Croley’s Corner @ Chicklit Power

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You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. Galatians 5:13

Once again we meet together and how grateful I am that you consider stopping by out of your busy day to see what God’s got for you, so grab your coffee, journal and Strand of Faith as I share from my heart about opportunity.

For every opportunity there is always a purpose and it shouldn’t always be for selfish gain. When you see the word opportunity or even hear it, what comes to your mind? Many times we think of great occasions where life presents itself with abundance of something whether it’s in the natural by a great job, or financial that someone blesses us with an unexpected gift or even by getting a break from the storms of life that sometimes seem to crash more often than not!

Opportunity can come in many packages.

Opportunity can be exhibited by concern for one another by giving from our pockets or by means of doing great works, but if our concern for each other is not “love motivated” from our hearts, then the driving force behind our actions are “vain motivated”.

Let’s look at the Compassion of Jesus: Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Matt 9: 35-38

Every day we have the greatest opportunity to express the appearance of Jesus.... to have the same compassion as He did as He stood overlooking the city!

If, indeed, He resides in us then it’s a requirement to love one another… the weary…the scattered….and the unlovely! One of the hardest commands that we as people can do is to love outside our own village of people and to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48.)

Some good questions we often don’t ask or miss or refrain from asking are: “Who has He brought your way to love?” “Who are the weary, the scattered and unlovely, to you?”

If we are honest with ourselves, we often turn the other way, not wanting to be tangled with someone who seems unlovely, but for every opportunity there is always a purpose….a purpose driven love!

Can I challenge you this week, in this season of Thanksgiving: Be that one He sends out into His harvest, gathering the weary, the scattered and the unlovely! It could possibly be your neighbor or the one sitting next to you in church or even at your office. Don’t limit who He asks for you to love. When we are called upon, there is no picking and choosing whom to love; we are to love with compassion just as Jesus did and still does. We never know the condition of another or what they may be going through.

Be “Love motivated” today, through the eyes of Jesus! Have a super weekend and remember, keep Him close to your heart

Love,

Deb

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to PAWS for Coffee Hour and thanks for stopping by! Grab your coffee and your four-legged friend and join us for another cute dog story with some powerful spiritual significance. I just love how Jenn does this!

I’m Being Tempted….Again?

Last week I shared about my dog Logan’s antics when he wanted something he couldn’t have.  Well, I’m here to say that as smart as he is….he just doesn’t learn sometimes. 

My church had a huge harvest party last weekend.  Needless to say we have human treats galore in our house.  Logan can get up on the counter so I have to be creative where I hide things.  Unfortunately my youngest son forgets this.  I started finding wrappers on the floor and scolded my son for not picking up after himself.   He claimed it wasn’t him.  All I did was look at Logan and he went running up the stairs as fast as possible.  In a few hours Logan had an accident on the rug…the result of eating candy. 

My second thought (won’t share my first) was maybe he will stop getting into the candy.  Well, Logan seems to be ruled by smell and taste.  Come the next day, he did the same thing happened! It made me think of how many times I do this with the things that aren’t good for me. Do you ever catch yourself doing this?

We return to things that will harm us physically, mentally or spiritually, like overeating, self-medicating, alcohol; you get the picture?  We rationalize “well, it’s not that big of a deal,” or “So and so at church does the same thing,” or “I’ll be better tomorrow.”  But this is where the enemy will sneak in to keep us trapped in what tempts us instead of focusing on what the Lord has called us to do.  The enemy wants us to isolate ourselves, be independent from God. 

In Logan’s case he knew he would get in trouble if someone was around so he waited until he was alone.  If we pretend we don’t need something we are powerless to prevent the need for it.  If you open yourself up to God and others about your weakness it is not a loss; it’s a win. It shows you can trust in God and allow Him to rule over that area of your life.  “When I am weak, then I am strong because I am not depending on myself any longer, but upon God Himself” (2 Cor. 12:9-10). 

Put your focus on the one you can depend on; every minute can be one more minute of victory! 

Fighting temptation,

Jenn and Logan!

Trench Lesson Cont.

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Thanks for joining me today, right smack in the middle of the week! I hope you are having a great week, staying in your moments and making memories that make you smile from the inside out! Grab your coffee, and your Strand of Faith and let’s go finish the 7 Differences between Guilt and Shame, differences that I pray will flash light on your journey that unresolved guilt and shame can make dark!

So we left off with No. 3: guilt leads to accountability and connection while shame leads to disconnection. Now let’s go to the fourth one!

4. Guilt is active and passing, while shame is unmoving, connecting with our sense of self! For example, when you speed, you are guilty of speeding; you pay the fine and the guilt fades with time and corrective action. Shame, however, is internalized and therefore becomes part of us and requires inner healing and is also connected to how we see ourselves! How do we avoid this: Own it so we can disown it! (The “it” is anything we DID/DO that hurts another, a perceived wrong.)

5. 5. Guilt can be healthy and used to build up while shame is destructive and only tears down! See, guilt from the past can be used to guide us in our future; in other words, we can learn from our mistakes which will prevent us from making or doing the same wrong thing. Healthy guilt can lead us to victory while shame keeps us victims! Shame keeps us stuck, doing the same thing over and over again, proving that there is something wrong with us!
6. 6. Guilt brings accountability; shame causes physical, emotional and spiritual pain! Said another way, guilt can teach us to become better; shame, on the other hand, causes us to become bitter, tells us we are less than!

And last but not least:

7. Guilt has a way out; shame is a trap! Since guilt can be atoned for, paid for, there is a way out. Shame, on the other hand, manifest itself negatively psychologically, therefore creating other problems, i.e., more emotional wounds, weaknesses and worries, and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy!

Do you believe that whatever you’ve done has already been atoned for? Do you now The One Who paid the price for all your wrongs, the One Who can right all your wrongs? He’s just a prayer away, waiting to rid the garments of shame!

Love,

Evinda

Tuesday’s Trench Lesson

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thanks for stopping by for Tuesday’s Trench Lesson with Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power! Grab your coffee, your Strand of Faith, and your journal too. The last couple of weeks have been full of lots of opportunities for me to put into practice what I am teaching in the trenches. Let’s go jump in the trench to talk about a very important relational issue that is sure to bring you more peace while rising above the conflict.

How many of us can say we’ve NEVER been hurt? All of us have been hurt at one time or another. It’s what we do when we are hurt that differentiates us from victim or victor. Do we strike back like a snake loaded with venom, or do we step back and take a look at all of the signals flashing on the emotional dashboard?  When the “check engine” light comes on in your car’s dashboard, what do you do? I hope you check it out or at least have it looked at. I’ve been known to ignore my dashboard lights, only to run into problems later that could have been avoided. The exact same principle applies emotionally: When we don’t pay attention to the emotional dashboard, we will have a crash, cause a crash or both!

I’m learning all the time about myself through the gift of others. I know in my gut, down to my toes and back up, that’s His intention for relationships, to teach us about us.

Let’s get back to my other question about what is it we do when we are hurt. Well, I’ve had a LOT of practice in this area, and as a matter of fact, very recently. When the initial “hurting” happened, I spent some time journaling about it. I was desperately trying to reason in my heart and mind the how and why of it all, and then I began to pray.  Of course I prayed that my heart wouldn’t become bitter, that I would share my hurt in a loving way…yada, yada, yada, all that stuff we should do instead of striking back. But the pain wouldn’t go away; I needed answers.

So I asked Him, and He spoke to me in a way that I would understand, using the exact same words I ask my Transformers: “What is it you are feeling?’

Two words came gushing out of me, without any brakes: “LEFT OUT”!

He asked me another question: “Have you ever felt left out as a child?”

Suddenly the past was colliding with the present moment, mixing with all the questions from the emotional pain of it all. Jesus was asking me to look my pain in the face!

“Of course I have! Not only yes, but heck yes.”  Memories of my years in a foster home came tumbling forth: memories of not being good enough to be adopted by foster parents who kept dangling that carrot in front of me, saying if you’re good enough, we’ll adopt you, and them excluding me out of activities they did with their biological kids, and on and on. I don’t intend on glorifying the enemy in any way shape or form, but oh my goodness did that bring clarity!  Let me explain what I mean:

Many times in our pain, something from the past is colliding with the present…and putting the pain on steroids!

When we make the time to take the time to really examine our pain, stare it in the face and ask those two questions, we rise above the conflict and are able to maneuver through it without becoming part of the problem while adding to the solution! See, pain can be one of the greatest Professors to ever speak into our lives!  And I do not mean this in any sort of sadistic way at all.

Oh, and as far as the incident that sent me to my knees crying out for understanding, God heard my cry, honored my willingness to let the pain be a teacher, and I can honestly say, He continues to be my pain reliever, working things out for my good, their good and His glory!

Who or what is your pain reliever when someone causes you pain?

Join me tomorrow for the conclusion to 7 Differences between Guilt and Shame…

Love,

Evinda

Jenn’s Journey

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Good morning friends and happy Monday!:) I hope your weekend was a beautiful one.

The other day I was talking with a friend who I've known since elementary school. We were discussing how wonderful it is to have friends we've known since childhood. The conversation turned to wondering what so and so is up to nowadays, and trading stories. From there, we talked about some of our own choices and where those have led our lives. Both of us expressed how we wished some of those choices had been different!

It's nice to have friends I can be transparent with. I am so blessed. (This is one more thing to add to the thankful list this season.) This particular friend and I have been reminding each other to keep our requests before God and allow Him to lead in our lives, as well as to watch for the signs that He is listening. I reminded her that He thinks we are His masterpieces. Her response was, "Well, I am a mosaic for sure." What great insight!

I got to thinking about that so I looked it up. Here is one definition of a mosaic: "At the most simple definition, mosaic is ‘a picture or other design constructed from smaller pieces.’ As well as the subject and style of the design, it is the choice of materials, plus the skill in creating and placing the pieces that contribute to the personal, artistic and practical value of the mosaic. A special feature is that the pieces are normally solid and durable."

If you've ever seen a mosaic, you know that they are usually very beautiful. Even the ones that don't make up a particular picture are incredibly pretty.

“Broken pieces made into something beautiful.” I love this visual.  It's what God promises in Romans 8:28: "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose."

It may take a while to see the good He's working out. Maybe others will see the beauty before we do. The good news is we won't be disappointed with the end result.

Until next week, be blessed.

Jenn

Croley’s Corner @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Hear my prayer, O Lord, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, and in Your righteousness. Psalm 143:1

Welcome back this week to our Coffee Hour. I’m certainly glad you could join me today. Grab you things and let’s see what He has in store for us today!

How many can honestly say that when you’ve prayed you felt your prayers just hit the ceiling and you get no answers? No matter how hard you try, they just don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Do you begin to think He doesn’t hear you? Do you believe He seems uninterested and He doesn’t care? Sometimes we have to ask ourselves some hard questions; for example, are we asking with the wrong motives? 

Are we praying self-centered prayers?  In my 40-plus years of ministry, I have come across times when I’ve had people come to me wanting to know why God hasn’t answered their prayers. They’ve heard what God has done in my life and in my marriage and they want the same for theirs as well; who could blame them? There have been times I’ve heard people say: I go to church. I pray. I cry out to God. Why isn’t He answering? Why doesn’t He care?

I must reiterate this truth: He does hear, and He does care.  Psalm 18:6 says “In my distress I called upon the Lord; and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.”  

Could it be that we want a program to follow to get God to do what we want Him to do? Trying to side-step God’s plan in the process by rushing the purpose can be dangerous. God is not a genie where you can rub the magic lamp and ask for whatever your wish is and expect it to be His command!

Please don’t get me wrong or think I’m uncaring…if anything, I may be more so! Our heavenly Father is a loving Father who sometimes says “yes” and sometimes says “no” or even “wait,” just as any earthly parent would say when asked by their children for certain needs. Matthew 7:11  

We can rob God of His full glory when we imply that He uses magic to accomplish spectacular feats. Now think of all the prayers on a universal scale. How can God answer them all? One is asking for it “to rain” and at the same time another asks for it “not to rain.” Then there’s the two teams both praying to win. We look at our requests and forget that everyone else in the world is praying to Him, too.  Boy, am I glad I’m not God! Yet, most of the time, we can fall into a trap and treat God as a genie. We tend to treat our prayers as wishes far too often and when our prayers go unanswered it is hard. Maybe we have to wait longer. Maybe it is just not good for us at the time. Maybe we need to endure a specific trial in order to become more like Christ. Whatever the reason is we can rest in the knowledge that God answers our good requests.

Many times we ask from the knowledge of our heads and not necessarily from our hearts and with God it is always a heart thing. He is God and though we don’t always understand His reasons or His ways, they are always for our benefit. We cannot live how we want, outside of God’s ways and will, and expect Him to simply answer our prayers.

So the next time you enter into His presence, enter with thanksgiving in your heart and pray “not my will but yours” and then approach Him with your requests. God wants to know that you want Him to be a part of your life, not just a wish granter.  Matthew 6:33 reminds us “Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 He is a good God and when we ask and it’s not answered right away, we must simply trust that He knows what He’s doing; that He is working on our behalf for our own good. He is a good God! Till next week; can’t wait to hear some of your long awaited answered prayers! And, remember, keep Him close to your heart!

Love, Deb

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Oh, my goodness! Do you have a four-legged friend? You’ve got to join us today; this is gonna be a good one! Grab your coffee…and your strand of faith and come check out how Jenn ties in yet another spiritual principle learned from her four-legged furry friends!

Temptation

If you have ever had a puppy then you know the look of temptation: That sly upward glance that says I know you are watching me but I can’t help myself. :-)  My puppy Logan gives me that look often.  Sometimes he avoids eye contact, as if he thinks that if he can’t see me, I can’t see him.  It is adorable but I know that I must make corrective action; otherwise, something of ours will be eaten, ripped up or played with.

As I watched him in action and I gave him a stern “No, Logan”, I thought …. Do I do that to God?  Are there little things (or large) temptations in my life that I give into?  Of course I know the answer to that question, large or small these things can derail us from our walk, kind of make us look the other way, take our eyes off of Jesus.

I began to study temptation and this is what I found. 

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.  1 Corinthians 10:13

While I know that I can overcome in all things through Christ, I have to examine why I am giving in (or contemplating) whatever is tempting me.  The truth is that temptation uncovers what we really want.  Often we believe that we can prove our convictions through facing a temptation but the very fact that we are facing it reveals our true character and convictions.  Where our heart is = where our treasure is.  If you feel a pull to something, then it is responding in your heart on some level.  What we love the most shapes us, good or bad.

For clarification….temptations can be anything from food, to stealing, stress, temptation to worry, too much T.V., other addictions… anything that leads us off of the God-designed path for us.

The bad part is that these temptations end up replacing truth with lies as we try to appear not to be tempted.  Many of us put on the mask of truth so others won’t see our weaknesses.  Our authenticity is covered up and instead of loving God, we love ourselves.

Daily we need to make the choice of “What do I love the most?”  Every action has a reaction whether we cover it up or not.  Take comfort in knowing that EVERYONE has to make these choices each day.  No matter how “arrived” they may seem in their faith, no one has fully arrived until they get before Him.  The difference with those who are more successful with thwarting the temptation is that they have discovered who they are, made adjustments to align with their convictions and walk tall in the presence of Jesus. 

What does temptation say about you?  What would you like to change?  See it nailed to the cross.  Christ offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from our rebellious ways.  He did it for me; He did it for you.

Learning from the gift of four-legged friends,

Jennifer