Jenn's Journey from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome back to Monday and Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power. Monday’s come around fast, don't they? I don’t know about you, but the weekend passed in a blur, especially because this was a special one. Hopefully, we all had some time to reflect on the story of Easter and what that means to our lives! Let's take a few minutes to talk about stories.
 This week we started a new Transform Class with Chicklit Power Ministries and Trench Classes United. This class promises to be another growth experience, while exposing the roots that cause our wounds, weaknesses and worries.
It's no small feat to get in the trenches, as Evinda calls it, and begin digging out those stubborn roots. In order to do this, a person has to be willing to look back, to look at his/her story, and understand what seeds were planted and how those roots began to grow. As I listen to the song "Need You Now" by Plumb, the opening lines resonated with me:"Well, everybody's got a story to tell, and everybody's got a wound to be healed."
In our first class, we talked a lot about being transparent. It's a safe place where we can share our stories to listening ears with no judgment. It feels good to be able to do that, and for me, it is a place where I can finally really move toward healing. It got me thinking. Why is it so hard to find a safe place to do this? Why do so many of us walk around wounded, yet trying to hide it and look perfect on the outside?
I am sure there are many reasons that play into why we hide ourselves and our stories from others. But, that keeps us stuck and often those stories get played out again and again. When I got divorced, and realized that I had been in an emotionally abusive marriage for ten years, I swore to myself that I would never repeat that situation again. I wanted to close myself off to relationships and love to insure I didn't repeat it. Instead, God has led me on a journey of self-discovery and healing led by and through His love.
Through my desperate searching of how and why I got into that bad of a marriage in the first place, God has shown me the places in my heart and mind that I have to let Him into. He has not only brought me to this class, He has given me someone to love and who loves me back, who is also willing to share his story and allow God to bring healing.
What is your story? Have you really looked back at it? Have you shared it with safe people? I want to encourage you to do so if you haven't; find a place where you can do that. Jesus came to this earth to be part of the story... and He did it so we can live freely and abundantly. Let Him into your story. I promise He'll bring a happy ending.
Until next week, be blessed.

 Jenn

Seven Sacrifices to Joy

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

It’s a great day for more of this journey through the Seven Sacrifices to Joy! Grab your coffee, your Red Strand of Faith, and, please, come join me as I give you a front-row seat to yet another real-life lesson He prepared for me to learn in my quest for meekness!
I don’t know about you, but when I am having a really difficult time with a really difficult person, my first reaction is not to do the celebratory happy dance and high-five my neighbor. In fact, many times I just want to run, hide and the more invested, the deeper the heart hurts! But what if I were to tell you that it is possible to do the happy dance and experience victory when dealing with a hedgehog? I have experienced freedom in this area recently and I know that I know that I know that what I endured led to a sacrifice of righteousness, but I’ll explain that a little later. It would take me on a long detour and I want to stay on track!
This truth is becoming a more beautiful reality to me as I work with hurt people who continue to hurt people. The reality of it reminds me of Jesus’ lesson on retaliation that He gave to the crowd of people on the Mount, as well as to you and me. In Matthew 5:39 He says: “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
Oh, but there’s a mouthful right here. Let’s explore what it means to resist because at first glance, this doesn’t seem to make sense without any digging. I mean, I’m thinking in my initial thought process that resist can mean to turn away from but let’s see what the Greek concordance says.
Hmm, the actual Greek word is interesting: “anthistemi,” pronounced “anth-is-tay-mee” and it comes from the Greek word anti. Well, looking at the prefix, I automatically go to anti being against but hold on here; there’s more. The actual definition for this context is: to stand against, i.e., oppose, withstand.”
So if we break it down, “anti” means against, and “histemi” means to cause to stand.
So, what is Jesus telling us? Is He telling us to stand face to face with the one who slaps us on the cheek and offer the other side? Is this really a sacrifice of righteousness?
What a baffling and mind-boggling question and/or concept, one that is too hard to digest without our spiritual selves, so please remember that component as we dig to understand what in the world Jesus is telling us in Matthew 5:39!
According to Matthew Henry, that is exactly what He’s saying! He says: “The plain instruction is ‘Suffer any injury that can be borne, for the sake of peace, committing your concerns to the Lord's keeping. And the sum of all is that Christians must avoid disputing and striving. If any say, flesh and blood cannot pass by such an affront, let them remember, that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and those who act upon right principles will have most peace and comfort’.”
That may sound incredibly confusing, but oh my goodness; I just got a word picture! I hope with all my being that I can help you see it too! The “evil” that Jesus is referring to in this context is not the enemy himself, rather, the human acting in their flesh!!!!!
Oh, how easily I can see myself in that word picture now! Have you ever acted out of your fleshly desires or emotions, for example, out of anger or jealousy? This renders me humbled; what about you? But oh, the beauty of His grace that weaves forgiveness and favor in the tapestry of our lives, the very thread of grace having no obvious pattern for its necessity is everywhere. His mercies are new every morning because He knows we live in a tent of flesh and must resist the countless temptations to act out of our flesh!
Oh, friend, He who began a new and good work will be faithful to complete it … until the time of Christ! Stay in the journey and on the path of His grace and this tendency will decrease and your righteousness increase!

Until tomorrow,

Evinda