He Showed His Power by Restraining His Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Happy spring time! I still can’t believe that it is already here! With spring comes one of the most important holidays, at least for the Christian, the celebration of Easter! Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith and let’s go talk about this part of the salvation story.
When you hear the word Easter, what do you think of? Is it chocolate bunnies, baskets and bundles of brightly-colored eggs? Is it family gatherings around a great meal? Is it all about the kids, their Easter baskets and joyful Easter-egg hunts, the giggles and exclamations of discovery when they find an egg, and even when they look inside?
For some, it’s that one time when they are moved into a church service; in fact, Easter is known to be one of the highest-attended services of any church. I know for me, whenever I think of Easter, I experience a myriad of emotions and they mix together in a beautiful blend. The best way to describe them is bittersweet. Why bitter, you ask?
Well, it’s hard to think of my Jesus enduring all that He did up to and through the crucifixion. One can’t help but look at these things as Easter approaches, and yet many prophets foretold of some of the sufferings He would endure for you and me.
Did you know He sat through six trials? I didn’t either. I can handle being falsely accused here and there; I can’t even imagine trial after trial! And during those trials, He gave His back to those who struck Him, willingly. He did as He commanded us to do and turned His cheeks to those who plucked out His beard. Not once did He cover His face from the humiliation and the spitting and scream stop! (Isaiah 50:6) This was and continues to be the most amazing restraint of power in the history of all mankind!
He, the all-powerful, all-knowing Son of God could have acquitted Himself, struck each of the accusers down, struck those who hit Him back, twisted the arms of those who dared to pluck at His beard. He could have defended Himself to each of the presiding judges who spat humiliating accusations at Him. Instead, He chose to restrain His power and as a result of restraining His power, here we are over 2000 years later celebrating the reality of this Man, the necessity of His grace, the sovereignty of His power.
Many of us have a hard time staring pain in the face, let alone allowing our thoughts to go down that path. But how can we not remember these things as the day of their actual occurrences approaches? Why is it that just about any resource we look to about information surrounding this holiday all have the same facts: He was accused, endured beatings that rendered Him unrecognizable, suffered other forms of abuse, was mocked, carried His own cross, was pierced … several times, nailed to the cross, and lifted for all to see … why?
The simple answer: because His Father said so. He was aware of His Father’s will and because He was aware, He intentionally died that we may have life.
Awareness is the key to intentionality!
Every year, this time of year becomes even more significant. Why? Because the more I learn about this Man who suffered so much, the more I discover facets of His character that humble me. What I am learning now has me begging Him to entwine my heart with His that I might really be just an “inth” like Him. It’s not any coincidence that I just happen to be back in school for my Bachelor’s degree in Biblical studies, and the first class I am taking is on servant leadership and in order to understand servant leadership, we must have a grasp on the truths about power.
I can’t wait to share with you the truths I’m discovering and how they tie into this part of the Salvation Story and are turning the bitter into sweet!
Join me tomorrow for more,

Evinda

Jenn's Journey from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Good morning! It's that time of week again and I am so glad to be here. How are you 'feeling'? Grab a cup of coffee and let's talk about that!!!
I am reading a most fabulous book. It's called "Could It Be This Simple? A Biblical Model for Healing the Mind" By Timothy Jennings.
There is no coincidence I am reading the chapter I am today… on feelings. I am always amazed how God does this. I can pray on something and He brings my attention to something just when I needed it, today, through this book. I was praying this morning for my daughter. She has recently been saying she is dumb and that she does not like herself. This breaks my heart as I was about her age when I began doing the same thing. I can’t help but see where this may be stemming from. When she visits her dad, there is also someone else there, his pregnant girlfriend who takes all of his time and attention. My daughter is really feeling it and has told me she feels left out, that though her dad tells her she is his number one, he does not treat her that way. Yes, a six-year-old told me this!
In my own journey of healing and not allowing my feelings to rule me, I have learned a lot. Feelings are important, they must be listened to and identified, yes, but, they are not always necessarily true. A couple sentences from this book stood out to me and I must share them:
"Feelings are like psychological flares. They go off and tell us something is happening in a certain direction, but we don't know what that is until we investigate."
"Feelings are extremely unreliable and will lead into destructive avenues if not first confirmed or rejected through a reasonable evaluation of the evidence."
"Elevating feelings to reason and conscience for examination and investigation in light of the facts, evidence and truth, and then choosing to follow that truth will always restore order and bring peace to the mind. The greatest battle is learning to value truth because it IS true not just because it 'feels' true."
The book also gives an example: if someone hands a person $1 million in diamonds and that person casts them into the trash saying "No one would give away diamonds. How ridiculous" Does that change the worth of the diamonds??? WE are diamonds, by God's design and belief, and yet, we allow other people's opinions to decide our worth.
Jesus says that “the truth will set you free” John 8:32. What truth do you see in these quotes from the book? I see that I have believed UN-truths for a long time and now that I have a new perspective, it is up to me to begin changing the way I think in order to have true resolution and peace. Another favorite verse of mine and one I claim as my mantra is Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
What 'truth' do you need to discover? May you be blessed as you uncover God's perfect and pleasing will for you this week!
Until next week,


Jenn

Faith Filled Fridays From Croley’s Corner of Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

It’s Faith filled Friday! No matter what time of day you may be joining me, it’s always good to be together. Grab your journal, coffee and let’s get started.
The last several weeks have been founded on the necessary part of tending a garden -- water, weeding and fertilizing -- in order for our harvest to be healthy. The anticipation of the first sprouts to pop up through the ground is so fulfilling, yet we know that even in our lives as believers, the work is never done or complete! It is a continual, perpetual place of growing.
I recall my grandparents’ farm. It was quite large and I remember watching them both labor; he would build a fence, a stronghold that would surround his precious fields preventing intruders to invade and destroy his work. He invested long hours in the field to give way to a fruitful harvest. They never gave up, never grew weary or discouraged.   As a child I recalled asking him when we would see the fruits and vegetables pop out, and grandma’s reply was, “It’s not time yet. We just have to continue to wait.” They knew the process of waiting, trusting in the seed that was planted.
In the waiting; it truly can be the hardest time for most. It can be discouraging and it can definitely be unfruitful.
Waiting on God is not easy and is a crucial step in our lives in which our dependence upon God grows.
Our hearts often cry out in distress. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! Psalm 27:14
We can easily feel worried and second-guess our motives. We yearn for freedom and provision, yet waiting upon the Lord for needed supplies is one common area in which He trains us. The garden is always in need of continual care, even when we don’t see any productivity. Our soul gardens are in continual need of Him and His care for our lives. Yet it’s in those times when we are needy that we are forced to look to the Lord for help.
The other day someone said to me, "But I don't like what the Lord is bringing me through." Yes, how true this is, yet we must have the confidence in God in order for us not to squirm, squiggle and squeak!
He knows what He is doing! The survival of the seed in the ground must squirm, squiggle and squeak, so to speak, in order to produce efficiently.
Therefore when someone comes to the Lord, through salvation, remember it is a gradual process of a walk by faith. Their beginnings may seem small but as they grow in the grace of God, their faith too will increase. The parable of the mustard seed says: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32
If we live by confidence in our own means and abilities, will we not become certain of God’s power working in us? What glory does that bring to God? But through this process, God enables us to depend upon Him so that we know it is only He who does wonderful things in our lives.
Ultimately then, waiting upon God protects us, deepens our trust in Him, forces us to seek His ways and brings Him the most glory.
Next week I’m hoping to conclude “A call to Sow”. We’re going to find an example in God’s Word of a couple who experienced seasons of waiting. And through their waiting, and might I add a time of even questioning God, a seed produced, a seed called Isaac, the Son of promise.
Have a wonderful weekend and remember….keep Him close to your heart!
Love, Debbie



P.S. Now that we've had our coffee with Debbie, would you join me in
offering up a prayer of health and blessing to the most amazing woman,
my self-adopted mom who is celebrating her 87th birthday today! Mom, I
thank God for the day He put you in my life, to walk alongside me,
whisper wisdom and love into my soul, to be the first person to show
me that unconditional love.... I love you with all that I am and know
that I am who I am because He's used you to help me become all that He
requires me to become!

The Waiting Room … In the Hospital of Life March's WOW

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.: Phil. 1:6
Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share Coffee Hour with me … and more of this month’s WOW, The Waiting Room in the Hospital of Life. I truly hope you are enjoying what we are discovering as we walk through the rooms in the Hospital of Life with our Great Physician. Grab your coffee and your Red Strand of Faith.
So I shared a couple of exam room experiences, experiences that truly changed my life and the direction of it. Let me return to that first example, because it was shortly after the exam where He told me He was going to be taking me off of work that He actually came and took me to the O.R. room!
The morning after the county’s doctor called in an off-work order, I remember being somewhat dazed and bewildered by the events leading up to that very moment. Memories of His words spoken to me in the exam room in the mornings preceding the actual work release came flooding back to me, offering me hope, peace, beckoning me to let go and take His hand, to let the deep work begin.
I sat in my big, comfy chair with my thermos of coffee, my journal and my Bible. I remember I literally cried out, “But I’m a court reporter,” and He countered with, “No, you’re not; that’s what you did for a living. Now you will become what I’ve created you to be.”
In the months that followed, through what I deemed a spiritual open-heart surgery, He peeled back many layers, revealing lies that I had bought into, removing them through extensive counseling therapy. While on that first operating table, He also cut away a lot of bitterness and un-forgiveness I had buried towards my abusers all the while exposing some of the many painful memories. These memories were what the bitterness and un-forgiveness were wrapped up in and bound by; but now that they were out in the open, no longer suffocated by life, they left me completely, now powerless over me.
Then my Great Surgeon closed me up, temporarily, and gave me glimpses of what He was preparing me for by sending me out to speak, transparently, about my open-heart surgery and my Great Physician. Those were some powerful, out-of-body experiences, kind of like being in a recovery room sort of dazed, but cognizant of what has just happened!
That was just the beginning! I can’t even count the number of open-heart surgeries that He’s performed since then, and promises to keep performing, that I may become more like the image that He created me to be: Like Himself. (Genesis 1:27)
And in between surgeries, I walk through the hallways of The Hospital of Life, and God introduces me to so many other patients, patients in so many different walks of life. When I am discouraged, He brings nurses into my life to encourage me to stay in The Hospital of Life.
Because of all my surgeries thus far, I am able to recognize those who are in pain, and I am able to encourage them as we pass each other in the hallways of The Hospital of Life. But there are those that He brings me to walk alongside of, those other patients that have consented to open-heart surgery, allowing the transformation process to begin in the Hospital of Life, that I may comfort them with the comfort I’ve been given after each surgery. (2^nd Corinthians 1:4)
Yes, knowing that He who began this work will be faithful to complete it until the time of Christ keeps me looking in all the rooms of The Hospital of Life, that I may be His heart, His hands, or His feet. I’ll see you in The Hospital of Life!
Love,

Evinda

The Waiting Room … In the Hospital of Life March's WOW

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.: Phil. 1:6
Thanks for stopping by for our Coffee Hour and more of our March WOW! We hopefully we will be done with it before the month is gone! Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith and let’s go ties some more knots in the exam room of the hospital of life!
I don’t mean to sit in this room In the Hospital of Life, but there are some pretty powerful things that happen in this room! I remember several pivotal meetings in the exam room In the Hospital of Life … and exactly when the serious exams began. But the funny thread of commonality in those exams is I had to consent. I was in the habit of meeting with Him for our time each morning, which could also be considered preventative medicine, spiritually speaking. But it was in this exam room that I thought I heard some life-changing words, words that spoke of something that would change the direction for the rest of my life. I remember gasping with confusion, wondering if I had heard Him speak of His enemy. See, I had just purchased a brand-new home, filled with lots of upgrades, got my dream car – after asking for His permission, of course – and what I heard in this exam room was definitely life-jolting. He said: “I’m going to take you off work.”
Seriously I was speechless, which doesn’t happen too often with this girl! :) How could that be, I wondered. I’m trying to think of something to compare it to, how bewildered and frightened I was at the first mention of such a directional life change – ah, got it!
It was just a couple years prior to that, I had to go in for a checkup for my tongue; I had noticed there were a couple of spots on it near the back. Oh, did I mention I was smoking at least one half of a pack of cigarettes a day? :( That’s why I was reluctant; I just knew that whatever they found, it was going to force me to quit and, darn it; that was going to be incredibly difficult because I actually enjoyed smoking!
So I made the appointment, reluctantly, knowing I had to. There wasn’t as long a wait as I had anticipated; in fact, they got me in within two days, which for that medical group was a miracle.
As I sat on the exam table, with my mouth open, the doctor’s eyes staring through his instrument that was crammed in my mouth opening it nice and wide, I waited, and waited … and waited as he pulled it out and my mouth tried to return to normal. He turned his back, shook his head and then ever so slowly turned around suddenly spilling out a medical term so long with an accent thicker than peanut butter I was forced to ask him to tell me what he just said in English!
“It looks to be tongue cancer. We will have to do a biopsy to confirm that, but I would advise you to quit smoking. See my receptionist to schedule the biopsy.”
I got up from the table, stunned! My eyes threatened to spill over, but within seconds, I was able to sense this peace because He had spoken to me in the exam room at home during my quiet time before leaving for this appointment: “This is just a warning.”
As it turned out, by the time I had the biopsy, God had healed me and I did quit smoking … for a while!
I share these two instances with you because oftentimes, our Heavenly Father often prepares us in the exam room for things to come, just like He did all those years ago when He warned me that I would be taken off of work. I fought it for several weeks, and heard the words “He maketh you to lie down in green pastures.”
Two days later, I was in Human Resources, unable to even hold a pen to fill out the report to go see a company doctor, and the next day, there I was in the exam room in the Hospital of Life, crying out to God, “I’m a court reporter.”
His response; “No, you’re not; that’s what you did for a living. Now you will do what I created you to do … you will write, teach and encourage others.”
Oh, friend, be sure and make at least one stop a day in the exam room in the Hospital of Life for you never know when He’s going to put you on the operating table of life!
Join us tomorrow for a possible conclusion to this series!
Loving His ongoing Physician’s touch …

Evinda

The Waiting Room … In the Hospital of Life March's WOW

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.: Phil. 1:6
It’s great to be with you and share from my heart to yours this month’s WOW (Words of Wisdom and Weapons of Warfare). Grab your coffee, your journal, and don’t forget your Red Strand of Faith as I am sure He will give us some reasons to tie some more knots!
So we left off with the exam room at the hospital … in a spiritual sense, of course. :) But one of the most important things we need to understand about this room is we don’t have to wait until something is wrong to be examined! And His love letters to us even give us an exam time, a daily exam time: In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly (Psalm 5:3 NIV.)
What do we do in the exam room? Psalm 139:23 tells us how easy the exam can be. It begins like this: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Oh, but that means we must take off the mask! Hmm, that reminds me of a conversation I was having with a new friend in a leadership class I’m taking; she described it as a “church face.” What if we were to look to Him as the ultimate physician, and allow Him in to treat all – emphasis on all – our wounds?
Do you have a hard time actually making the time to go to the doctor? Do you like your doctor? Are you intimidated by your doctor? I actually have a great relationship with my earthly doctor, and he has an amazing bedside manner, never talking above me or down to me, but always, always he takes the time to explain the reason for symptoms, whether they be immune-systematic, or sinus-related, or even orthopedic-related. But he has to have the information first before he can give me a diagnosis!
Well, our Heavenly Physician is even better than our earthly doctors! Why? Because He knows all our symptoms, the diagnosis and He has the cure for whatever ails us. However – yes, there is a “however” -- He does like for us to share our burdens, speak to Him, with Him. When I think of real people talking with/to God from the Bible, I have to say one of the greatest role models in this area is David for he was real before God. He never put a mask on or hid what was in his heart when talking with God! I mean talk about a guy who had a lot to talk about with God! He was on the run for several years of his life for his life, an outcast, lost his BFF; he was betrayed time after time after time from someone who was like a father to him.
His visits to the exam room were consistent, and I would bet they were more than once a day.
And then when he became a sender instead of a leader – if he had gone to the exam room then, he may not have walked right into temptation. But he didn’t; instead, he continued on in his temptation, deeper and then had that affair. He stayed out of the exam room and that led to his next sin, the murdering of the husband whose wife he had the affair with! Talk about an incredible drama! Wow.
I can almost see him running from God, and the exam room! I’m not sure how long he stays away, but he does come back to this room and in Psalm 51, we are able to witness the most beautiful prayer of repentance because he returned to the Great Physician and allowed Him to do an in-depth examination!
Oh, Coffee Hour Friend, how long has it been since you’ve allowed yourself to enter the exam room?
The great Physician is waiting … for He who begins His work in the exam room will be faithful to complete it … until the time of Christ!
Love,

 Evinda

Jenn's Journey from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Happy Monday! I hope that your weekend was filled with rest, relaxation and some fun! Thanks for starting your week here with me. Grab a cup of coffee or some tea, and enjoy.
There was a time in my life when I did not want children. I am not sure of all the reasons I had in my mind then, but I know I was not sure I felt up to the task or the responsibility. After a few years of marriage though, I did change my mind. Then came five years of infertility. :( Those were painful and disappointing years, and then …God answered my prayer to become a mom in a most amazing way: through the gift of adoption.
The past six years of being a mom have been like nothing I have ever imagined. I am thankful every single day for this beautiful child of mine. One thing that has surprised me in the parenting journey is how much she has taught ME!
The other night as I was tucking my daughter in for the night, she threw her arms around my neck and said "Mom, I have so much love inside of me and I saved it all to give to you!" My heart melted; how could it not? What innocence and utter abandon, love without strings.
I have thought of this over and over through the week. It made me think of Matthew 18:3 when Jesus told His followers: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." I've always understood this verse to be talking about childlike faith, and I believe it is. But, I'd like to point out that we can take more from this than that.
Children give love easily and they accept love easily. As adults we become jaded through years of disappointments, hurt and pain. I have a very hard time accepting that love is real so I often push it away...yet I long for it! I've recently understood that I do this to God as well. There is always the lingering thought that perhaps He doesn't want me to come to Him since I've messed up yet again, or how could He possibly love me as much as I've always heard He does?
Remember the story of mothers bringing their children to Jesus and His disciples turning them away? You can find that story in Mark 10:13-16. Jesus was very upset with His friends and called those kids right back. He picked them up in His arms. The commentary says: “He brought them into the closest possible relationship to Him as an unspoken rebuke to the disciples for trying to separate them from Him."
Can you imagine being hugged by Jesus? That thought brings tears to my eyes.
This is what He longs to do for us though! He longs for us to become childlike so we can accept the gift of His love.  He is saying "I have so much love inside to give and I saved it all to give to you"
This week, let's challenge ourselves to be more like little children..let's accept the love God has for us..and then go share that with others.
Until next week, be blessed.

 Jenn

Faith Filled Fridays From Croley’s Corner of Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

“Therefore, we must be diligent to feed our soul being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:11
So happy you joined me today for “Faith filled Fridays.” Grab your favorite drink, journal and join me as we realize the need of compost in our garden. Question: How many of you enjoyed science when you were in High School? It wasn’t one of my favorite subjects, yet it was essential for life as I became an adult.
The earth’s soil is a rich storehouse of nutrients essential to the growth, beauty and good health of any kind of garden. We are told in the class of science that plants must have 16 basic nutrients available to them through the soil and air. When soil does not contain enough of a particular nutrient, a fertilizer or a mixture of compost must be added. It is essential…. It’s needed to enrich the soil in order to support growth and progress of a garden.
Here’s a list of four ingredients for a garden to survive: Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, water. Wow, how about that for a quick science lesson!
Now, to connect God’s Word to us as believers.
We must consume food daily in order to stay alive and to remain healthy…. Just as food is an important part of living and thriving, so it is with living Godly, although we are a part of this world we defiantly are not of it. “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him". Colossians 3:17
Although each believer’s walk with God is personal; we truly need one another to be fruitful together in order to further the Kingdom! However, there are times when there are opinions or offenses that mix into the ingredients of our walk, together. I’ll call that the fertilizer or compost of life… and it can certainly leave a stinky aroma.
In addition to that, we typically want to turn and run. Let’s think about this for a minute…. if we go through life without any troubles, trials or tribulations, we would have no need to call on the Lord for help. There’d be no compassion for others who may be experiencing similar stinky situations! James 1:2-4 tells us, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Is your garden lacking?
The fertilizing part of our lives is essential. For a believer it is necessary to go through stinky times in order for us to grow in His grace, His mercy, to love others, including those “stinky” enemies in order to see God produce His righteousness in us. (Matthew 5:43-48) It definitely may be stinky which makes us uncomfortable; however; He sends the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts with His love, to process the fruitfulness out of the stinky stuff.
When we don’t feed our garden properly, it will be affected. It is in that fertilizing time that causes us to grow and to walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:10).
Remember, Christianity is not a list, but a life....a life worth serving. Join me next week as we begin to see budding growth in our garden.
Love, Deb

The Waiting Room … In the Hospital of Life March's WOW

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.: Phil. 1:6
Hello! How are you? I’m excited you joined me for more of our WOW and our Coffee Hour. Grab your coffee and your red Strand of Faith and let’s get back to the Waiting Room … in the Hospital of Life!
So were you able to realize what it is you are waiting for? I was reminded of another example of waiting, and I can’t leave this out. How many of us are waiting for that prodigal child to come home, to leave their addiction, to make better choices, to surrender? Oh, but that’s a painful waiting time, one that can only be endured through prayer and often requires fasting as well. These are spiritual battles we fight in the waiting room of life and spiritual battles require spiritual weapons. Whenever we try to stay in the battle with our flesh, we make the waiting time worse.
Well, now I hear someone calling us. It’s time to go into the exam room.
Just hearing that word “exam,” don’t you sort of cringe? When I go to the doctor’s office and I am in the exam room, it’s usually for something that I just can’t beat, something that is pesky and won’t go away, and it usually is something that is trying to take me down. I need to share all my symptoms with my doctor. I have been guilty of saying, “I don’t have time for this; I don’t have time to be sick,” and what I don’t say, but think to myself, is “so hurry up and figure out the problem so I can get on with my life!
Now let’s look at this from a spiritual perspective. What would our lives look like if we went into the exam room each morning, and shared our struggles, symptoms from the day before with Him? What if we were to look at the “exam room” of life as a safe place to spend sweet time with the One who will never leave us or forsake us, the one Who goes before us, defends us and validates us, the Divine Physician?
I can tell you that spending time in the exam room daily has prevented many symptoms that could lead to some horrible life-altering infections! He longs for us to stay spiritually healthy so that when the threats and attacks of physical and emotional circumstances come our way, and they will, we remain spiritually strong.
But, let’s be honest. Oftentimes, we don’t come into the “exam room” of life until there is something happening that is causing pain and/or a physical or emotional infection of sorts. By then, the symptoms of anxiety, worry, nervousness, which manifest themselves in and through the body creating uncomfortable physical problems, and before you know it, we are a hot mess, just waiting for the Doctor to show Himself, to speak, to do something so we know He’s there.
Maybe it’s time we visited the “exam room” in The Hospital of Life daily as a form of spiritual preventative medicine, to be still and know that He is God.
What’s that I hear?
Oh, it’s Him: But you, Coffee Hour Friend, it’s time to come to the secret place and shut the door and when the door closes, pray to your Father who is in this exam room, and I who see you there will reward you. (Matthew 6:6)
Oh, He has one more verse for us to encourage us to visit the exam room daily because He longs to talk with us: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
When we visit the exam room of life daily, we are better able to appreciate the fact that He who begun His work in us will be faithful to complete it until the time we see Him face to face.
Join me tomorrow for Faith Filled Fridays at Croley’s Corner of Chicklit Power!
Love to you …

Evinda

The Waiting Room … In the Hospital of Life March's WOW

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.: Phil. 1:6
Wow, do I ever need a break right now! Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith and let’s get back to the hospital that we may encourage one another in The Waiting Room … of the Hospital of Life!
So what if we were to look at life the way we know it and live it as a hospital? Before being admitted to the hospital, often an exam is required, and often there is a waiting time so the first room we must visit is the waiting room.
What do we do in the waiting room? How do we behave? Are we frustrated, anxious, irritable, especially when we are not feeling well? I know whenever I don’t feel well, I certainly don’t feel like engaging with others, so whenever I am literally in a waiting room to see my doctor, I either read a book – especially now that I’m back in school -- or play a game of Solitaire on my “smart” phone … funny thing is that phone’s pretty smart because I don’t always win my games! But I sure do enjoy having something to take my mind off of the waiting! Having something to do while waiting keeps my thoughts away from jumping off the cliff into a pool of frustration.
Now let’s bring that waiting room analogy into our personal circumstances.
I mentioned that my husband is not working, right? He’s been out of work for more than four weeks now … and the cry of his heart is not to find a job – that’s right. Every time someone asks him what type of job he’s looking for, he quite confidently corrects them: “I’m not looking for a job; I’m looking for a business opportunity.”
People’s responses vary, and I just love watching the eyebrows go up, but many get it … and I do too. But how long must we wait? Will it be until the savings is drained? Will it be until tomorrow? Next week? Next month? Will we have to lose it all to gain that one thing?
What about those of us who are waiting for Him to perform a medical miracle in the lives of those whose life is leaving them? Many of us wonder why suffering has to go on for so long, why pain has to be their constant companion, why waiting is necessary, even when the end of a physical life is hovering over a loved one.
How is it that we wait?
And there’s another circumstance that requires waiting … not writing off; that of a broken relationship. With each day that goes by, do we allow ourselves to erase a little bit more of the love we once felt? Do we stay stuck in the words that seemed to have severed that once important relationship? Do we hit replay over and over again on the hurt that was inflicted upon us?
Oh, how true it is that waiting is so much part of the process of His work that He has begun in each one of us, “but those who wait upon the Lord the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 NKJV)
Waiting on Him and abiding in Him,

Evinda

The Waiting Room … In the Hospital of Life March's WOW

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.: Phil. 1:6

Wow, can you believe it; it’s WOW time … in fact, March is more than halfway gone and though time passes faster as we get older, there is ONE thing that remains a constant, one thing that can slow us down and splash some perspective on the speed and quality of life: His Word! Grab your coffee and your red Strand of Faith and let’s go tie some knots in our March’s Words of Wisdom and Weapons of Warfare. I’m going to begin with a bit of a story.
I held my husband’s hand as he prayed; it’s what we do when we pray. First he prays and then it’s my turn. As he finished, the words that began to come out of my mouth were certainly Spirit inspired, not anything I had planned, and at the same time, this month’s WOW was confirmed. I prayed that as my husband was in the waiting room of his life, that he would take this time to right anything wrong, or the appearance of wrong, especially with his son, my stepson, knowing in my heart that we need to take the first step towards reconciliation in this broken relationship. I prayed that he would busy himself with kingdom things instead of anxiously searching and seeking for business opportunities which could literally pull him toward unnecessary risks. I prayed that he would find rest in the waiting room, knowing and trusting that the plans our Father has for him are to build him up, offer him a hope and a future, not to tear him down. And I prayed that I would be able to encourage him while in the waiting room…
The funny thing about praying those things for my husband is that prayer was also for me; it encouraged my soul, reminded me of truths that I must cling to at this time of our lives.
Just the day before, while I was talking to a former Trench Class student -- someone whom I am incredibly fond of and admire, someone who is very teachable and yearns to get over herself -- this same concept of The Waiting Room in the Hospital of Life came to me after powerfully poignant questions came gushing out from her heart: “When will this be done? Am I just destined to this misery and this conscious uncomfortable awareness of what needs to change? Will I ever be happy again?
Oh, how I so empathized with her, that feeling of wondering if I will ever get beyond the current infection revealed by a lesson needing to be learned. The silence suddenly filled with a giggle that erupted from me unexpectedly. I just love all the different analogies He gives me … first … and then for others.
“What’s so funny?’ my friend on the other line asked.
“Oh, I was just reminded of something that He showed me when my deep healing began years ago, right after being taken out of my court reporting seat and put on what I have now come to accept as the operating table of life. It’s not just a diet, friend, this sort of open-heart surgery that takes place in life, and more than once. See, spiritual surgery is necessary over and over; it needs to be a way of life and the sooner we understand that life is like being in a hospital, the easier it is to get on that operating table; and the easier it is to trust the Divine Physician. And, oh, the joy in between surgeries”!
I could hear her sigh, almost feel her thinking!
I continued.
“I mean, it’s not like I jump up and down for joy every time He comes to take me to the Operating Room, but I go now without fear and dread, anticipating the recovery period, for there is joy after surgery.”
“That’s really good,” she said.
I smiled.
“Think about it, I said; there are many rooms in the hospital; we are not always on the operating table or in the O.R. room. The Divine Physician performs a particular procedure, then closes us up, and picks us up, and allows us to go to the Recovery Room for some rest, to process all that He has just accomplished and cut away. Sometimes in the recovery room, our recent surgery is put to the test and we are forced to deal with others who interrupt our schedules, our train of thought, our agenda, people that may annoy us, and we are once again forced to slow down, be still, and acknowledge that He is God so we may prevent a premature surgery. “
“The point is, my friend, He who began that work will be faithful to put us back into the O.R. as needed, and keep on performing whatever surgeries need to happen until the time of Christ.”
I could feel her smile … and again, I could feel her thinking.
Suddenly we were both building on this analogy, talking about all the rooms within a hospital creating this month’s WOW, encouraging each other, hoping to encourage you in The Waiting Room of the Hospital of Life …
Join me tomorrow for more.

Evinda

Jenn's Journey from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Happy Monday! I am happy to be here on the blog today and to have you join me. I hope you have a few moments to sit, read, and enjoy… here is to a blessed day!!
Galatians 6:2 says “Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." (NLT) I've been thinking a lot about this verse this week. I was in the bank the other day, the second one of the day, attempting to practice patience! One of the women ahead of me was older, and seemed to be sharing her life story with the teller. I found myself feeling irritated as to why she felt the need to hold up the line. That was my first thought. My second thought was how nice the teller was being by taking the time to listen and be kind to this woman who obviously wanted to talk. I was immediately ashamed of my attitude.
The verse above says 'bear one another's burdens.” In another translation, it says, “to bear with means to hold up, support, carry, put up with, accept, endure, sustain.” Just reading that verse makes me feel tired. That is a lot to do for those we love, let alone someone we don't know. I fall short of this easily. I find it easy to tire of sharing burdens. Yet, God has pressed it upon my heart that I need to take another look at what He is calling me to do.
In my Bible commentary, it calls burdens “heaviness” or “weight,” and goes on to say that “the application of this verse could solve the ills of the world”! Wow. Doesn't that make you think? By just considering what someone else is going through, even when I do not know them, and acting accordingly I could help change my corner of the world.
I went on to read about sympathy, empathy and compassion. It seems those words are interchangeable. Empathy: the sympathetic understanding of another person. Sympathy: fellow-feeling, and compassion. Compassion: a feeling of sympathy. If I am honest with myself, I have to say that those feelings are difficult to sustain, and sometimes to even have!
So where do I get the ability? Once again, from the grace of Jesus and His promise to change my heart into one that looks like His. I have to first lay my burdens down at His feet so that He can give me what it takes to help another person. It's the only way. If I have my own way, I am too much in a hurry to take the time to listen and sympathize, or I am too consumed with my own issues.
If you are weighed down by something, I pray you find God a willing burden-bearer. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. Oh, that we would all seek to be who God called us to be to one another and help change this world!
Until next week,
be blessed.

Jenn

Faith Filled Fridays From Croley’s Corner of Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Wow it has been three weeks since we started our “A call to Sow.” Grab your favorite drink and journal as we peek into our “soul garden” and see how it’s growing. Let’s get started.
Have you heard the expression “Digging in the dirt makes one feel closer to God?” I know for the most part when I’m out digging, I find myself absorbed in all that He has created. It’s a great way to spend my quiet time, cultivating what I love...spending time with God.
Luke 8:11 tells us: “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” When we begin to dig into God’s word, there is no doubt that there will be an increase and immeasurable amount of growth of our faith and our strength in Him and His peace in us. His word produces life....just like a seed.
Jesus taught the parable of the soils to His disciples in Mark 4. Christ said spiritual fruitfulness or barrenness depended upon the type of soil that received the seed of God's Word. He warned of the choking influence of thorns… pesky, prickly weeds that squeeze the life out of fruit-producing seedlings. The weeds Jesus warned of are the worries of the world, the anxieties of this age. Worry or anxiety means "to be drawn in different directions," or, "to be distracted.” What’s worrisome is that these weeds have the inherent potential for multiplying ... and way too quick!
When weeds are left unattended, they can cut the harvest by as much as 40 to 60 percent. As I consider the consequences in my life of the "harvest hinderers," I know that I need to get serious about pulling, poisoning and plowing under those destructive weeds. Letting just one weed grow freely in your life could result in crop failure; removing them is essential to a healthy, productive, bountiful harvest.
The potential for weeds for me is my busyness. A full schedule of doing good can crowd out the best of my intentions and I soon find the seed that He has planted in me becomes “weed crowded.” I catch myself rummaging through the pages of God’s Word and circumventing or skirting through my prayer time. And I justify my actions by saying…” see, God, how busy I am for the Kingdom?”
I can also be distracted by urgent things, but what’s more urgent than feeding on His Word? See, doing all the right things doesn’t always qualify for a bountiful harvest, even if our intentions are good. If we don’t pick up and rightly utilize the tools He has given us, be prepared for some deficiencies. 
As we grow closer to Him He can spotlight areas of the weed root that has mixed itself in with the seed of life: for example, it can be bitterness...un-forgiveness...jealousy…lack of faith, or even doubt.
When we find ourselves not producing as we should, that’s when we need to take inventory: Are we reading God’s Word …daily? Are we spending time in prayer?
Friend, what distracts you? What pulls you in a direction you know is unfruitful? What seems to be inhibiting the growth of your spiritual walk?
Time spent in His presence…springs forth His power in us….which roots us in Him!
We must keep a watchful eye on our “soul garden.” We must be careful how we pluck out the weed not to disturb the seed that has been properly planted. This week make a check list; ask Him to help you weed out your pesky, prickly weeds so you can continue to produce a bountiful “soul garden!”
…rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:7
Thanks for stopping by “Faith filled Friday’s.
Love,

 Debbie

Seven Sacrifices to Joy

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thank YOU so much for stopping by and joining me today for more of our Seven Sacrifices to Joy! I just love knowing we have this time together and that I can share from my heart to yours all that He teaches me and thereafter requires of me. I don’t know about you, but I’ve tied quite a few knots in this second sacrifice! I hope you have, too! Grab your Red Strand of Faith and your coffee, and let’s go finish up with this second sacrifice before March is gone!
So what else is considered a Sacrifice of Righteousness? I found something interesting in Psalm 4:5: “Offer the sacrifices” -- (plural) … “of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.” (Emphasis on and added) Hmmm, that got me to thinking – uh-oh -- does trusting the Lord then count as a Sacrifice of Righteousness, or is it at least a part of it anyway?
For many of us, that last part is every bit as hard as the first part! I have to confide in you: the more I offer a sacrifice of righteousness, the easier it is to let go, let God, to trust Him with all my soul hurts, my trials and tribulations, my overall well-being! It’s actually liberating, freeing, like spreading your wings and flying … off of a cliff; scary at first but oh, what a feeling.
Our Father loves us too much to leave us the way that we are, and He does what He needs to do to insure we have learned a lesson well enough to begin putting it into practice. Oftentimes, there is a price tag attached to the lesson!

What is the cost? Well, that will depend upon how much trust we have in Him who is in control       versus ourselves. Various price tags include, but are not limited to: the loss of a promotion, a job, and even a friendship or friendships and the price tag may even include some ridicule and/or mockery for good measure. STOP! Let’s talk about this price tag as it relates to these things that become such big desires that we can sometimes lose focus of their correct priority.

First, there is a verse that keeps rising to the door of my heart bursting to get out: Blessed are those who are persecuted for thy name’s sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The NIV say it like this and this translation really spells it out in a relevant way: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.”

See, no matter how I try to escape the subject of people, we always wind up there!

Friends, these words are from Abba Himself! He’s giving us a heads-up that these things will happen! He knows that people that we come to care about will talk about us negatively, say false things about us and cause great emotional wounds, but here’s the deal: most of the time they don’t realize it’s because of Him in you! That’s when it’s really difficult to offer up a sacrifice of righteousness.

Let me give you some promises for perseverance that will help you to offer up a Sacrifice of Righteousness, no matter who, or what, is attempting to steal your joy:
HE will defend us; He will fight our battles [Exodus 14:14] [Jeremiah 51:36a]; He will vindicate and validate so don’t hesitate! He is a shield to those who take refuge in HIM so don’t hide behind others! [Proverbs 30:5]. It comes down to taking Him at His Word and letting pride die instead of reside … in our heart. This is a sacrifice of righteousness.
Well, that’s almost a wrap … we’ll pick up here next week, but, please, Join us tomorrow for Croley’s Corner @ Chicklit Power and Faith Filled Fridays!
Love,

 Evinda

Seven Sacrifices to Joy

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Oh, it’s so good to write from my heart to yours! I pray that my learned lesson acts as preventative medicine for you in your journey toward Destination? Joyful! ™ Grab your coffee and let’s get back to the second sacrifice that makes our Father smile, a sacrifice of righteousness.
In what other ways might we offer up a Sacrifice of Righteousness? As I considered that question in my own life, and did some research in others’ lives, I realized there are some very important elements that go along with offering up a Sacrifice of Righteousness and they have to do with the condition of the heart!
Here’s something to think about: the more room you give someone in your heart, the more power they have over you. Could this be why relationships/others are the most challenging lessons in the classroom of life?
Wow, a light just went on for me … like a shooting star in the middle of the night that thinks no one is watching. Could keeping score prevent us from offering a Sacrifice of Righteousness? ABSODARNLUTELY! I’ve seen it over and over again in the Relationship trenches. And again, not to belabor my experience, as I listened to this person bring up perceived wrongs from months prior, I was stunned into silence as I realized that not only was she receiving and perceiving information incorrectly, but she had been keeping score so by the time we met to resolve these things that had become issues unbeknownst to me, she was like a pot boiling over. I truly felt compassion for her as I realized life had taught her to become a great score-keeper!
When people cannot get past an old hurt because they choose not to forgive and let go, they do not move forward in life. Instead, they stay stuck and often get buried in unresolved misperceptions.
But, you say, it doesn’t mean I’m going to forget … is forgiveness and forgetting the same thing? Ah, such a good question. I wish by forgiving that we could forget, and for some things it is possible, but for some things, especially matters of the flesh, forgetting becomes a little more difficult. In our relationship trench class last week, someone asked me about that, and I could see that they were truly struggling to understand. As I looked around the room, I could literally see the expectancy on almost every face in the class. I took a deep breath in, calling upon Him to speak through me as I thought of the least complicated way to explain the difference.
I pointed to my husband as I began. “That man has hurt me before … many times; and I have hurt him. But I don’t remember what he’s done that has caused my heart to hurt; I haven’t been keeping score, and neither has he, so we’ve been able to move forward. And then there’s the things that my step-dad did to me … things that I do not wish to glorify by speaking about, but because they were done to my flesh, and the flesh has a memory all of its own, many of those things have not been forgotten but I have forgiven him and have moved victoriously forward in my life. How do I know? My painful past has been used to fuel my passion and His platform!”
You could have heard a pin drop and I continued.
“Now, if there’s something that comes up and you feel a little pricking, a little poking that causes you the slightest twinge, then there’s still some un-forgiveness in there and the best thing to do is to confess it. Some things take a process to forgive … “
I think they got it; did you? Let me leave you with one final thought on this type of Sacrifice of Righteousness:
Forgetting cannot be used as a crutch to never make my way up Forgiveness Road!
Learning to offer up a Sacrifice of Righteousness,

 Evinda