Tuesday’s Trench Lessons 4 Life

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

I have been feeling pretty lost and alone in life. I feel like, although I have many plans, I am going nowhere fast. I overwhelm myself with a to-do list a mile long. There are schedules I want to implement with the kids. I would like to practice decorating pastries so I can open my own small business. I have a goal to study the scriptures every day, without fail. I have many suggestions that would help my husband and me to get along better, and to spend more time together. I have idea after idea of things that would improve the house, and help it run smoother.

I think of tons of things that could possibly enhance the enjoyment of my life, but I am frozen in uncertainty. I put such pressure on myself to get these things done, and to do them to perfection, that I do not even take the first step to accomplish them. If I were to just rely on myself, and stop here, I know I will continue to feel lost and alone. Thankfully, I have a wonderful family, great friends, and a loving Heavenly Father!

I have been guided in my life these last few months. There have been awesome people placed in my life to encourage me. I have had to face situations recently that have helped me grow stronger and wiser. I have been pushed out of my comfort zone. And you know what? I have absolutely loved it! I have begun to accept the fact that the Lord is on my side, and everything will work out the way it should. With that knowledge, I have felt less alone, less lost.

I have also been guided to serve. If you are ever feeling down about your situation, help someone else with theirs!!! I was prompted by the Spirit multiple times to help out a few friends, and I was blessed immeasurably by it. All I had set out to do was help my friend, but I received the blessing. Isn't it so beautiful how that works?

There are many places in the scriptures that speak of charity and service, but there are two that I was guided to share with you. The first is...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are in the service of your God. And the second is found in 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. Actually, chapter 13 in its entirety is super awesome. If we don't have charity, we have nothing. I just wanted to share that and tell you that charity can be the smallest thing. If out of the blue, you think about a friend that you haven't talked to in a while, send a little card in the mail, or give them a call to see how they are. If you have a feeling that someone needs a visit from you, find the time and stop by. I have found when I am struggling the most human contact is the biggest help. Hug someone. Smile at someone. Say, “It is such a beautiful day today” to a complete stranger. Compliment someone with no desire of reciprocation! Consideration and joy are the biggest gifts you can share with your fellow humans. Please try to share of yourself this week, and notice how you will be blessed by it.

Lea

Faith Filled Fridays From Croley’s Corner of Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

I’m so happy you could join me today. Grab your coffee and let’s look into a question: Does God have a return policy?”  Lately, does it feel as though life has been like mini tornados going off at varied times? If you answered yes, well, you’re not alone; it certainly has been for me. In the last several weeks it has been pretty tough and today was my, as they say, “I’ve hit a wall” kind of a day. I couldn’t put my finger on it until I began taking inventory and realized that I’m coming up on my mother-in-law’s one-year anniversary of her graduation to Heaven. And yes I have been reflecting. I’ve had some pretty hard days thinking back on how difficult she was with her Alzheimer’s. Anyone who has had a family member or friend with this disease understands that it robs you of who you are; it literally steals your identity. There were many times I would go over to help take care of her and find she had no clue of who I was. Now mind you, I’ve been married to her son for 43 years so one would think that would be enough for her to recall me. Yet again, I would introduce myself and say “Hi mom, remember me?” and still see the void and blank look on her face; which spoke volumes.

My heart felt saddened for her yet during those times the one thing that would stir her soul and bring life to her face would be singing songs. Now being a Pastor of a church in Colton, California many years ago, she would lead the choir and church in victorious songs, songs that would bring down heaven.  So when I’d begin to sing those songs, something happened… within her mind something seemed to click and you could see her expression turn from a hard disparaging look to a look of joy and contentment and soon she would join me singing with all that was within her, not skipping a beat.

Oh how I miss hearing her sing and pray; she surely could get a hold of heaven!!

We too must often be reminded, as I reminded Rod’s mom of songs long ago, of God’s promises. The moment I began speaking the Word of God she would finish the verse for me. Oh to know that she knew His word in her heart made for such a blessing for us all. God’s word never ever returns void…it’s not empty…and does not have a return policy. Isaiah 55:11 reminds us “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

So when life comes at us in a way that seems like a tornado and everything seems to be in disarray, no matter what you may be experiencing right this very moment or if you’ve been going through tornadoes for a while, know you can reach deep down inside of you and pull out the very Word of God you need. How and why you ask; because the word is hidden in your heart and His word will accomplish what He pleases.

God’s word will sustain you and give you peace just as the rain falls on and feeds the earth; that’s a promise and it’s not something you just forget. When Rod’s mom seemed distant and empty, when we began to sing and speak His Word life returned to her. His Word brings life even at its lowest of times. Embrace His word: memorize it, write it down, tape it to your mirror, whatever it takes that will bring you to His promises that are within you.

His word doesn’t have a return policy; that is something we can count on! May your weekend be filled with great expectations of a new promise from His word…and remember…keep Him close to your heart

Love,

Deb

The Highway to Destination? Joyful!(tm)

Happy Thursday to you! It’s a great day for a sacrifice of righteousness on our way to Destination? Joyful! ™ Grab your coffee and let’s go explore what this particular sacrifice costs!
So when we began this particular sacrifice, I had an opportunity to offer Him up a sacrifice of righteousness by being silent after feeling attacked and ridiculed by someone I love in front of someone I love. I failed in that test and the very thing I was teaching someone not to do, I DID!
This next opportunity to offer a sacrifice of righteousness involved the same principle but with a bit more depth, and while I wasn’t prepared for the circumstance to happen, I was prepared to step back before moving forward in deed and in words.
It’s kind of funny, because the very thing I had drawn my line about in this second circumstance, I was being tested in! God’s refining fire is so painfully brilliant at times it throws me to my face in humility and causes me to beg for the water of His Word. Yes, humility is a necessary pool to bathe in, especially as I prepare to go into the trenches with others who are struggling with hurts, habits and hang-ups. I must not forget where I came from and how I came to Who I came!
There are so many one-liner lessons in the two situations that have happened back to back in my journey, but the loudest one echoing in the nooks of my heart and gushing out into my whole being is found in 1^st Peter 5:6: “Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time”: in other words, when I feel others have wronged me, I don’t need to be the teacher of the lesson I think they need to learn. The cost is too great! Think about it like this: When a fire starts, do I add a match, or walk away and thus let it go out?
I love what He promises in 1^st Peter 5:7 when we do just that: “casting all your cares on Him for He cares for you.” After all, if I am a Christian who does not love the unlovable, then I am without the greatest gift, love which grows joy!
Oh, friends, He is so good to hold us accountable and I am not quite giggling as I realize He’s done just that: held me accountable to the very thing I had shared with this person on so many occasions in our friendship: Just because someone verbally slaps us with their perceptions, doesn’t give us permission to slap them back with ours. There is no unity in that. In fact, love is the framework for unity and truly listening adds shades of beauty to beautiful to describe but seldom seen. If all I am able to do is concentrate on defending what’s being said, then I am not focused with a heavenly perspective of unity. Rather, I have missed what’s not being said and forgotten about the One who will defend me when it’s all said and done.
Having a heavenly perspective in an earthly battle will keep us from stepping out of the bigger picture, which is unity in and for the Bride of Christ, the ultimate Kingdom of which we are headed. Oh, to be a kingdom builder and not a building destroyer.
Ask yourself: Can I agree to disagree, in love, for the greater good of Him?
I thought I would get into the cost of this sacrifice, but at the risk of staying on His platform longer than I am welcome, I will let you go. Thank you so much for joining me for our coffee hour and I truly pray that the lessons I am striving to learn will become preventative medicine to your soul and in your journey with Him!
We WILL wrap up this second sacrifice next week and then get to our October’s WOW!
In His grip,

Evinda

When Hurting People Hurt you, What do you do?

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

Welcome back to our continued journey toward Destination? Joyful! God is good; all the time, God is good, even when I fall short! Can I get an Amen? Grab your coffee and let’s try and wrap up the second sacrifice, the sacrifice of righteousness which is a huge contribution to our Cup of Joy!
The price tag for a sacrifice of righteousness may be 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. [Matthew 5:10] 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.”
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.
Just two days after missing the mark on turning the other cheek, I was presented with yet another opportunity to offer up a sacrifice of righteousness! Ugh, I guess He wants to make sure I get this one, and you know what they say about writers and teachers: they learn the most, probably because we need it the most, at least I do!
Have you ever come across someone who comes across incredibly harsh, opinionated and always has a critical thing to say about someone but after you get past that, you see someone with a soft heart, and other good qualities? Oh, I know a few and God has helped me to look past and try and know them beyond all of that unresolved stuff. After, all, isn’t that what He does with us?
Well, just a couple of days after the last incident wherein I failed to offer a sacrifice of righteousness by turning the other cheek, someone just like I described stepped on my emotional foot and in such a way that I couldn’t ignore it. I waited four days before I said ouch, but this time, the way I said ouch was in love in a card with a letter. I bathed it in prayer and sent it off.
I knew my heart was in the right place; my motive was to speak into her life and not out for the sake of our “friendship,” for the sake of Christ-desired unity! [Ephesians 4:3]
For the next couple of days, I put it in the back of my mind, though it stayed at the forefront of my prayers, and so when a response came at the end of our CPM Board meeting via Facebook messenger, I couldn’t wait to open it because I wanted our friendship to resume – neither of us initiating anything — and I just knew she would understand what I had tried to say. So, I did open it right as our board meeting ended, and got pulled into her message and away from my board members for as long as it took me to read it.
MISTAKE!
The color drained from my face as my heart fell to the ground and while it was down there, I continued to read and what I read not only verbally slapped me across my left cheek, but stomped all over my heart as if to be doing some angry dance.
Join me for my sacrifice of righteousness for this circumstance tomorrow!
Gripped in His arms,

Evinda

Nana Holds from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power! By the time you read this, I should be back home from Cabo and ready to write about the moments as well as some fears that were conquered, but that’s for next week! Let me just say thank you so much for allowing me to share this powerfully transforming series with you. I hope you will pass it on, especially to anyone you know who is having to parent their children’s child/children. Grab your coffee and come on in.

So it’s almost Christmastime and this year I didn’t start decorating until the second week of December. In years past, I’ve begun as early as the day after Thanksgiving – I had that much stuff and needed to get an early start! But I’ve received several life-changing revelations about the whole CHRISTmas season and have finally reached a very happy balance as I strive more and more to give and practice the true gifts of the season: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Anyway, Bryden went with his mother and her parents for his monthly two-night visit, and then went to see his grandmother up north, so he was gone a little over a week. While he was gone, George and I had the most fun we’ve ever had decorating the house for the season. There truly is something about having a child to experience this season with that brings out the child in us. George used to dread, and I mean dread decorating the yard, so much so that he pays someone else to do it, and only because he knows how much joy it brings me. Don’t you just love a house all lit up and festive?

At George’s insistence, we got a couple new yard decorations to add to what we already had, purchases that were motivated by the gift of Bryden. It took our guy who does it three different sessions to get them all up in a way that wouldn’t blow all the fuses! But oh, how beautiful it was. We were so excited for Bryden to come home and see the front yard! In fact, we couldn’t wait so we texted a picture to Michelle to show him!

Every tree twinkled and every section of the front yard lit up with animated deer, a bear from the North Pole, signs galore, and finally, snoopy dressed like Santa, placed in the center of the yard inviting joy and peace. I’m giggling as I remember the Facebook posts and messages I received from people who had driven by and been struck with joy by the twinkling scene playing out in our front yard.

The inside looked every bit as magical. The staircase looked ethereal with two types of garland, bows and lights. On the fireplace stood a handmade wooden pole painted with Christmas motif adorned with brass hooks to hold the little boxes with numbers that invited us to count down the days before Christmas.

I spent hours and hours and I don’t think I have enjoyed myself this much in a long, long time. As a matter of fact, I can emphatically, unequivocally say I haven’t enjoyed decorating this much since my son was little. OMG, I just got the goose bumps! Here is another example of restoring what the locust has stolen: precious times of decorating with and/or for my son as he got older and went the wrong way! Whew, that was a good one.

Anyway, we couldn’t wait for Bryden to come home. I will never, ever forget the reward of it all that came bursting from his little heart out to me when he saw it all: “Nana, you did this all for me?”

Oh, the joy of transformation . . .

Evinda

Wednesday’s Word from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Is it really already Wednesday? Grab your coffee and come on in for our Wednesday’s Word!

It seems as though the revelations are coming at me almost as quickly as time is flying by. It’s like the heat has been turned up on an area of my life that I had no idea was in need of such refining. The hotter the heat, the purer the refinement! In this season of learning to unlearn many nearly innate tendencies rooted and rotted in codependency, I must confess, again, I so understand why people would rather not unpack their junk. This has been one of the most painful seasons I’ve had to endure in the journey, but the bleeding has stopped and the healer is restoring all that the locust has tried to steal from me! And, oh, what a feeling! This is what it must feel like when a baby bird learns to fly, or a caterpillar turns into a butterfly!Exhilarating! Absolutely mind boggling and freeing all at the same time!

So this thought came to me in the midst of a storm, a time where I realized that I could be taken to the ledge again and asked to jump, spiritually speaking, and trust that His plan was not to harm me. I pray that you continually experience the kind of peace that He speaks about in His word:

Peace that transcends all understanding is contentment in uncertainty!

Oh that we would be content in uncertainty, certain of our Father’s love.

Have a beautiful day

Love,

Evinda

Nana Holds from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for returning for more of Nana Holds. Thanks to a couple of you, I had a major breakthrough regarding yesterday’s post and I need to share it with you. I had no idea until then how a certain issue in this series was coming across and since He’s the giver of the gift of my writing, I will continue to be transparent with you in this transformation process! I so understand the propensity to keep the junk in the trunk but breaking free is a process and my hope and prayer is that what He gives me to write will encourage others in their process of breaking free, not discourage them! Grab your coffee and come on in. 

So I received some more accountability from some dear friends and I’m thankful beyond words to have them kicking my butt with a heart on their toes! My breakthrough has to do with the “bio mom” references, and someone said, I know you don’t mean to be hurtful and maybe you call her that because that’s what you called your mom for all those years, but it’s hurtful. And, no matter what, she’s Bryden’s mom.

OMG, what a revelation! That’s exactly it and I’ve been comparing her or equating her to my own biological mom who up to the last weeks of her life wasn’t a mom to me, and maybe that’s why I came across so strong! Maybe that’s why I sound more harsh than I meant to!  Yikes! Please forgive me and know, each and every one of you who read this, that I NEVER, EVER, stop praying for her and I am continually hanging out with hope, hope for her to have a brighter future and to become the mom that God created her to be and for her and Bryden to have an amazing relationship. That truly has been and continues to be my heart’s desire.

This accountability check is really beating in my heart and I need to be careful about the “ugly” picture I am painting of her with my words. That’s not my intent and I of all people understand that we do have to see the ugly to appreciate the beauty redemption brings and I will continue to share the truths of this story more sensitively. The blessed hope that we can all bask in is God is not done with her story, Bryden’s MOM’s story, and He’s not done with my story within her story! In fact, as I’ve said before, I am not the same person I was in the beginning of this story but I am being transformed because of her story! So, that being said, let’s continue with where we left off!

We left off with the beginning of new beginnings for Bryce, Jene’ and Bryden.

Sundays have become full days, and the depth that Bryce’s new girlfriend brings to the picture is unmistakable divinely added. Watching her interact with Bryden the first couple of times was like rewinding my own beginning with him. She was definitely a bit fearful and uncertain, but a lot more eager than I was. Her trepidation began to lessen with each passing Sunday.

Now looking at it from Bryden’s perspective, I want to say he sort of took to her right away, and yet, children are so

oh, to b inside that little mind!

intuitive! He was somewhat cautious in his beginning interactions as well. In addition to not being sure about her in the beginning was his struggle to vie for daddy’s attention. From the outside looking in, I recognized that right away and was able to share that with both Bryce and Jene’.

There really wasn’t a competition, though, especially considering Jene’ was very respectful of their relationship from the beginning. The first few weeks, she quietly observed and stood in the background.

I giggle as I remember their beginning. She’s such a girl. She hates to get dirty and here we all were running in the muddy grass, chasing Bryden and/or the ball or Frisbee or hiding up in the bushes playing hide-n-seek, and there was Jene’, either standing not too far off, or sitting on the picnic bench, a smile spilling onto her face as she watched us become like little children with Bryden.

By the third or fourth week, she was joining in with our fun and had even worn tennis shoes that she could get dirty! I

Father & Son

swear, they looked brand-new but she swore they were old! If I had to put words to what those first six to eight weeks were, I’d have to say that they were a time of building their friendship, getting reacquainted on more solid ground with the people that they each were becoming, new creatures in Christ. And although we all were thinking about their potential, and the gift of second chances, what we weren’t openly expressing, nor were they, was the direction that friendship was going, on to something deeper, long-lasting and life-changing.

Join me Thursday for more.

Evinda

Nana Holds from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for joining me today. I was going to put this series on hold, but a couple of signals have urged me forward. Besides, I think I like the idea of savoring the memories created in Cabo by reliving them with you next week! Grab your coffee and come on in.

So since I’ve introduced you to Jene’, I have received several pieces of what I will deem hate mail from what we now know to be one person. Whoever you are, I pray you continue to read this story of redemption, and that you will experience true redemption in your life.

Anyway, in the midst of the vile hatred and anger spewing out of this mail, I was able to pick out a couple of things that deserve an explanation. I’ve pondered and prayed about them and since I have no idea who reads this, let alone when they jump into the story, I now realize I need to explain some things a bit better. The first of which is the term “bio mom.” See, a long time ago, back somewhere in the beginning of this series, I explained that in order to protect her identity, I was going to just call her bio mom. God as my witness I wasn’t being sarcastic in any way by using that name, and only He knows the veracity and depth of my heart, which I try to share with all of you. I never have, nor will I ever, use this platform, or any other for that matter, to gossip and/or slander anyone’s reputation.

Someone said to me, “Why don’t you just call her “mom?” Well, I could, I guess, but this whole experience, as well as what I have endured in my childhood has taught me that being a mom, let alone being called a mom, is a privilege and though I don’t claim to know her heart, her actions have not warranted that privilege; and yet for the sake of healing, I’m going to now refer to her as Bry’s mother. I will never stop praying for her to come into relationship with our heavenly Father who is the only one who can take the pain from her choices and redeem it for something beautiful. For God sent his son to die for her as well, as he did for you and me.

I have to ask myself, “What if she were to read this series? Would she feel shame?” God knows that I so wouldn’t want that. She may have regrets, but that is beyond my control. What is possible for me is to promote healing. It’s no secret that I don’t get along with her; it’s also no secret that I’m trying to learn all that I can and allow Him to correct what is wrong within me, cut away all that needs to go. All the while, my prayer has been and continues to be that my transparency will lead others to truly invite Him into their own unpacking process.

It’s funny when I think about this whole writing journey, the changes that He has brought about through it all, the person I was in the beginning compared to what I am now and still to be. I remember when I was writing my first book thinking He was going to use my writing for the unbeliever! Wow, I can’t help but shake my head in awe at the reality of writing for the saints, to encourage them in the journey to a deeper, more honest relationship with Him. Yes, I know that’s why He has me writing from my heart to yours.

Join me tomorrow for more of Nana Holds

Evinda

Nana Holds-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Happy day after Christmas! I don’t know about you, but this day after Christmas, all I want to do is cuddle up on the couch and watch movies all day! After we have our little coffee break, of course! Thanks for stopping by! Grab your coffee and come on in.

So just a few weeks after Bryden’s daddy’s “promotion,” he called us to share with us that he was getting baptized and that we could come if we wanted to. They were conducting the baptisms at a beach almost two hours away. (For the life of me, I can’t remember the name of the beach!%^&*()_) )

I smiled from the inside out as reality permeated from my mind to my soul. The transformation was continuing and this public confession was going to be like none I had ever seen before. A baptism in the ocean!

Bryce Baptized!

Bryden was visiting his grandparents on his mother’s side so we didn’t have him with us that weekend, which is probably a good thing because I don’t know that he would have been able to handle his daddy going way out there with the crashing waves and then being pushed down under! Oh, but we did, with joy and thankful hearts. The four and a half hour drive for that one hour was definitely worth it. It’s what parents do; it’s what the Bride of Christ does, comes alongside and cheers, supports and encourages steps that bring one closer to Christ Himself.

The next couple of weeks held some more poignant moments that worked like softener on my heart which unbeknownst to me was a bit hard when it comes to loving and being loved uninhibitedly. Bryden was enjoying going to church and being with others close to his age. An added bonus was Donald and Suzanne began going to our church so he got to be with his little playmates on Sunday mornings, too. These things all added up to give him a sense of “normal.” The seeds of the things of God began to plant in his little heart as well and we continued to water them with nighttime prayers which he began to repeat almost word for word after only a few weeks. Sweet little sponge!

Flowers from Bryden

Sundays after church we would go out to breakfast down the street. Boy does that little guy love pancakes, especially with lots of syrup! But one Sunday, on our way back to the truck, Bryden suddenly became preoccupied with something. I turned to see Papa stopped, watching him as he bent over and yanked with all of his might a little clump of flowers. I almost told him not to pick the pretty flowers, and then I remembered the one time he and his dad had come in from playing. Bryden had a flower and he, ever so sweetly, walked toward me with his hand outstretched holding his flower with pride and said, “Here Nana,” while his dad looked on with a rare smile.

History has a way of repeating itself, and that’s not always a bad thing, because Bryden, when he had conquered the desire of his heart, walked over to me ever so sweetly, innocently and joyfully and with his hand outstretched and a smile on his adorable little face  hesaid, “Here, Nana!” I bent down to hug him and exclaim how beautiful the flowers were, that Nana had never seen anything more beautiful! Again, I felt something in my heart move, almost like fingers molding clay . . .

Join me tomorrow for more!

Joyfully,

Evinda

The Adulterous Woman From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for joining me today for a little break at Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power. I know it’s not always easy turning distractions off, but let’s do just that for a few. Grab your coffee and come on in so we can try and put the pieces of “deceived” together in the context of the Pharisees. Something tells me we may wind up recognizing a little bit of ourselves in these accusers.

So the Pharisees accused the officers of being deceived and backed their accusation up by saying no Pharisee has ever believed in Him, and also accusing the crowd – who was full of people beginning to change their hearts and minds about The Christ – saying they were accursed for they did not know the law. Now, these definitions all talk about a straying from something, such as the law, the religious beliefs, et cetera.

So what if we give these knuckleheads the benefit of the doubt by asking ourselves, “Were they just holding to what they believed?” And let’s not get into semantics about how much they lived by the law, or didn’t, themselves. By asking that question, would that give us a different and deeper understanding into the depths of their deception? It stands to reason that because they believed certain things about whom The Christ should/would be and would not be, they expected their peers to believe the same way, and when these officers made the statement, “No man ever spoke like this Man,” that released the accusations.

I can’t help but think about all the clues they had received, and the ones they missed completely. For example, when they jumped to conclusions and insisted He couldn’t be The Christ because He was from Nazareth without doing the research to find out He was born in Bethlehem. Or questioning His birth line and not doing the geneology study to trace His birth line all the way back to David. Why weren’t they able to see that they, not the officers, were the ones that were deceived?

What about in our lives, friends who get enticed away from the church? I see it happen all the time with women who are looking for love and become deceived by love. And what about within the church, those who claim to be in Him, all about Him, and do things that are contrary to Him and/or what He would do? Some even justify with out-of-context scripture bashing. What about the atheist who declares there is no god, let alone God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Or the New-Agers who claim there are hundreds of ways to heaven and that the god is mother earth and angels are the primary savior and answer to their problems? Or the homosexual who believes homosexuality was something God detested only in the Old Testament? I can go on and on and on with examples of people who we deem to be deceived but are they deceived just because I say so? Don’t these people in these examples believe that we, the Christian, are also deceived?

What is the common denominator here, Father? Why, oh why, are so many deceived, determined to be fixed on their false foundations, pointing the finger at others, either literally or figuratively? Does deception happen simply by and through standing for what you truly believe or does it involve something else?

I can hear something echoing ever so faintly in my heart . . .

Join me tomorrow for the answer.

Evinda

The Adulterous Woman From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks for joining me today for your coffee break at Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power. I truly enjoy spending this time with you and I pray that you will be glad that you took this little break and turned everything else down or off in your life for just these few moments. I’m so sorry I didn’t show up yesterday. I just had too much on my plate, but I’m glad to be back so grab your coffee and come on in. We are going back to that first detour in the meeting with the officers, the Chief Priests and the Pharisees.

So this detour has everything to do with the word “deceived,” an accusation that the Pharisees tossed at the men who dared to speak out their wonder and curiosity. Bear with me for a moment as I check this out. I’m looking in my Hebrew and Greek concordance and there are at least nine different uses for the word! This detour may take a while. We’ll go one at a time so we can digest what may help us understand this reality of so many “believers” being deceived, as well as gain insight into the reality of why our Pharisees didn’t believe that Jesus was/is “The Christ.”

Amazing! Between the Old and New Testament, there are over 30 times that “deceived” is used, and you should see how many variations of the root word “deceive” there are! Ironically enough, the first time “deceived shows up is in Genesis – hmm, in the beginning! Just for kicks and giggles, I’m going to look up the Hebrew translation for the first time this word “deceived” shows up, and then we can compare it to the Greek translation and the verse that we are actually getting it from. This way we’ll be sure and get the right context.

Here goes: “To deride, by implication to cheat.” So that’s the first time it comes up, which is in Genesis. I just saw three lines down in the concordance the third use of this word and it’s in Deuteronomy, “that your heart would not be deceived.” I have to look it up, because this seems to be right on point. It wasn’t the officers whose hearts were deceived but the Pharisees!

Oh, this is interesting: “To open, to make roomy; usually figuratively in a mental or moral sense to be or cause to make simple or in a sinister way, delude, entice.” This is getting interesting: “to persuade, flatter, allure.” Ooh, something tells me that last one has a lot to do with our definition and a lot to do with The Adulterous Woman that we are soon to meet; I promise!

Join me tomorrow for more of this major detour!

Digging for understanding,

Evinda

The Adulterous Woman From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thank you so much for joining me today for a little coffee break at Coffee Hour! I hope you had a great weekend. I know the extra hour of sleep sure helped me, especially after an awesome event on Saturday. I am looking forward to sharing the highlights with you in a couple of weeks when this series is complete. As we get closer to the upcoming season, we will need the reminders of the things that we learned but for now, let’s get back to The Adulterous Woman! Grab your coffee and come on in.

So we just finished a little detour so let’s get back to the crowd and the pandemonium of questions and opinions after Jesus stood up and cried out professions and confessions in this huge crowd. I can just imagine the officers standing around watching and listening as their delusion of being in control crumbled every time they heard someone say, “This is the Christ.” In fact, Scripture tells us that they had a little meeting with the chief priests and Pharisees who wanted to know what in the heck was going on and why hadn’t they brought this man called Jesus to them.

I love what John 7:46 says: “The officers answered, ‘No man ever spoke like this Man!’”
So Jesus did get to them! Even these guys had hearts with a God-sized hole that only “The Christ” could fill. Unfortunately the Pharisees jumped on them like white on rice accusing them of being deceived, reminding them that no rulers or Pharisees believed in Him so they shouldn’t!
I feel another detour; in fact, there are two very important detours that relate to things staring me in the face of my life right now as I am writing this for you.

First, how does someone get so deceived? If I am honest with myself, and with you, I have to admit that I’ve asked this question of Him so many times, more than I can count, especially of people who claim to be believers of Him and in Him. How could that be? When I look at the word deceived I can’t help but think the answer lies within the word itself so I think it’s important to take time to research it. Before I do that, let’s take a quick look at the second detour, which is not nearly as long or as deep as the first. The detour is that of the peer pressure of the Pharisees upon the leaders. I mean here they were at this meeting and I can just see the fascination that moved from their hearts to their faces and then finally into their voices as they confessed that no one had ever spoken like this Man!

As I read these words that the leaders dared to speak about “this Man,” I can’t help but feel the blanket of pressure thrown upon them as soon as the words left their mouth. In fact, I bet if I were a fly on the walls inside this meeting, I’d wager that there was a moment of silence induced by shock, and you could hear a pin drop on the floor. These men that dared utter their curiosity were so overwhelmed with wonder that they didn’t even stop to think before they spoke. They didn’t take into account what others would think; they didn’t take into account the possible ramifications. They were responding to what had pierced the God-sized hole their hearts when they heard His words.

But how many of us dare to respond to that call, to that piercing of the heart, despite our circumstances, despite what others may think, even when we know others won’t agree? Even when we know there may be negative ramifications?

Oh, that we would be moved to rise to the occasion of daring to answer the call of “The Christ” and not get sucked into societal pressures.

Join me tomorrow for the other detour which is actually imperative to take before we meet The Adulterous Woman. In fact, we may feel like we know her because of this detour!

Joyfully,

Evinda


P.S. Join us today at 1:00 at www.blogtalkradio.com/Chicklit-Power for our show about breaking free from co-dependency, a viral disease indeed!