Embracing Waves of Change

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thanks for joining us for our Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power. Oh, my goodness there’s all kinds of changes happening within our ministry; some have been painfully challenging and some have been seemingly easy…but change I know is for our good and His glory. Grab your coffee and your SOF and let’s go talk a bit more about some of the most difficult types of changes.

The third most difficult change is a change in a relationship, such as getting married or a marital separation, or conflict with what was once a good friend or family member. Conflict…hmmm, why do we have to talk about conflict? I hear you asking! Because conflict can bring good change, or bad change, depending upon the way we handle it!

See, conflict is usually because emotions get in the way and cause friction between people. The sad truth is the conflict may have begun over something small but the longer it stays unresolved, the bigger it gets! Often times, conflict sucks the energy right out of us because we conflict over who’s right instead of what’s right!

But let’s, just for a moment, look at the positive side of conflict that we may utilize it to bring positive change in our hearts, our families and our world. Conflict surfaces important problems so they can be addressed. Conflict can also cause us to give careful consideration about important decisions. Conflict can also cause us to reconsider a decision, especially those decisions that were made without thinking or made in the heat of a moment. And finally, conflict provides opportunities for creativity, especially if you are conflicting over truth!

Did you know that there is a win/win solution to conflict? Let me give you the two ways in which both parties can feel a sense of winning in the midst of a conflict and in this way you can both bring about a positive change: Both parties need to recognize that something is wrong without pointing fingers, which requires information gathering before making judgments.  Let me see if I can use this analogy: A treating physician has to do the lab work, assess the medical problem, before coming up with a diagnosis. In other words they don’t just grab some Advil to treat cancer! See, conflict can be like a cancer, poison to the soul and fast-spreading! Stop it in its tracks and take a good look into all sides of it before throwing your hands up and your relationships out! See, not to spiritualize conflict, but listen to what Rom 12:18 says about conflict: If it is possible and to the extent that it depends on you, live at peace with….

The second way to achieve a win/win in the midst of a conflict would be to come together and collaborate ; this forces us to deal with what’s true, not with what’s false, and not that emotions are false, but they certainly are not anything to depend upon, and they most definitely need not be why a relationship is thrown away!

So when conflict threatens to change your relationship(s), remember to strive towards a win/win solution to reach connection so as to not disconnect and bring negative change!

Thanks for joining me for the third toughest change that can truly send us tossing and turning in the sea of life, especially if our well being is a bit too dependent on someone else! Remember, for things to change, I must change and as Mahatma Gandhi says, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” or in your relationships!

Love,

Evinda

Jenn's Journey from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Good morning! Grab your cup of coffee and spend a few minutes with me. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts!

Change. Don't you just dread it? If there is anything you can count on, it's that nothing stays the same. Knowing change is a part of life doesn't make it any easier does it? I was remembering the other day how hard it was adjusting to life with a new born. Just when I thought ''phew, finally we're on a schedule" Bam..that little stinker would switch it up!  Oh how I like routine and knowing what to expect. I've been that way since I can remember. But as I get older, I am beginning to learn to roll with the punches as my dad likes to say.
I like how the dictionary defines change.." to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone"  Hmmm. Who would I be if I had just been 'left alone'? I think back to all the changes life has handed me, and how each of them has contributed to who I am today. I balked at many of them, you can be sure of that. Yet, I can honestly say, that even the most painful changes were necessary to bring me to where I am in life today.
God is all about change. He loves me where I am, but He sure doesn't mean for me to stay there. Sometimes He changes the circumstances, but most often, He changes minds and hearts. This is what I am currently learning in my own life. I often quote Romans 12:2 to myself  "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.."
Renewing of the mind=transformation and change.  Perhaps God is calling you to different circumstances. Perhaps He is calling you to a new way of thinking, of relating, of responding.  Remember  in those ups and downs of life..there IS a constant...""I am the Lord, and I do not change." Malachi 3:6.  "The Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" Deuteronomy 31:6

This week, accept the challenge. He is right there with you, every step of the way.
Until next week, be blessed.
  Jenn

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

Faith-Filled Friday @ Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power

Thanks for joining me for our Faith-Filled Friday! I am looking forward to discovering things from the Hall of Faith that strengthen your faith and mine. Let’s grab our coffee and our faith and begin.

We are finally at the actual recorded Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11! Let me tell you, I hope you are hungry! Grab a big plate and some good utensils to feast with because there is a lot of meat here! I’m sure we’ll find our vegetables and lots of sweetness along the way as well. 

So the very first portion/verse says that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And what’s the difference between faith and hope? Hope is innate while faith is His gift to us upon confessing that we are a sinner in need of a savior! Even an atheist has an inclination toward hoping for certain things.

Have you ever witnessed hope come to life in the midst of a tragedy? Recently, a friend of mine who is a sweet sister in the Lord experienced tragedy in her family and it involved her nephew. He had been involved in a serious car accident that left him with extensive brain damage. Death was knocking on his door. While he lay in a coma, many of his family members surrounded him, cemented by his bedside with hope. I don’t know how many or who of those in his family were at that moment in their lives without a relationship with Christ, but when this young man showed signs of actually feeling pain, their hope was renewed that maybe, just maybe death would leave and life would remain intact.

Their hope turned them toward the possibility of faith in Christ. Were they searching more for a miracle than they were for the miracle maker? That’s not for you or me to ascertain; it was just a reminder to me that often, for a nonbeliever, hope stirs up our faith. And for those of us who have been walking with the Author of our Faith for awhile, the reverse is also true: Faith reminds us to hope and in “Whom” to hope!

What is an example of “the evidence of things not seen”? Well, in fact, every example in the Hall of Faith is unseen by us, but our faith accepts each example in the Hall of Faith as true. We know and understand that the common thread in the Hall of Faith is the Author of their faith.

But let’s narrow the lens to things not seen in this life, our here and now. The very first thing that comes to mind is redemption. Another is transformation. Redemption and transformation are not physical things that we can grasp with our physical eyes; but they are the evidence of things seen with the eyes of our heart.

As I shared in the beginning of this series, my faith wasn’t just born full-grown and adult-like. I didn’t have that miraculous introduction where I came to Jesus and immediately had no more junk and was free from myself! No, He’s taken me through an unpacking process, to and through some things to strengthen, refine and purify my faith. And all the while, He remained behind the scenes, unseen.

Just because I can’t physically see Him working, the eyes of my heart are opened to His working all things together for my good and His glory, thus fulfilling His promise: to build me up and not tear me down, to give me a future . . .

What about you; what is He doing for you behind the scenes that can’t be seen with your physical eyes but you know in your heart you see?

Join me next Friday for more of this faith-filled series!

Evinda