Tag: encouragement

Wednesday’s Word: Secure

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We live in a time when insecurity runs rampant, infecting and affecting even believers.

In many ways we are similar to those who walked with Jesus. We are surrounded by religious professionals whose focus on perfection and rule keeping, leaving us wondering if we’ll ever be good enough.

The question which feeds the insecurity seems to be: “how will I really know if I’m going to make it?” This is usually followed with some form of confession: you don’t know what I’ve done.

The verse on our meme today comes from Romans 8:39, and Paul is pretty clear: NOTHING. Nothing we’ve done. Nothing we’ve said. Nothing that is happening to us.

God want us to know we are secure in him.

Wednesday’s Word: Rejoice!

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James instructs us to “count it all joy!” (James 1:3)

Jesus told his followers: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33, NLT).”

The world may feel like it’s falling apart, but maybe it’s really just falling into place.

Wednesday’s Word: Determination

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Determinination. The perfect word for January 31.

Statics show us the majority of people who made New Year Resolutions have already given up on them. Perhaps they were unrealistic or lofty. With every intention of reaching the goal they gave up when life got difficult or they got bored or another option caught their attention or fancy.

Disaster, disease,  and disillusionment throw detours in our path, and the easy response is to give up. The enemy loves when we give up.

The Apostle Paul knew a lot about discouragement, but he never gave up. He wrote this to the believers in Philippi: Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12, HCSB).

I make every effort. I press on. With all the strength of the One who has taken hold of me, I grab onto that goal and keep moving forward.

No matter what. Don’t quit. Never give up. Here’s the good news: We are MORE than conquorers. We win. I know—I read the end of the book!

Stay the course. Keep determined. Hold to your resolve. How? Paul tells the Philippians that, too!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (Philippians 4:13)

Wednesday Words: Strength

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For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13, NLT).

This is exactly the word I needed for today. I need some of that “withstanding” power.

What great or pressure is coming down on you?

Whatever it is God is able to give you exactly what you need to face it, stand up under it, overcome it, and persevere.

Do you feel like you’ve reached your full capacity—can’t take any more?

Good.

Reach out to the capacity maker and capacity filler…he has all the strength you need.

Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you (1 Chronicles 28:20a NLT).”

Encouraging Words: JOY!

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Today begins Encouraging Word Wednesdays. I recently threw it out on the Facebook universe to all my friends to give me an encouraging word that began with the first letter of their first name. I learned several things, the most obvious one: I have a lot of friends whose names begin with the letter J.

Today we begin with JOY!

Several years ago, I was working on a Spiritual Gifts Inventory, and I was challenged to ask others what they perceived my gifts to be. One very wise friend, shared that while it doesn’t typically appear as a traditional gift, she believed I have the gift of joy. To my surprise, others confirmed her assessment.

I found this quite humbling…and challenging.

I believe I am wired to find the positive in situations and people. Because of this I have been labeled naive and a Pollyanna. To my consistent surprise, my ability to find the best  causes frustration and consternation in many who can’t. My husband often questions why I always go “there.” I can’t not.

Lately, I’ve been looking up the meanings of words before I use them. I want to be sure I’m using them correctly. So, I looked up joy, and then I looked up rejoice. They define one another.

In the Bible Dictionary I found this: “Believers rejoice (are full of joy) because God has surrounded them with his steadfast love (see Psalm 32:10-11).”

James, quoted in the meme above, paints a beautiful and challenging picture of joy. “Count it all joy” can be better understood as the choice to accept everything that comes our way as an opportunity for growth and good. And “ALL” of it is reason for joy—to rejoice—because wherever we find ourselves we also find the steadfast, never-ending, never-failing love of God.

Find JOY today.

 

 

Welcome Aboard.

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I think Lent comes at a very good time of the year.

Typically we start the year out with great resolve, high hopes, and a few plans for improving life. And we usually make it for a few days, maybe weeks…and then we peter out.

My spiritual word for this year is habits. I started out amazingly. I was exercising daily, eating well, and reading through my Bible. The only habit I have faithfully maintained is reading my Bible. Both my healthy eating and my exercise have been inconsistent at best for the last couple weeks.

What has made the difference with my reading?

I’m not doing it alone.

In my church we were challenged as a congregation to read through the Bible this year. But as nice as that challenge is, it hasn’t motivated me. It’s not personal enough.

The difference is I have an accountability partner. I have someone who not only asks, “So have you read your Bible today?” We also discuss some of the interesting, surprising, familiar, and favorite things we read.

My partner? My husband. It’s handy and it’s a blessing.

I have accountability partners for my writing, too.

Why? Do you want the long answer or the short one? You get the short one. When I’m not accountable, I can make all kinds of poor choices. When I am accountable I find I am more successful. And I want to succeed.

There are numerous examples and admonishments to be accountable in scripture.One for today as we think about this faith journey: Encourage one another and build up one another.(1 Thessalonians. 5:11)

It’s not that we can’t or won’t see Jesus on our own, but let’s look together.

There’s joy in the journey…together.

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PRAYER MOMENT: God you are our leader and guide. Your Word tells us you go before and follow behind. You led the Israelites through the wilderness with a pillar of fire and a cloud. A map or sign might be nice, but more than that we want to feel you beside us as we maneuver the hazards of life. Thank you for the encouragement we can receive from other travelers and help us to be encouragers as well. Create good habits in us this Lenten season as we seek to see you, know you, and find you daily. Amen.

Meanwhile…While You’re Waiting

It was quiet at the fitness room this morning. I did my workout and was just about to leave when I saw the couple come in. He pushed her in a wheel chair.

This was not the first time I had seen them. Six months earlier I had been visiting my mom and had to use a fitness room on the other side of town while the one close to home was being remodeled. This couple came there to work out too, but she was able to walk in on her own. Her gait was slow and aided by a souped up wheeled walker. Her husband not far from reach.

Husband and wife, in their late eighties, I’m guessing…though people look younger and younger to me all the time. There isn’t an ounce of fat on either of them. I’m sure my wrist is bigger around than his ankle.

He got her settled on a recumbent bike while I was changing my shoes to leave. He disappeared into the bathroom. As I tied my laces I felt a nudge from the Spirit to go and tell the little lady what an inspiration she was to me.

I walked back into the fitness room and found her on her machine. I knelt down beside her.

“Hello, I just wanted to tell you what an inspiration you are to me.” She smiled and looked a bit surprised.

“I come to Green Valley to visit my mom and I was here a while back and saw you working out with your husband. Whenever I feel like giving up or quitting, I close my eyes and I see you and I find the umph to keep going.”

“That’s so sweet. I had no idea.”

“Well that’s why I decided to say something.” Then my eyes began to fill and I felt my throat tightening. “There’s another way you inspire me, too.”

She tilted her head and then reached to lay her hand on my arm. If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t have known, her touch was so light.

“The way your husband cares for you is so precious. I close my eyes and see my husband, he’s just as caring, and I feel so blessed.”

“Aren’t you a dear.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know I wanted to tell you how inspirational you are. Have a blessed day.”

I stood, we exchanged smiles, and I walked away. My eyes full of tears.
I dug a tissue out of my pocket as I got into the car. I could hear my husband’s voice as I pulled out of the lot.

Many times we would have conversations in the car on the home from church or other times with friends, where we would talk about how someone’s song blessed us, or how much someone meant to us. And the listener would always respond with, “So, did you tell them?”

This would always result in a follow up note or call, or in recent years: an email, text, or pm on Facebook.

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When I turned out of the lot I was treated to a magnificent sunrise over the mountains. I pulled over and snapped a picture on my phone.

So many songs of praise began to flood my mind. It was a truly an inspirational moment.

Have you had any moments like that lately?

Is there someone who inspires you?

Have you told them?

While you “wait” this Advent rest assured this is something you don’t have to wait to do. And I think it’s pretty safe to say, hearing these kinds of things will mean a lot to that person.

They may need your words of thanks to encourage and inspire them to keep going to.

Who will you call first?

And onto the next…

Today my job ended. The woman I’ve been caring for the past five and half years died this morning. I had the privilege of being there.

I was still a little numb when I got home. When I lost my job in 2008, I hadn’t gone looking for a job as a care giver. It was quite hard for me at the beginning. God and I had some long talks because I felt so useless. At the beginning my lady was still “with it” enough to resent the heck out of my presence. I likened it to babysitting a teenager: they don’t think they need a babysitter, yet it brings comfort to the parents. I was comfort for the family.

More recently, as she became bed fast, my lady accepted my help–most of the time…but like a child: she didn’t like bath time.

It seems to me that life is held together by bookends. We start sleeping a lot, eating orange fruits and veggies, and wearing diapers. The end looks that way too.

The family I worked for cared about me. Not long ago they made me a huge basket with fresh produce, a loaf of zucchini bread (which my husband enjoyed) and several other things. It was so heavy I could barely lift it into my car. Today they included me in their grieving and their remembering. It was such a precious gift to me.

Back to feeling numb…I sat here at home for a bit and half wondered, half prayed. I heard the mail truck go by…actually I heard the dogs barking out in their pen, like they do when the mail arrives. My body responded by going out to the box, even though my mind wasn’t really in the task.

As I pulled the stack of bills out of the box, I noticed one that had a hint of green in the window. A check. I wondered what my husband overpaid this time. I glanced at the return address, Judson Press, and realized the check was for me. They had accepted another devotion. Instantly I could see nothing else as my eyes filled with tears.

The $20 check didn’t make me rich, but I still felt lavishly loved in that moment. Last week two publishers mentioned my submitting articles. I was encouraged by that and began immediately to work on articles for them. On the weekend, a friend whose opinion I highly respect, spoke to me about my blog and her words encouraged me deeply. Then this. I’m dense at times, but God got all the way through my fog and numbness.

Write, Tina.

So until something else should come along, I will be writing. I have so many things started and now I have time to finish them. Submit them. Edit others. Work on two books I have in process. Seek out contests.

I don’t feel as numb. Actually, I’m feeling excited. And ready to get to the next phase of this journey.

A final thought:
As I read back through this another thought occurred to me–another window into God’s hand upon my life.

I used to function in an extroverted manner that was off the scale. It was so bad that I used to think I needed others around me just to breathe. Then God gave me the job as caregiver. It was one on one. It was quiet. And except for my lady, I was alone. I didn’t like it at first. I chaffed. I squirmed under God’s hand. But I stayed, and I came to love it. The quiet has become so much a part of me that I can’t imagine going back to the world of noise.

As I have immersed myself into the world of writing, I have read many articles about the solitary lifestyle required for writing. I questioned whether I would be able to survive in that lifestyle. This morning the voice of hindsight whispered in my heart, “You’re ready.”

Now isn’t that just like God?

Throwing My Hat

Steven James was a keynote speaker at the writers’ conference I recently attended. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard and thought so deeply during one speech. It’s the only CD of a keynote I purchased. It wasn’t that the others weren’t good, it’s just what he said somehow perfectly engaged both my brain and my heart.

The point that he made that was such an “aha” moment for me had to do with throwing your hat over the wall. I had never heard the phrase or the story to go with it before. I did some more reading about it when I got home. The phrase is used to describe commitment, especially commitment in the face of what seems impossible. The story goes that when a young man reached a wall that he didn’t think he could cross, he would throw his hat over the wall because that would ensure that he would get over the wall to get retrieve his hat.

I liked the image. I found a new commitment and courage while attending the conference. I determined that when I got home I was going to hang a hat by my desk to remind me that I was all in on this. I even knew the hat I was going to hang.

After my dad died in 1989, I “inherited” his black driving cap. It looks like this: black cap My husband has worn it occasionally when he plays golf, but for the most part it has just hung by the door and gathered dust. This was the hat I was going to hang by my desk.

When I got home from the conference I started writing, even sent a few things off to be considered for publication. But as the days went by, questions arose in my mind and my resolve began to weaken. I began to replay old tapes. The worst one came from my dad.

The summer between fourth and fifth grades a few friends and I spent our allowance on steno pads and Bic pens and determined we were going to write the next great American novel—only we just called them stories. I wrote like my pen was on fire. I was proud of my story, so I took it to my dad for his approval. His lack of support was devastating. I can still hear his words to this day: “What were you thinking? This is terrible. You will never write anything that anyone is ever going to want to read.”

As much as it hurt, I kept trying. I received positive encouragement from my creative writing teacher in high school. Imagine my delight when we were able to briefly reconnect on Facebook and she reaffirmed her support. In college I continued to write creatively and my pieces were graded favorably and held up as examples. Friends and family, especially my husband, gave me all kinds of positive feedback. I wanted to send things in. Talked about it. Dreamt about it. But never seemed to be able to push past my father’s voice.

While I was at the writers’ conference, one of the things that I took full advantage of was the opportunity to meet with writers, editors, and publishers. I made some pitches, and used a couple appointments to pick some very talented brains. One of the people I sat across the table from was the director of the conference, Alton Gansky. I had nothing to pitch. I went in with a specific question, but when I sat down in the chair it just didn’t seem like the thing to ask. I asked him how to push through, to move from wishing to really writing. He looked at me, seemed somewhat surprised by the question. His answer, while not incredibly original, was exactly what I needed to hear: “Just do it.”

The other night I was awake late. The house was quiet. I felt like I was in a the middle of a weird game of tug of war. I was pulling for all I was worth, but I had this incredible team behind me, writer friends, family, friends, writing teachers and profs, Alton, my husband. Quite an impressive group. I smiled and felt a surge of strength. Then I looked across from me. There was only one person on the other team. It was my dad. And it dawned on me—this isn’t even a fight.

I walked into the office and I picked up his hat. Steven James was right. I do need to throw the hat over the wall. But I’m not going over the wall to retrieve it. I’m throwing it over the wall, and I’m walking away. I don’t know why my dad wasn’t able to be more supportive, but that’s about him, not about me. It’s time. It’s time to believe the whole host of people cheering me on. It’s time to just do this.

I know it won’t be the next great American novel. But I have stories to tell…and tell I will! And maybe I’ll go buy a new hat. One that fits me. One that is worth chasing.