Savage, Audacious, Relentless

I really want to write a blog tonight. I really should write a post, about how incredibly full my mind is of the incredible things I’m learning about humanity, hope, prayer, discipline, obedience, and perseverance. I would write it, but I just can’t get the stuff sorted out between all the lessons, lists, oopses, responsibilities, and crossed-out post-it notes.
If I were to write a post, it would be full of the incredible, tiny ways that God has interrupted my life in the past months. It would talk about the horrible frustrations of decisions between myself and me, my ugly romance with my own plans for the future, and the beautiful agony of surrender to Divine knowledge of my eternal purpose.
I would write about finding my voice, shaky, cracking, declaring life and hope when my head didn’t quite believe the words. I would write about the ecstasy of walking blind through pain and sorrow hand in hand with Christ and His family, of how sweet tears can be in the company of broken sinners much holier than me.
In 3 words, faith, hope, and love.
Savage faith, audacious hope, relentless love.
Maybe one day these post-it notes will get connected.

Until then, persevere, listen, and pursue One, Christ. Only.

Following, Flowing, and Believing

 

My words are so insufficient in comparison to others’ with lifetimes of obedience. So I’ll let them share my heart and the steps that I’m daily struggling to follow.

 

“’My goal is God Himself…

 at any cost, dear Lord, by any road.’

… at any cost… by any road… means submitting to God’s way of brining us to the goal.

There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result.

When Jesus says, ‘Come’, I simply come; when He says, ‘Let go,’ I let go; when He says, ‘Trust God in this matter,’ I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me….

 

It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, ‘In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee.’

 

The promises of God are of no value to us until through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us.

‘All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen…’ (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Our ‘Yes’ must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, ‘Amen,’ or ‘So be it.’

That promise becomes ours.”

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest 

Who do you think you are??

 

“wake on up from your slumber” need to breathe

Ok, ladies and gentlemen, I beg your pardon for just a moment, but I need to get something off of my mind and into your systems!

I have recently been bombarded by conversations, messages, and frustrated individuals in various stages of bewilderment, self-doubt, and fear about the future of their lives. Nothing new, I realize, we all hit points in our journeys that seem unclear, days we wonder why we even got out of bed we are so frustrated and confused about our circumstances that we can’t even match our socks let alone figure out where we are going in life. I’m not talking about downplaying the difficulties of navigating meaningful career choices and family drama; that stuff just stinks up everybody’s bathroom at some point, no question.

However, I am and have been extremely surprised at the sheer number of folks who seem to be walking around in a cloud of self-defeat, fear, and confusion. They are convinced that they have lost before they have begun, have no idea where they “want to be” because while they disagree with the messages of their society’s definitions of success/satisfaction/worth they do not believe that they are capable of reaching into their own ideas and shifting around some things to find what they really want. They have choked on the idea of fitting in but have – albeit unintentionally – accepted the defeatist attitude that because they don’t fit in they can’t ever find a “fit” and have taken on the identity of a “nobody”.  Just because the “right” job, the “right” boss, the “right” house, the “right” person, or the “right” calling/obsession has not walked into their lives they have little by little chipped away at their self-esteem until it’s the dust under their feet. They walk around with a death-grip on their umbrella of “I can’t” and spout complaints and fears and worries and negativity about their circumstances, relationships, or lack thereof and wonder why they don’t want to get out of bed in the morning. And the worst part is, they can’t see the potential that they really do have to be world-changers and they don’t even know it.

I am not “bashing” anyone, anything, or running over issues such as clinical depression, hormone imbalances, or severe trauma or loss. Don’t misunderstand me. Hear me.

If you are hurting because of loss or abandonment, recognize it. Grieve it.

If you are broken from abuse, get to a safe place with safe people, and name the abuse and admit it. Grieve it.

There is healing in grieving and elements or mile markers of that grief.

However, I am particularly concerned for the groups of people who have just gotten stuck in a rut of self-doubt, confusion, misdirection, and negativity.

At the risk of being politically incorrect, Hear me also.

There is more to you and to your life than you currently believe there is.

Before you start shaking your head, ask yourself this:

Who told you that you were not beautiful or handsome?

Who told you that you could not achieve your dreams?

Who told you that your were unworthy of real love?

Who told you that you would never amount to anything?

…

got an image of who, where, and how those labels came to you?

Now, hear this!

THOSE WERE LIES!

You have every right to be loved for exactly who you are.

You have the capability to achieve your desires and dreams.

You are an incredible individual who was created uniquely for this time in history and there will never be another you and no one can ever fulfill the purpose you have. You were no mistake.

You are fully capable of achieving amazing dreams and fulfillment in your life, your family history, your past choices, and your present doubts have nothing to do with where your future is going unless you allow it.

If you are dissatisfied at work, change your attitude, change your tone, be diligent in the small things, rejoice in the abilities that you do have instead of fussing and pining over the bigger things you wish you had. Hard work and positivity are hard to ignore, and contentment is priceless. Set goals for yourself and don’t baulk at the first opposition; Edison stated that he didn’t “fail” at his first several hundred attempts to create a light bulb, rather he said he just found several hundred ways not to make one.

You do not have to settle for second best relationships. Real love is sacrificial, other-focused, truthful, and unconditional. Anyone who manipulates you for affection does not love you. If you are manipulating someone for their love or others’ for their approval of you or another, that is not love.

Your relationship status does not define you. You are an incredible individual! Full of thoughts, hopes, dreams, and potential all on your own and completely capable of pursuing those things on your own as well as with a life-partner. The moment you accept the thought process that you “have to have”… another person, thing, job… in order to reach your fullest potential, you have lost the battle for the companionship and fulfillment you so deeply crave. You’ve declared them/it a crutch and removed the humanity and vitality from their relationship with yourself. Such relationships will NOT be fulfilling, but rather the opposite, because neither one is a “whole” but only a part of what they could and should be together. Why settle for “good” when you could have “fantastic”!!?

I am not going to apologize for this rant.

I care too much about these random, various and sundry individuals and groups to let this go unsaid.

You are amazing individuals! Crafted and formed with THE deepest care and precision imaginable by a loving Creator for right now, right where you are!

His plans are to bring abundance and love and joy and fullness in your life, not for your to wallow in self-defeat. All the self-help books in the world try to vaguely point to this in a non-offensive religious way, but the truth is:

God loves you. He sacrificed His only Son for you so that you wouldn’t have to be separated by the sin-filled world and life that we are born into. And if you believe in your heart and say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of all and ask Him to be Lord of your life and show you how to live, He will save you from sin and begin to heal your pain. If you have been ignoring it all as myth, or rubbery practices for the “weak-minded”, just stop talking yourself out of what you already know – you need a Savior, and you can’t do this life on your own. Talk to Him, Almighty all-knowing always present God, just like you’re talking to your best friend. Tell Him you want to know Him.

Tell Him like you told your mom about the weeks worth of dirty socks you hid from her under the bed for 3 weeks after she asked you for them. He already knows, but talk to Him anyway; He’s after relationship, not formality.

If you’ve been “walking with the Lord” for a long time, quit resisting Him.

Let Him show you HIS best for your life. Let Him bring out all the best things in you. Don’t stand there on the sideline telling Him “you’ve got this” and “it doesn’t hurt” keeping Him at arm’s distance when you are really broken and angry mess who just wants to have control of “your” life. Here’s a clue: IT WAS NEVER YOUR’S TO BEGIN WITH! Your life is NOT about you! His ways are higher and better and sweeter than your ways and plans could ever be! Just because you can’t see the end from the beginning doesn’t mean He can’t, nor does it mean you should try to take matters into your own hands. (“oh Lord, show me what to do… but I’m going to do this because I can control it and it looks safer than waiting on an answer I might not like”… ya, that worked last time, didn’t it?!)

Read your Word, then just make like Niki and do it.  There is so much more available and possible in your life, if you would accept that you are not in control, but that a loving God IS.

You are precious.

You are priceless.

You are loved.

You belong.

Don’t ever settle for anything or anyone who tells you any different.

 

Ok, rant over. 

Underwear, Dinosaurs & Poptarts

So I’m on a quick break between long meetings and unsuccessful home visits for my job today and I thought I would give a quick shout out to some amazing people in the area.  It has to be quick because 1) I’m just on lunch, and 2) there’s only a few minutes that I think I can sit in the heat of this parking lot and borrow this nice business’s wifi. 

I have the privilege of working with and around some pretty amazing individuals from all over the world, literally, in trying to bring healing, hope, closure, and support to families in various stages of crisis (yes, they do exist even in this overfed, over-estimated Utopian society). These folks run their legs off and their bank accounts down working to empower, engage, and reset the lives of individuals, children in particular, within their communities to function on their own again. 

I just came from a meeting involving one of the groups that are near and dear to my heart, CASA Works, Court Appointed Special Advocate, and they – as usual – rocked my socks off! These teams of dedicated individuals spend their time, free of charge, investing in the lives of children who are wading through the court system because of various and sundry “activities” of their parents/guardians. CASA volunteers form bonds with the children and stick with them through the courts’ twists and turns and push through the inevitable red tape and bureaucracy to speak up for the child. It is a heart-wrenching job, full of trouble, stress, and limitless frustration with all and any involved in trying to re-craft “normal” and ensure a positive and safe environment for the child(ten) involved. They work to provide not only a voice for these children in the court among lawyers, judges, and various other entities of the system, but they press into the local communities to make sure that they have access to the day-to-day needs like underwear, school supplies, etc. Down to the favorite toy and breakfast cereals, these workers know their kids!

CASA is unique to services provided to family crises from other state and local entities in that the volunteer workers are assigned to the same child for the duration of their case, and are not removed, relocated, or reassigned – a guarantee that not many agencies have the luxury of offering because of various uncontrollable factors. 

These folks are grounded, dedicated, and amazing individuals.  Most local CASA agencies are in desperate need of volunteers. Currently, there are far more child cases than available volunteers, since each worker stays committed to the child until the case has permanency and closure. 

There are very little costs involved in supporting CASA agencies because they are volunteer staff and workers, however, they do have some material expenses, such as training and information materials that do incur a small cost. 

If you are interested in learning more about a CASA near you I recommend a quick Google search, but here is a link to my most favorite and precious volunteer network. 

Really, stop by, look in, they are doing a great work in the lives of children who need just the kind of support and advocacy that they provide. Got some spare time? Consider volunteering yourself! You don’t have to be crazy to work there, they’ll train you! Ha ha! Just kidding 🙂

Best always! 

Mary

“be the change you wish to see.”

http://www.casaworks.org

follow on Twitter: twitter.com/CASAWorksInc 

or Facebook: facebook.com/CASAWorksInc