Encouragement – the O.G. Viral

Christmas Chaos

Jennifer — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:43:02 +0000

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is kept on You, because he trusts in You.

Do you feel like you’re swimming in a holiday ocean of overwhelm without a life vest? Everything from navigating tricky familial relationships and perhaps juggling those triggering feelings of loss or seasonal sadness? Maybe sprinkle in the financial worries doing a merry dance in your head, and the marathon of food prep that could make Gordon Ramsay sweat. Oh, and let’s not forget the extra work hours to afford all those gifts that keep the family smiling.

Welcome to the end-of-year chaos! It’s the season of juggling a gazillion things while trying to remember to keep yourself focused on the reason for the season. I mean, who thought November and December could turn into a real-life action movie where you’re the lead character just trying to survive the holiday hustle?

So, where do you even start when it comes to finding and resting in God’s peace in the midst of the overwhelm of real life? Sometimes peace feels elusive, like trying to figure out which strand of Christmas lights is causing the whole string to go wonky. The three words I’m about to mention might initially sound like a hard pass. They tend to raise eyebrows and go against our natural instincts. But, surprise, they’re actually the secret code to discovering peace. You might want to brace yourself: Surrender, perspective, and trust.

Hang in here with me. Take a deep breath and remember what is says in Romans 8:31 if God is before us who or what can be against us? The initial baby step in surrender involves releasing our death grip on control. Proverbs 16:3-4 reminds us, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The Lord works out everything to its proper end.”

Surrender can often feel daunting and challenging. How do we release our grasp on the illusion of control? It’s primarily a mental shift. The simple truth is, we aren’t in control, though we may believe we are. Moreover, we have a powerful enemy who is influencing us with false ideologies, compelling us to shoulder it alone. Yet by embracing a renewed perspective, (be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind), we can welcome God’s plans, trusting they’ll always surpass our own.
An executive friend of mine once shared an inspiring holiday testimony. Faced with an overwhelming to-do list—over six hours of work, household chores, meal preparation for her family and expected guests, gift wrapping, and an upcoming church prayer session—she felt the pressure mounting. Anticipating a late-night work session and possibly missing her prayer time, she paused in the overwhelm to pray herself. In an instant, a plan unfolded in her mind, gifted by the Holy Spirit. She swiftly attended to household tasks, fed her family, and headed for prayer. Returning home, she began her work, bracing herself for a long night. To her shock and immense relief, what would have usually consumed six hours barely took forty-five minutes. It was nothing short of a miracle—a testament to God’s grace, not just His unmerited favor, but His enabling power allowing her to achieve what He called her to.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).

My friend’s example taught me so much. When she felt overwhelmed, her first step was to shift her focus from the natural to the supernatural by praying. It’s seems easy, but often, getting out of our own head is the hardest thing to do. She didn’t attempt to navigate it alone; instead, surrendering control and seeking God’s guidance, she transformed her perspective. Trusting in Jesus, she relinquished her burdens and found peace and confidence through the Holy Spirit’s guidance on what to accomplish and how to proceed. As she set aside her own efforts and embraced God’s, she experienced His grace—His divine empowerment—in every task.

In Isaiah 26:3, God pledges perfect peace to those who anchor their minds in Him, placing their trust steadfastly. Amidst the holiday bustle, grief and stress, you’re not navigating the chaos alone. The pressures, and apprehensions of this festive whirlwind are things we all face. Yet, amidst it all, here’s the assurance: God’s got this—and God’s got you! The question is – will you let Him?

Remember: Hebrews 4:11 urges us to earnestly seek God’s rest, achieved through surrender, perspective, and trust. Genuine rest emerges when we lay down our burdens and embrace His. Matthew 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” If you’re struggling, start by seeking Him. Take a moment and commit your way to the Lord, so that He can direct your path. We can do all things through His strength – even holiday chaos.

What do you worship?

Jennifer — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:28:05 +0000

This people have I formed for myself; they will show forth my praise. Isaiah 43:21.

Therefore, I urge you, brethren, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1.

What do you worship?

As you read, I’d love if you’d ruminate on the question: what do I worship?

Recently, our church has been ministering on the word ‘worship’. What does it mean? How does it apply to our lives?

For so many of us, our understanding of worship begins and ends with lifting praises to God through singing on Sunday morning. Perhaps, while we are singing, if we are feeling extra brave and spiritual that morning, we raise our arms and sway, too.

Mostly, we think of worship as a form of celebrating God with song, prayer, church and reading the Bible. Not bad thoughts.

Our ideas about worship, if a lot of us are honest, have to do with external acts of validating God. While those notions aren’t wrong, I think we miss a bigger picture.

I would like us to consider that worship occurs when turn aside from the ordinary tasks of life to give time, attention and honor to something or someone.

In that light – how many of us worship our smart phones? Get a break in the day and the first thing we pick up and do is check our phones to see who is trying to communicate with us or maybe who has validated our recent post on social media. Or maybe we tell ourselves that we are “researching” this or that.

How many of us pattern our lives by turning aside and giving regular time, attention and honor to: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Netflix, Hulu, gaming apps and consoles, an important relationship, our hobbies, our Spotify list, the latest bestseller. Raising my hand here too! You’re not alone.

We worship a lot of things that aren’t God. So, in that light, let’s consider a few important things about worship as the pattern of our life.

Above, the scripture in Isaiah shows us that God has created us to be His representation of praise. It means that we live our lives in such a way that onlookers will see the goodness of God reflected in the testimony of our lives and that is a praise to Him.

How do we get there? Well, it’s accomplished through what Romans 12:1 says. “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.”

What does it mean to present or offer our bodies as a living sacrifice? First, we need to understand why presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice is pivotal.

I think we can all agree, there isn’t much (externally speaking) we have control over in life, right? I mean, not really. That’s why we often say things like, “let go, and let God” as the answer to the fact that our daily lives take shape around us in ways outside of our authority.

There is, however, one thing in this life that in most situations, we have total authority over, and that is ourselves. Think about it. From a young age, we have a lot of autonomy surrounding what we think and do. Even if our physical selves are under the power of another, I can’t think of one real instance, an instance that exists outside of the movies, where our mind is controlled by another without our agreement. As we mature and become adults, we have total autonomy over what we think and what we do.

Consider, we don’t have to watch that movie (we can leave the room or change the channel) or listen to that song or read that book. We can control how long we spend on our various devices (phones, tablets, TVs, computers, gaming systems etc.,). We don’t have to go to the bar even if that cool band you really like is playing there. We don’t have to worship our problems or eagerly wait for the next bit of drama and gossip. We don’t have to be slaves to fear and the pattern of our thoughts don’t need to be anxious especially since the bible says “Be eager for nothing but, with all prayer and supplication, make your requests be made known to God.” We don’t have to worship our medical illnesses or our relationships.

We present ourselves as “living sacrifices” through our choices in what we allow to become important in our lives.

God says that, considering His mercy toward us, it’s reasonable for us to exercise control over the ONE thing we have ABSOLUTE authority over, and that’s how we conduct ourselves. Does it feel good to master our time or our thought life? No. That’s the sacrifice part. We are living sacrifices when we decide to die to our sin nature and live to Christ. That living to Christ part is “true and proper” worship.

More often than not, we present our bodies as a living sacrifice to ourselves and we leave God the crumbs. As the great and wise (all the snark) Homer Simpson says, “DOH!”.

At the beginning, I asked a simple question: What do you worship? What do you turn aside and give your time, attention, and honor to? Kinda crazy to think that an obsession with our health could be what we worship over God… am I right? I asked you that question because it’s important for us to realize the worship of our lives so that we can exercise authority over our nature and change it.

Let me reassure you, you’re not alone. As even Paul said, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The vast majority of us need work in this area. We need to become true worshipers of God. Our lives need to become that reflection of Christ and God’s goodness through our choices to cast down our idols or the things we worship instead of God.

A peeve of mine is a writing that points out a truth, but then stops short of providing helpful answers. To not be what irritates me, take some of those extra moments today where you might normally turn aside to something else and seek God. Ask Him what you worship and how to take steps (not leaps and bounds) to take authority over that area in your life. Remember that we are constantly being transformed by the renewing of our mind. This implies an ongoing interactive relationship with God. Ask God to help you take those steps in faithfulness as a living sacrifice. Let him show you what to replace certain patterns with (i.e., christian music, books, movies. A different friend group, a prayer meeting or service instead of a concert, mastering your thoughts and changing your focus, spending time with Him, being conscious of His abiding presence wherever you are and listening to the Holy Spirit’s promptings).

Final thoughts: Sometimes simple confessions of truth are powerful in changing an unwilling or unmotivated heart. I have to tell God all the time that I know certain things are right or wrong, but my heart doesn’t match my head knowledge. I have to ask God to help me change my heart because on my own; I don’t want to. I would caution you away from trying to change your behavior solely on your own and would instead encourage you to recognize what you worship and then ask God for His solutions and His help. His ways are higher than our own.

If it Wasn’t for the Pain…

Jennifer — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 21:52:23 +0000

“What do I do with all of my pain? It’s like a bad burrito eating up my insides and making me sick. It’s become the poison I designed for others, but really, it’s only killing me. Sometimes I’m angry for no reason I’m aware of, but I end up taking it out on others whether or not they deserve it. I feel so alone in this.”

Do you ever feel this way? It’s more common than most people realize. Unfortunately, recognizing our issues doesn’t mean we know how to deal with them. So, what do we do when these types of emotions hit us?

This may sound weird, but the first thing we need to do is dig down to the root of the emotion. Take anger, for example. If you stop and trace it to its source, it might surprise you to find that what you’ve labeled ‘mad’ is really sad, hurt, frustrated, scared, and so on. In fact, anger is always a “secondary emotion”; what this means is that every time anger is present, something came before it. Anger is always second in line. Beneath that fiery rage, there is an emotion that kicked the party off. It’s important when we find ourselves mad to figure out where our anger is coming from so that we can deal with it effectively.

Often, the struggle in coping with the bad stuff that’s happened in our lives is the very real fact that those struggles have come through people who’ve been selfish and hurtful. They have made choices we can’t control, and any loss of control can also make us feel upset and angry. It’s that feeling of powerlessness that kicks off a chain reaction of frustration, anger, resentment, and bitterness. And dealing with things beyond our control? Yep, it’s a surefire way to turn us into emotional volcanoes. The simple truth is, we can’t control other people. The only thing we have power over is how to decide to respond to the situations we find ourselves in.

I once watched a fabulous tiktok video of a father showing his teenage boys why reacting to a situation in anger is a terrible idea. He handed a soda bottle to each son and told them to shake it up. After a full 30 seconds of shaking, you could see that they were roiling with explosive tension. He said to the first son, “OK, now imagine that a situation happens, and it shakes you up, just like this soda bottle. Open it.” Of course, the soda went everywhere and made a big mess. “This is what happens when we let anger take control over us. It makes things worse, not better.” Then he said to his second son with the bottle that wasn’t opened, “Son, I want you to wait before opening it.” After waiting a period, when they opened the second bottle, it was no longer explosive. There was no mess to clean up or damage to take care of. Then he handed his son a tube of toothpaste and he said, “I want you to squeeze a bunch out into the sink.” The son obeyed. He said, “When we react in anger and we allow our emotions to run wild, sometimes we say things we can’t ever take back, and that’s like squeezing toothpaste out of the tube. Squeezing toothpaste out of the tube is easy, but once it’s out, it can’t be put back in. So we have to not allow our anger to control us and we have to be careful always in how we use our tongue. Words can be the deadliest of weapons.”

Sometimes, there’s no ‘they’ causing the pain. It’s us, our choices, our limitations, or how we’ve interpreted things. But no matter the source, the pain’s real. And when we can’t process or change it, we often slip into a spiral of emotions.

Different folks handle pain differently. Some vanish. Poof! Others turn into the ultimate risk-takers, almost challenging the world to take them on. Then there are the ones who hide their hurt behind a facade of perfection, slowly dying on the inside. And let’s not forget the firebrand warriors, fueled by bitterness, out to fix the world’s wrongs. Ephesians 4:26 tells us “Don’t sin by letting anger control you, do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Take control of your anger, dig under it, and figure out how to release it. Okay, that’s great, but how?

Feeling our pain is a very important step in healing from it and disabling it. Acknowledging our pain, exploring it, feeling what it brings up for us, and owning it and then re-framing our association with it- is what it takes to heal. Feeling negative emotions and exploring them is something most people struggle with. It’s human nature to move away from things that are difficult or uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, the first step in healing often involves feeling the pain. It’s tough to confront our emotions. Sometimes, we either dive too deep into them or stuff them in a box, hoping they’ll magically disappear. But the truth is, allowing ourselves to feel without letting those feelings dictate our lives is a game-changer. It’s like owning up to a mistake without letting it define us.

Often, digging into our emotions reveals that we’re ill-equipped to deal with the cause of our pain. But guess what? God offers to take our burdens and to trade us beauty for ashes (all the destruction in our lives), joy for mourning, and praise for despair. (Isaiah 61:3). God offers to take our burdens and trade them for joy, beauty, and healing. He’s the ultimate healer, the emotional guru we never knew we needed.

Life hands us pain—it’s part of the package. But what if we surrendered that pain, received healing, and helped others do the same? What if our suffering didn’t have to make us enemies with everyone around us? What if, when things went haywire, we turned to God for strength and guidance?

Psalm 34:17 says, “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them.” Why not give your pain, anger, hurt, bitterness… whatever it is that is torturing you on the inside, destroying relationships on the outside, and keeping you from living life to the fullest… over to God and let Him begin the work of healing you and setting you free.

Time for Change

Jennifer — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 16:15:35 +0000

Time for Change

2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

There are moments in all our lives when we realize that how we’ve been living, the way we’ve been reacting, or simply our way of thinking isn’t working anymore. Maybe it is causing too much stress, maybe it is hurting ourselves or others, or maybe it simply isn’t who or how we want to be anymore.

In those moments, we realize that what we need is a change. Easy enough… we just decide, change… and promptly fall back to our old habit minutes later. Let’s be honest, change is never easy.

So how do we start?

Forming a new pattern of behavior or cultivating a new habit is a struggle for most of us. Rarely does change happen overnight. In fact, according to studies, on average, it takes over 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. Of course, the actual time it takes for a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the behavior, the person, and the circumstances. So if you’re busy beating yourself up because you can’t seem to change something that you want to, then, my friend, you’re in good company. Take a deep breath, relax, you’ve got this.

Here’s how to start change in a way that works:

Become conscious of the thing that needs to change. It doesn’t matter if it’s a complex thing or a simple thing. It could be biting finger nails, lying, complaining, negative thinking, cursing, laziness, who you hang around, how you spend your money and so on… The first step is to, as clearly as you can, articulate to yourself what needs to change. Be honest with yourself, it may sting, but the clearer you are, the easier the next steps are and the greater the feeling of success when you see results.
Strategize your success. Let’s take lying, for example – perhaps you lie to protect yourself and it’s the first thing that slips out because you’re afraid to tell the truth. It’s important to catch yourself in the act. Become mentally aware when you are doing the thing you want to change and then use your strategy to help. For instance – stop yourself in the lie, apologize, and be honest, tell the person you are afraid to get in trouble, hurt them, or whatever is true and then solidify that change in behavior by telling the truth. As you do this, you will not only hold yourself accountable, but you will also develop a new habit. In this case, the habit of honesty.
Develop new coping mechanisms. Whatever your struggle is, part of strategizing your success is identifying your old coping mechanisms and developing new ones. Maybe your struggle is your temper and you cope by lashing out. If you do then no matter how silly it seems, you need to pick a new coping mechanism that is healthy. Don’t slip into another unhealthy coping mechanism. Maybe you need to take a walk and few deep breaths before you deal with whatever has you angry. Maybe you need to sit and read, or pray, or find someone to help keep you accountable. Whatever your coping mechanism is, find a healthy approach. As you do, you may be surprised to find that the struggle itself even fades once you no longer have to fear an unhealthy coping mechanism.
Keep at it. This isn’t rocket science, but it also isn’t easy. Perseverance is key. Don’t stop, don’t give up, and don’t make excuses. When you stumble, get back up, dust yourself off, and keep going. Don’t let that little voice that says “what’s the use… just give up” get in there. Don’t argue it, just ignore it. You’re on your way to change, and the temptation to give up is just that. A temptation. It has no actual power over you. 1 Corinthians 10:13 encourages us in this when it says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may endure it.”

Bring your struggle to God. He already knows about it anyway, and he delights in helping you even when you don’t know what to do. James 1:5 talks about this when it says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Changing behavior is hard work, but it’s worth the result of becoming a better person and treating those around you better. Change is not an overnight thing and none of us can flip a switch on all our flaws, but that doesn’t mean we are off the hook in fixing them, it just means we need to take the right approach.

Take heart!

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”