Free Write Your Life

For the last two years I homeschooled my two girls and within that time I taught them some writing skills.  One of the skills included free writing.  That’s where you just sit down and write.  No real planning, you just let free flowing thoughts move from your brain to paper.  That’s where I’m at right now.  I’m in free write.  I can’t even begin to think of a blog, as terrible as that sounds, I feel stuck.  

I’ve felt this way for months.  

I’ve allowed my outside world of housework, kids schedules, birthday parties and church service to be at the forefront of my brain.  I feel as if I’ve actually squished all of my creative thoughts down, stuffing them somewhere to possibly never to be discovered again!  How can this be?  I thought I could do better than this; letting my world overtake me.  It’s so sneaky, that world of mine.  It is constantly nagging on me like a toddler grabbing onto my pant leg and so I feel I can’t ignore it.  Of course it’s impossible to ignore, and is that really the correct response?  My Love is writing.  My Child is the distraction of the world.  Both require attention.  So where do I go from here?  I free write.  I’m looking at my Love in the face, pulling up the creativity to the top of my mind, allowing my First Love to inspire me.  Yes, there, that’s it!  My First Love; Jesus.  Without my First Love, I don’t have an ounce of inspiration or creativity.  I am completely lacking.  Free write.  Free write.  No pressures now, just breathe, listening to His voice, and write.  I want my life to always be like this.  I want to be in Free Write mode.  No pressures now, just breathe, listen to His voice, and ____________________.  That’s the key, the fill in the blank part.  I can insert anything I want in there, anything at all because I know with Jesus, he’ll never leave me or forsake me.  (Deuteronomy 31:6) He’s always near to guide me, whispering encouragement, inspiration and love. (John 10:27)  So starting today I think I’ll try to Free Write the rest of my life.  No pressures now, breathe, listen to His voice and …

The Compass {A Weekly Devotional} Week Twenty-Nine *an excerpt

Week twenty-nine

Worship: For I am convinced that neither death not life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present not the future,nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38,39

Look at a diamond and see it’s many facets.  Now think about how many ways the Lord loves you and how He displays His love for you.  Meditate on God’s love for you throughout the week.

Inquire:  Write down your prayer requests for the week and pray them!  Check back at a later date to see what’s been answered.

Listen:  What do you hear God saying to you personally this week?  Think about people He’s put in your path, visual cues, and scripture you’ve read.

Obey:  This week say “yes” to God and step out of your comfort zone. This week’s suggestion is to find a fellow believer to serve this week.  Think of practical ideas such as babysitting, bringing an extra meal, assisting them in their ministry, or weeding their garden.

Dear One,

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.  ~Paul (Galatians 5:13)

Wounded

My husband with our youngest daughter

Last night, a beautiful female woodpecker flew into our window.  She survived; stunned and possibly wounded.  My husband and I ran outside and he embraced her in a towel.  When she started to come to, she leapt out of his embrace onto our deck.  She could not fly.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.  Proverbs 27:6 (KJV)

According to Proverbs, we can count on being wounded by friends much like unexpectedly flying into glass windows.  The good news is that Jesus sees all of us, every hurt, every joy; everything about us.  So when we are wounded, completely stunned from impact, and we find ourselves unable to fly that’s the perfect time to allow ourselves to become embraced by our Heavenly Father.  He is the only one who has the ability to see our wound and be able to bring true comfort during the healing process. 

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  John 14:16-17a (NLT)

Unbeknownst to the woodpecker, she was in the safest place she could be; held in the hands of my husband wrapped in a blanket.  It wasn’t until she panicked in her distress that she leapt out and attempted to fly. 

Have you ever tried to “fly” before its time; before your wound has healed?  I know that many times I’ve found myself wounded from a situation and then instead of allowing God to hold me I attempt to continue to carry on with life ignoring the fact that I’m wounded.  Just like that bird, I tell myself, “I’m fine.  I can handle this on my own.  I don’t need anyone’s help.  I’m going to just pick myself up again and continue on with life as if nothing happened.”  Ignoring a wound doesn’t make it go away.

What is the solution?  Forgiveness.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?  Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)

Forgiveness can be a tough word but it doesn’t have to be.  Forgiving someone doesn’t mean you are saying, “It’s ok that you hurt me”.  Forgiving someone is a heart issue.  It’s you choosing to say, in your heart, that you forgive and will not hold onto bitterness.  Choosing to forgive doesn’t mean that what that person said or did was right.

Forgiveness is freedom for the forgiver.

When we choose to forgive those that hurt us, it allows our wound to heal enabling us to fly.  Only in the embrace of our Heavenly Father can we find true peace and healing.

Have you currently been wounded by someone?  How are you choosing to respond?

Drop Your Weapon

This week I hopefully avoided wounding people with my crossbow. I say “hopefully” because I don’t want to be overly confident.  I know that I have wounded people in my life before using my crossbow with the intent to wound deeply.  This week was different for me and maybe I’ve grown up a bit.  What am I talking about?  I’m talking about engaging in spiritual debates and arguments; quarrels.  I choose to drop my weapon.

Quarrel: 1) an angry argument or disagreement 2) the term for the ammunition used in a crossbow.

Titus 3 begins by reminding us to be people of peace.  “1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.”  …That sounds easy enough, right?

Then in the middle of Titus 3 are verses 9-11, “9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.”  …There it is, the tough stuff; arguments and quarrels. 

When I was in high school I loved to debate my beliefs especially on religion and politics.  Unfortunately in my immaturity, I continued to stay on that path, obliterating anyone who disagreed with my self-proclaimed “superior” viewpoint and absolutely looked down upon the opposing side as inferior.  –Can you say PRIDE?!  In this passage the Bible is speaking of arguments and quarrels within the Body of Christ.  More precisely it is speaking of the arguments over the little details of our faith verses the main staples such as salvation, loving God and loving others. When you read Titus 3:9-11, which side are you viewing yourself on?  Do you engage in spiritual debates resulting in division amongst your fellow believers or do you choose to drop the matter?

In the Thayers Greek Lexicon the word Machē is the Greek word used for quarrel in Titus 3:9 and comes from the root word machomai which means to fight of those who engage in a war of words.

 How many times do we find ourselves doing this with other followers of Christ?  Can you think of a time when it has ever been profitable?  Did you find that driving your point across resulted in unity or division?

I’m continuing to grow up spiritually since my high school days and the Holy Spirit has opened my eyes to the times I’ve been prideful and divisive and to when I’ve passed the test and dropped my weapon.  I’m continuing to learn as I go but it’s not easy, but I’d much rather fight against my true enemy the devil than my brother and sister in Christ.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Towards the end of Titus 3 is verse 14 which says,” Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.”  I think that sums it up best; we are called to live productive lives not wasted on arguments on the little details of our faith.  Let’s choose to drop our weapons that we are pointing at each other and choose unity in the Body of Christ.

Have you ever found yourself in a spiritual debate with another believer?  How did you handle it?  What was the outcome?