Doing the Hokey Pokey - Facing the Future Part 2

I talked last time (Part 1) about how often when I'm thinking about the future I can slip into an attitude or posture of FEAR instead of standing in FAITH.  I am definitely still learning this dance move, but basically God has me working to turn these feelings around (that's the Hokey Pokey part J) so that I can move on in His strength all the way to victory!  It goes something like this (though the order varies depending on how He leads):


STOP.  Come before His throne and get down on my knees.  Be still.  Look up and listen.  Look back and remember how faithful he has ALWAYS been.  Throw my burdens into His hands.  Thank Him for all He's done before and what He's going to do still.  Turn away from the sin I may have fallen into.  Push back and resist the enemy.  Put my hands in God's and let Him lead.  Trust Him.  TRUST HIM.  TRUST HIM!  Climb up on His lap and maybe all the way up to His shoulders and see what He sees when He looks at my future!  And then make some choices...


To be DETERMINED instead of dreading.
To start being COURAGEOUS instead of cowardly.
To choose to be CONFIDENT and stop despairing.
To be TRUSTING instead of anxious.
To be FILLED WITH FAITH instead of fearful.


To BELIEVE and KNOW that IN CHRIST I CAN BE...


EXPECTANT instead of worried.
HOPEFUL instead of discouraged.
ENCOURAGED instead of depressed.
BRAVE instead of timid.
PERSEVERING instead of giving up.
STRONG instead of weak.
BOLD instead of afraid.
FEARLESS instead of terrified.
EMPOWERED instead of powerless.
SECURE instead of insecure.
ENLIGHTENED  instead of confused.
EQUIPPED  instead of incompetent.
AT PEACE  instead of falling apart...
EXPECTING and PROCLAIMING VICTORY instead of declaring defeat.
COUNTING IT ALL JOY instead of whining!!!


"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."  (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)


Why???  Because God says so.  (In 2 Corinthians 4 it also says...)

6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak...

I have to believe it and speak it.  I will not lie down and give up because my victory is not dependent on my own power. Christ bought it for me with his blood.  I will not squander that!  My victory depends on God and I HAVE THIS TREASURE and no one can take it away from me.


And THAT, my friends, is what it's all about.  J


In Faith, Hope & Love,
Melissa

My Times are In Your Hands

Time flies when you’re having fun. Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. They grow up so fast! Sunrise, Sunset… Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow! Time is money. Time is tickin’ and time’s a wastin’! Carpe diem! We are a people obsessed and uncomfortable with TIME. It either goes by too quickly or not fast enough. We either regret or long for the past while we are worried about or impatient for the future. We’re running late and determined to stay awake as long as possible (thank you, Starbucks!) so we can squeeze every second of life out of every day. We sing about it, muse about it, waste it (thank you, Facebook!), talk and whine about it. (When did they get so big??? How is it already the end of July???) Maybe it’s not the whole human “race.” Maybe it’s just me. But a Google search for “time management” brings up 223 million results. A search on just the word “time”? 3.5 Billion! So apparently I’m not the only one. I am NOT a good time manager. I’m not good at keeping scrapbooks or remembering things and it makes my heart ache when I think of how fast my kids are growing up and how much I’ve already forgotten about their younger years. I feel like I’ve been going through the last several years with my heels digging into the ground, trying desperately to SLOW THIS WORLD DOWN! Stop the sun! Slow down the clock! Slow down the calendar! Stop already with the growing! I can’t keep up! Well… I’m done. I quit. Time, you win. I won’t fight you anymore. I can’t manage you. I can’t slow you down or speed you up. BUT I CAN, with Christ’s strength, learn to live with you as my friend instead of my foe. I will stop wasting my today’s missing the past and worrying about the future. I’m going to learn to live “for such a time as this.” I asked God to show me His truth about time and found many familiar verses. “He has made everything beautiful in its time… ” (Ecc. 3:11) “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” (Isaiah 43:18) “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt. 6:34) It’s pretty obvious that mourning over the past and dreading the future are not God’s plan for my day to day life. But the real surprise came when I found myself again in Genesis 1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light… God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (Gen 1:1, 3, 5) There you have it! The first day. All in just the first 5 verses of the Bible. But He wasn’t done! On days 2 & 3, He created the seas and plants as unmistakable reminders of the passing seconds and seasons, all counting down, as it were, to the end of this world as we know it. But in case we didn’t notice, on the fourth day He also created “lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night” to “serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years.” (Gen 1:14). One of the first things God created was time. And He called it good! It isn’t evil or meant to steal my joy. With the Psalmist I will choose to say “But I trust in You, O LORD; I say ‘You are my God.’ MY TIMES ARE IN YOUR HANDS...” (Psalm 31:14-15a) God wants me to trust Him with how time passes and rejoice! It’s all counting down to His triumphant return! When I see my children growing up and I’m shocked that it’s time to turn the calendar again, I want to learn to say, “Hallelujah!” I am that much closer to seeing Him face to Face! “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8) Whether we like it or not, He is the King of the ages and He is returning soon! (Rev. 22:7) As I learn to see my past and my family and my future in the light of eternity, I find a whole new contentment and purpose and perspective as I agree with what my mom always said: This too shall pass! “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” I trust in You, O Lord. You are my God. My times are in Your hands. And I’m glad.

Retreat Recap

Well, everyone, it's Sunday night and I can't believe only a week has passed since coming home from our women's retreat. I am so grateful for anyone who prayed for us/me—especially if you prayed for me when I got so sick less than 48 hours before our retreat was going to begin. I guess that's where I'll start… Wednesday night (2/27) – I got very, very sick and spent much of the night (while my family was sleeping) ummmm… being sick. One of the first conversations I had that night with God went something like this: "So God, I'll probably be feeling well enough by Friday to still go to the retreat, but I'm not sure I'll have enough strength to stand up there and share/speak/talk by then… Does this all mean You want me to switch with Annette and do my session Saturday morning instead?" "Yes, Melissa." "And this was the only way we would get the message?????" J Thursday (2/28) – by the grace of God and love and mercy of my husband, I got to spend almost the entire day in bed recuperating from the night before. A friend of mine told me later it was illogical how non-discouraged I was that day. I think I knew God was taking care of things and that He was preventing me from obsessing about stuff that didn't matter. I was forced to rely even more fully on Him because there was really no other alternative that even remotely made sense. Friday (2/29) – I made it up to the retreat! (I'm so glad I got a ride from someone… I had no idea at that point how exhausted I was going to be Sunday and it would have been really dangerous for me to have driven home!!! But God knew that!) My dear friend Annette (our pastor's wife) shared that night about how important it is to Believe God (that was our theme) and she shared how in the day or two previous she had to completely rewrite what she was going to say. But what God gave her was definitely what was supposed to be shared that first night and I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have switched if I hadn't been sick. (But God knew that, too, so He didn't take any chances. J) Saturday (3/1) – I led worship and then shared my lesson/talk/message on Believing God loves us (not just "knowing it" but really believing and receiving it! God gave me everything I needed to be able to do it – and it was beautiful to see the women respond, telling God that they needed and wanted to know more of His love. I was so incredibly grateful for what God was doing and felt already like the retreat was just getting better and better as we got comfortable and heard from God more. That evening, another friend of mine from our church named Monica shared about Believing God's promises and again, it was so good! One of the things that BLEW ME AWAY about all three of our messages was how well they tied together. We each prepared on our own and were talking about Believing God – but in 3 very different ways – and God made so many things overlap and tie together between our talks that you could have thought we'd done this same set of sessions many times, or that we had planned it together. But we didn't! It's hard to explain, but it was amazing to me and such clear evidence of God's hand in it all – especially since our very first plan had us talking in a completely different order. Sunday (3/2) – Our last morning included sharing communion together and hearing testimonies from 2 ladies. One is a member of our church and she shared some pretty tough things about what God has saved her from. Immediately after she shared, she felt like it hadn't gone well and she was very discouraged. But at the end of the day, we had time for ladies to share what God had been speaking to them about that weekend, and it was so incredible to hear some of the ladies open up and share things they'd never told anyone in the church before – and I know that it was in a large part released because of the testimonies they had heard earlier that morning. Again, God put in place exactly the right person to share and we were all just amazed at the openness and freedom that some of the women shared with. It was the kind of thing you dream about but almost don't dare hope for. And did I mention, I had more fun leading worship there than I think I have ever had before? Again, God picked out just the right songs and it was amazing! J Looking back , I am convinced that in our weakness (not having much experience (or confidence!) planning retreats or speaking) God's power was made perfect! We trusted Him to lead us and He did so much more than we imagined He would - even though we KNEW He had big plans for us all. On a personal note, I really felt like God was confirming for me the call He has on my life to do this type of thing. And He challenged me asking if I was going to respond like Moses (Oh, no, Lord… I'm not ready yet… there are so many others!) or if I would believe Him and obey whether I understand His reasons and plans or not. Like Moses, I have a deep longing to see people – especially women – walking in freedom! So God wants me to trust Him to provide the opportunities (I have SO much more to learn!!!) and to go where He leads me because it's His choice to use each and every one of us as He chooses. Well, that was a long recap, and there are lots of other things I could tell you about, but that will have to do it for now. If any of you are interested in reading the written version of what I talked about (it's almost completely written out, though you'll miss my dramatic pauses and fist pounding (kidding! I mean hand-gesturing) when you read it) just send me an email or leave a comment and I can send it to you or maybe I will post it somehow (in parts maybe). Thank you again for praying and thank You Jesus for gracing and blessing and amazing us with Your Spirit's presence and power as You moved among us. You are beautiful and your daughters are beautiful and I thank You so much for the honor of having been able to share with them and lead them in worship. You are so good and loving to me, Lord. I love You! Love, Melissa

Please Pray for Me!

I haven't posted much lately because I've been busy being self-controlled (grin!) and also getting ready for our church's women's retreat next weekend (Feb 29-Mar 2). Like I've mentioned, I'm speaking the first night about God's love and I'm leading worship for the rest of the weekend. The other girls and I who are speaking have all been feeling like God REALLY has big plans for us all at this retreat AND that the enemy REALLY doesn't want any of it to happen. So if you wouldn't mind praying for me, Annette, Monica, Kathy, Gina & Jamie as we finish preparing this week, we would be so incredibly grateful. I probably won't post anything again before then, but you can be sure you will get a report when I get back!!!!! Yay God!!! ~Melissa

Lowell Says I'm Famous Now

Well, I know they were having some printing issues last week, but as far as I know, this month's Christian Leader magazine (put out by the US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches) is out and on it's way to wherever it goes. I haven't seen it in paper yet, but it's on their website. Click here if you want to read what I wrote. : ) (As of November 1, 2007, this link worked.)

If you can't find it or open it, click on "0 comments" below and leave me a note with your email address and I'll email it to you.
I'll likely be talking more about it in the near future, but for now I'll just let you read it. There is so much more I wanted to say but couldn't because they have, you know, other articles to print and all. It was an incredibly challenging experience, but most of all I hope it encourages people to really think about what they and their kids are feeding their hearts. I might come across as overzealous, but I would so much rather err on the side of being too careful than too careless.

OK... I'll save the rest of my soapbox speech for another day. : ) And just for the record... I have no idea who those people in the picture in the article are.

Have a great day walking with Jesus!!!
~Melissa

Talk about Wild!

I just watched an incredible AMAZING video.  If you have 8 minutes and 23 seconds to watch it (and you aren't my poor sister who lives out in the country with only dial-up internet access) you can click here and watch it BUT read below first...   

 

I think this video powerfully captures what happens in some people's lives when they are suffering.  Whether they've been attacked by people or taken advantage of by the enemy, they are trapped and it seems easier to write them off as lost than to believe they can be rescued.  Yet when the sufferer truly wants God to rescue them and is willing to submit to God AND when the body of Christ is willing to surround them with love and to fight the enemy on their behalf, the enemy flees!  God, of course, is the rescuer, but WE are His body on earth and He wants us to fight on behalf of the lost and abandoned and lonely and hurt and wounded and trapped.  Knowing how to do that can be so complicated sometimes, I know, but wow.  If a herd of buffalo can be willing to fight for their calf, can't we be willing to fight for the minds, hearts and souls of those around us???  Sure, it can absolutely be possible for people to find freedom with only God and the Bible, but I believe wholeheartedly that in the vast majority of cases, GOD WANTS THE BODY OF CHRIST TO BE A PART OF THE PROCESS.

 

And just like the lions know the buffalo are stronger, demons know WE  as Believers in Jesus are stronger than they are because we are filled with the Holy Spirit of the Lord God Almighty.  (They just don't want us to know that.)

 

James 4:7  "Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (!)

 

1 Peter 5:8-9  "Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

 

Ephesians 6:10-12, 18b  "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  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.....  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

 

Stand firm brothers and sisters!  May God give us wisdom to know how to fight for those around us who need our help.

 

Blessings...

   ~Melissa