Change Your Lens

Change Your Lens

by | Jul 28, 2021

“I can’t see a thing you’re talking about!” I said to the optometrist as she flipped the lenses on her machine.  My chin and forehead were glued to her contraption and my cute hair and eyelashes were now a thing of the past.  “Can you read the top line?” she asked in disbelief.  “No ma’am.  It’s blurry and I can’t read any of the letters.”  She laughed, scratched her head and said, “Did you put in the trial contact I gave you?”  I had in fact put in the contact and I was a little disgruntled that she was keeping me from my lunch date at Chick-Fil-A.

She moved her machine and said, “Look at the light.”   After blinding me in my other eye, she laughed and said, “I think I know why you can’t see.  There’s no contact lens in your eye.”  I’d put the contact in my eye but at some point it fell out without me knowing it.

Have you ever lacked the ability to see things clearly?  Like my moment at the optometrist, things are blurry and out of focus and you don’t even know how it happened?  Wouldn’t it be great if gaining our focus was as easy as popping in a contact lens?

When pressures seem they will squeeze the life out of us and uncertainty leaves us walking aimlessly through life, we need a reminder to stay focused.  But how?   The key is being intentional about WHAT we focus on.

Diffused light isn’t very bright, but when we focus a light, the way becomes brighter.  Walk into a dark room and shine a flashlight.  It’s easy to see the way into the room.

Proverbs 21:25 reminds us that good planning and hard work “leads to prosperity” but “hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.”

What are you choosing to intentionally focus on today?  Are you setting a few goals that help light the way to the plan God designed just for you?  Are you focusing your hard work on those specific goals? Trying to change everything at once can be overwhelming.  Setting a few specific goals leads to a life of intention.  For example, are you just saying you want to spend more time with your kids or are you setting aside a specific time each week to spend time on nothing but them?  Are you saying you want to write a book or are you sitting down once a day for 30 minutes and logging ideas?  See the difference?

Do you need to see more clearly?  Try changing your lens.  What verses help you focus on where God is taking you?   Write them in your journal or post them on your wall.  Each day, thank God that He has specific plans for your life.  Then, move with Him as His focus becomes your direction.

The Excitement of an Empty Easter

The Excitement of an Empty Easter

by | Apr 10, 2020

This Resurrection Sunday Jesus will once again rock history in the middle of emptiness. Church pews will be empty and many may ask: “What good can come from an ‘Empty Easter?'” Those who went to the tomb on Resurrection morning could identify.

When Mary Magdalene, Peter and John saw that Jesus’ body was gone, they faced an “Empty Easter.” (John 20).  What had happened to their Lord?  Who had taken Him?  How could they get Him back?  Uncertainty engulfed their existence.

Uncertainty can mar our minds and sear our souls when we can’t see the outcome.  When will this end?  How will this end?  Will life ever be normal again?

I am a huge fan of Hallmark movies.  I love the way they make me feel and, even more, I love that I know how they are usually going to end.  Love conquers all, there is a lot of clapping and cheering, and everyone smiles as they walk to their perfectly-decorated homes.  I’d like to live in that kind of certainty, wouldn’t you?  But this is not a Hallmark movie we’re living.  It’s real life.

What can we do when life empties us of hope, shatters our dreams, drains our bank account, threatens our health and leaves us wondering “What now?”  The answer echoes from an empty tomb.

A friend of mine wrote a great lyric years ago that bears repeating: “When you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.”  Living in these unknown times gives us the opportunity to see the power of the empty tomb up close and personal.  Easter is our forever reminder that Jesus rose from that grave with certainty of the victory over hell, death and anything else we would ever face.  Jesus became eternal certainty in our uncertainty. And He promised to never leave us alone.

In my book, “Grace and Guts,” I share seven things to do when you feel uncertainty rearing its ugly head in your life:

  • Take One Step at a Time. Take care of the things that you DO have control over.
  • Get Organized. Make a daily plan and follow it to keep what you DO have control over moving in an organized and purposeful direction.
  • Avoid looking too far into the future. “What if’s” can be overwhelming and usually never happen.
  • Refuse the lies. It will not “always be this way” because we serve a God who is always moving in our lives.
  • Remember His faithfulness in times past. Focus on the times that God has come through for you.
  • Enter into Worship. You can’t truly worry and worship at the same time.
  • Surrender. EMPTY yourself of yourself.  Tell Him you don’t know what to do so that He can show you that He does know what to do.

This Easter, fill yourself with the “emptiness” of Easter.  The empty tomb is your certainty for eternity when you put your faith in Him.

The Days of “Hows” and “What Ifs”

The Days of “Hows” and “What Ifs”

by | Feb 19, 2020

When I was in college getting my Master’s Degree, I went through a tough year. Most of my friends had returned home after we got our Bachelors degrees so I was left to live on my own for the first time in my life. I lived in a little one bedroom house that had a swing on the front porch. It was cute. But it was lonely. To comfort myself, I immersed my heart in the music of some “new guy” named Steven Curtis Chapman (I’m old) and this amazing Christian rock group known as Petra. I would sit on my swing for hours with the door open and listen to the lyrics of their music. Do you know what I was wondering as I listened? “How in the world could I ever be in ministry like they are?” I would sit and dream and pray for hours.

Secretly, I already knew God was calling my heart to do what I’m doing with my life today, but I thought it was more of “my” dream than His, so a sadness would sometimes come over me. You know, the old pity party.  “God, I know I’m nobody but if there’s any way you could use a nobody like me to just do a little of what they do, I’d be so grateful.” But then I’d get up in defeat, just “knowing” it was all in my head. After all, Momma and Daddy were paying good money to send me to college to be a teacher and counselor. And I liked that too. I would turn the music of Petra back up and dream a little more before I drove myself to class. I was a conflicted because I couldn’t understand how all this could “possibly” fit together.

Well…last night I sat in my office listening to that old CD once more, jamming to those same lyrics as I wrote a radio interview I will conduct next week with the lead singer of…Petra. Lol! As I listened to each song. I went back to that old swing and all the days I wondered “how could you possibly do this God? It doesn’t make sense.”  Next week in Nashville, I will shake hands with, talk to and share my story with the voice behind the music that took me through the days of “hows” and “what ifs.” Pretty awesome.

Maybe you’re facing a situation that doesn’t make sense today. You don’t see how in the world your dream, prayers or deepest desire could ever come to pass.  Psalm 119 reminds us that we’re blessed when we stay on course and walk the path God reveals to us. Don’t give up. If it keeps coming up over and over in your heart, there’s a really good chance it’s not bad pizza. God has a plan just for you. Don’t be afraid to follow Him. It’s why you were created.

Don’t Be Deceived

Don’t Be Deceived

by | Oct 23, 2018

Recently, my heart has been disturbed by unrepentance. In today’s society, most want to emphasize the grace and love of God.  And while He certainly is a God of mercy, it seems that coming before God with a broken heart over our sin has become much less popular. Don’t be deceived.

In our sin, Jesus loved us enough to go to the cross so that we WOULD and could find a place of forgiveness— because we all need it. Not one of us is righteous. But Jesus took sin seriously enough to go to the cross and give up His very life. His Word is extremely clear about those who reject Him and the forgiveness He offers. In I Corinthians, we receive a strong warning: “Do not be deceived.”

I don’t know about you, but deception seems to be around me everywhere I go. Sin is no longer labeled sin but a “feel good, don’t hurt anyone’s feelings” kind of vibe. But God has something very different to say because He knows if we buy into the lie of the enemy and believe we’re “doing ok” without Jesus, we won’t be “doing ok” in the end.

Remember, our enemy hates truth. And God hates sin—not us, but sin. He has nothing to do with it and took it so seriously, He gave up His only Son because He knew we would blow it.

It’s not just the “big” sins. It’s all sin that breaks the heart of God. Our lack of compassion for someone who’s hurting, a harsh word when kindness was needed, an apathetic attitude when we should serve those who inconvenience us. It all counts and if it goes against the truth and commands of God’s Word, we have to call it for what it is.

Want to go deeper in your walk? Don’t be deceived. When we get on our faces and humble ourselves for every sin, big and small, not only are we forgiven, God will move in and grow His fruit in our life.

Join me and all the other sinners today. Let’s call what we do what it is—SIN. That takes GUTS. But that is also where we find GRACE.

1 Cor 5:9-10 – “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? DO NOT BE DECEIVED. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revivers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God.”

2 Peter 3:9-“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Choices in the Wrestling Ring

Choices in the Wrestling Ring

by | Jun 6, 2017

Today is June 6 and it is a special day in my heart. It has been three months to the day that my mom, my best friend, went home to be with Jesus…at 1:06 p.m. to be exact.

As I sit at my desk and write, I can see her all over my office. Not literally, of course. I see all of the amazing things she did in my office while she was my secretary. I haven’t moved many things on her desk. It still looks the way she always kept it and besides, I can find everything on HER desk! She was always so organized, especially with paperwork. Did I mention that I am NOT gifted when it comes to paperwork? I sure do miss her when I need to find something. She could always put her hands on any folder I needed. I’m praying I don’t mess up her filing system because so far, it still works really well.

During mom’s four year battle with colon cancer, I always prayed that we would have a long goodbye. God was very gracious and allowed me to have that long goodbye with her. Some of the funniest things that we ever shared were during the last four years she was alive. Little does she know I will definitely be writing stories about her in my next book that she might not let me tell otherwise! I don’t think she really minds now.

Mom battled courageously for four years with colon cancer. During the last year of her life, I would like to say I was faith-filled each day and ready for battle. Actually, during mom’s last year of life, I wrestled with God-INTENSELY. Remember Jacob? I think I could have given him a run for his money. When I say I wrestled, I wrestled! I wanted to know “why?” WHY my mom? WHY now when she could go everywhere with me for ministry like we always planned? WHY when everyone was praying? WHY? WHY? WHY? Have you ever been there?

Maybe it’s not a death, but a divorce, a wayward child, a loss you never expected or an illness. You know God is there, but He just doesn’t make any sense. You can’t feel Him, you can’t hear Him and you definitely can’t see any proof He’s listening. I get it. The last year mom was alive, I wrestled. I also wrestled with the fact that being in ministry, I shouldn’t be wrestling. I should be full of faith and raring to trust. Well, if that was the criteria for standing on a stage and ministering, I failed miserably. Thankfully, some of the most exciting things that I have seen God do in the lives of women happened during that year I wrestled. Thank God that what He can do through us isn’t contingent on our strength and it’s certainly not based on when we “have it all together.” He’s amazing like that.

I did learn something while i was in the wrestling ring. God didn’t mind my questions. I was never afraid to ask Him the hard stuff because I knew He could handle it. Not only did He handle it, He showed me a few things that have gotten me through every day with victory. In the days after mom died, some were “concerned” about me because I seemed so calm and “at peace.” I can tell you with every honest bone in my body, I WAS calm and at peace after mom died. I miss her terribly, but I came to a place during my wrestling match that I won’t trade for anything in this world. I found I could REALLY trust Him. Yeap. I said it out loud. I’m in full-time Christian ministry, and that was a revelation to me. Don’t get me wrong. I knew I could trust Him in the things I had experienced before, but you see, this wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced. This was different.

I learned four significant things from my wrestling match and I’d like to pass them on to you. I pray they help you if you’re like Jacob or myself today and you are struggling with something that’s happened to you that just doesn’t make sense.

1. Don’t let the “betrayal barrier” become truth when it’s a lie. Satan does all He can to tell us God doesn’t care, He isn’t listening and that He has finally decided to leave us-to betray us-during our greatest time of need. It’s a lie. God’s Word says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” in Hebrews 13:5. I came to a place of decision. I could believe my feelings, doubts and fears or I could believe truth, no matter how hard my feelings fought. I CHOSE to believe truth. It is a choice, by faith.

2. God’s ways don’t always make sense, but they do make for a better life. Don’t misunderstand. The death of my mom did not make my life better. What made my life better is seeing what God could do in SPITE of what death tried to do. When we are in the middle of the crisis, there seems no way that it could ever be used for a better life, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes. My Dad has been in church every Sunday since my mom passed away. That was a prayer of my mom for years. He wouldn’t mind me telling you that after experiencing some “religious folk” in the church and being hurt by some, he sat out on church for a while. Maybe you can identify. I can tell you now that he is reading the Word every day and every book that He can get his hands on about the mysteries of God. God’s way has made for a better life in my Dad. Not because of the absence of mom, but in spite of the absence of mom.

3. We are more precious to God than we can ever grasp. When I began questioning if God “really” cared about what was tearing my heart out, He didn’t swing down from Heaven in person…but He kind of did. I have never had so many people show up at “just the right time” and say “just the right thing” or send “just the right text” or share “just the right story” as I did when I was most broken. He uses people to be his hands, feet, arms, mouth. He’s amazing like that. When we pray and cry out to Him in our brokenness, the Bible tells us in Psalm 57:2 that He accomplishes His purposes for us. Note-not always what I want, but HIS purposes for me. That’s when we “grown up” Christians learn just how “grown up” we are. Trusting God and His plan over something we can’t see takes “grown up” guts. We are so precious to Him that He will drop things in our lives to remind us He is paying attention and knows right where are are when we struggle. Our job is to watch for those things and receive them when they arrive.

4. We can have peace that transcends understanding. After my wrestling match, I FINALLY laid down on the mat in the ring. I was worn out. I had no more tears to cry, no more prayers to pray and no more questions to ask. That’s when it happened. When I came to the end of myself, I collapsed on the mat. You know the funny part? He laid down right beside me. I could feel that He had been in the ring with me the whole time. He was faithful to stay there with me. He didn’t answer every question I had, but He constantly reminded me that He was still there. When I finally collapsed, I felt Him lay down in the ring beside me and gently say, “I am still here. I know you don’t understand, but you can trust me. I love your mom even more than you do. I made her. I knew her before you ever knew her. Trust me. I am doing what’s best for her.” When I could FINALLY grasp that He loved her even more than I did, I CHOSE to trust that He was doing the best thing for her. My feelings still screamed, but somehow, there was a peace in my heart that never left and hasn’t to this day. We can have peace when we CHOOSE to believe that our prayers have made a difference for the good of what we’re praying, even when we can’t see it. Some day, we will understand…and by then, I’m not sure it will even matter. So I’m leaving the ring for now and letting God heal my heart and feelings. I will CHOOSE to trust He knows best, even when He doesn’t make sense.