Tuesday’s Trench Lessons 4 Life

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Hello again friends! Thanks for returning for this hopefully thought-provoking topic. As I write this, I want to let you know that I am going to be speaking in generalities. It may not apply to you, but I think we can see how this may apply to many in the world we live in. Please grab your shovels and your water bottles as we climb down into the trench today.

There is a term used when a child is undernourished, and does not grow and develop properly: “Failure to Thrive.” In general, babies who fail to thrive don't receive or cannot take in, keep, or use the calories that would help them grow and gain enough weight. One of many causes that doctors have discovered cause this is lack of touch. Babies need touch to survive. It helps them grow, develop, adapt, trust, and feel secure and comforted. It decreases the probability of illnesses and promotes good health emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Touch helps babies bond to Mom, Dad, and other family members. What amazing powers touch has!

As we grow, often times the amount of touch we receive dwindles. We become big kids and think we don't need comforted when we get injured. We don't want our friends to see Mom or Dad giving us a hug either! How embarrassing! Then we hit the teenage years, with our attitudes, and looks to kill. Some days, the only time our parents want to touch us is to wring our brat necks! Many parents still show love, and still give us touch, but compared to our infant days, there is pretty much no comparison. After all, we don't fit comfortably in their laps anymore. :-)

Now we are into our adulthood. We might not see our family too often anymore. Mom might only be able to give us hugs once a year because she lives so far away. We may have had a falling out with our Dad, and no longer receive any type of touch from him at all. As an adult, we may have a significant other that we receive loving touch from. We possibly have good friends that we also receive touch from, the hugs when we greet, or when we are having a bad day, their arms around our shoulders while sitting together watching movies or sharing a laugh.  Then there are times in our lives we may not have a significant other, or might be low in the friend department. What does our physical touch look like then?

There is the handshake when meeting someone new, the occasional brush of hands when paying for something, the accidental bump on a crowded street. In some cases, the touch in our life may have turned from positive to negative, i.e., an abusive relationship or a mate that ignores our needs, sexual harassment at school or in the workplace.  With all the negativity in the world, we have been set on edge. What secret motive does that person have, or what horrible thoughts are going through their mind as they are attempting to touch us?

Think of the last time a stranger touched you. How did you feel? Now think of the last time that you touched a stranger. What caused you to do so? How was it received?  I thought that I mostly enjoyed touch. I like to be hugged. I like to shake hands. Sometimes I like an arm around my shoulder. I have become more aware of myself these past few months, and I realize that I am not as comfortable with touch as I thought. I don't feel comfortable with people walking directly behind me. I dislike when someone has their hand on my shoulder for an extended period of time. I feel unnerved when a hug continues after I have tried to pull away.

For the most part, a stranger’s touch just seems, well, strange! But what would this world be like if the touch of a stranger felt welcomed? Imagine if embraces and gentle slaps to the back or shoulder felt natural. Better yet, what would it be like to not question why someone touched you?  The peace that we would feel from everyone's healing touch would be overwhelming!

Jesus physically touched everyone He came in contact with. He healed with touch. He touched the untouchable and the unlovable. In Mark 8:22-25, we read of the blind man that was healed by Jesus' touch. Touch is so vital in this story. Lack of sight increased the blind man's sense of touch. Jesus lead him out of town with touch, healed him with touch, and comforted him with, you guessed it, touch. So this week, let us strive to be like Christ, and share positive and comforting touch.

Until next week, I love you.

~Lea

Jenn’s Journey from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Good morning, friends, here's hoping you had a nice weekend and were able to stay cool in this heat! Summer is really here, isn't it? This weekend we celebrated dads and all they do for us. I am blessed with a great dad and I am thankful for him. I know not everyone can say that, for often our earthly fathers let us down. Thank goodness we can turn to our Heavenly Father anytime!!!

A few months back I made a decision to leave a dental office I had worked in for many years. I'd seen a lot changes and some of those were not a good fit for me. This was not an easy decision as I loved my patients, many of whom had become friends. I knew I had a job waiting for me in a few months, but I had to look very carefully at my finances before taking this step.

I was a bit nervous, because even though I'd carefully considered most things in this decision, there is always the unexpected. Through prayer and talking with a few of my wise and trusted friends, I knew God was leading me to go this way.  He has blessed me in the past and I felt He'd continue doing so. He has given me the opportunity to be an almost-always stay-at-home mom, which was a dream of mine. I've been able to spend more quiet time with Him as well, and that is definitely something that money cannot buy!

My new job begins in August so I decided that I would just enjoy the summer with my daughter. Once school begins again, I'd get serious about finding more hours. In the meantime, I was called to do some temp hours for a friend, a confirmation that God was watching out for me. I have to admit that sometimes I started to feel worried…my mind filled with questions: How will I find work that allows me to still be present for V? Will I have to look further from home again? What if I can't find more hours?

Then...the other day, I was driving home from the store and I got a call. It was the office where I am to start working in August…long story short, the office manager was calling to offer me more hours! Would you believe that they are dream hours? Hours that allow me to drop my daughter off at school as well as be available to pick her up shortly after school gets out? I got chills! I knew, once again, that God has worked out an answer to prayer, and I am amazed. Why am I amazed? He's done this for me before. How quickly I forget all the good He does.

There's a verse that I was reminded of; it's found in Philippians 4:19: "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

What do you need? Is there something that you need God to do for you?  Because my “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

Until next week, be blessed,

Jenn

JEFF's JAVA HOUR - 1st Trial in Texas

Well, I’ve come to my first big trial in Texas and right now, there isn’t much I can say but there is so much that is going through my head and through my heart. Like a piece of drifting wood caught in the middle of a raging ocean, I find that right before I reach the top of every violent and towering wave, my hope of seeing land, as I tirelessly climb to the top, never gets any more visible than the hope I had at the top of the first wave, but I know someday I'll see land so I cling to hope.
I can’t tell you how I feel and why. I just know that I need Jesus. He is my hope where there is no hope. I’m not quite ready to share what’s causing me to feel this way. All I can tell myself is that He said that He makes springs in the wastelands; He made everything out of nothing. [Isaiah 43:19]And honestly, that is what I have turned my life into… nothing. Oh, how I relate to that saying, “if only I knew then what I know now.” I surely would turn my life into gold with choices that propelled me into God’s pleasing and perfect will instead of making choices that scratched just the surface of deep emotional itches.
But you know what? Who would I be today if I hadn’t gone through the consequences of those choices and where they took me? Would I be able to really see the beauty of light if I hadn’t spent so long in the dark? Would I really be able to cry when joy overwhelmed me if I had never felt such deep sorrow? Would I really know God passionately if I never had to seek Him with all of my heart on my knees crying out in desperation, “God I can’t do this anymore I need you to save me, to show me, to comfort me, or at least to give me the strength I need to keep going!”? Would any of us know anything if we didn’t feel compelled to ask Him, “Why?”
Ohhh but it is such a rich beauty because with the deep purples of despair, and the bright reds of anger and hatred, a brilliant orange mixes with a living yellow, blue and pink to show that something new and exciting is on the horizon. Yes, trials are and can be something that gives life and life so colorfully, abundantly, and beautifully.
God, who am I that you are mindful of me? [Psalm 8:4] Haven’t you seen what I have done? Don’t you know who I am? My thoughts are shameful and my heart is deceitful, God? I know that you say that You forgive unconditionally but it is so hard for me to believe that. I am unworthy to even speak Your name but You have given me breath in my lungs and Your name is on my lips. You are my master, God; teach me; discipline me. Wrap me up in your arms and love me like a father loves his son and never let me go. I desire to be obedient to you, God, as you desire obedience from me. I want to do your will and not just hear your will and I long to know your will in my heart. Teach me how to trust you and what that word even means. I love you, God. Please don’t let me stray from you.

Jeff

CREATE IN ME A PURE HEART, OH, GOD

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, Oh, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

So the hottest month is upon us, the last month of summer; and before we know it, my favorite season will be here, fall! Before it does, grab your coffee or whatever you’re drinking and come on in for our August WOW, Words of Wisdom and Weapons of Warfare.
I’m so excited to share this one with you! I feel like a proud teacher, or a big sister sitting on the sidelines of life watching her little sister transform from the inside out, getting more and more beautiful every day! She’s a wife and a mommy. I met her more than a year ago through another friend of CPM. She has been in our trench classes and I have so enjoyed working with her and watching her journey. Her transparency and her teachable heart have been a huge inspiration to me in this trench class journey. She’s not afraid to ask questions … because she wants answers. She longs to get this whole marriage and parenting thing right for she knows in her soul that these are the two most important jobs she will ever do here on earth. I’d like to introduce you to Erica Bauchert. Enjoy this true story and the lessons she learned and who God used to teach her!
"I would like to share a story with all of you, especially for those of you who, like me, sometimes feel like Jesus has forgotten about us. This happened about 2 weeks ago
"So my son Andrew -- he is soon to be six years old -- was having bad nightmares. He started being afraid of the dark, being alone and he completely freaked out every day at sundown. He never, ever had shown this kind of behavior in the past. The nightmares went on for about ten days.
"We tried different things to help out, like putting him in our bed to sleep, and on a crib mattress on our bedroom floor. Nothing seemed to help. Every night he would wake up crying and scared. He would ask me to pray with him to help him go back to sleep. After so many nights of this, my husband and I were growing concerned as we didn't know if this was a phase or something more serious. Why is this happening? After all, we pray every night before bed and we have peaceful evening routines?
"Anyway on day ten, Andrew and I went shopping for a special bedtime plush toy. We wrote down a special prayer (I wrote it but it was Andrew's prayer) and stuffed it in the new toy. The idea was that if he woke up in the middle of the night, he could hug his toy as tight as he could and think about his prayer and hope that would help him sleep better.
"Well that night, Andrew prayed so beautifully. He asked Jesus to come into his heart and to give him peace and take away all the scary things because he already knows where Jesus is, there is always peace. I came so close to crying as I listened. I also prayed but I was feeling like God was not listening. I had been praying for ten days and I was losing faith.
"That night I couldn't sleep. In fact, I was awake all night; I was not sleepy for whatever reason. At around 4:00 a.m., I sat up and I saw Andrew moving around. I just knew he was about to wake up again. He them mumbled some words that I couldn't understand. I was in no way prepared for what I saw right after that: He raised his hand with his fingers wide open and as he hit the wall, he said very clearly "High-five!"
"I just giggled and lay my head down. I was grateful that he was having a good dream. Needless to say, he slept peacefully thru the night. When he woke up – not until 10:00 a.m. -- he came to me and said, "Mom, guess what?"
"I said, "What happened?"
"He said with this childlike joy in his voice, "I had a beautiful dream, Mom; I was with Jesus. We were playing together and, Mom, he high-fived me.” He said, “I don't need to be scared"
I let myself cry and felt this overwhelming slush pile of feelings: I was grateful; I was relieved; but I was also ashamed. See, I had been praying with anger and not with a pure heart. I was challenging God to show me He was there. But my son's prayer was pure and genuine. He wasn't challenging; he was surrendering himself to Jesus, and his prayers were answered.
"It might not seem like much to some of you but to me, I was up all night for a reason. Jesus wanted me to witness Him high-fiving my son in his dream so I could understand that He is everywhere and in everyone who seeks Him with a pure heart. He had not forsaken me; it was me who was not seeking Him in the right way.
I hope this story brings some light into the darkness we sometimes feel. Love you all!


Erica

Have you ever hit a wall . . . and not know what to do? Join us for an answer!

Happy Monday Manna,
Even though another hectic Monday awaits you, I pray that God will meet you wherever you are. He’s bigger than any chaotic schedule, or problem that you will encounter this week. He’s on your side! I hope you enjoy!
Most Saturday mornings in the Castro household consist of caching up on caloric deficiencies that take place throughout the chaotic work week and Kay makes the BEST Ezekiel Bread French toast on the face of the planet, so that’s my excuse to over indulge. Normally after breakfast we get into the Word and pray together, but this last Saturday was different.
I woke up early, around 6:00AM, and called my running buddy Eddie Lopez to see if he would be interested in running a trail in Highland. He agreed and we rendezvoused at the trailhead at approximately 9:00AM, which gave me enough time to grab a quick bite to eat and stretch before the monster run. Eddie is one of my best friends and his testimony is a great one. We got into the Word together, prayed for safety, and then began our ascent up the mountain.
We brought half of a gallon of water and a grapefruit that Eddie found in the groves close to the trail head. Eddie and I both knew that we should pack more water, but as you know, the more you pack the more you expend so we decided to opt for the minimalist approach. The first five miles hurt pretty badly since the grade was so steep and the temperatures were already creeping up to 90 degrees. This specific trail doesn’t provide much shade from tree coverage and although the trail is well maintained, the inclines really began getting to me.
We dropped off the water half way up the mountain to conserve energy and then Eddie and I finally had enough air in our lungs to thank God for such a beautiful day. As we were running, we could see the peak of Big Bear and the ominous series of switchbacks that lead to the peak; we were approximately nine miles in. We decided it might be a good idea to head back since we had no water and the temperatures were rising to 100 degrees.
As we began our descent, I remember feeling depleted and then…I hit a wall. I began cramping and I knew that my core body temp was too high since I felt myself getting the chills and I began to shiver. I continued on as far as I could, but then I really began to struggle.
As I was running, pieces of Psalm 22 suddenly popped into my head “I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me. My strength is like a potsherd, and my tongue clings to my jaw; You have brought me to the dust of the earth” (Psalms 22:14).
And just then I pictured Jesus Christ on the cross. The amount of pain I was experiencing was not even a small fraction of the pain that He endured…for you and me. I actually imagined a melting heart. I was delirious from heat exhaustion, but nonetheless, I gained stronger understanding.
I stopped and laid under a small tree to bring down my core temp. I remember praying for God to remove my pain. Eddie ran down the mountain to retrieve the remaining water and his grapefruit. What an awesome friend, right!? I asked myself, what was so much different about this run that the others we had done? I then realized that I hadn’t hydrated nearly enough 48 hours prior to this run and my electrolyte levels weren’t monitored before beginning to run.
Eddie arrived with the water and we shared the grapefruit. I instantly felt my electrolyte levels equalize and I felt re-energized. As we ran down the mountain we passed an old wooden cross that overlooked the whole valley area. It was a reminder of God’s provision and love for me. I’m learning that Jesus Christ reveals himself more and more to us, even through times of agony and desolation. He has His name on us and He will continue to reveal Himself to us as we eagerly seek him. Have a great week and stay hydrated! God Bless!
In His Love,

Garrett Castro

Wednesday’s Word from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and to our Wednesday’s Word. Grab your coffee and come on in.

Humility longs to be my companion, showing up in all that I am learning on the road to recovery from co-dependency. I realize that the more I learn, the less I know. This realization is what works humility into the canvass of my life, into my DNA.

I am experiencing this truth: He uses marriage as one of His biggest tools to take out what needs to go; and He uses it as one of the primary effervescent colors to add in what it takes to paint me more Christ-like. Sometimes the cutting and painting process has been so excruciating and overwhelming, wrought with emotional pain too difficult to describe with words. But then, oh, what a feeling: Indescribably freeing!

One of the most deceptive and quiet ways of co-dependency is focusing on others faults and shortcomings, especially our spouse’s. What I am learning through Steve and our time on Blog Talk Radio is priceless. Both are working like a small but powerful flashlight, exposing the deepest of my co-dependent tendencies, and now that this truth has become unveiled to me, exposed to my mind and illuminated in my heart, it must change; I must change. What a process!

That is where this power thought comes from and if it does for you even a fraction of what it’s done for me, you will experience the joy that comes after the change.

Respect Jesus style is letting someone be who they are!

Oh, to let others be who they are and love them right where they are!

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

Faith-Filled Fridays From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and thanks so much for joining me for this Faith-Filled Friday series.

Before we go to and through the Hall of Faith, there’s one more fact I’d like to share about faith, one that has actually revolutionized my portion of faith, breathing new life into it. This fact is based upon the scripture found in Matthew 17. Jesus has just healed a demon-possessed boy, the one that the disciples could not cure. The disciples asked Him in private – paraphrasing – so how come we couldn’t do what you just did, and Jesus’ response is: If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

I know, that sounds a little faithless when we actually contemplate moving a mountain, huh? Well, the actual diamond lies hidden in the “mustard seed.” See, Jesus wasn’t just referring to the “amount” of faith needed, although that is important as well because a mustard seed is barely a grain of pepper. No, what is tucked behind the word is its meaning. See, a mustard seed is the only seed that cannot be cross-pollinated; therefore it is pure.

Jesus was referring the purity of our faith! Are you walking with the Purifier of your faith?

Have a great weekend,

Evinda

Love Thoughts to Ponder-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks for joining me today for some thoughts to ponder about love. Grab your coffee and come on in!

So I left off with a tough question and I’d like to transparently answer it: It takes a giant leap and a tiny seed of faith. See, 1st John 4:12 reminds us that no one has seen God at any time, but if we love one another, God abides in us. I’ll be the first to admit that we can’t love one another without that true love!

The first step to receiving that “true” love is by confessing Christ as our Savior. His Word tells us that when we do that, He comes into our heart, “He,” meaning His Spirit abides in us. But what if it’s stuck somewhere between your head and your heart? I have felt like that so much of my life and that feeling multiplies a hundred times when I’m feeling as though I’m in a rut.

What to do? One of the things I enjoy doing is journaling the journey, which I do every morning. What I journal is the events of the day before. I sort of rewind the film, reflecting on it, which means I have to be still. It is then that I am able to pull out some nuggets of recognition that sparkle with truth that He hovered over my day, protecting me, providing for me. As I reflect, I realize that many times I’ve missed His whispers of love and fingerprints of provision and protection because I’m not staying in the moments! It is then that faith sparks the embers of love, moving them from that in-between place and directly into my heart.

Reading His love letters is another way to keep His love moving from your head to your heart but always, before you do, invite him into the reading! Ask Him for understanding, and when you ask, be prepared to receive as the Scriptures come alive for you. Put your name in what you read and it has to come to life for you!

Let me give you an example found in 1st John 4, beginning with verse 7: Beloved (your name), let us love one another, for love  is of God and _________ who loves is born of God and knows God. He/she who does not love does not know God – STOP! That word “know” translates to “experience with your inner being,” which means in your heart! – for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested (poured out) toward ________, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that ________ might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God (first) but that He loved _________ and sent His Son to be the propitiation (payment) for our sins. ____________ if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

There are sooooo many diamonds in that passage that I could pull out that would have your heart sparkling crystal clean and ready to receive the “True” love, but I’ve kept you long enough and hopefully, His Spirit has assured you of His love for you!

In love with Him and His ways,

Evinda

Love Thoughts to Ponder-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thank you for joining me for a little coffee break today. I don’t know about you, but little breaks throughout the day go a long way in keeping me going. Since it’s the week of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d bring some thoughts of love to ponder, thoughts that I have as a result of a passage of scripture I was reading just last week. Grab your coffee and come on in.

So what is “true” love, anyway? I remember when I was younger, when there was many more pieces of junk in my trunk than there are now, chasing it as if it were a butterfly never to be captured…. That is until I ran smack into Jesus by coming to the end of myself. What I mean is He met me where I collapsed and as a matter of fact, it was in my season of singleness! Since then, we’ve unpacked an awful lot of junk, junk that interfered with me truly receiving, let alone honestly giving, that thing called love.

Ever so patiently, He began to show me love in ways that I would understand it and as I become less ensnared by the effects of my past, His love no longer feels elusive, un-imaginable or too hard to comprehend. That’s not to say I’ve arrived when it comes to this powerful force of love, but I feel as though I am getting closer to discovering its depth, purity and honesty that I may bask in it instead of continue to run from it.

See, love is not a feeling, but a choice. True love is not something that gives you butterflies in your stomach, and it is not something that we can actually chase, possess and hold captive. Love is also something we can’t give or even receive on our own.

Now I don’t mean to confuse you, so let me try to clear it up for you with a couple of passages I was reading as I was working in my Becoming a Woman of Freedom Book. This first passage is actually the World’s best kept secret about love:

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him/her, and he/she in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him/her.

But what if you don’t believe or you just can’t grasp this concept?

Join me Wednesday and I’ll try and answer that transparently!

In His Love,

Evinda


P.S. Join us today at 1:00 PST for our Blog Talk Radio Breaking Free from Co-dependency!

Super Glue for Christians-January WOW-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for joining me for a little break at Coffee Hour. Grab your coffee and let’s get back to our Words of Wisdom and Weapons of Warfare! His Word really does WOW us, huh!

Let’s break it down and find those diamonds. For those of us who have our “fire insurance” and know where we will be going when this life is over, it’s easy to understand that we can’t be separated from Him in death, or even in the terrors of death, and of course, if we’ve made that confession, then He is with us in this life as well, but read it like this: For I am persuaded that neither death nor life will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I wondered why “life” was included in this verse, and after a bit of digging, its anything that happens in this life, sorrow, pain, trials, tribulations. It also is in there to imply the “comforts of life” as well! I love that!

Now, let’s look at the next section: angels, principalities nor powers. Honestly, I’ve always thought that principalities referred to demon-like principalities, but in looking this up in the concordance – by the way, this word is in the Old Testament only one time, in Jeremiah – this principalities refers to any head of something, headship. That’s not to say that there are not demonic headships but my mind wandered to our political situation, and I’m not going to go there with you except to say that even the things that the government is doing and laws that they are enacting now and will enact in the future cannot separate us from His love. I don’t know about you, but that encourages my soul. Sometimes, I can almost feel the fast pace in which we are moving towards the end and our final destination, and though I know who wins in the end, it’s still disturbing. These words are like super glue to my soul, stopping the peace from flowing out and sealing my heart in faith.

This is reiterated in “nor things present or things to come.” And I love that height and depth are included. That’s the heights of prosperity and/or the depths of adversity and disgrace!

“Nor any other created thing” shall be able to cut our love off to God nor His to us. The only thing that separates us from that love is sin. Now I can hear you say I just threw a dust bomb on you and made this all muddy, but let me clear it up quick: When we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sin. So when you become aware of your sin, you are now accountable to confess it so He can remove it and let His love flow! God loves us through Jesus, our mediator, the one between you, me and God.

Yes, I am convinced that we are going to be okay because NOTHING can separate us from the greatest love ever known, the love of Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God. As we begin a new year, let’s cling to these words, but not only cling to them, let’s memorize them and then call upon them when something threatens to undo us.

Convinced,

Evinda

Super Glue for Christians-January WOW-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and to our first WOW (weapons of warfare and words of wisdom) for 2013. I’m so glad you could take the time to stop by for a little coffee break. Grab your coffee and come on in.

I don’t think these words have ever resonated in my heart like they do now in this world we live in, a world moving faster and faster toward the things spoken about in the book of Revelations. Each time I hear about the political catastrophes, the world-wide tragedies, the horrific morally-debased things taking place right in our backyards, I am gripped with fear, almost as if I am momentarily paralyzed, but only for a moment because I know that I know that I know who is going to win in the end.

I think that’s why these two verses have become like Super Glue in my strand of faith, holding me together when life tries to tear me apart, or when I make the wrong choice, or someone I love dearly hurts me, or when I lose someone I love, even if temporarily, or the news announces something else the president is doing that contradicts the Word of God. I mean the list can go on and on.

Let’s face it, and I don’t mean to be a bummer, but we are living in a society that is spinning further and further away from spiritual morality. Which is why we need these weapons of warfare, these words of wisdom; otherwise, we are going to wind up spinning with the rest of the world.

The issue with these two verses is you have to own them; and you can only do that by getting to know the one who will never leave us or forsake us. When I was a new believer, I don’t think I could have owned these words, honestly, but that was years ago, many layers ago and I’m so glad I stayed in the process, allowing Him to tie those knots in my string of faith, tying me to Him in a way that I never want to undo. Yes, it’s a process to get to the point of no turning back, to be able to say with all sincerity: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord!”

I know that I know that you and I can take that promise to the bank! Join me tomorrow for a couple of diamonds within our WOW.

Persuaded,

Evinda

Beyond Christmas – From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Merry, Merry Christmas to you and all your family and those you hold dear. I just have one thought to share with you today, the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Grab your coffee and come on in.

I was sharing with a close friend and fellow board member of CPM the other day about some things that may be transpiring with the ministry and out of my mouth this flowed so I thought I’d share it with you. I hope it tugs on your heart and helps to refresh your faith as it has mine.

You may not see what He’s doing or how He’s working in your life, you may even be wondering if He hears you. If so, this truth is for you:

He’s up there wrapping presents that you and I can’t see!

Have yourself a beautiful Christmas and may His presence in your life be your best present ever!

Evinda

Nana Holds-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and thanks so very much for joining me, especially in the busiest season of the year! Grab your coffee and come back in for more of Nana Holds! I may keep you just a few minutes longer today so we can get through an incredibly important point, so make yourself comfy. I’m trusting that it will be worth your time!

A couple of blogs ago, I left off with a question about who was more blessed, the one who struggled less and had more, or the one who struggled more and had less? Well, I’d like to take this blog to answer that, which means I’ll be somewhat fast-forwarding to where we are emotionally and spiritually today, but it took several months to get here and I’m so glad I didn’t give up! See, in those first few months, I was still struggling with all the sacrificing and questioned why I had to go through all of this, why I had to give up my life as I had known it, my weekends and I didn’t feel very blessed. And although I was making the necessary changes, and sacrifices, my heart wasn’t quite in it all the way. All that has changed and I don’t want to give too much away but let me just share a couple of those life-changing revelations that have helped me to jump in with my whole heart!

When I was preparing for our November event titled “Living Outside Your Circumstance,” I realized then that He was allowing this and as long as I allowed Him to even with just a little piece of my heart, He would use it for something incredible. He showed me through a verse in John that the answer to living outside this circumstance, and any circumstance is actually within; that in order to get through it, and rise above it, we must acquire an eternal perspective to rise above our external circumstance. This is the verse: These things I have spoken to you; that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you WILL have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!

Well, the word tribulation got my attention and I was off and running to my Greek and Hebrew concordance and wow, what a treasure! Tribulation translates to “thlipsis” in Greek and primarily means “a pressing, pressure, anything which burdens the spirit and is often accompanied by anguish.” Hang on with me here because this gets better. So the root word for tribulation is actually a sort of sifting machine, a machine that goes and sifts the bad from the good by applying pressure!
There it is; the 10-karat diamond that sparkles with truth that shows us that circumstances/tribulations can work for our eternal good by sifting out the bad, separating it from the good, if we let them! Remember when I admitted that I saw myself as a not-so-kid-friendly Nana when this blog started? Well, I now know that He doesn’t want me to keep this perception, and through this circumstance and season, He’s going to separate the bad from the good and I will be transformed in the process to be more like Him, closer in His image.

Yes, most definitely, this circumstance, this tribulation has been working like a high-pressure sifting machine, cutting away the bad in me, unleashing me from a bondage I had no idea I was trapped in thereby bringing to surface the good. What’s telling about this is oftentimes, as soon as hardship comes our way, we automatically conclude, this couldn’t be from Him, and we begin to squirm and wiggle our way out, or scream our discontent and questions, shaking a finger at Him while hardening our heart.

When we ask why to a circumstance — and it’s okay to question, by the way — Jesus would have us remember that in a very real sense, Satan is temporarily in charge of this world and exercising squatter’s rights, and we all know that squatters don’t get to stay! Though it may look like the enemy is winning, GOD is the only one who can take the ugly pain, hurt, sorrow and any other side effect of our circumstance and turn it into something amazing.

In the meantime, don’t blame God for all the circumstances that you perceive to be wrong in your life; instead, look for an eternal good for your external circumstance, because when you take the X out of external, what do you have? So when I ask myself that question now, I can definitely look up and say, I am incredibly blessed for all I have gone through for He has used every bit of it to entwine my heart with His and I am humbled to know and realize just how much planning He has had to do on my behalf to get me where I am with Him and take me where I’m going, on my way to eternity!

I’d better let you go for now. Please join me on Monday for more of this journey of some of God’s most incredible sovereign multi-tasking skills ever displayed in my life.

Joyfully,

Evinda

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Nana Holds-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to our Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power. I’m so glad you could come by and take a break with me. Grab your coffee and come on in.

As I look back on that first week of being Mama/Nana, it was definitely one of those footprint times when I know the Author and Finisher of our Faith carried George and me, and all of our pain, sorrow and frustration. There’s no need to go into all the gory details and run the risk of glorifying the evil one but what I would like to do is highlight some of the beautiful moments that shone through more brilliantly than all the pain and sorrow. They are moments that bring so many of the promises of God to life within our home and definitely deeply into this circumstance.

And in the midst of living in those moments, there were lessons learned along the way, again, lessons that bring to life the Holy Spirit inspired Word of God, promises that have led us through the most painful part of this circumstance to victory in many areas of our lives. See, He has warned us that we will have tribulations in this world, but He has already overcome them. I don’t know why I am always so surprised by His creativity, His sovereignty that accomplishes so much with one circumstance, but I am and I continue to be awestruck, captured by His characteristics in a way that ties so many knots in my string of faith along the way that I, by His grace, shall never come unraveled in my faith. I may have trouble finding my joy sometimes, and there may be days where I have to stir really hard to bring it up to the surface that it may come out and splash others, but I know too much to go back and too much of HIS Word, too many of HIS promises have come to fruition in my own life for me to unravel!

In the midst of the pain, sorrow, frustration and confusion, I was preparing for our holiday event “Living outside Your Circumstances.” Wow, did He ever prepare me that I may comfort others with the comfort I’ve been given. And in my research, I found some diamonds, big diamonds, Girls! I think they will sparkle so beautifully in any circumstance you may be going through and I’m excited to share them with you. The first diamond I discovered is within the word tribulation and I have to tell you as I dug for a deeper understanding, it became so much easier to keep an eternal perspective in our current circumstance, aka, tribulation.

Tribulation translates to “thlipsis” in Greek and primarily means “a pressing, pressure, anything which burdens the spirit and is often accompanied by anguish.” Hang on with me here because this gets better. So the root word for tribulation is actually a sort of sifting machine, a machine that goes and sifts the bad from the good by applying pressure!

There it is; the 10-karat diamond that sparkles with truth that shows us that circumstances/tribulations can work for our eternal good by sifting out the bad, separating it from the good, if we let them!
Please join me tomorrow for the beginning of the highlights of the moments that nearly took our breath away and etched in our hearts their revelations and lessons.

Marveling at His handiwork,

Evinda

Nana Holds From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour and thanks so much for having coffee with me! Grab your coffee and come on in for more of this transparent series, Nana Holds! We have just a few hours before Bryden gets home and finds out his daddy won’t be coming home.

I think I understand what the term “auto pilot” means now because that’s what it felt like for the rest of the day. I did what I had to do and didn’t even remember doing it. It was like my body was there, but my mind and heart were looking up and waiting for the next instruction.

The funny thing is, through a series of silent instructions, more of the pieces of the painful puzzle of my step-son’s life appeared in the picture, bringing clarity which brought understanding. And though the pain was intense, especially for my husband, understanding went a long way in soothing it.
And while I did look for some eternal value immediately, I must confess I wasn’t happy. In fact, the more reality settled into my head about all the sacrificing required for this situation, the more I resembled Bryden in one of his fits, on my back, kicking and screaming. Oh, was I ever unlearned with it comes to not acting out of control despite my world feeling out of control!

Daddy Holds!

George came home and my heart broke for him. Not only was he in extreme emotional pain, but he was in a tremendous amount of physical pain as well. Stress has a way of doing that, pinching nerves, and manifesting itself in all kinds of hideous ways and by the time he had come home, he could barely move his head to the left because of a pinched nerve!

We had talked several times throughout the day, so he was aware of the many answers to the many unasked questions, but honestly, he was aging before my eyes. I tried to comfort him as best as I could, reminding him that God definitely had intervened in our son’s life, and the only way to go from this point was up, if he chose to do so. I felt in my gut then, and still do now, that God was going to use this tragedy for Bryce’s triumph in a way that only He could.


My hubby wasn’t able to see that right away though, or maybe he could, but it wasn’t at the forefront of his thoughts. No, his heart ached, longing to pull his son out of the murky waters he had put himself in and protect him from the ramifications from his own choices. Oh, did I ever feel his pain and I so wished I could take it  from him, but I have been through this before and I understand that while it is incredibly painful, that this is/was something we were going to have to walk through together and I was truly thankful he didn’t have to go through it alone.

Shortly after George came home, Suzanne brought Bryden home. It’s a blur, exactly what we did first, but I think we just played with him for a little while before dinner. I think I was still sort of on auto pilot. It wasn’t until we were sitting down for dinner that the question finally came, the one I had been anticipating and trying not to dread . . .

Join me tomorrow for more.

Evinda

Am I A Stone Thrower-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for joining me today for a little break at Coffee Hour! This is our final WOW, Words of Wisdom and Weapons of Warfare for 2012. My eyes are watering as I write this! Where did the year go? It’s almost time for me to reflect on it all with Him and make goals to press on in the journey that I may be more like Him in my words and actions. Oops, enough about me! Grab your coffee and come on in.

This month’s WOW comes from a series I’ve just wrapped up called The Adulterous Woman and our Words of Wisdom come from John 8:7b. Before I get to the actual WOW, allow me to share a truth within the Word which is singing in my heart and ringing in my ears right now. As I reflect on it, I must confess that it has proven to be true over and over in my life.

Have you ever heard of the scripture that says that the Word is sharper than a two-edged sword? Well, let me tell you these words found in our WOW aim straight to the heart and have the power to explode like the most beautiful array of fireworks you have ever seen. And while the sparks may take years to settle down, they will be leaving an impression that will never leave your mind or your heart. See, a two-edged sword is double the power, cutting in while cutting away!

I can’t help but think of several friends who have some different theological beliefs when it comes to Jesus and how to get to heaven and obviously their beliefs are a mixture of their own life’s experiences as well as others’ opinions which helped formed their own. My heart longs to show and share so many scriptures with them, and yet, the best way to do that is to share how they have come alive in my life, cutting into my heart while cutting away the lies I’ve bought into. That’s when you feel as though you could really tie some super-strong knots in your string of faith!

In our society, we tend to judge a book by its cover or point fingers at others’ indiscretions, lifestyles and/or shortcomings, and basically seduce others with our prideful opinions. In the short story of the adulterous woman found in the book of John, Jesus gives us one of the most powerful and shortest lessons about this very subject to the thousands gathered in the Temple. The Pharisees brought this woman straight to Jesus during the Feast to see how He would punish her.

The crowd watched and waited for Jesus to speak, and I’m sure some even held their breath in anticipation, but what happened next was nothing that they expected. I so wish I could have been a fly on the wall or been in the pocket of one of those Pharisees or religious leaders to see their expression at Jesus’ response to their accusations.

Jesus didn’t say anything at first. Instead, in response to their angry and accusatory words, Jesus simply bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger, almost as if He didn’t even hear them, or maybe He was just tuning them out. I can’t help but wonder what He was writing, but let’s stay in the WOW.

When they continued asking Him, He acknowledged them by standing, ever so slowly. He then looked out to the crowd and spoke confidently the shortest lesson ever taught. Here are the fifteen words that definitely act as a two-edged sword: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

We don’t need to know the beginning or the ending of that true story to get what Jesus said to those gathered at the Temple. His message was pointedly clear then and its powerful meaning has not decreased or changed. His message wasn’t limited to those gathered there that day in the Temple, or just for the people of that generation. No, that is why these Words of Wisdom made it into the Bible, for these words have the power to keep the stone out of our hand and prevent our hearts from turning to stone that we may not be stone-throwers but grace-givers.

Not without sin,

Evinda

Happy Thanksgiving From the Adulterous Woman @ Chicklit Power

Oh, what a beautiful day to say thank you for stopping by! Happy Thanksgiving! I truly am thankful there is you to share coffee hour with! Let’s get back to this discussion of adultery and idolatry, which we are about to wrap up so we can finally meet this adulterous woman!

So that last definition we talked about, immorality, aka, sins of the flesh, are associated and are traced to lack of the acknowledgment of God” is a real eye opener, and something that begs the benefit of the doubt before we meet this adulterous woman. Could it be she had never come face to face with her need for a savior? Until this meeting.

Let’s look at the last definition for idolatry. Oh, my, this one will tickle your skin all over for sure: An idolater is a slave to the depraved (morally corrupt) ideas his/her idol or idols represent!”

So metaphorically speaking, then, any form of addiction is adultery because that something which one is addicted to has become an idol and therefore has led the adulterer away to idolatry. Wow, you can put anything in that underlined space to make the connection between you and the adulterous woman! I don’t know about you, but suddenly as I get ready to meet her, I am off of my pedestal and standing eye level, waiting to greet her as Jesus did!

Humbly,

Evinda

The Adulterous Woman-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for joining me today for Coffee Hour and more of The Adulterous Woman! Grab your coffee and let’s get back to the conversation about idolatry and adultery!

Before we meet her, we need to do a bit more ground work. It is so very important that we understand the definitions for “adultery” so when we do meet her, we may be able to respond to her just as Jesus did, with a grace that surpasses all understanding and brings home to the heart the reality of the necessity of our need of a Savior.

Because of its depth, I am going to the Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. OMG, I’m so very glad I did. Wait until you hear this. The Greek definition says adultery is: Metaphorically used of those who are, by a Jezebel’s solicitations, drawn away to idolatry.”
There it is; adultery is idolatry, so it’s not just the literal definition of unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another! Oh, can’t you just see yourself in this meeting that’s about to take place? Can you honestly say that you have never felt the pull of something or from another pulling on your conscious thoughts to a place you shouldn’t have gone, to do something you know you shouldn’t do? I know I have! Maybe I’m not so above this adulterous woman.

But let me dig a little deeper for clarity and let’s look at the definitions for idolatry: In addition to being things offered to idols, idolatry is “The sin of the mind against God, and immorality, sins of the flesh, are associated and are traced to lack of the acknowledgment of God and of gratitude to Him.”


Now I feel like I know this woman we’re about to meet, as if we share so many things in common. The only difference between her adultery and mine is hers was committed against and with the physical while my adulterous actions have been dangerously more subtle, acts that have silently and spiritually pulled me further and further from the safety and sanctity of the love of Christ and His position of “first” in my heart and life.

Pondering true adultery,

Evinda

The Adulterous Woman-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks for stopping by for a little break today at Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power. Grab your coffee and come on in. We’re in the crowd of people surrounding Jesus in the Temple and He was teaching and then the Pharisees and scribes entered with someone. Grab your coffee and let’s go get comfy.

Who is it that they are practically dragging in with them? Could this be her, the adulterous woman we’ve been waiting to see? As she gets closer and closer, it is hard to see her, what she looks like because her head is looking down. They are heading straight for Jesus, looking straight at him, only daring to look out into the crowd once before they stop right in front of Him.

Wow, these men that brought her in are pretty arrogant, treating her as though she’s an extremely dangerous and sought-after criminal and they should get the reward. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they are wearing an innate mask of smugness.

Let’s get closer so we can hear what they are saying.
Oh, would you just look at them all look around before they begin to address Jesus! Talk about prideful! Ugh. You can just see it oozing out of their pores as they speak. “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.”

Let’s stop there for a second. Now, this is just an Evinda-ism, but I can’t help but wonder if they really caught her or just saw her and knew of her reputation and used her to advance their scheme of tricking and thereafter arresting Jesus. That’s just a thought! Let’s get back to what they are saying.
“Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
Scripture says thereafter that they said this to test Jesus that they might have something of which to accuse Him, which is why I wondered what I did.

Before we get to one of the most acclaimed responses of Jesus, let’s talk about this woman for a bit. Though she remains nameless in the Word of God, she is such a pivotal example of the reality of The Gospel, the necessity of the reality of the need for a Savior. And though she remains anonymous in Scripture, she is someone we can all relate to, someone we must relate with if we dare to let go of shame, one of Satan’s most powerful ropes that hold us in bondage, an unseen bondage that pulls us away from abundant life.

Now you may be saying to yourself, I can’t relate to this woman; I’ve never committed adultery. Well, I’m so glad you brought that up, and we will definitely dig a bit deeper into this tomorrow, but for now let me leave you with this truth: Idolatry is a form of adultery!

Being freed from adultery,

Evinda