The application of my posts....

Yesterday I got an e-mail about my What ifs... post. As I read it I started to feel a bit of disappointment settle on my shoulders because the person had focused on something that wasn't really my point at all. When all of a sudden it hit me!  HARD!

It is okay if seven different people get seven different applications from my writing. I am NOT the one in control of what comes out of these fingers of mine. I write what's on my heart. I write what God is walking me through, and HE applies it to your here and now. All of a sudden I realized that it is GOOD if someone comments on or highlights a point I never intended, because that shows me that God is working. And if I wrote in such a way that EVERYONE only got MY intended purpose, then not nearly as many people would be touched by the words on this site.

Then I started wondering... how much of the rest of our life is tinged by that? I read the book Heaven is For Real this summer on the badgering urging of my mother. She wanted me to read it because it gave her such real and vivid visions of what Heaven will be like. I read it, thoroughly enjoyed it, BAWLED like a baby through it, but almost none of my enjoyment and bawling had to do with Heaven. Almost none of my "Aha!" moments came from the parts about Heaven. You know what hit me? You know what ministered to me? The similarities of that family to Job. The way thing after thing after THING kept happening to them, and they kept plodding on. That's what hit me. See as I read that book, I RELATED to their story. I could feel their pain. I know the pain of walking through the valley of Chiari Malformation, financial destitution, moving FAR away from loved ones, my life FALLING apart, all within the span of a few short months. Therefore, I bawled like a baby because I felt I had found some kindred spirits, a story I could relate to, company in my loneliness. Was that the thesis of this book? Nope. Was that the story the authors aimed to tell? Nope. But guess what it was the part that hit ME.

The point of my writing, the point of our lives, the point of our ministry isn't OUR AIM... It is just simply that people are touched. It isn't about the message I am trying to convey. It is about the message that God is bringing home to each and every individual reader. This isn't MY blog. It is God's. My job is simply to write what is on my heart. It is His job to apply some part to your individual situation.

So go ahead... glean WHATEVER you want from this post... I'm just grateful that you glean.

What ifs...

I got a random anonymous comment the other day. It was tinged with a bit of bitterness and COMPLETELY not attached to the correct post. Just so you know I don't post every comment. I won't post stuff that is angry, mean or bitter, but more importantly I strive to protect my blog readers from looking silly. If someone posts something off the wall or that doesn't at all apply to the post at hand, I just don't approve it. But I wonder about it. I get a little agitated about it.

See I am a PEOPLE PLEASER extraordinaire. I want EVERYONE in this whole wide world to like me AND to approve of me. So I wonder a little.... is this comment from someone I know personally and are they bitter with ME? is this comment because I am not a good enough writer so I failed to properly convey my thoughts? is this comment just a fluke?  But see even if it is just a fluke, I can learn a lesson....

This specific random comment that did not apply to the post it was attached to got me thinking.... what if? what if the purpose of this blog isn't what I think it is? What I purpose in my own heart for this blog is a bit ecclectic... this blog is my therapy... this blog keeps me accountable... this blog is my ministry... and this blog has an ulterior motive as well:  building a platform to eventually get published.  But what if NONE of those is God's purpose for this blog?

What if this blog is to shape me? To give me thicker skin and help me stop worrying so much about what others think of me?

What if this blog isn't to get me published so hundreds of thousands can read my work but is so just ONE person can stumble on this blog and be changed?

Hang on with me a second because this applies to YOU too.  I think often in life OUR WAYS ARE NOT HIS WAYS... and while we may have an understanding of PART of His purpose we sometimes miss the whole picture.

***What if your marriage isn't just to make you happy and fulfill you but to mold you and make you more like Christ?
***What if homeschooling your children isn't just about giving them an education but is also about teaching you patience, endurance or organizational skills?
***What if that mission trip your going on isn't all about spreading God's word but is also about changing your heart?
***What if that move you made isn't just financially wise but is also emotionally and relationally (spell check doesn't like that word but TOUGH!) wise?
***What if your new job isn't about more money or more power but is about influencing different people for Christ?

Sometimes we get so focused on OUR ways that we miss a little of HIS ways. That doesn't mean we don't do some good. I am trying HARD to minister to you my readers in this blog and that is good, but I sometimes get discouraged when I feel like no one is reading or when I don't have any comments or when I get off-the-wall comments... However, what if MANY aren't supposed to be reading. What if I'm missing HIS goal? What if this whole entire 2 1/2 years worth of blogging is all about changing ONE PERSON... maybe me? maybe you? maybe someone who has yet to even stumble on this blog? who knows, but by opening myself up and asking what HIS purpose is for this blog I think I will be more effective in writing it.

Here's what I want you all to do... open your eyes and your hearts... ask God what HIS purpose is for your current situation. He is faithful, and I believe He will show you the answers if you just ask.


SIDE NOTE: Your opinion matters! I have changed up the color scheme a little, increased the font size, and made the post font less fancy ALL based upon reader feedback. If there's something else you think could make this blog more user friendly, drop me a line. Sorry I didn't move the music player.  It is down there specifically because I want its appearance to be "in the background." Possibly consider muting your speakers if you are reading this at work??? Not that you would EVER do that. :)

Heavy heart....

My heart is so heavy this morning. All around me are tragic stories. Last night I learned of another as I was attempting to conquer the evil stair treadmill at the TAG Center. The e-mail nearly knocked me right off that treadmill.

I have SUCH a heart for those whose life seems out of control. I know the pain and fear that comes from your emotions telling you, "God has forgotten me!" while your Bible and everything you have learned since you were a child is SCREAMING, "No!!!!  He has NOT!!!" My heart just BREAKS for those in pain. I grieve over your loss. I ache from your tragedy. And (OF COURSE) I have a few things to say to you:

1. You are NOT alone! You are NOT!!!  The enemy wants you to think that. He wants you to believe that no one understands, no one has been down this road before, no one CARES that you are reeling from pain. That is a LIE from the PIT of HELL! Listen to me! Stop whatever you are multi-tasking on right now... Focus on the words of this page... and HEAR me NOW! YOU ARE NOT ALONE! This tragedy I heard of last night... This terrible, heart-breaking story... I don't even know the person. I only have a "six-degrees of separation" kind of connection to the family, but I ACHE for them! I wish I could take away some of their pain. I wish I could help them! SURELY there are those in their direct circle of influence who care MUCH more than I do!

2. It will get better. I know it doesn't seem so. I know the pain and agony seem they will overwhelm you. I KNOW the waves are crashing over your head... you are inhaling breaths filled with water.... you are being dragged down to the depths of despair... but just HANG ON! Because it WILL get better... weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning... Psalm 30:5


3. He has NOT forgotten you! I purposely saved this one for last. He has NOT forgotten you. He sees the tears you have cried in the middle of the night. He knows you feel like the pain will overwhelm you. He knows you are lonely, tired, weary, losing hope. He knows that you are at the END OF YOUR ROPE. He has NOT forgotten you. If there is ONE thing you can take to the bank, it is THIS!!!!  He has NOT forgotten you!!!

Sometimes I think I should stop trolling around the Internet, stop reading people's blogs, unsubscribe from group lists. My heart hurts SO badly from all the pain I encounter via this World Wide Web.... But then I know that I need to keep doing it... I need to pray for all these lost children I read about on Fox News... for all these broken people I meet on the Internet... for all those touched by the gut-wrenching pain of loss... So on I go reading, trolling, PRAYING...

If you read this blog and thought, "Ohmigosh! she wrote this for ME!" know that I am praying for YOU today. Praying that God would rush in and surround you with His love. That He would bring the light of hope to your darkness. That He would send the warmth of a hug into your loneliness. That He would give you the strength to hold on just a little longer, but most of all that He just WOULD... so you know that He has NOT forgotten.

Hang on my friends!

More on forgiveness and forgetting....

I didn't have much time to blog the other day when I posted the link to Pastor's Aaron's sermon. I don't really have more time today, but when something BURNS on my heart, I gotta write it out.

forgive - to give up resentment of or claim to compensation for

forget - to lose the remembrance of: be unable to think of or recall

First of all, just to be clear, does everyone know that the Bible doesn't tell us to forgive and forget? The Bible's directives regarding forgiveness include:

*forgive seventy times seven
*forgive as your Father in Heaven forgives

But the Bible does NOT tell us to forgive and forget.

Here's the deal folks: forgiveness is NOT forgetting. Forgiveness is letting go of our hurt and anger over the injustice caused. Forgiveness is letting go of the slight, betrayal, offense. Forgiveness says you don't have to pay me back for this sin any more. You don't have to make this up to me. Forgiveness is NOT forgetting the slight, betrayal, offense happened. Forgiveness is not removing it from your memory (which is impossible).

God forgives our sins. God tosses them as far as the east is from the west. But God doesn't allow us to forget them because we need to remember. Just the same, we should forgive those who have sinned against us, but that doesn't include forgetting!

1. We need to REMEMBER so we REMEMBER how much we have been forgiven of. REMEMBERING the mercy God (and others) has shown us makes us grateful and increases our love toward them.

2. We need to REMEMBER so we learn a lesson. Our past failures... The past failures of others.... These things forgiven teach us VALUABLE lessons. As I stated on Monday, REMEMBERING that a hot stove burns, helps us LEARN not to touch it again. Also, REMEMBERING that I have no self-control when it comes to chocolate helps me LEARN not to keep chocolate in the house. REMEMBERING that a situation led to sin helps us LEARN to avoid it in the future. REMEMBERING that a friend blabbed a secret we begged them not to share, helps us REMEMBER not to reveal so much next time.

3. We need to REMEMBER so we can be used. The best comfort in pain and agony comes from someone who has walked the road we are on before us. The best comfort to someone struggling with the pain from a broken marriage, comes from another who has been there. The best comfort to someone walking down the dark path of the loss of a child, comes from another who has been there. The best comfort to someone battling an addiction, comes from another who has been there.

So here's the deal...

Do you need to forgive others?  YES! How often? INFINITY times INFINITY.

Do you need to forget what they did? NO! Absolutely not. You can't.

I look at it like this... most of the time when you forgive a slight it couldn't have been "made right" anyways. Sorry doesn't make it better. If I punch you in the face as hard as I can, sorry doesn't take away the pain, the redness or the swelling. Sorry doesn't make it better. If I say sorry, it doesn't magically erase the fact that it ever happened. If I say sorry I'm saying, "I wish I could go back and NOT do that the second time." And when you forgive me you are saying, "I let go of it. I won't make you pay it back." (The funny thing about it is OFTEN there is NO way that it could be paid back anyways.) There is also NO way it can be forgotten. The next time I lift my hand up in a fist aimed at your face you're going to flinch!  You should! It's called self-preservation. AND the next time a friend gets punched in the face you are going to be able to say, "I remember how that felt. I hated that!"

Forgiving is GOOD for you and the person who slighted you. Bitterness, resentment, anger held onto... these things are a cancer eating away at the bones.

Forgetting is IMPOSSIBLE so stop trying. Instead embrace it. Remember the lessons your pain has taught you. Remember the pain and use that to help others. Finally, REMEMBER how much you too have been forgiven of!

Worship Wednesday: Courageous

It is just 2 days away!!!!  My hubby (and me... but mostly HIM) is soooooooooo excited!  The new movie by the makers of Fireproof and Facing the Giants is coming in TWO DAYS!!!! John has been promoting this movie for MONTHS! He is a sucker for a GOOD Christian movie (aren't we all?) but this one is especially meaningful because it is about fathers. It's called Courageous.

Have you heard the song Courageous by Casting Crowns (has Casting Crowns EVER written ANYTHING that is not PURELY amazing?????).  

We were made to be courageous
We were made to lead the way
We could be the generation
That finally breaks the chain
We were made to be courageous
We were made to be courageous


Lately I have been walking around with this STRONG and URGENT sense of expectation. I explained it to my mom the other day as being "pregnant with expectation." It's like I can FEEL something big coming in this world. I am no prophet. I can't tell you if it is the end of the world, the rapture or what... but I can tell you what I hope it is. I hope it is a revival. A burning flame of love for God that sweeps across this nation like the Great Awakening did. We are RIPE for it. Our economy is in shambles. Morality has taken a tanker. Families are falling apart. Marriages lie dashed on the rocks. And do you know who is poised to lead us into this battle? You know who stands as the underdog beaten down by society... told he was no good... discarded like a useless broken tool... MAN! In fact ALL of  the MEN of this world!!!  

We were warriors on the front lines
Standing unafraid
But now we're watchers on the sidelines
While our families slip away


DON'T STAND ON THE SIDELINES, MEN! GET IN THERE AND FIGHT!

Where are you, men of courage?
You were made for so much more
Let the pounding of our hearts cry
We will serve the Lord


YOU WERE MADE FOR THIS! IT IS YOUR DESTINY!

We were made to be courageous
And we're taking back the fight
We were made to be courageous
And it starts with us tonight

The only way we'll ever stand
Is on our knees with lifted hands
Make us courageous
Lord, make us courageous


And here it is.... the clincher... the secret to success: The only way to be courageous.... the only way to be strong and lead the way... It is ONLY with Christ behind you. You stand by getting down on your knees. You fight by lifting up your hands.

This is our resolution
Our answer to the call
We will love our wives and children
We refuse to let them fall

We will reignite the passion
That we buried deep inside
May the watchers become warriors
Let the men of God arise

Seek justice
Love mercy
Walk humbly with your God (repeat)

In the war of the mind
I will make my stand
In the battle of the heart
And the battle of the hand (X2)

My last word about this song/concept is for the women:


Help them be courageous. Be their partner in this stand. Don't nitpick their efforts to be strong. Don't point out their failures. Egg them ON! Encourage them! Cheer loudly for them:  Be strong! Be courageous!  The men in your life need your SUPPORT!!!  Trust me if the men of our world stand up and are COURAGEOUS, we all win.


So Friday night... 9/30... opening night... John & I are schlepping all the kids... meeting Christina and Matt (and I think Tracey and J.J. but I'm not sure if I ever communicated this change of plans to them) and Amanda and James (don't you back out on us NOW!) and anyone else who wants to meet us there... I'm actually going to pre-buy our tickets TODAY to make sure we don't miss out. Meet us there if you are interested.  The more the merrier!





Courageous
Menomonee Falls Marcus Theater
6:40 p.m.