Wednesday’s Word

No Expiration Date!

Happy Wednesday and thanks for joining us for Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word @ Trench Classes United. I just love diving into His Principles and Promises for us and finding new truths that illuminate hope, wisdom and joy for the journey. Grab your coffee and come on in. Oh, and don’t forget your Strand of Faith as I am praying that the truths shared today will tie a few knots in your faith!

Have you ever gone through your coupons to prepare to go grocery shopping or any shopping for that matter and found coupons that you needed, gotten excited because you found them where you put them, only to look at the expiration date…that just passed? I think that’s why I don’t collect coupons and go through all of that, because not only is it time consuming but it can be really disappointing to keep running into expired coupons. I have literally hit myself in the head too many times over this. Or how about that gift certificate that you tucked away for a rainy day when you really need it? You pull it out, make your plans and suddenly the date glares at you as if to scream EXPIRED! Yeah, I’ve done that too!

I was thinking the other day how incredibly inspired I get when a promise from His love letters to us comes to pass in my life, a promise from a book written over 2000 years ago, with no expiration date!  For example, when I read the promise in Joel2:25 that says He will restore what the locusts have stolen, I realized years ago that that means He will give back what the enemy tries to steal, for example, the enemy does his absolute best to destroy family, and though my own childhood family has not been restored, He’s blessed me with in-laws whom I love so much now. How about that wayward child who tries their best to self-destruct and go down the wrong path? Oh, friend, I’ve seen Him restore that, too, and the time that I lost may be gone but He has blessed me with so many other moments that took my breath away and filled my heart so much I thought I would burst!

And how about the several promises that talk about His protection and provision; have you ever looked back to count the ways He’s protected and provided?  What if we were to live like we believed in His promises for us?

Well, recently I have been feeling like I’m floundering, not sure of what I’m supposed to be doing, let alone when and where. There are just so many things up in the air, so many things on hold, and it’s a strange time in my life. Have you ever felt like that?  Well, in a recent coffee hour with Abba, this particular promise – which I’ve read so many times, and it’s even one of my memory verses – hit me with a fresh wave of assurance, encouragement, and a strength to continue to withstand the storms that continue to come in the weather of life. 

There was just a new meaning for me this time, and that’s what I love about His promises and principles that are definitely alive! They speak t o us right where we are in a way that we need it in that moment and this also adds to the truth of 

His love for us. Romans 8:38-39 says:

³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ 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.

So the words I put in bold are what seemed to work as a hand that lifted both my chin and countenance where it belonged: To a loving Father whose love cannot be stopped, not by anything happening in my now, and certainly not anything to come my way. So no matter what happens, Coffee Hour friend, isn’t it comforting that His love will not only bring us to it, but bring us through it? Oh, to ride the wave of His love through the storms of life!

Love,

Evinda

Tuesday’s Trench Truth

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Tuesday’s Trench Truth with Trench Classes United. I’d like to introduce you to our new Tuesday Trench Truth blogger, Megan Pilarcik:
Megan Pilarcik has been journaling her life experiences since she was 13 years old and when she was diagnosed with cancer, she didn’t stop journaling the journey. After a major lung surgery, thanks to the Lord, she is now cancer free.
Megan spent 25 years in media advertising sales and management. She has been a dog trainer and handler for competitive dog sports for the past 20 years. Megan feels the Lord most often teaches her through her dogs so I’m so excited to see what she brings to us each Tuesday! Without further ado…Megan’s first blog…ALL THINGS!

Stunned, I navigated my way through the Medical Center corridors out to the valet area and found a seat. “After all, I rationalized, world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeons aren’t known for their skill in sugar coating the facts.” Yet, I was not ready for this. I was positive God had a different plan for me. I was wrong.

I’m not sure what upset me more, the fear of my uncertain future or the sudden evaporation of my trust in the Lord. Up to this point, my promise to trust Him no matter what direction my path took had been remarkably effortless. From scans and biopsies, to expedited appointments and test results, the Lord had held me up and carried me through these frightening experiences. I felt at peace, even euphoric at times. My friends and family could not believe how strong I was … But now, I was facing a major lung surgery and the removal of 17 lymph nodes to determine if I had cancer, what stage it was in, and what treatment I would need. I was scared, my faith was weak, and I had just broken my promise to the Lord.

My deep apprehension was interrupted by a sweet voice with a smiling face. “Is this seat taken?” she asked. I scooted over to make more room. Looking straight at me, she pointed to the Medical Center and said, “Those people are not in charge of your future. HE (now pointing to the sky) IS and He’s got this!”

WOW – the moment my fear sabotaged my faith, the Lord sent this gift of a woman to deliver His message to me. Even though I had doubted, He continued to make Himself known though His gifts and intervention.

Five days later I had my surgery followed by six days in ICU and a twelve week recovery period. My diagnosis was Stage I non-smokers lung cancer in my upper left lobe, which was removed. No cancer was found in my lymph nodes which meant no chemotherapy or radiation. I WAS CANCER FREE!

After my first post-op appointment with my surgeon, I thanked him, expressing how grateful I was. He humbly shrugged his shoulders and said, “I just do the work, God does the healing.”

This is not something I would prefer to ever go through again, although I am honestly grateful for the experience and thankful that it happened. It has changed me, my life, and the way I view things. It has given me a deeper, more intimate relationship with our Lord and I often thank Him for it. Yes, God uses all things…good, bad, painful, ugly…for our benefit and His ultimate glory. Are you going through a difficult situation, circumstance or relationship right now? Then I invite you to A Night of Purpose, a night sure to answer many questions and meet you right where you are!

 

Looking forward to sharing more of the journey with you!

Megan

Monday’s Mantra

I Want to Do What He Does!

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Monday’s Mantra @ Trench Classes United.  I’ve determined in my heart to have a good Monday, and I’m praying you will too. Grab your coffee and join me for another one of my court reporting stories, a spiritual principle He spoke to me yet again, and a beautiful splash of grace.

Last Monday I showed up at my office in LA at 8:45 a.m. for a 10:00 and thereafter, a 2:00. I take the train, which alleviates all the self-inflicted stress and aggravation of driving and it’s really a great way to travel. The only bummer is I have to get up before the birds, at 4:00 a.m., which the older I get, the more challenging that gets! Oops, not being negative, just keeping it real!

Anyway, I had some time to take care of a couple of things, and then I was asked if I could have a court reporting student sit in with me as she needed her internship hours.  I explained they were getting two for the price of one, that I would be reporting the questions, and any arguments, and she would get the answers. You should have seen her face…and theirs! It was so funny and I wanted to just leave it at that, but I’m not that cruel. “Just kidding,” I nearly shouted.  You could feel the tension lift and a cloud of laughter swept the rest away.

The witness was a soft-spoken guy whose consistent answers to questions were “I can’t recall.” Now, inside I’m thinking, well, when it comes time to settle with you, the defense isn’t going to recall how! In other words I was already beginning to judge him….until the last half hour of the proceeding where the truth came out and we all discovered he had had a heart transplant. Oh, my goodness, that explained so much. As I’m writing – with one side of my brain – the other side of my brain was beating me up. There was this convo going on: How could you even be critical of this guy? You know better than to make judgments on others, to form opinions about them without hearing all three sides of the story, defense, plaintiff and the truth.  To say I was frustrated with myself, well that is an understatement.  My only comforting thought was I was so, so thankful I hadn’t blurted out my opinions to our client or the court reporter student.

That wasn’t the case on the next job. Within the first five minutes the preliminary questions are asked, like name date of birth, if she had drank anything of an alcoholic nature the night before – to which she said yes – after learning that she had drank the night before, she was asked what her address was.

“I don’t have an address.”

 Question: “Are you homeless”?

Answer:” Yes, I’m homeless.”

 I was punched in the gut yet again with my own critical spirit. However, the rest of the deposition revealed that this woman was/is definitely a victim of her circumstances and definitely is having a hard time in life due to her choices – but that doesn’t meant that the workers’ compensation system should pay. It also doesn’t justify my critical opinions I had no problem sharing LSometimes I wish I couldn’t think during these things, just be completely plugged into my Source.

The next morning in my quiet time, conviction met me, washed over me, and I begged God to help me with this weakness. He is so very, very faithful, Coffee Hour friend. I just love how He speaks to me – He uses what He knows will speak to our hearts, because He knows how we will listen, and when he speaks, there’s no denying His love.

Anyway, He took me back to the night before on a much-needed walk I took with my husband, our two dogs and one grand-dog. The weather had just cooled off as we headed up Oak Glen and then cut into the golf course.  We like to let the dogs off their leashes here and just let them run. It’s so fun to watch. And they know the routine. Instead of heading straight towards Fifth Street, my little one actually led the way and went in the direction of the gate to the golf course. She’s almost 14, and aside from the night-blindness, and the being deaf, she’s full of life and still so adorable and sweet to cuddle.

About ten feet into the course, and surveying the area to make sure no golfers were there, George and I agreed we could let them all go. I bent down and unclipped the leash from my baby, and George had a double leash he removed from the two boys. I never tire of watching each of them, different in their personalities as night is from day. Sparky bolted forward as if being shot from a torpedo, Alvin, our grand-dog, was a bit uncertain of what he was being allowed to do. I swear dogs have a language because Sparky turned around as if to say “what are you waiting for,” and Alvin took off. And little Evinda trotted close by my side.

I stopped to watch them for a moment, and time stood still. It was just a perfect night. I stood there basking in the sound of the warm summer breeze rustling through the trees, causing the leaves to dance in the wind. It was just so refreshing after a long day on the record. And laughter, I love to laugh and these dogs rarely disappoint in that area. as my heart nearly burst with a smile that quickly reached my face. I began to giggle as I watched them.

Now being boys, Sparky and Alvin find it necessary to water every bush, and every tree and I have no idea where they get all that pee!  It’s like a competition between them, to see who can out-mark the other! And then here comes little Evinda (formerly named Baraca’) a safe distance behind them, to remark their territoryJ But the almost hilarious thing about it is she does it just like them; or she tries to! It’s like she thinks she’s a boy dog or something and mimics them, sniffing around the spot, going in circles, crouches down and then finally, ever so carefully and precisely, she lifts one of her back legs and tinklesJ  Now she doesn’t do it every time, probably because she’s half their size and has the bladder a size of a grain of pepper, but when she does it, it’s so stinking cute and hilarious at the same time. On the way back she did it in such a precise and succinct way that I just couldn’t help it; laughter burst out as if contained for too long, belly-hurting kind of laughter that cleanses the soul and just thrusts all cares away.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because that’s the reminder He gave me the next morning, reminding me that He wants me to imitate Him just like my little Evinda mimicked our other two dogs: from the locating the spot – analogous to being on the lookout for divine opportunities to be Jesus to someone – to getting in the right posture – analogous to prayerfully inviting Him into the moment – to letting it flow – analogous to allowing Him to speak through me…which means His thoughts of that person/situation, versus my own critical thoughts! I want to do what He does…and would do in any of my situations He allows me to be present in.

Oh, to be like Him…as much as humanly possible

Love,

Evinda

Foster’s Faith-Filled Friday

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Foster’s Faith Filled Friday with Trench Classes United! You are going to love Breanna’s transparency as she shares about something most of us can relate with for sure, difficult co-workers! Grab your coffee and come on in!

Have you ever dealt with a difficult coworker?

Recently, my office hired a new employee that – well, let’s just say she rubbed us all the wrong way, and that’s putting it mildly. My office is very much a laid-back, small group of women that get along very well together. We are all able to chit-chat while we work, potluck often, and even hang out outside of work. We all have a genuine bond with each other.

Unfortunately, this new employee was not receptive to this type of atmosphere and didn’t care to be a part of anything we did and made this very apparent with her attitude toward us. Talk about some serious tension in the office.

I found myself becoming snappy toward her and developed a sense of bitterness that even I could taste. So one night I prayed about it, for the Lord to soften my heart toward her and help me to give her grace. I heard the Lord say to me “Still show her My love.”

It was hard, trust me, but I continued to try and include her. With every attempt to do so, she would push me away even more and almost become angry. But still I continued to try and scale this wall she had built around herself.

I didn’t know this woman and I don’t know her story or why she does the things she does, but I was determined to be as nice and loving as I could. Eventually, I became tired of the negativity and considered it a “waste of time.” A couple days passed and she was let go and I instantly felt this sense of relief (sad right?).

I reflected on my attitude that night and realized I was treating her like an enemy. With enemies, it’s a natural reaction to want to overcome them and win the fight. But Christ tells us something different:

Matthew 5:43-45 ⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

The true test of our Christian walk isn’t how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ, but how we treat those who are openly hostile to us. We were once enemies of God and are still plagued by sinful nature that is at war with Him, but while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)

Who are we to decide which one of us is deserving of God’s grace when we ourselves are not?

I realize now that I did not treat or react to my co-worker out of a heart of love or how Christ would have treated her. Instead, I judged her and was so quick to want her gone.  If only I had dealt with this from a Biblical stand point, maybe I would’ve had an eternal impact on her. I missed my opportunity.

Finally, consider this; are they really your enemy? They are not. We might not like the way they act, but we do need to love them. Speak life, show love, and point them to the Gospel of Christ, the only one who has set us all free, the One whom I know will grant me another opportunity to be more like Him the next time I encounter a difficult co-worker..

Thoughtfully,

Breanna

Thursday’s Trench Truth

Thanks for stopping by for Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Thursday’s Trench Truth with Trench Classes United. Grab your coffee and come on in for a moment of truth and an invitation, too!

I find myself in conversations with women over and over again that have the same theme, a song with a melody but no harmony, women who are disgruntled because their man runs from conflict, or won’t communicate, and yet, the way this is handled doesn’t invite harmony into the song of love, either.

Why do we run from conflict? When someone steps on our toes, don’t we say ouch? So it should be with our emotions: when we feel someone has stepped on our emotional foot, why don’t we say ouch? Or why do we scream ouch instead of saying “that hurt” without an attitude?

Oh, the joys and juggles of relationships! Would you like to learn how to conquer conflict? Join us for our Night of Purpose, an introduction to our new four-week class, Living Fearlessly! You won’t want to miss it!

Looking forward to seeing you,

Evinda

Wednesday’s Word

He Loves to Give us Gifts

James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United. We’ve been sitting in the Psalms for a few weeks but we are going to move on because I just have to share something. See, when His Principles and Promises come to life in my own life, I am compelled to share that He may receive the praise He so deserves. Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith, and come on in.

I have a question for you: Do you believe, with your whole being, that God is concerned about everything that concerns you? That He loves to do nice things for you, to give you wonderful gifts to delight your soul? And, Coffee Hour Friend, I’m not just talking about in the spiritual realm, but in this world, in this journey, in the here and now! When someone does give you a gift, do you find it hard to say thank you? I don’t know about you, but isn’t it easier being on the giving end? Well, I’m thinking He wants me to learn how to say thank you, to receive all that He has for me so I want to claim and exclaim how He revealed, yet again, that He is the giver of good gifts.

 It was just two days before our long-awaited cruise. I was so beyond excited and ready for this break. I was just about all packed and ready. Some of our friends that we were going with had set up excursions, and a couple of them were just going to wing it once we got there. I had attempted to set up a dolphin excursion, but when I saw the price, I immediately hit the back arrow and just stared longingly at the location, and the candid smiles of others who had gotten such an opportunity.  Well, just two days before leaving, one of my girlfriends asked if I had checked for specials on the dolphin excursion. I shook my head and added “I’m not going to worry about it.”

Well, she must not have liked that answer because within seconds, she had the site up on her computer and my longing to swim with the dolphins was rekindled. She pointed to something on the screen, and my rekindled desire suddenly burst into flames! There, right in front of me was buy one get one for $30! That was $150 off! I booked that excursion so fast, I was even impressed. I just knew in my soul that this was a gift from my Father for He truly cares about all that concerns me. See, this wasn’t an excursion where you watch from the distance, and maybe bend down and kiss the dolphin and pet it; no, this was the opportunity to get in the ocean water, swim with them, let them pull you through the waves and even lift you up! I was beyond excited.

The excursion was in the last port we stopped at, Cozumel and I could go on for pages and pages about the days prior but I want to get right to the next gift He blessed my husband and me with. After checking in for our excursion, they said they were running a bit behind, and moved it from 1:00 to 1:30, so we had more of time to enjoy the rest of the park, which we were only able to explore a small section. It was huge, with all kinds of fun things to do and beauty to behold. We arrived on time, and they were not on time, but we waited patiently. Finally they called us and there were about 45 people that they began to put in groups with numbers. They assigned us number 1, and within a few minutes, the lady who was checking everyone in called us by name and said with an accent almost as thick as peanut butter, “Oh, well, you are the only ones. This is lucky for you!”

 See, what that meant is we didn’t have to share any of the 40 minutes with any others; we had two dolphins and the trainer all to ourselves…AND the trainer kept us in there for over an hour! Three gifts in one!

It’s been said a picture speaks a thousand words, so here are just a couple to show the joyful receipt of His good gifts to my husband and me on this day, gifts that left memories in my heart for all my tomorrows that I may draw upon when I am down, or just bring back up to the hallway of my heart to smile from the inside out!

Friend, sometimes we are moving so fast, we don’t recognize our Father as a giver of good gifts. What has He done for you lately?

Evinda

Tuesday’s Trench Truth

Thanks for stopping by for Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Tuesday’s Trench Truth, and invitation, too with Trench Classes United. Grab your favorite break-time beverage, and join us for a moment of truth.

Have you ever noticed that the more we talk about our problems, the bigger they get? It’s the same thing with fears; the more we feed them, the smaller our faith becomes. 

I know I used to do this in the name of “venting,” and perhaps you have, too. Coffee Hour Friend, can I just keep it real right now? There is a fine line between venting and vomiting! The more we talk about something, the more we are hanging on to it. How many times do we need to regurgitate the same thing in order to feel validated? In order to feel heard? Or, in order to make a point? 

Perhaps we need to think about who we vent to, and our motive behind the venting! Today, can I challenge you to feed your faith and quiet your fears? And if that seems a bit of a stretch, mark your calendars for our Night of Purpose which will be an introduction to Living Fearlessly!

Looking forward to seeing you,

Evinda