Getting Burned

By Tiffany Bleger

Recently I spent the better part of the day burning a slash pile on our property. For those who are unfamiliar with country life, a slash pile is a big pile of dead branches, sticks, leaves, grass clippings, etc.  It looks something like this:

For my naturally introverted self, it was a great day. Almost 7 hours of virtually uninterrupted alone time. It gave me lots of time to sit and think. To ask Father questions and be able to wait for the answer. 

It is fascinating for me to sit in front of a fire. I love watching what starts as a tiny flame...

... quickly turning into a raging inferno. 

I can stare at a fire for hours. The beauty and simplicity of the flames. The ease with which fire consumes everything in its path. The tenacity and determination to push through obstacles. Eventually, everything a fire touches will be reduced to ash. 

Many times throughout that day, the fire was simply too hot for me to approach. The sheer heat of the inferno would cause my skin to redden and burn if I got too close. It gave me a new appreciation for the story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and the blazing furnace from Daniel 3, that's for sure!

So what, you may ask, did Father have to say to me that day? Well, as it turns out, He taught me about gold. Did you know that the average temperature of a wood bonfire, like mine, is about 1,100 degrees Celsius? And that the melting point of gold is 1,064 degrees Celsius? This means that the fire I could not approach without getting burned would have melted gold had I thrown any in. 

Do you know why gold is melted?  When gold ore comes out of the mine, the gold is embedded in other rocks and minerals. It looks much like this:

(This picture is actually iron pyrite, also knows fool's gold. But it looks incredibly similar, almost indiscernible, to gold when it comes out of the earth in its ore form.) 

The only way to get the gold by itself is to melt it down. Melting the gold down into its liquid form allows all impurities and other minerals to separate from the gold. Once the gold has gone through the intense heat of the flame, it is left in its purest form. 

Do you see where I'm going with this yet?

You are that gold, dear sister. You are a treasure, a precious metal in the eyes of your Father. But you have come out of this world (the mine) with covered in junk. Covered in the impurities and scars that a broken and fallen world will leave. And you can choose to remain that way, if you want, but your Father wants so much more for you. He wants you to shine like gold was always created to shine. 

I did not leave that slash pile the entire day. I watched it, carefully. By my side were the tools I needed to keep the fire in check. I wanted it to burn, and burn hot, but I never let the flames get too high, nor did I let the fire escape the boundary I designed. There is a purpose to fire and it is healthy when kept in its place. 

Father will do that for you. You may be in the fire right now, you may have just come out of the fire, or you may not be anywhere close to the flame. But, I can guarantee that we will all be in it at some point. Are you willing to let Him turn up the heat?  Are you willing to trust that He is constantly watching the fire, tending the border and keeping the flames in their rightful place?  Are you willing to let Him burn away the impurities? 

Know, dear sister, that He will not leave you in that liquid state. He will not burn off the impurities and then forget about you. Once the gold has been melted and the impurities removed, the goldsmith pours the liquid gold into a mold of his own design. You see, gold cannot be molded unless it has been melted. If you allow Father to melt you, He will mold you, and you will come out of it looking more and more like Him. 

Relax. He Knows.

By Jill Palmer 

A while back I was homeschooling my oldest and we were working on math. He's always been good at math and has understood it very quickly. While that's great, it has also presented a problem. He's now getting into a kind of math that isn't as easy to understand right away. I believe he will eventually get it and do well, but it will take a little more practice and time. I see his skills and believe in his ability to excel in this.

As we were sitting together going over the problems he had gotten wrong, he was overwhelmed with how many he had messed up. He reacted so strongly to this disappointment in himself that it kind of caught me off guard. I wasn't upset at all that he'd gotten some wrong, nor did I have the expectation - spoken or unspoken - that he shouldn't have any trouble at all.

In fact, I was the opposite. I knew it was difficult and would take some practice to understand. It would also take patience and persistence - as well as good handwriting :) I was fully prepared to be going over many problems with him.

Somehow he didn't believe me though. He was still thinking he should've gotten everything right on the first try. Eventually there were tears and storming off. And I just stared after him in awe, wondering what had just happened.

While I stood there, jaw dropped, I felt the Lord say to me, "Does this seem familiar to you at all?"

As I thought about it it was absolutely familiar. My son was acting like me. And I was feeling how God feels. Boom.

How often has God given me an assignment, a calling, and because I didn't get it right away or succeed in the way I thought I should have been able to, I've stomped off in frustration with disappointment all over my face? Too many times I'm afraid.

And I feel like God has quietly stood watching, thinking "I know she can do this. I know it will be hard but I believe in her ability to accomplish this. It will take some hard work and some perseverance but I know she will excel. Why does she think she has to be perfect right away? I've never condemned her for her set backs, never yelled at her failings. I've only encouraged and trained. Why doesn't she believe me? I am fully prepared to walk through this with her and help her along the way."

I am blown away at how God takes a situation with one of my children and overwhelms me with His heart, His love, His tender kindness towards me. In a way that I can totally relate. He's so patient with me, His often-stubborn, doubting, smart, capable daughter.

                            

Let the Ground Shake

By Kim Beach 

Forever 

By Kari Jobe

"The ground began to shake

The stone was rolled away

His perfect love could not be overcome;

Now death where is your sting?

Our resurrected King

Has rendered you defeated."

Listen to the complete song here.

Life is about perspective.  

It is choosing the lens through which you want to view the world around you. Optimistic, Pessimistic, Realistic. Fear or Faith.    
  
It's the age-old question: is the glass half-full or half-empty?

But what if you just saw the glass as beautiful?

Life is full of trouble and adversity but that does not make the journey any less beautiful.

Too often we look at the approaching storm and fail to see the depth of color and artistry in the clouds. Rain drops pummel our face and we do not see the nourishing water pouring onto the dry ground. We see the destruction of the wind and not its important part in pollination for new growth.   

We feel the ground shaking under our feet and our faith falters as we feel our dreams crumbling around us like plaster walls. We question God and His timing. We doubt His plans for us. We question the validity of everything we ever believed about Christ!

Our lives feel fractured.

 

"Suddenly there was a great earthquake! 

For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, 

rolled aside the stone, and sat on it."  

Matthew 28:2 (NLV)

Perhaps the earthquake you feel is not your foundation shifting.  

Perhaps the quake beneath your feet is the stone of your tomb rolling away!

The wind and waves are whipping around you and the flood waters are rising. Yet the storm is not all nature rallying against you but all Heaven moving on your behalf!

Do not fear the shaking. 

Do not hide from the storm. 

Run out of the Tomb to the Savior who is standing outside with arms opened wide!

Choose your perspective- the world is not against you --

All Heaven is FOR You!

Accept the Crooked

By Esther Belin

Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?  

Eccles. 7:13 (NLT)

For a long time I was troubled by this verse.  In my brain, crooked means imperfection. I had a hard time believing that God would make crooked things since the word perfect is regularly used to describe Him. Why would God make something crooked intentionally? My inner dialogue says: The painting hangs crooked. The hem is crooked. The underlining of my favorite verse in my bible is crooked. I have seen many a student tear out or cross out their writing because it is crooked.

As Christ followers, to seek perfection like Christ is a logical desire – that is easy to accept because walking it out can mean living out God’s purpose for our lives – and I want God’s perfect and chosen destiny for my life (Jer. 1:5-8). That destiny is harder to accept when part of God’s purpose is a crooked path.

I know that God’s ways are not our ways – and I know that God is sovereign over all. And I love that as I grapple with this verse, God’s sovereignty is being revealed to me and I feel silly because it suddenly becomes so obvious that harboring knowledge is not the same as applying knowledge.  Harboring knowledge has been a hindrance for me. While seeking knowledge is generally a good aspiration, I actually built a high place out of my knowledge. I turned something good into something hindering, sinful.

In my preoccupation of straightening, I was not accepting the crooked. I tried to straighten the crooked by applying my knowledge without seeking God’s instruction. I was in constant road construction!

Taking unnecessary detours, creating detours – basically pulling a Jonah (Jonah 1:1-3).

The anxiety of continual highway traffic created fuel for resistance of God’s crookedness. I became overly alert, controlling and sensitive because I was desperately searching for an exit or a smoother road or another driver. Accepting the way God does things means letting Him drive!

Jonah’s prayer was also very helpful to me: “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs” (Jonah 2:7-8 NIV). I was missing God’s grace by not accepting the way He does things.

I do love how God’s word is filled with many crooked paths that have been used for His glory. I am applying those tales of Jonah, Moses, Joseph, Ruth, Esther (and many more) to redirect my rebellious inner dialogue that still tries to bump God from the driver’s seat.

My prayer for you dear readers is that you would not wait until your life is ebbing away to call upon our Lord and Savior – He is waiting for you to remember Him – He is waiting to hear from you.

What Love Had in Mind

By Tawna Wilkinson

                                                   

When the garden has been neglected;

The wonder and beauty let go;

Things meant to flourish begin to die;

Then brambles, suckers and weeds take hold.

This was not the intent of Love.

 It was never what He had in mind.

 His design was for beauty to flourish…replenish; 

For love, light and life to reside.

Remembering the wonder and beauty let go

Brings sadness, discouragement and anger.

Pulling suckers and brambles is sore and tiring,

 But He'll give you strength to stay in there.

Love wants your garden’s beauty restored,

He desires new life again.

The process will be painstaking,

But tender love and care will win.

Restoration is much harder

Than if nothing had been at all.

Things never meant have grown with aggression;

Their roots very deep in the soil.

Your body and mind may grow weary.

There may seem no rest for your soul.

 Every part of your being may even cry out,

 “There’s no ‘re’ in my garden at all!”

                   Ah, but look very closely…no, closer. You’ll see.                      

         Seeds of hope that Love planted; seeds of life He designed;          

They’ve sprung up, never daunted.

It’s what Love had in mind.

Needs

By Megan Danquah

Did you know that you were created with needs? Needs of many kinds. Our bodies have need for food, water, exercise and sleep. Those are some of our physical needs. What about emotional needs? Have you ever stopped to consider what emotional needs you have? As women, I can guarantee you that you are in touch with the emotional needs of your husband, children, friends. What about yourself? What are YOUR emotional needs?

Growing up a Christian, it was always a given that I had physical needs. After all, I knew that if I didn’t eat, drink, move and sleep that eventually I would die. Therefore, I knew how to take care of my needs in that area and placed meeting those needs as a priority every single day. My physical needs were satiated. On the other hand, I was literally starved emotionally for lack of recognizing and getting my emotional needs met. The emphasis of the message I was hearing was not centered on the importance of taking time to myself to recharge, finding time to pursue things that brought me life, or even the deeper needs of hearing that I was enough. As humans, we need to know that we are loved, that we belong, that we have immeasurable value and worth. We need to know that what we think, our opinions, our likes and dislikes, our personality are all important. We need to know that we are enough. Period. 

I’ve noticed that in church, we hear a lot about how God meets our emotional needs and that is absolutely true. Because we live in a world full of sin, God is the only perfect being who can meet our emotional needs and we can rest in that fully. There is another side to all this, however. The main, God-given role of our parents in our childhood was to actually show us what God is like! Their job was to “be” God to us because, as children, that is literally how we perceive our parents. They were to show us what a loving God was like: how He meets our needs physically but also emotionally.  

But let’s face it: how many of us transitioned into adulthood with a perfect view of who God is based solely on how our parents raised us? I have yet to meet one person who fits that criteria. Our parents did the best they could and yet, because of the sin problem again, they weren’t able to give us the fullest that God had in mind. So we are left emotionally deficient and without a true understanding of the goodness of God.  

The reason I use parents as an example of meeting emotional needs is because I want to challenge us. It was (and still is!) God’s intention that other people were placed on earth to help meet the deep emotional needs that we have, not just God. (After all, God recognized that there was no suitable “helper” for Adam on earth, none that could fulfill him and meet his needs like another human and so he gave Eve to Adam for that purpose.) People aren’t perfect, for sure, and many of us have been deeply wounded by people who were close to us. As a result, it can be really hard for us to trust anyone around us with our emotional needs because the sting of the pain is very real.  

I want to say that there is hope for you! Hope for you to be able to heal from those emotional wounds from your childhood and/or adulthood and begin to see some of the unique people that God has placed in your life right now who could be there to meet some emotional needs for you. God doesn’t want any of us to be starved emotionally. As I have spent several years in a counselors office, doing the hard work of healing wounds, I am starting to recognize the importance of the people around me. Not everyone, but a few handpicked people that are safe for me to be vulnerable with and communicate the needs that I have so that I can get them met. I have three in my life right now who I know that I can be completely honest with and they will champion me and will do what they can to meet the needs I present because we have talked about that as a part of our relationship.  

It is not only permissible but necessary, woman of God, to recognize and seek out getting your emotional needs met, in order for you to live at the highest capacity that God saw from the beginning of time for your life! Wherever you are at right now, I encourage you to start with one small step today to see those needs getting met. That could mean picking up the phone or meeting for coffee with a friend that you already know is safe and taking a step of vulnerability with them. It could mean having a few awkward and uncomfortable talks with your spouse to let them see what’s inside of you, or it could mean that you may see that one of your needs is some counseling and therapy to help you move forward (it is the best and most loving thing I have done for myself in the past two years!). But please, PLEASE don’t go another day ignoring the beautiful and valuable needs that lie inside of you because a bright, new day lies just around the corner for you, holding the possibility of living fulfilled in such a way that you never could have imagined! 

Redefining Healing

By Tiffany Bleger

A little over a year ago, I had the opportunity to spend six days away with God in the wilderness. It was a beautiful time of healing for my soul and my heart. I had taken the last of my depression medication while I was away, and knew I needed to refill the prescription when I got home. But I also knew that we didn't have the money to afford it right then. I had not gone more than a few days without the medicine in years. Those times that I had were not pretty. But, I clearly heard His voice whisper, "Trust Me in this."  And so I did. 

One day became two. Two became a week. Before I knew it, I had gone a month without the medicine. It was hard. Withdrawals are neither easy nor pretty, let me tell you! But I had done it, leaning on that promise of "Trust Me". The time came when we had the money to afford the prescription again. But when I asked Father, His reply of "Trust Me" told me all I needed to know. It was clear that I was not to go back on the medication.

I mistakenly took God's promise of "Trust Me" to mean that He was going to completely remove the depression immediately. So, when that first bad bout of darkness overwhelmed me again, I thought I had failed. I thought that somehow I had messed up and God changed His mind. That I wasn't worthy of receiving healing.  I had lived with depression for so long that down days were my normal. Taking the medicine had helped keep the darkness at bay, but it also numbed me. I didn't feel the bad as deeply, but I didn't feel joy either. However, as Father began this journey of healing and restoration, I began to experience true good days. They were refreshing. They were sunshine and warmth to my soul. And they went against everything the lies of perfectionism and depression were screaming. Clearly, God hadn't abandoned me. He was healing me, just not like I expected. 

I've now gone almost 14 months without the medication. There is absolutely no way I could have done this under my own power. I could barely function on my own with the medicine! Each time the darkness returns, and it has, I learn a little more. I learn to reach out to Him sooner. I learn to reach out to my family and friends sooner.  I learn to identify the darkness sooner. 

My healing has not come how I expected. I never know if the next bout will be the last, or if this battle will continue for a lifetime. Some days it is really hard to have hope, to trust His word over the lies. But I do know now that the bad days will end. That the more I cling to the hem of His garment, the easier it is to climb out of the pit and find the light. 

Recently, Father revealed a lie I had believed. I thought that, in order to be able to talk about depression and encourage other women, I had to be healed. Completely. That I didn't have a testimony to share if I still battled the depression. And then, just this week, Father led me to this verse:

Hmm.  Paul had an amazing testimony. And never really shut up about God. Yet, he had a weakness. A weakness he begged God to remove. That verse was God's reply. God used Paul's weakness, his "thorn in the flesh" to witness to the world. Maybe God can use me. And maybe he can use you. Maybe, just maybe, He wants to take that part of you that breaks your heart and use your journey to help someone else. Maybe, just maybe, He wants to take the parts of your past that causes you shame to show the world His power. May our weaknesses be used for His glory.