming alongside of me and loving me and encouraging me last weekend to step out in faith and trust God in this area.

Preparing a generation is no easy task , but I believe it this that God has called me to.  Asking him to show me his plan to show me what’s next, to lead me and guide me is the prayer of my heart.

So I’m going to ask you as well, have you been in a mentoring relationship? Either as the mentee or the mentor?

I would love to hear your stories of how God has worked in mentoring. Joys and sorrows while coming alongside of other believers.

This is what I know, God took a girl who knew nothing of the faith and brought people alongside of her to mentor her on what it means to follow Jesus. They taught me what it looks like to raise a Christian family, they challenged my thoughts and my actions to be more a reflection of Jesus.

In the next couple of blogs I’ll be reflecting on those people who have invested their very lives into my life and in turn what that means for us investing in those that we have the privilege of coming alongside of.  I praise God for the family of faith.

The IF Movement

It was amazing being part of a movement. That’s what I call the IF: Gathering. A movement of warriors. The question is what are we fighting for? It’s quite simple, it’s the same thing that the passion movement is fighting for that God’s renowned would be made known throughout all the world.
It’s the good news of Jesus, that we’ve been set free from our past and that we are free to move forward to step out in faith in to the plan that has been laid out before us.

It is letting go of what his dead because God is not the God of what has been but he is the God of I AM! (Christine Caine)

So much occurred during the IF:Gathering in our hearts and minds. Yet, people keep asking, “What is the IF:Gathering?” It is believing God and then walking in that belief.

It is as if a seed of faith was planted into thousands of hearts during the conference. That’s what happens when the Holy Spirit reveals to you his plan and puts a seed inside of your heart. You can hardly stand waiting until it begins to take root and starts to sprout.

Look and see and be utterly amazed at what I will do 

Behold I am doing a new thing now it springs forth do you not perceive it?

I have prepared you for this, I am preparing you for this, I have prepared a place for you. 

Those words are precious to me!

A few months ago God gave me the word prepare he’s been preparing me for the IF:Gathering and preparing me for this year. He continues to prepare my heart and my mind to look forward and to let go of the past so that I can focus on

preparing others
what he has prepared for me.

There so much more to come I can barely wrap my head around it but don’t worry I’ll let you in all along the way.

What new thing does God want to do in you today? What seed has He planted in you?

The Big IF

2000 women gathered together to hear from God. Each one desperate to learn, experience and ultimately fulfill their purpose as a Christ follower. If God is real then we want to live like it is the premise behind this gathering. 

I came expecting God to give me answers to my questions about how to lead, where my life needs to change and quite honestly I just wanted to have an amazing time of worship with Him. I was not disappointed in what occurred! 

The conference began with Jennie Allen greeting us with her team of women. Her passion and conviction were a powerful reminder to trust God and let Him direct you. I was in awe of her dedication and servant hood to the kingdom. Presenter after presenter shared their story of faith, of trust, of brokenness and the truth that God is good.  This woman agrees with that statement!

Worship was weaved throughout and brought us right into the throne room. There is something about filling a place with women who love Jesus and then singing His praise! It is good to be together! Break every chain, break every chain.... Is ringing in my soul.

One of the beautiful aspects of IF:Gathering is that women all over the world were watching with us. Over 1500 locations streamed the conference. So incredibly cool to be connected with our sisters. Even after the conference many of us our hosting our own events. I am returning to my home church and have a date set for March 27-28 where we have invited women to join us in answering If God is real, then what?

God is so full of surprises. During the gathering, I was given so many beautiful words of challenge and encouragement, but the one that had me quaking and smiling came from Christine Caine. "God is preparing you for what He has prepared for you!"

In January the word God gave me for this year was "Prepare". I even spent the month of January reflecting on how to prepare my heart, mind, mouth and hands.  Little did I know that He was going to continue it at the IF:'Gathering. 

So what is next? I have so much more to share with you regarding what I learned and how God worked. I'll be blogging about some of those in the next few days.

In addition, if you are close to Grand Rapids, Michigan we would love for you to join us on March 27-28 for our IF:Corinth.

Being Good

Day 7

When I begin to think about God being good it's difficult to completely understand it.
Perhaps it's because we are not good and trying to fathom God goodness it's so foreign to us.

The bible says there is no one good but God alone. Mark 10:18

There is none without sin Romans 3:10

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

And there it is

God has a glory that we can't possibly understand because we are but dust. We have a sin nature in our humanness so we cannot comprehend his glory.

Whenever you look at a newborn child  you are filled with awe, wonder and amazement. There's a piece of God's glory there that we take in.  When looking into the eyes of an infant we marvel in it because it's so inspiring.

The most amazing sunset/ sunrise or the natural beauty of a waterfall takes our breath away. We stand there staring, wondering how that was ever created.  In that moment we have a sense of God's glory but, it's just a little peek!

He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. Job 5:9

In the Old Testament there are many references to holy ground and if you were to see the glory of the Lord that you would be instantly killed because it would be too much for you.

His glory is something we cannot understand fully. Imagine the brightest light you've ever seen where you have to shield your eyes from it because it is too grand, too great, too powerful for us to take in. That is what I imagine is part of God's glory.

We've been looking at God's goodness this week. As we come to the end of these devotions I realize we've only just begun to look at God's goodness because it's unfathomable!

Here is what I have learned!

• There is nothing not good about God
• There is nothing not good that is in Him

Here lies the good truth today

Because of Jesus we are in Him.

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. John 14:20

Friends this is good news! We are in God who is good and there is nothing but good in God, therefore we have his goodness!

When you look in that mirror repeat after me, "I am good because God is good, all the time!"

Out of goodness flows many things

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; 

yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

Day 6

God is good because 

He created all of us with a longing for Him. Even when people choose not to believe in Him, God patiently waits. In II Peter 3:9 we read of His desire for all mankind. 

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

He extends His love to everyone. 

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. Revelation 22:17

He hears our cries before we even call out to Him.

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. Isaiah 65:24

He alone can save us.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved Romans 10:13

Out of goodness flows many things! God is so good!

Prayer

Thank you father that you thought about us even at creation.  You created within us a longing for you. We are grateful people that out of your goodness, you hear us and save us. Your goodness is eternally good. 

God's Good Grace

Day 5

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

God's Grace is one of the reasons that I believe He is so good! He showers us with Grace, unmerited favor, and undeserved blessings in our lives.  He uses us to accomplish His purposes, when we are not skilled or prepared to do so.

Several years ago we travelled to Kenya for a 2 week missions trip. During our time there we saw God's provision time and time again. One night as we were preparing for an outreach event we were unaware of the Grace that would be bestowed on us. Local people from the surrounding villages started coming to the school for worship and teaching. 

God used our little team of Americans to share the good news of Jesus with men and women who were hungry for the truth. 

After our worship (Zumba style) I stood in front of the crowded school and God's love and grace poured out of me, through the translator and into the hearts of those dear friends.  I was so humbled at God's goodness to use me that day. 

He didn't have to, He could of chose someone else, but instead He graciously allowed me the honor of serving Him and others in that way.

One of the reasons that God is good is because of His Grace. In those moments where you think that you are too weak, It is then that His good grace strengthens you and empowers you to do immeasurably more than you could ever imagine! 

How has He shown His good grace to you?

Prayer

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Good

Day 4

Good

Did you know that there are over 700 listings of the word good in the bible? Sometimes it means good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful or happy. Other times it means pure, upright, honorable or excellent.

Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

God is the one who created good and He is the ultimate judge as to what is good.

You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. Psalm 119:68

Today I want to look at the encounter of a young man who asks Jesus what he must do to get into heaven in Matthew 19

"Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?'

'Why do you ask me about what is good?' Jesus replied. '

There is only One who is good. 

If you want to enter life, keep the commandments' 

This encounter follows a mixed group of people who followed Him. Those who were seeking answers, curious as to His healing abilities, questioning if He was the Messiah, His own disciples watching His every encounter and sometimes failing in front of Him. It also included those who intended to try to trick Him, as in the case of the Pharisees.

Right after Jesus had blessed the children, I imagine because He loved them so much he was filled with joy, he meets the young man. Matthew 19:16 records the conversation.

Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?'

He was really asking, Can I be good enough to possess eternal life?  How can I earn that Prize? I'm sure that we have all been there thinking, how can I make things right what can I do to have God love me more.

Jesus tries to help the guy out by reminding him that only God is good.  He designed goodness, He is goodness. Sorry dude, you never had a chance on your own. Nevertheless, Jesus reminds him of the commandments and then in Mark 21 it says that Jesus had compassion on him.

I wonder what happens when we start telling God about things in our life and then begin asking Him questions.  Does He also look at us with compassion and then lovingly tries to redirect us?

Jesus goes on to tell him to sell everything and follow him. This was not exactly what the young man wanted to hear and he left full of sorrow because he had great wealth. The man had assigned goodness to his possessions and not to being a follower of Jesus.

So back to the question, What must I do to inherit eternal life? The answer is simply show your devotion by being willing to give up everything to follow Him. Follow the only one who is good! 

Prayer

You are good, I am not, help me to live with open hands so that you may have and use anything that I have possession of. I want to follow you and serve you.

If God is good then why?

Day 3

Psalm 73

The author is Asaph who was the choir leader. His life was a ministry life, working with people in the sanctuary and singing the praises of God.  He knew the scriptures and was well versed in the laws of the Israelites. The Psalm begins with a confident profession. He had been taught that God is good to the righteous.  If you do the right thing then everything is going to be alright.

Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart. Vs 1

Quickly however we see his playlist of offenses begin to pile up.

They are making money, they have NO struggles, they are bad, evil etc. etc. etc. I love how The Message says it,

"What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch?
Nobody’s tending the store.
The wicked get by with everything;
they have it made, piling up riches.

We have all had these questions! If God is good then why.......?

Last year a good friend was given the deadly and painful diagnosis of cancer. She is now with the Lord. Children are abused and trafficked all over the world, my mom has dementia.  It all leaves me with the same questions that Asaph struggled with. If God is surely good then why are these bad thing happening?

I love His honesty! In verse 16 he shares his deep concern.

 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply

A couple of takeaways from these verses.

Life is hard! Just because you are a Christian does not mean that your life will be easy, unhindered and profitable. The wicked may still prosper, for a season. It is ok to come before the Lord with you questions and disappointments.

Then in verse 17 we see the change begin to take place

 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny Vs 17

When Asaph refers to going into the sanctuary, he is coming before the presence of God.  Something happens when we take our grudges, disappointments, sufferings, sickness before the Lord. We begin to understand what was foreign to us before.

It is there Asaph saw the provision of God for His people, It is there that he began to see things with spiritual eyes. All of a sudden he saw the whole picture.

When we look at verses 23-26 we see the real example of God's goodness

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Prayer

Father, you are always GOOD, even when we don't understand suffering, or wickedness. You are GOOD. Thank you for taking care of your people, for being our strength, for preparing a place for us and for extending grace to us when we ask questions that may appear to be foolish. Like Asaph may we be able to declare, But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.