days of praise: ordinary extraordinaries

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are you way My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My thoughts higher than your thoughts. -Isaiah 55:8-9

Traveling is not my favorite part of my job. Grumbling complaints often fight for my mind's thoughts on these trips, so really they serve as a way for me to take every thought captive. This week I will be traveling to several states, going to different conferences and meeting with folks who are preparing to serve in Asia.The conference I just left was quite different than it has been in the past and I was fighting away thoughts of it being a "complete waste of time," among other things. Monday night as I was journaling I asked the Lord why I was even there, and that if there was even one person that I needed to connect with that he would cross our paths.

Tuesday was full of divine appointments with teachers and students. I connected with students who are eager to take steps of faith and serve overseas, as well as students who just needed a listening ear; I also had the opportunity to speak at a student ministry meeting. I cannot tell you all that I said but afterwards I was surrounded by students telling me their stories, I was able to encourage them, pray for them. But one gal really stood out that night; she approached me with tears in eyes, grabbed my hands and asked, "how did you know? How did you know I needed to hear those words, that those verses have been on my heart? How did you know?" I didn't, but as I hugged this sweet one and prayed over her I sensed her peace and I knew that she was the answer to that prayer that I had prayed the night before. This morning I read an email from her through tears, I've pasted some of it below:

Hello Andrea,

 You have no clue how much you impacted my life tonight. I had to contact you immediately to accurately convey the magnitude in which God used you! I have been asking and searching for an answer for months and have been so discouraged. Right when I felt like giving up, God sends you almost to my doorstep to convey a message that was so befitting and amazingly on time! Thank you so much for allowing God to use you so tremendously! Of course i don't know you well, but I can see that you are a beautiful woman inside and out! Thank you once again.

I want to encourage you to be ready and willing to be used however, wherever and whenever he sees fit. What an honor that the King of kinds, Lord of lords places us in situations, gives us very specific opportunities to make an impact. May he continue to use our ordinary for his extraordinary and divine purposes!

days of praise: shh, just listen

Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. -Psalm 46:10

We live in such a time where overachievers are praised. We've got schedules to fill, meetings to attend, work to do. And even when we're not at the office we've got our smart phones so we're never more that a click away from emails, texts and social media. We are so plugged in.

So today I encourage you to take time and be still. Cease striving. Read the Word, pray, of course, but then take time to listen. He's got something to tell you. He's doing amazing things and he wants to use you..mightily for his name's sake. Wow!

Unplug for a while and enjoy the silence.

Listen for his whispers.

Bask in his presence.

He know. He cares. He loves you more than you know. Lend him your ear today..receive.

Selah.

days of praise: being great

..If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant to all. -Mark 9:35

Rushing, zipping, swerving, bumping. Airports are full of action. And everyone seems to always be in a hurry, well except maybe that person right in front of me when I have 10 minutes to make a connecting flight that is, inevitably, on the other side of the airport. Since I was not in a hurry yesterday I had time to observe. Parents were herding children, people were checking the time as they ran through the crowd of people yelling, "excuse me!", some were in heated arguments with airline workers, still others were sleeping. But one thing we all had in common was a very important personal itinerary.

Which got me thinking about this up-side-down Kingdom we belong to, one where the last is first and the first is last. A Kingdom that requires us, individually, to crawl up on the alter daily and die to self, where the phrase "not my will but yours be done" should not only be coming from our mouths daily, but was actually spoken before the greatest mystery and sacrifice history will see, ever. A sacrifice made for me. A sacrifice made for you.The spilling of the perfect Beloved One's blood in order that you and I might live. And this love sacrifice was so great that not even death could defeat it--and today our Savior lives, having experienced an excruciating and humiliating death he now bears the scars of our random. Scars of love..truest, purest love.

If love is patient and kind and not self-seeking, how am I truly loving and serving those around me. I happen to spend a lot of time in airports, (as the doodle below of my next 9 days illustrates), where it's easy to stay in my own bubble. Yesterday I felt challenged to actively look for ways to serve others, perhaps others that I will never see again, perhaps others who are seeking and need to see the love of Christ active and alive. Maybe chasing the lady down the terminal to give her the coat she dropped reminded her that there is still good in the world, maybe helping the Chinese student find the train gave him a little more confidence to keep trying English, maybe the conversation with the Tennessee fan encouraged him enough to encourage someone else who is struggling. Maybe, just maybe our little acts have greater effects that we will never know, and maybe that one little act will be the very thing that softens a heart, helping to prepare it to hear the best news of all..the Gospel.

I don't know where you are or where you've been, but let's serve those around us when it is convenient, comfortable and easy, but especially when it requires sacrifice--of us.

Lord, teach us to be servants to all.

days of praise: it's okay to say no

Places to go, people to see, things to do. Busy. Always busy. And with all the things that we could be, should be, would be doing it's easy to justify not spending enough time with our families, with friends..with God. We are literally busying our way through life.

And sometimes our business is in doing "good things," serving in ministry, volunteering, helping out friends and neighbors. The problem may not be in what we're doing, but rather in how much we're doing. Jesus is our model, he was busy with the work set before him of teaching, performing miracles, spending time with the least of these, yet still he took time in solitude with the Father, spent time with his disciples and knew when it was time to leave a city. Jesus even teaches this principle of getting away from busyness to his disciples:

And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) -Mark 6:31

Resting does not always feel natural, we often feel like we should be doing something. Or, maybe someone asks us to do something and we feel guilty saying no because we don't have anything else going on at that time. So we say yes.

Maybe you already know this, but as I work with busy people every day I like to share with them this phrase of freedom from Pastor Chris Hodges that helped me years ago and serves as a good reminder even today: Just because your schedule is free doesn't mean you have to say yes. 

While every moment of our day should be spent in communion with the Lord we need to be protecting time in solitude with him every day. Yes, we can be energized when we serve but we must be spending time with our Maker, allowing him to pour into us, filling us, refining us, renewing us. Perhaps we need to say no in order to spend time with our family or reconnect with an old friend. For it is during the protected times together that we build intimacy in relationships, with God and people.

Lord, teach us to find rest in the mist of a busy life. May we be good stewards of our time, in work, play and rest. And may we give you honor and praise in every minute of our days.

days of praise: full to overflowing

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. -1 Peter 4:10

Graciously we have each been given unique giftings and talents, and it is in the pouring out of these gifts that we ourselves become refreshed. Serving is an honor when it is a natural extension of who we are, when it is viewed not as a have to but rather as a get to. I love stepping into life-giving environments where there always seems to be an air of easiness. Not that the work itself is easy, but people are busy doing what they love. Relationships happen naturally in these environments and everyone is encouraged to get involved and serve according to their gifts. Refreshed people exude joy and love and offer their gifts as sacrifices of praise, blessing those around them as they overflow with the blessings the Lord has given them. It's a blessing cycle; we receive in order to give. I love how Pastor Chris explains empowering environments:

Environments where those over you don't see your potential become life-draining situations very quickly. On the other hand, empowering environments will challenge you to your core in an atmosphere of encouragement. They will allow you to try--and even fail--and just keep trying. In order to live a "breath of fresh air" life, you will have to eliminate events, activities, and relationships that don't contribute to who you are and what you're about. When you discover your identity and unique gifts and then become empowered to exercise them, you need to prioritize and focus on what matters most, those things you're called to do that no one else can do. -Chris Hodges, Fresh Air

Recently I found myself feeling drained and tired, basically going through the motions. I often feel as though I'm spinning my wheels as most of what is required of me in my job takes me outside of my naturals gifts and strengths. I was talking about this with a friend one night and what I got was a big dose of truth in love. You are a high capacity leader and you have sidelined yourself. You know your gifts and you need to be serving in them--that's how you are going to be refreshed. He's right. I need to be serving, bending, pouring out to others. I cannot let difficulties take my focus off of serving the very ones I'm called to love. I hope you have friends in your life that know you, speak truth in love and spur you on in your calling.

The devil loves when we feel defeated, weighed down, and stop serving the Lord with zeal. Knowing our weaknesses is just important as knowing our strengths. We all have weaknesses that we need to improve with the help of others and the Lord and often as we grow and mature our weaknesses become strengths. However, we must also recognize the unique qualities that the Lord has given us and use them to for his Kingdom work.

Thank you, Father, for your lavish love. Thank you for your creativity in giving us each unique gifts and strengths. Please reveal and refine our gifts. May we always use them to give you praise.

days of praise: powerful words

Death and life are in the power of the tongue... -Proverbs 18:21

Words will never hurt me, a phrase from a popular children's chant, a lie. Words hurt people, and we learn this at a very young age. Children and adults alike know how to use words to cut others down. After all, hurting people hurt people.

I had been assigned a new program and was meeting with a prospect at a local coffee shop. I opened my brochures and began explaining our exciting new opportunity to serve in Asia, teaching Spanish. "You are the most disrespectful person I have ever met." I looked up, shocked, confused, appologetic. The words spewed out of his mouth like vomit. My spirit was crushed. I received every word, every lie spoken in those 5 minutes.

The thing is, I have been equipped in helping others find freedom from lies spoken over them. Yet still I received those words and, if even for a few short hours, believed them. I am so blessed to work with amazing men and women who rallied around me, praying and speaking truth over me. Where I was weak alone, my community was strong. Unfortunately, I know that I, too, have hurt others with harsh, flippant words. And, I'm sure that you, too, have been hurt by words. Receive these words today:

You are the head and not the tail,

above and not beneath.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

You are the apple of His eye.

You are precious in His sight.

You are so deeply loved by perfect, unfailing Love

that He sent His beloved to die for you.

Lord, you tell us in James 3 that the tongue, a small member of the body, has the potential to be destructive as fire. Set a guard, O Lord, over our mouths, keep watch over the doors of our lips. (Ps 141:3) Help us use our tongues wisely and, instead, speak words that are pleasant, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (Prov. 16:24) And let us be a people known for encouraging one another and speaking truth in love. Truly, let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our Redeemer. (Ps 19:14)

days of praise: water walking

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. -Psalm 32:8

I spent the summer of 2010 leading a group of college students on a trip to China. While it was refreshing to return to a place that is woven into my very being and a privilege to experience China for the first time [again] through their eyes, it was also one of the most spiritually challenging summers of my life. It was the summer that the Lord invited me to experience more of his goodness, requiring my complete trust and obedience in letting go of my security. As I said yes, I felt like Peter stepping out of the boat and onto the water. Pressing the send button for the email containing my resignation letter was the first step. The boat was now behind me, the shore not yet in sight.

When I returned to Alabama I went through times of doubt, feeling the weight and pressure of my fear, drowning in my worries. And then I would cry out to him, allowing his perfect peace to wash over me, steading my feet once again on the water. In saying yes I witnessed miracle after miracle, yet even if he would have kept me in that place of unknown longer, not selling my house or providing my job (in record time) he would still deserve all praise. You see, obedience is risky and requires us to swallow our pride, lay down our own hopes and dreams and step out, to move. Comfort and safety are never guaranteed, but as we march each step of obedience boldly in the name of the Lord we take ground from the enemy, increasing our faith all the while.

In order to say yes to him, we must know his voice, know what he is asking. When we commune with him daily, reading his Word, talking with him and taking time to listen we begin to see him all around us, in everything. And we become like those sheep in John 10:27, the ones who know his voice, the ones he knows, and the ones who follow him. Being obedient to the Lord does not always look rational or wise in the eyes of the world, but it is always worth the cost.

Lord, I pray that we would be a people who praise you with our obedience. Give us wisdom and help us to recognize your voice over the noise and business around us. Draw near to us as we draw near to you and instruct us in the ways we should go.

Is the Lord asking you, in some way, to step out in faith? March on, sweet one. The victory belongs to the Lord.