Morning Rituals

Do you start your day in the same way. . . every day?

Most of us do.

Even if our spontaneity kicks in later . . .

Even when our schedule fluctuates . . .

Most of us begin the day with at least somewhat of a morning ritual.

Whether it involves drinking coffee or tea, reading the newspaper, checking the computer, exercise, etc. . . . there’s usually some uniformity to it.

Does your morning ritual protect your mind?

Does your morning ritual guard against the evil one?

Does your morning ritual help you focus on Christ?

Some of us have {or try to have} a regular “quiet time” with the Lord.  Maybe yours is in the morning or perhaps it works better for you to meet with Him later in the day, before bed even.  But what I have learned over time is how crucial it is in the morning to get my mind “stayed on Thee”. 

Because I want the perfect peace promised for the rest of my day!

Because I need it! J

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusts in Thee.”  Is. 26:3

There’s no right or wrong here—but I’ve learned it’s important to do something!

After doing Beth Moore’s study, Stepping Up, I continued what she taught us with starting my morning on the floor—face to the floor—in worship and personal expression of my need for Him in my life.  I then recite this prayer of hers . . .

“Lord, I thank you again this morning that you are still God upon the throne of all creation.  You are holy.  Mighty beyond comprehension.  So worthy of my praise and the outpouring of my life’s energies.  Today I gladly give myself to you.  I am convinced that you are always for me.  Obedience to you will always mean Your very best for me.  I’m so grateful that I can come boldly and without shame before Your throne because I pray all these things in Jesus’ name.”

With my face still to the floor, I spend some time in specific adoration and gratitude for all He is doing in my life.  I affirm promises I need to affirm. 

And I say all of this out loud. 

Satan can feed thoughts into our minds, 

but he cannot read our minds. 

I pray A LOT out loud because I want my enemy to know he is not just messing with me, he is messing with God and me!

I finish my prayer on the ground by taking the power and authority that is mine in Christ Jesus, sealing off my mind to influences of the world, tricks and lies of the enemy and my own thoughts and imaginations. (2 Co. 10:5)

Then I re-affirm the following truths out loud I have written on a 3x5 card.  {Some I need to pause over awhile because of what I am currently dealing with or perhaps some repentance is necessary!}

Remember Today . . .

Whose I am

Who I am in Christ

Who God is and believe Him, not only IN Him

I belong to God and not this world—so no envy, jealousy, discontent

Follow Abba’s guidelines for living, not the world’s

Follow after His heart, not my own

To be Holy, as He is holy

To not fear, but trust and keep on believing!

Some days I immediately jump into my prayer journal—because I am desperate to talk with Him more and ask some specific questions, believing for guidance and direction.  Other days I turn to scripture or a Bible study.  Or  I spend all the rest of the morning just praying—laying my heart, my uglies, my children, my concerns, my church, my family, my “whatever” before Him.  Sometimes . . . that takes the bulk of my time.  But I know that although I may be able to snag some time later in the day to read some scripture—having quiet, undisturbed time just to talk to Him and listen for Him most often is only available in the morning before the rest of the family wakes up.

I encourage you to consider your morning ritual.

Are you leaving yourself vulnerable to the enemy simply because you did not take time in the morning to armor up? (Eph. 6:10-18)

I’ll leave you thinking with this quote of Beth Moore’s . . .

"We can choose whether or not we are warriors, 

but we can not choose whether or not we are in a war."

God's Lesson to Me Today on Anxiety . . .

Anxiety is a self-contradiction to true humility.  

I am His concern.  

Since the humbling process has been allowed to come to me in the permissive will of God and He is using it to accomplish His purpose in my life—

He has it under His control

and me in His care! 

Anxiety wastes today; the good and bad!

The verse that started it all????  J

"Be anxious for nothing . . ." Phil. 4:6

Applied Christianity

God...how do I live this out practically?

I mean, this is what you want—this is what you are looking for in your children.  So help me to understand the walk You desire behind these few words . . .

“He has showed you, O man, what is good.  
And what does the Lord require of you?  

To act justly 
and to love mercy 
and to walk humbly with your God.”  

Micah 6:8

 

Be kind.

Be fair.

Be loving.

Be patient.

Curb your self and self’s desires.

Walk in the fruits of the Spirit. 

Live to please Me, not your self.

Make My priorities yours.

Live your life in such a way that others will see your good works and attribute them to Me. (Matt. 5:16)

Don’t just learn—implement!

“More than conquerors” don’t simply 

receive truth in their minds. 

They work that truth into their thinking 

until it is a natural reflection of their being!

Be changed.

Be renewed.

Be humbled.

Be lost—to self so that you can be found in Me!

Set your heart to seek Me—and when you find Me—don’t walk away unchanged. 

Allow grace and mercy full access to your soul. 

Purpose to change. 

Determine to renew your thinking. 

Then apply the truth to your living. 

This is sanctification.

This is the walking out of your salvation.

This is applied Christianity.

This is living in My power and authority.

This is not only what I require of you—it is what I desire for you!

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Linked up with Works For Me Wednesday, Above Rubies, Women Living Well, A Steady Rain and {Titus 2}sday

Safe While Being Saved ~ Part 2

{May I suggest you begin here if you did not already read what I shared yesterday?}

Living on the other side of abuse defined who I was.  Not because I wanted to play the victim, but because I was!  I was the victim of a man’s selfish, distorted, sexual needs and I was the victim of his use of spiritual authority over me for control, compliance and silence.  I was a very confused, lonely victim.  And nobody knew it.  Not even me! 

I was just living.  Going from day to month, circumstance to situation, event to activity taking in and responding out of my wreckage.  I developed my own set of coping skills.

Satan knew my experiences and studied my reactions, using them against me.  This is what he does with all of us!  His assaults aren’t new—they aren’t even creative, but they work because they feed our doubt and stir our resentment.  Satan stirred my doubts that God loved me and fed anger drenched sorrow over my injustices.  Every time I sinned I agreed with him, giving him more access to my heart, will and emotions.  Over the years he built some mighty strong fortresses that opposed God’s truth, further compromising my life in Christ.

Strongholds of—

Rejection

Insignificance
Insecurity

Shame

Unforgiveness

Unbelief 
Fear

And the list goes on . . .

There was a lot of wreckage—there still is some.

But God!

God is into salvage! J

To be put to good, profitable use—a vessel must be salvaged . . .

saved and made whole!

We are God’s handiwork—created vessels through which He spreads the gospel and His glory.  He can and does use us in our current state, yes!  But there are restrictions because we need fixing up.  We need continuing salvation.

As I mentioned yesterday, part of being salvaged is being safe in the being saved. 
I don’t think I can say that enough for me to hear!!! 

If you have ever feared "any thing", if you have ever feared the valleys and the “where He might take me’s”, the “what if’s” . . .
you need to hear this again!  

There is no safer Port for your damaged vessel!  

He is a Shelter like no other.

You are safe as you are being saved!

Salvage is not only the rescuing of the vessel and its crew, but it is the saving of the goods or property that were in danger of damage or destruction.  God’s salvaging is complete! 

He goes after the vessel (YOU!) 

and the goods (all you have to offer!)

To salvage is to . . .

save,

recover,

rescue,

restore,

repair,

get back,

retrieve,

redeem,

glean,

repossess,

fetch back!

Jesus is fetching you back for repairs with the purpose of restoring that which was lost or damaged, in danger or destroyed.

He repossessed you to redeem you!

He is liberating you from the junk, 

the waste, and all the scrap 

that unnecessarily binds you!

Salvaging is and has been and will be an on-going process our entire lives.  He desires to go deeply with us as we seek to seek Him deeper.  He rewards those who seek Him.  He wrote that!  He promised that!  And God keeps His word!  Believe in it and trust Him to keep you safe.  You can be no safer than you are today; wrapped in and under the shadow of His wing. 

You cannot get loose—ever! 

• Trust Him in the salvaging process.
• See with the eyes of your heart, your spiritual eyes—not your physical eyes of the flesh.
• Trust His heart towards you.
• Trust what He has said.
• Trust, obey, and be grateful in and for the process.
• Look for Him in every moment of doubt.
• Believe what you know to be true—in faith and by experience.

Trust His faithfulness from the past to be faithful for your today!

“Dearest friends...put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.  For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.”  Phil. 2:12, 13

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Safe While Being Saved

I walk down the aisle of the darkened room to the same spot as always—front pew, just left of the platform.  This place has been my heart’s home since I was 9.  I breathe the air in deep as I wonder aloud, “How did you ever keep me here, Father?  How you have kept me!” 

My times alone in our church sanctuary are few.  It’s a home to many.  And there are many in my own home.  To be anywhere, by myself, is rare.  To find this place empty of others is also.  But, oh . . . how grateful I am when He plans these rendezvous’!

Before I talk and listen, I look—with physical eyes at now; memory’s eyes on then.  I see the pastor of my childhood fall off the platform’s edge in his excitement sharing the Scriptures.  I sing the songs and speak the lines from our musicals, this time without the butterflies!  I witness my own baptism.  Going under the waters understanding more fully than I could at the time what it means to “die with Christ so that I can be raised with Him.”  My peach and teal wedding colors—how horribly they clashed with the red carpet and gold pews.  And yet, never has this room looked more beautiful.  Our children’s dedications, musicals and baptisms.  Brianne playing her harp in the orchestra, Jesse on drums for worship, Jacob’s group sharing their interpretive dance, Faith singing and motioning her heart out for Jesus, while Nate and Jelena play on the risers with friends.

This place is my history.  This place is my present.  

This place holds my story!

My eyes close as I picture the old church kitchen—left of the sanctuary, next to the choir room.  Churches are always short a classroom or two, aren’t they?  This kitchen was my classroom as I transitioned out of childhood.  A classroom my innocence was not prepared for as a young, naïve, hurting 13.  He stands in front, fresh in my mind, yet elusive—like memories are.  Always to be part of my story.  As inescapable as the pit he threw me in. 

I think of Joseph and his pit.  His first thoughts were not of forgiveness.  They were not of God being good.  I am sure they were much like my own; desperation to be saved, to be free again—unscathed and unaltered for having been selfishly and carelessly trampled down low and deep.

Joseph’s pit-pushers were his own brothers, living with him and knowing him, looking for revenge.  Mine was my Sunday School teacher, living with us and manipulating kindness, looking for opportunity.  For both of us, the master-mind was our enemy, Satan—out to destroy his own enemy’s plans.

I think of all my pit friend became.  How he trusted . . . believing God’s good intent towards him.  How the glory of God was revealed through his life.  My pit experience created overwhelming confusion in Who the I AM truly was.  Was He love?  Was He for me?  Or was He the One responsible for the twisted shards of innocence and trust lay entangled with anger, fear and shame within me.  So long I lay wrecked.

This place may hold my story, but it is the Story Maker who holds me! 

The aisle I have walked to this day has been painfully freeing.  The Savior’s pit removal process also came from this place, from within this Body.  The place undeniably bound to my wounds now comes alongside as the healing balm in restoration.  Healing has happened. 

As I sit in my spot with joy-filled tears flowing free, I ask the I AM for a word—a word to linger on as I focus my thoughts on Easter and all that is the Messiah, my Jesus.

Salvage

I admit I am not impressed. J
Is that it?  Are You sure?  Did I hear You right? 

Three times I asked.  Three times I heard.

Salvage

I let it rest until dark morning hours come offering time to look this over deep.  My given word comes from the same root word as “salvation” . . . meaning safe, healthy.  My heart races as I dive in deeper. 

Salvage is . . .

• the rescue of a vessel
• to make fit for use
• the act of saving that which is saved
• something saved from destruction or waste & put to further use
• to save from loss or destruction

That’s when I hear the Shepherds Voice I’ve learned to know so well...

“I AM salvaging you!”

I want to share more with you about this, so please come back tomorrow!  Many of us are wrecks!  We are damaged vessels.  By our own doing and by the acts of others, but ALL is salvageable by the loving hands of I AM!

All is redeemable!

One of the most powerful thoughts He left with me, I leave with you today—

Part of being salvaged is being safe in the being saved. 

Take that to heart and believe it for yourself . . .

You are safe as you are being saved!

Click here, for Part 2 ~ Safe While Being Saved

Gracious Ann along with She Speaks offers the opportunity for one shy writer to learn from others how to better minister, lead, write, and speak for God’s glory.  The She Speaks Conference is about women connecting the hearts of women to the heart of our Father God.  My heart truly is to serve Him as He leads.  How I would love to learn to serve you better here in this place! 

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Linked up with A Steady Rain and {In}Courage

Father...what do you want to see happen in me?

Faith! 
A deeper, deepening faith! 

Belief where unbelief now resides.

Trust where doubt and anxiety bed down.

I want for you more of my saving, restoring, renewing, whole-making grace.

I want you to see to receive.

I want my heart towards you to be so powerfully evident that you never doubt for one moment that all I have is yours and has been yours and will be yours.

I withhold no good thing!

I want you believing without doubt that I never withhold from you!

Yes—my good may oftentimes look different than your version, but don’t forget I know what you want in every situation. 

I know what you need.

And I only give good and perfect gifts in good and perfect ways.

You do not rest with me enough.

Rest with me more and relax in the process as I take care of you through it.

The rest is part of my care.

Don’t deny yourself that.

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, 

in quietness and trust is your strength.”  

Isaiah 30:15

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; 

not as the world gives do I give to you.  

Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  

John 14:27

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Let Me Be Enough

Dear One,

Embrace what I’ve asked you to do with no hope of gaining any glory in the process. 

Let my pleasure in your obedience be enough. 

I know you want to measure your success in what you do—offer to others—by their reactions, their expressions towards you concerning it . . . towards the substance of what you’ve given. 

Instead . . . chase after Me and be pleased in your obedience.  
Be pleased and fulfilled just knowing that you have glorified Me in your offering.  

Let that be enough.  

Let it always be enough.

Let what I think of you be enough.

Let who I have created you to be, be enough.

Let my will for your life be enough for you. 

And letting it be enough, let it bring you joy—

joy unspeakable and full of glory—

My glory!

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16   

Any glory received is a reflection of Mine shown down upon you.  

Let go of everything not of grace and not good—

pride and hurtful responses that reflect rejection.

Let My pleasure in you be enough 

because it always will be.

The response of man toward your obedience to Me can be disappointing.  Let that refine your gaze more intently onto Jesus.  

Treasure My words of affirmation.  

My love and esteem never runs dry.  

My pleasure never falls short. 

Let Me be enough, Dear One, for I am all you will ever need!

Your Abba Father

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Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love: A Personal Journey

"Pastor John gave me the topic of prayer as a personal journey. In my life, prayer has even rivaled the Scriptures in stirring my affections towards God." ~Francis Chan's message from the 2011 Conference for Pastors~

This is somewhat long, but well worth listening to!

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Do We Want An Answer Or An Audience?

Both usually.


We genuinely want God...we want His Way...    


But...

We want our pain and suffering recognized.

Our heroics applauded.

A standing ovation for our wisdom and fortitude.

And a Grammy for keeping our wit in the midst of the storm.

And yet—we still want an answer.

Our soul aches for a solution to the problem...

                                                   ...a healing balm to the wound.

Whose audience do I want?  His or others?

Whose answer do I want?  Mans or Gods?

Do I want sympathy or a solution?

It is understandable that we would want to go to who is near...who we trust...who has been faithful to listen and guide us in the past.

God wants to be that One!

He is as close as the tear running down your cheek.

As aware of this need as your need for breath.

As sure as waves in the ocean.

As willing to guide you as He guided Moses.

No problem is past His ability to solve, but it may be beyond a friends capabilities.

We have an inside source—

the Maker, the Creator, the Sustainer of all. 

Who knows tomorrow as clearly as today. 

Who knows the End as detailed as the Beginning.

Ask for prayer.  Ask for support.  Ask for counsel.  Ask for ears that hear. 

But in asking, beware of seeking applause.

Seek the audience of One—the only One with the answer uniquely yours.

“If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.”  James 1:5 (NLT)

As a sidenote:

Now I’m not saying not to go to the Body for counsel!  I’m a prayer counselor J  that’s what we do!  I am just thinking today about the “why” behind our sharing at times.  Is it for answers or for attention?  Sometimes I WANT sympathy more than saving.  Who do we run to first?  Why?

I used to always seek the advice of friends and hardly ever asked God.  Usually when I did ask Him, it was more out of pleading sobs of desperation.  I never waited and listened for a response from Him.  I don’t think I really, truly expected one.  I catch myself now only talking to God.  I forget to include the human beings I journey with in on my stuff.  Not good either!  We are encouraged and strengthened in our faith when we share with one another (Romans 1:12).

Deep peace and joy to you as you walk with Jesus!

Robin

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Click here for the other posts from my study of the book of James

I am joining The Good Morning Girls as we study James together.


Linked up for this wonderful series by Jessica at Muthering Heights...

Do I Want Wisdom Or Opinion? (James 1:5, 6)

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to 

all men generously and without reproach and it will be given to him.  

But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one 

who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  

For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from
the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

I give generously.  I want to give wisdom.  I long to do so.  You have to ask.  Me!  Whose wisdom do you want?  Or do you want opinion?  There are lots of opinions out there to choose from.  You’re sure to find one that is a comfortable fit...for your comfort.  Not for your need.  Not for wisdom.  And then when everything falls apart or goes south who gets the blame?  I do.  *I* directed you to the mess you find yourself in and instead of drawing closer to Me, you push away.  Why?  Because you don’t trust Me.  You have your doubts.  The route *I* took you last time didn’t work out so well.  So you’re gun-shy...not sure if you can trust *Me* again. 

You have your doubts 

when you could have had My wisdom. 

You withdraw with a bit of hostility (whether you think you do or not).  You become hesitant in faith.  You try asking again.  Maybe you even come to Me this time.  But you don’t trust where I want to take you even before I begin to show you where that is!  I offer.  But will you receive?  I can’t make you trust Me.  I can’t make you choose My wisdom. 

Do you see why a wavering, uncertain, doubting person is unstable?  Restless?

Where is your heart today, Dear One?  Is it at rest safely tucked within My care?  Or is it pounding against the rocks of uncertainty?  

Bring your doubts to Me.  I can take them—all of them!  Lay doubt at the foot of My Son’s cross and walk away free!  Free to receive because you’re free to believe I am who I say I am and will do what I say I am willing to do.

Wisdom will be given to those who ask Me;

believing I will answer and believing in the answer!

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Click here for the other posts from my study of the book of James

I am joining The Good Morning Girls as we study James together. 

Never! No! Nor! Not ever! No!

"I will never desert you; nor will I ever forsake you." 

Hebrews 13:5

In the original Greek there are 5 negatives so the passage reads as...

"I will never, no, desert you; 

nor will I not ever, no, forsake you."

Many of us have experienced abandonment.  Myself included.  Not by my parents or spouse—no, but other crucial relationships.  Some of us have been abandoned by health, dreams and promises.  And in being abandoned, we abandon hope in others...including God.

Why is God trustworthy above all else?

He cannot fail.  That cannot be said of anyone else.  God cannot go against His own character.  Our character is chosen by what we feed our minds, how we discipline our bodies and changes as we change what we choose.  God can only be faithful.  Faithfulness was not only created by Him.  Faithfulness is sustained in Him.

In a world where we cannot fully trust anyone, how can we trust God fully?

Seek His face.  Know His heart.  See yourself as He sees you—Holy, Chosen and Dearly Loved!  Spend time in His presence absorbing Him.  Trust Him with little things, trust Him with big.  Talk to Him—open up, ask questions—then wait...listen for Him.  See with your own experience what blooms from faith in what you cannot see.

How do we unguard our hearts before God?

Be real with Him.  Even if you are unable to offer the real you comfortably to others.  You have much to offer!  He wouldn’t have made you as you are if that were not so.  To let down your guard with God—your Creator—is to allow Him to continue to define the original design that. Is. You!!! 

Even if you feel you can trust no one else completely...

                                                                 Jesus is completely different!

He knows all your ways, your past, your thoughts, your grumbles, your heart aches already.  And He hasn’t left yet...

Because He won’t...

He can’t...

And He never will!

Never!  No!  Nor!  Not ever!  No!





...practicing as habit trusting Him fully!

Hopeful Surrender

I was reading from Psalm 33 this morning and was struck by how a few of the verses closely related to my post yesterday on Want & Worry.

“The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him.  On those who hope for His lovingkindness.” (v. 18)

“Let Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.” (v. 22)

God’s eye is on the carrier of every heart that carries His Son!

As I hope—as I confidently expect God—the more I receive of Him.  Not out of my goodness, but out of my surrender.

God completely completes me!

He waits.  My choice is my act of faith.  Grace takes me to the door of choice, but cannot usher me through.

I don’t doubt that I hear God’s voice because I hope—I confidently expect Him to talk with me and I confidently expect that I will hear from Him.  I expect Him to be faithful to show up and He does—

                            
                           Glory—Hallelujah—Praise the Lord—Amen!!!

Where has He shown His faithfulness to you? 

In grief?

In provision?

By breaking strongholds?

By lifting yokes?

Expect—have hope—this same hope in every other area of your life!

Confidently expect God!

Expect His lovingkindness and you will see it!

Yes—Dear One—His eye is. on. you!

Watching, caring, directing, hearing, responding—pouring out grace in abundance so that you remain free to continually choose Him in every aspect of your life.

I have not always sought God...or wanted to seek Him.  I received less of Him in those times.  The more I have wanted, the more I have received.

The more I “hope” the more lovingkindness—whatever it may be—is mine!

Waiting for Him is hoping in Him.

How many testimonies have I heard (including my own!) of people receiving from God at their most desperate, most surrendered hour?  This is the fulfillment of verse 22!

How many others I know, passively—almost angrily—waiting (demanding) for God to come through for them.  Like He owes them something?!  When they in no way with their life acknowledge Him.  Only in words do they profess His name—but in their actions, in their heart—they profess self.

It is the sincerity of the heart of the crier that moves God to respond.  God knows the heart!  He moves according to the willingness—the choice of the heart!

His Word says so.

Surrendering may cost me everything, but I can not fathom what He has in store for me!