Redeemed

Several months ago, the song by Big Daddy Weave was released on the radio.

The powerful lyrics resonated within my soul.

All my life I have been called unworthy

I got called "fat" every day of 3rd grade, which in turn has affected my whole life.
A woman told me I wasn't good enough to play with her daughter in middle school, who happened to be my best friend.
I got cut from my 8th grade basketball team.
I didn't have a boyfriend until I was 20 years old.
I was unemployed for awhile.

Named by the voice of my shame and regret

I believed what those boys told me.
I resented that woman.
I was hurt.
I wondered what was wrong with me.
I wasn't good enough for them.

But when I hear You whisper, "Child, lift up your head"

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made." {Psalm 139:14}
"Forgive for I have forgiven you." {Colossians 3:13}
"Let me take care of your hurt." {1 Peter 5:7}
"I know the desires of your heart." {Psalm 38:9}
"I have a plan for your future."  {Jeremiah 29:11}

I remember oh God, You're not done with me yet.

I have taken back my self esteem.
Forgiveness is liberating.
It was just a bump in the road.
I married that boy and was saved from a lot of heartache.
I am good enough...He was preparing me for the perfect job. 

I am redeemed.

Lord, You've set me free!

Free from these lies that the Enemy so wants me to believe.

Free from the tangle of heartache, hurt, and unforgiveness.

So I'll shake off these heavy chains.

The chains making me a slave to sin.

Wipe away every stain.

All those lies that I've been told and have left a print in my heart.

Now I'm not who I used to be.

Because I'm redeemed.

The Lord has taken those things from me.

He has made me a new person.

Trust

A while back, my mom and I were talking on the phone as I was coming home from work.  That seems to be our routine...I call her everyday at 5:00 pm while I drive the 35 minutes home.

We were talking about different things in my life, and it got mentioned that I don't trust people.  That got me thinking...

It's true.  I don't.

You can ask my husband...I didn't warm up to him for a long time.  It took me at least a year of dating for him to see who I really was, and even now I have a hard time opening up to him sometimes.

As we were talking, my mom knew exactly why I don't trust people.  Every close friend I have ever had has hurt me.  So I close myself off to others.

Sure, I'll talk with them, tell them things they want to know, and try to get to know them.

But I build a wall.

A wall that is high enough to protect me from getting hurt, but it is also low enough that it lets me talk over it, so it will seem like you're getting to know me.

Sometimes I feel like I'm that way with God.  That I build a wall between us because I don't fully trust Him.  At the same time, I'm trying to get to know Him by talking with Him and reading His Word.  But there's still a disconnect between us sometimes.  

I'm too much of a "me-do-it" girl, that I tend to do life on my own.  Before long, I'm discouraged and depressed.  

via

Notice the verse says "Trust in the lord with all your heart," not just part of it.  ALL of it.  And it also says, "Do not lean on your own understanding."  So much harder to do than it is to say.  Being flesh, I want to be the one who conducts my life.  But I can't.  God is the ultimate conductor.

Without Him in the driver's seat, life gets messy.  I am miserable when I try to do it on my own.  But with Him, the pieces of the puzzle of life fall into place, as I sit back in awe of how He does it.

Is God in your driver's seat or have you built a wall that needs to come tumbling down?

Overcomers

When was the last time you actually sat down to memorize scripture?  Ok, let's be honest.  When was the last time you sat down to memorize anything?

I remember when I was a kid going to youth group in elementary school and middle school, we had "Overcomers."  I never knew why it was called that.  Now I do.  When we're in situations, we should be able to overcome the trial with God's promises that are hidden in our heart.

6th grade was the last year for Overcomers.  Sad as it sounds, that might be the last time I sat down to actually memorize scripture.

Now let me tell you a little bit about this program.  I think we had it once a month.  We were on some sort of rotation.  We had College Care night {we made cookies, wrote letters, and sent college kids packages in the mail}, Missions Night {we made goodies, went shopping for toys, and wrote letters to missionaries}, TLC {went to visit folks in the nursing homes or shut-ins}, and Overcomers {memorizing scripture and Sword drills}.  

For Overcomers, we had these folders.  They had a list of verses {worth a certain amount of points} that we could memorize.  They varied from easy ones like John 3:16 to the 5 Steps of Salvation {5 verses to memorize and repeat at once}.  We'd study the verses, try to memorize them, and then repeat them to our sponsor.  When we had it word for word, they'd initial the verse and put our points on a tally sheet.

At the end of the semester, we counted our points up and got to spend them in the "Overcomers Store."  We would also have an Overcomers program during Sunday night church.  We would memorize a challenging verse and repeat it in front of the whole congregation.

This might not have been my absolute favorite night of the rotation, but I can say it has helped me in my walk with Christ.  There are those verses that you can repeat to yourself to help you feel better.  When I think back, I remember that I memorized that growing up in youth group.

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Fast forward to present day.  I was introduced to Leslie through another blog.  Well, as I was catching up on my blog reading this past week, I came across this post that she wrote.  Well, I was convicted through her post about memorizing Scripture.  I had been thinking about memorizing for awhile, but her post just sparked something in me to act out on those feelings.

I decided to comment on her post to ask what her "memorizing notebook" was.  I was intrigued.  I just had to know.  I'm always looking for new ideas on how to learn.  Well, in turn, she emailed me back to let me know she posted on that subject.  So I read this post to see what it was all about.

I just love that she found another woman's blog to help keep her accountable {see her post here}!  Isn't that what the Family of God is for?  To help each other?  Well, I'm going to join in with her.  I'm going to start meeting with others twice a month to report back on what I've been memorizing.  

Psalm 119:11

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 19:14

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

I pray that I will be able to hide God's word in my heart and that when I meditate on His word, that it will please Him.

I want to send that challenge out to you.  Would you take the challenge with me of memorizing Scripture?  It sounds scary, I know.  But start small, and work your way up.  The benefits of it will bless you.  I promise.   If you have no idea where to start, let me know and I'll give you a few verses. :]

I'm learning one verse {or section of verses} every two weeks.  I think that's a fair timeframe.  So if you're up for the challenge, will you comment to let me know?  I think accountability is so important in our walk with Christ.  I would love for you to hold me accountable.

My verses are in the picture above.  That is what I'm learning and will recite on October 1st. It is never too late to start.  

Thoughts From Church...

Have you ever been to church, heard a good sermon, wrote lots of notes, and walked out?
I have plenty of times.
Today was different.

We're in this series called, "Healed."
The first couple of sermons were what I described above.
They were really good, but I've kind of had a couple "off" weeks.
I've been really distracted.
I know that Satan has been making it hard for me to concentrate on just worshiping God.
It seems that each week, we sit by the most annoying people who talk through the worship, communion time, and sermon.
I just want to ask "Did you come to church this morning to talk to your friend or to worship?"
Now I'm pretty sure that isn't the most Christ-like thing I could say, so I've kept my mouth shut.
Today was different.

Worship was great.
I was focused.  The songs were amazing.
I felt that I was actually praising my Lord.
I forgot about my husband. {I know...that sounds bad.}
I was focused on God. Only God.
We sat by people who were intent on listening, rather than talking.
I was not distracted.
The message was really good.

Growing up in the church, I knew everything that was said.
But sometimes I just need a refresher.
And encouragement.

Today, our minister talked about being spiritually paralyzed.
It was something that I've just been thinking about all. day. long.
He shared with us some things that paralyze our potential:

• fears about the future
• regrets about the past
• doubts about our abilities

We all have had these emotions at one point in our life or another.

I'll be the first to say, "Heck yes!  I've definitely had all three of these emotions."

I've had fears about our future...especially when moving to St. Louis.  

Part of me was really exciting about moving from everything that I've ever known. 

The other part of me was scared because I didn't know anything or {basically} anyone.

I've regretted many things that I've done in my past, and I've doubted many times that I wasn't good enough to do something, or lead, or work on a project.

Good news!!

There is absolutely NO reason for me to feel these emotions.

Say what?!?

That's right!  

Did you know that the Bible says, "Fear not," 365 times?

That's a verse each day of the year.

Knowing God's promises helps ease the fears you have.

One thing that Brian, {our minister} said that really struck a chord with me was this:

"The better you get to know Jesus Christ, the fewer fears you will have."

Isn't that SO true?

When you first meet someone, you know very little about them.

You don't know if they're a serial killer.  Or something equally as bad.

But the more you spend time with them, talking with them, hanging out with them, the better you get to know them. 

And you eventually realize they genuinely care about you.

Same with God.

At first, when I became a Christian, I knew that He loved me.

But through the past 13 years that I've walked with Him, I've come to realize he loves me more than I can ever fathom.

He will take care of me when I can't care for myself.

He will always love me.  No matter what.  

There's nothing I can do to make Him hate me.

He will always be true to me, even when I'm not true to Him.

He will never leave me, even if I leave Him.

When I talk to Him daily, read His Word daily, and listen to Him daily, I'm getting to know Him better.

I'm learning more about Him, and I'm trusting in Him more.

When walking with the Lord, I've come to know that God erases the guilt from the past, too.

I'm a sinner.  I've done some pretty stupid things in my life.  I've also felt the guilt from it.

When you ask for forgiveness, God forgives.  Right. Then. And. There.  Amen?

"So far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

Psalm 103:12 (NIV 84)

Forgiveness is a gift.  You can't earn it.

We all need forgiveness.

Another thing that got me thinking...

God forgives us as soon as we ask for forgiveness.

Why can't we do that with other people?

"[Love] keeps no record of wrongs."

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV 84)

I am so incredibly guilty of this.  But I'm working on it.

My flesh wants to hold grudges against people, but my spirit tells me differently.

Life is SO much better when all is right with people.

I know there are people who need to forgive me for doing what I did or saying what I did.

I know it's not easy, but it's definitely worth it.

And it's a relief to me when someone comes up to me to say, "I forgive you."

I try to do the same with others. 

It's not easy.

Knowing the freedom of forgiveness is liberating.

I pray that I can be a person of grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

I want to be that person.

God also allows you to do what you think is impossible.

"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 19:26 (NIV 84)

God really can do anything.

He gives you the power and ability to do whatever He's asking you to do.

He may ask you to do some tough things, but He will be there with you all along the way.

When we really see God for who He is, our problems shrink.

When we see God for who He is, we're focused on Him instead of our problems.

God can do anything.

He is all powerful.

He can heal you.

I pray that I won't get caught up saying, "I'm never going to be able to ___________."

I pray that I won't get caught up saying, "Well, that's just the way I am.  I've been this way my whole life."

I pray that I won't get caught making up excuses {because that's what those are} for why I can't do something.

God will give me the power to do whatever He's asking me to do.

I don't want to be spiritually paralyzed.

I want to be growing with Him each and every day.

I want to be able to use my potential with no excuses.

I want people to be able to see Christ in me.

Are you spiritually paralyzed?

What is God asking you to do?
Faith is a verb.

Don't just sit there...do something!

And next time you are worried, anxious, or afraid...find one of God's promises in the Bible to meditate on.

Remember, the better you know Jesus Christ, the fewer fears you will have.

#SheReadsTruth

A couple weeks ago, my friend Kaysi who blogs here (and is SUCH a sweetheart) posted on her facebook about a website she had stumbled across called She Reads Truth. She challenged her gal pals to join in with her to read the Bible daily.  So I clicked on the link and read a little more about it.

WOW! I have totally been blessed by it!  Here's what it's all about...

First and foremost, it's about digging into God's Word daily.

It's set up for you to use the YouVersion app on your cell phone.

You can also read along in your Bible if you'd like.

There's a new devotion posted on their site every day.

You can even get it in your email!

They choose a plan and let you know which one they will be using via their website.

If you're new to it, you can read how to get started here.

The new plan just started yesterday, so if you hurry, you can catch up!

Read it.  Journal it.  Instagram it.  Facebook it.

#shereadstruth

If you give God just 20 minutes a day, He will honor that.  I challenge you to get started on this journey with me.  Reading the Bible will be the best thing you could do with your time.  It's how you really get to know Him, rather than just knowing about Him.