ditching the water shoes

"Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost,' they said and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.'

'Lord if it's you,' Peter replied, 'tell me to come to you on the water.'

'Come,' he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'" Matthew 14:22-31

 



Ever feel like you are trudging through life in a pair of Peter's water shoes?

 

I lost my grandpa last month. If I'm being honest, I thought I was totally prepared for his passing, but I'm learning that there really is no way to prepare for the death of a loved one. When the family finally made the decision to place him in Hospice Care, we all knew that it was only a matter of time. When I got the text message from my mom that he had finally passed, I was sad, yes, but in my head I believed that I was prepared to deal with what would come next.

 

False.

 

The past month has been a complete blur. It has felt a lot like going through the motions. Unmotivated. Unenthused. Distracted. Disoriented. Grief-stricken.

 

Though there may be pain in the night(s), there is joy in the morning because there is power in the name of Jesus.

 

I recently was able to open up and be honest with myself about the last month and the story of Peter and Jesus walking on water popped into my head. I honestly love Peter's story throughout the New Testament because I believe he's so relatable. He has his big bold and brave moments, but then he also has his "sinking" moments that I have experienced a time or too.

 

Something I have learned recently is that when the waters rise-when life throws a wrench in the mix, the instant we take our eyes off of Jesus we begin to sink.

 

In the midst of grieving over the loss of my grandpa, I took my eyes off of Christ. When he beckoned me to walk on the water, I refused to get my feet wet. When he offered his hand to steady me while trying to help me climb out of the boat, I resorted to floaties, goggles, and a personal oxygen tank. It is then I felt him ask me, "Why do you doubt me? I see your hurt. Let me help."

 

Losing a loved one hurts.

 

I'm grateful for the eternal hope and comfort I have that I will see my grandpa again one day, but the hole in my heart still exists. Despite my efforts to heal the hurt that has made itself at home in my heart, those efforts have been futile.

 

Donuts, while tasty, are a temporary fix. Books, while great distractions, end. Shopping, leaves a hole in my wallet, rather than filling the one in my heart, BUT there is power in the name of a God who sees my hurting heart. He calls me out onto the water-steadying me with each step I take. No need for water shoes, floaties, goggles, or an oxygen tank. He's got me not only by the hand, but in the palm of his hand. It's an extraordinary kind of love to be held in such a way that keeps you from sinking.

 

Psalm 119:133 says, "Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me." I believe that the healing that breaks through grief, comes when we allow ourselves to become completely overtaken by Christ-allowing him to do a mighty work in and through us.

 

1 Corinthians 6:12 says, "I will not be mastered by anything." The last month and four days, I have allowed the loss of a loved one blur my vision. Rather then keeping my eyes on Jesus, I became overwhelmed by the raging grief around me. Thankfully he immediately offered me his hand and steadied my footing.

 

I'm happy to admit that I'm ready to finally get my feet wet. Bouncing back will take some time, but with my eyes clamped on Christ, I'm beginning to venture out of my security boat and rest in the embrace of the plan and purpose He has set before me.

 

My prayer is that if someone is experiencing a "sinking" moment, that you join me in ditching the water shoes, floaties, goggles, and oxygen tank. Take hold of the hand being offered to you, take courage, and take the first step onto the water.

stillwater girls

I can't begin to tell each of you how excited I am that the weekend has FINALLY arrived!!

When I was asked to lead your group a few months ago, I jumped at the opportunity. Your Youth Group holds a very special place in my heart since your time in New Mexico. Though I only know a handful of you, I look forward to getting to know each of you this weekend.

My prayer for our group is that God makes His presence known-that during our group discussions and our hangout times, it will be apparent to all that He is moving in us. I pray that during the sessions, each of you become like a sponge and soak up all that you learn. I pray that you ask questions. I pray that the walls or barriers you may have built up around others, come crashing down during our time together.

This week we will be talking about God's call on each of our lives to greatness. Just as each of you were uniquely created, you are each being called to serve Christ in a unique way. I pray that this weekend, if you don't learn anything else, that you learn to chase after God's calling on your life is to chase greatness.

My prayer for you is that you do not conform to what the world sees as great, but be transformed by the love that the Lord lavishes on you and live a life saturated in the greatness of an Almighty God.

The weekend is just around the corner, so get ready to have some fun!

rolling stones

While I was home over the break, I had the opportunity to hang out with one of my good friends. We both had been so swamped with school and work that we decided to take a day to do what we girls do best-SHOPPING. It was such a fun day full of bargains and lots of catching up.

One of the things I love most about this friendship is that after catching each other on our families, school life/work life, and so on, we always share with each other about our relationship with Christ, and it is those conversations that always blossom into hour long conversations.

While out shopping, we ran into Lifeway and came across a brand new Beth Moore book, Whispers of Hope. CONFESSION: It is incredibly hard to not pick up a Beth Moore book and me not become consumed with it right away. Anyway, my friend and I were reading about it and found that is was a book entirely devoted to prayer-something I could use some work on desperately. After looking around the store, both of us decided we would read it together and see how our prayer-lives improve.

I could tell you so much about Whispers of Hope, but I don't want to spoil it for those who might want to read it. However, I will tell you it is unlike any Beth Moore book I have read. I can also tell you that though I am only a week into the book, I can already tell a difference not just in what I pray for, but how I pray.

Today's reading was a game changer for me, and I couldn't keep it to myself.

1 Peter 2:4-6
As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

In today's reading, Beth Moore, shares that the Greek word Peter used to refer to believers was lithos, which means small or large stones. What she said next, literally took me aback. Lithos is also the original term used to describe the rolling away of the stone from Christ's tomb.
Mind blown yet?

Peter refers to us as believers as living stones. As living stones, we are capable of living in such a way as to expose to the world an empty tomb-to prove Christ lives! I don't know about you, but I am humbled and excited for that privilege.

Christ could easily speak proof of his existence and holiness to the world, yet he chooses to use us to expose the empty tomb-to show the world a living and active God, who desires a personal relationship with us.

As a "living stone" are you living in such a way, that demonstrates Christ is living and active in your life? 

Be encouraged, the tomb is empty (Luke 24:6)! Christ lives and wants a relationship with you.

Living stones: let's get rolling!

the future is bright and exciting

I've never been much for making resolutions when a new year rolls around-mostly because I break them within the first month...okay the first week.

Recently I was listening to a podcast of a favorite speaker of mine, Christine Caine. She is a power-house of a speaker and I so admire her passion for Christ. She was talking about what she liked to do at the end of a year to prepare herself for the coming new year. At one point in the podcast she began to reflect on the events that occurred during this past year, which made me begin reflecting on my own past year.

Let's be honest, 2013 had some real high points, but also had some very trying moments as well. It was when I got to thinking about the low points that Christine read Philippians 3:13 which says, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is a head...".

What an incredible verse at just the right time! I love the way God works. His timing is not only perfect, it is precise.

2013 seemed like a year of taking two steps forward and taking one giant step back. Not this year. 2014 is going to be a year of "straining toward what is ahead". What's ahead you might ask? I have no idea, but God does.

In 2013, the vision of my past became so much greater than my vision for the future. Because of it, I kept myself from being used to my full potential. Not this year. In 2014, I want the vision of my future to be ten times greater than that of my past.

During the podcast, Christine mentioned that in the coming new year that those listening would keep their eyes open for those precious moments when God lavishes His love on us-and to acknowledge Him for it.

In 2013, I was all about me-my schedule, my time, my wants, my, my, my. When God lavished His love on me, I reacted as if He owed it to me. Not this year. I want 2014 to be about His will and His way.

I've never been much for making resolutions when a new year rolls around-mostly because I break them within the first month...okay the first week, but not this year.

Akunamatata 2013. The future is bright and exciting!