The Word and His Pen

 This post is a reminder of some truths that I at times lose sight of easily. Maybe I'm not the only one.  I Am Loved Unconditionally.  Jerimiah 31:3. "The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."   Titus 3:4-5. "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit"  I don't have to be afraid of His love running out, or stopping because I do something wrong. But that doesn't mean I should just do whatever my flesh desires and just take advantage of His love. I want to be changed by His unconditional love. I Am Free.  John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Darkness doesn't rule over me anymore! I am free, I don't have to submit to fear or anything else except ...

 So yesterday I did a podcast episode with a friend of mine, (The Royal Hope Mission), talking about identity. The episode will be out in a couple weeks, I'll try to put it on here or share where to find it when it does come out.  As I was preparing for the podcast I realized that finding our true identity is something that I am very passionate about.   I'm not going to give any spoilers to the details in the podcast episodes, you'll have to listen for yourself when it comes out. And this was the first time I've ever done anything like that, so I was and am very excited about it, and hopefully it won't be the last time!  In talking and thinking about identity a lot lately God told me I should do another post today to write out my current ponderings on the subject. When you know who you are, a Chosen Child of the Most High God, it is powerful. When you are firmly rooted in that Truth it is even more so. As Christians one thing that I have noticed is that we forge...

 Often times when I write to process I write in third person or from a realistic fiction perspective.  So here's an example of that and something I'm processing tonight. There. She sighed to herself as she said aloud. "All together in one place." She had a large glass cube on her lap. Inside this large glass cube she placed all the memories, all the trinkets, the cards, the pictures and videos of past and present, and journal entries that helped her remember them. This made her happy. It was a beautiful box full of beautiful things. All in one spot.  Just because they were in a different country and she hadn't really seen or talked to them in years didn't mean that she would forget them. They had been some of her best friends and she wasn't going to let an ocean and lack of communication keep them apart. And now she had new videos to add along with the memories.  She would pause often to sit down, open the box, and look through the pictures, feel the trink...

I said in my last post I would talk more about the absolute miracle that the church I'm going to is. Now is that time!  However first I would like to share something that I wrote a year or so ago that ties into what I want to talk about.  This section I entitled "Faith Like Job" What should one do when everything is taken away? Or even when something precious is taken away? Should we pause life so that we can cry it all out? Should we be angry at God for taking it away from us? Should we turn our backs on life all together?  While we need to mourn, it’s important, it’s healing. We shouldn’t hit the pause button on life only to push play again someday and realize how much we’ve missed out on.  The most important question I think we should be asking God in these times is, what are you doing in this? How is it apart of your plan? However not asked in anger but curiosity and wonder. Everything is apart of God’s plan.  Maybe it’s hard to look up and ask with wonder. ...

In several of my recent posts I have written about dealing with fear.  I'm using this blog to write Words that God gives me, and my current ponderings and processing different things.  So today I was in our amazing house church, (undoubtedly more on that miracle later), listening to the sermon. Then a phrase that I had heard a hundred times before, set in a new light. It Is Finished. The words Jesus spoke before His last breath.  Sometimes, unfortunately, with things I hear over and over again I don't consider their meaning to the fullest, or I do but then I forget and lose sight of it.  It Is Finished.  Those three words and the following events began the ending of an era. Three days later a new era began. The era of darkness ended. The era of Truth, Light, and Hope was ushered in when Jesus rose and death died.  Death is Finished. Fear is Finished. Darkness is Finished. Despair is Finished. Rejection is Finished. Insecurity is Finished. Destruction is Fin...

Fighting fear.  This is something I've been thinking about off and on a lot lately.  Warning. Contains cold hard facts. Firstly, instead of just allowing the word fear to conjure up all sorts of images in your mind of what you are afraid of, lets look at the cold hard facts.  Fear is not Truth. Now here is something that is not often discussed or thought about. Fear is a sin. There's an uncomfortable thought.  I can pretty much guarantee that everyone has experienced times of fear, maybe several times a day. We get all too used to it. Good or bad if you live with something long enough you become accustomed to it. maybe even start liking it, or relying on it. I have. I have felt like trusting fear was safer than trusting God. But more on that in a minute, how is fear a sin? Fear not only means that you are not trusting God for whatever situation you are going through, but fear is idolatry. When I feel afraid I'm telling God that He must be incapable of handling whatev...

 How often do we struggle in this life?  I don't think there's a calculator big enough for that!  We are guaranteed troubles in this life. It is a broken world. John 16:33  Actually, you know what, I'm going to type the whole verse out instead of just the reference. It's a good one. John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." This is such a good verse. We are going to have troubles, this is just a fact. If you stop and try to count all the bad things going on, all the natural disasters, you are going to get overwhelmed and depressed pretty fast. This is a broken world we're living in. But! Jesus doesn't stop there. He knows that the amount of brokenness in the world is overwhelming, and discouraging. He knows what we're thinking as we start becoming weighed down by it all. So He says, "But take heart!" Don't be afraid or di...

I typed out this post before I had a blog! I was journaling one day and God gave me this post, and I said okay, now I definitely have to start a blog. Then a few days later I did!  This morning God told me to share this post! So here is the post that kicked this blog into motion! What do you do when fear seems to cripple you? And what do you do when a great wave of emotions comes out of nowhere and you begin to drown? In times like these it is easy to feel that all the fight has gone out of you. You want to give in. You want to drown. It feels like too much and that it would be easier if it just overtook you. I have experienced this so many times. Now after years of giving in, feeling like I was drowning, or losing the fight, God is teaching me something. Feelings and emotions can be strong, yes. But are they consistent? No. Are they facts? Rarely. Are they clear? No. Feelings and emotions can be swayed from day to day, at times even moment to moment. They ca...