Words Matter

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, for one minute before reading.**

    What word are you holding onto? What word was spoken to you recently that you cannot let go of.

    Is it a true and good word? A word that is sustaining you and nourishing your soul?

    Is it a negative and untrue word? A word that is distracting you and draining your soul?

    I would love to offer you true words for today:

Beautiful. Redeemed. Beloved. Delighted in.
(And there are so many more God wants to speak to you!)

    May these words speak truth and encouragement to your weary soul today.

**Sit quietly again for as long as is available to you.**

The Weight of Guilt

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, for one minute before reading.**

    How is guilt holding you down? Is there something weighing on your heart that is secret, hidden? I am talking true guilt. Guilt of something you have done ultimately against God, not guilt that someone has made you unnecessarily feel or maybe you have made yourself feel.
    To bring what is dark to the light can have overwhelmingly positive consequences and freedoms yet there is real battle and challenge to move from darkness to light.
    Take time and consider the weighty areas of your heart. Ask God to give you the strength to be honest with yourself and with Him. Let go and let Him graciously work.
    Is there something you need to confess? Talk to God, share this with a good friend and in the right time and seek forgiveness from the one(s) you have offended. Trust God in the midst of it all. Let freedom from the weight of guilt come.

Have more than two minutes?: These thoughts came from reading Genesis 37-45. If you have more than two minutes, go read the story of Joseph and consider what might have been going on in his brothers’ minds in chapter 45.

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Proving Ourselves

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, for one minute before reading.**

    I spend so much energy trying to prove myself. Prove that I am worth talking to, prove that I am good at something, prove that I deserve something. I want to prove myself worthy. I am worth your time, I am worth your energy, I am worth something.
    And so I do it with God. It is a lot more subtle than my relationship with people, but I do it with God too. I spend time and energy to prove I am worth loving, that I am worth having certain things. I perform for His approval yet His approval is in NO WAY dependent on my performance. God’s love and approval is not dependent on ANYTHING that I say, do or am. I’ve got nothing to contribute, nothing.
    This is freeing and scary. We do not get grace. His grace does not require anything and that is just weird to us … a foreign concept … it is strange … it is the exact opposite of how I work, yet it is how HE works. He works radically different than we do and is continually drawing us into His grace.
    How do you fight grace? How do you try to prove yourself worthy?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Posturing for Goodness

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, for one minute before reading.**

    How has God shown you His goodness? How has He shown His goodness through you lately?

    Last week, I woke up with this prayer on my heart: “God, show your goodness through me today.” The theme of goodness stuck in my heart and mind for the next couple days. This prayer allowed me to posture myself for God’s use. No, I was not perfect each day, just reminded that God wanted to show His goodness through me.
    Will you posture yourself for goodness today? Will you pray this prayer?

“God, show your goodness through me today, amen.”

**Sit again in quiet for as long as is available to you.**

Surrender

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, for one minute before reading.**

“One of the greatest paradoxes of the Gospel [of Christ] is that surrender is victory.”

                      - Brennan Manning – “The Relentless Tenderness of God”

    Surrender. Let go. At times the word surrender seems like a curse word. I do not like it and I often "surrender" begrudgingly.
    Well, fortunately for you and me, God is in the business of taking our hands off of things that we are grasping onto too tightly. For some of us it is our pride. For some of us it is our personal ambition. For some of us it is a lie that we have believed for too long.
    Surrender. The great paradox of surrender is that it leads to victory. Counter-intuitive, right?
    What is God calling you to give up to Him? How is He calling you to victory? Surrender and wait for the unfathomable victory of following Christ.

**Sit again in quiet for as long as is available to you.**

Guarantees

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, for one minute before reading.**

    I want guarantees. I work for guarantees. I get frustrated when I cannot guarantee myself or my family certain things. I want to guarantee that we will always have money, have a house, have food, be protected physically, emotionally and so on. I want guarantees especially for my children.
    We are not guaranteed health or comfort, money or security, food or shelter. We are not guaranteed anything and it can be exhausting trying to set up those guarantees. There is nothing wrong with those things and it is good that we protect, provide, serve, work, etc. It is the striving to make them guarantees that is wearing and futile. When I strive to make guarantees I am essentially saying, “God, I don’t need you, I got this under control”.
        God is the only one who can give us guarantees. The guarantees we have are based in who He is. He is true, He is good and He is so much more. In Christ we are guaranteed eternal life. In Christ we are also guaranteed hardship in this life (I don’t like this one). In Christ we are guaranteed the love of an amazing Father.
    Do you strive for guarantees? For securities? What is God calling you to let go of and trust Him with?

**Sit again in quiet for as long as is available to you.**

Left in the Dark

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, for one minute before reading.**

“…But He has also placed ignorance (darkness) in the human heart so that people cannot discover the work God has done (ordained), from the beginning to the end of their lives.” Ecclesiastes 3:11b

    We are in the dark ON PURPOSE. God has put us in the dark on purpose. (Does that frustrate anyone else??) So, the word translated “ignorance” can also be understood as “darkness”. He has placed darkness so that we will not know, we will not see. The second portion of this verse speaks to the fact that God actually stops us from knowing. He prevents us from knowing the future and how things will work out. Grrr…
   So often I want a picture of the future. I want to know how something will turn out. I want to know how God will bring good or beauty out of suffering and evil.
    Even if I can’t know it all, how about a little peek? A little peek would help me hope, to trust. This verse says, NO. He instead asks me to trust in HIM, His character and His promises. If He gave me a peek I would trust in the results, I would hope it what is to come rather than Him.
    Is there something that God has kept dark that you are frustrated by? How can the call the trust God draw you closer to Him?
**Sit again in quiet for as long as is available to you.**

"When God, when?"

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, for one minute before reading.**

“God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, Ecclesiastes 3:11a

    At times it is nearly impossible to see how this verse makes sense, how it is true. We cannot imagine how God can bring together suffering, challenges or even evil to make something beautiful.
    It is often difficult to see how God can take a million puzzle pieces and fit them together into something beautiful. We cannot imagine what beautiful picture He is working towards and why He is taking so long. So, equally as difficult is waiting for the time in which these pieces will come together. “When God, when?”, we ask.
    When will He heal our daughter? When will He return our brother home? When will our parents stop fighting? When will He stop the chaos of abuse, violence, exploitation, war? “When God, when?”, we ask.
    In our heart wrenching request to know when, God works with the final picture in mind. He sees the picture of what is to come and asks us to hope and to trust. Hope for that which we cannot see through trusting Him. Trust. There it is again. Not easy.
    What are the puzzle pieces in your life that you are wondering about? How is your heart in the waiting?
Is there something in your life that you cannot imagine being redeemed into something beautiful? Talk to God, let Him know, ask Him for faith and allow Him to meet you.

**Sit again in quiet for as long as is available to you.**

The Gift (and Power) of Silence

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, for one minute before reading.**

    Silence. It is a rare find these days. It is something that takes incredible intention. Even if external noise is eliminated, we still have the internal noise of our minds to contend with. Part of our exhaustion is from sheer noise.
    Jesus regularly drew away and practiced solitude and silence. It is an incredible gift with the power to heal, the power to restore, the power to simplify and prioritize and the power to nourish our souls.
    Our souls need silence. We need silence to hear God as He speaks to the depths of our hearts.
    Give yourself the gift of silence today. Try it. Give yourself just two minutes of silence and then some.

**Sit again in quiet for as long as is available to you.**

God Sees

**Sit quietly, rest and close your eyes for one minute before reading.**

    God sees. Often in our days we are making sacrifices. We are making many little yet repetitive sacrifices. And these add up. We make the decision to hold our tongue rather than lash out. We make the decision to speak a kind word than one that would break down. We make the decision to invest for the future rather than responding to the immediate present. We choose to teach and train rather than fix and do.
    Our days are filled with choices to honor God or not, choices to take the hard way or easy way, choices to love or to hate. On these days which we have nothing to give, nothing else to muster up and all we want to do is run away, God sees. Oh He sees all the time, it just seems that on these type days He has gone blind, we do not sense He sees or is near. These are the perfect opportunities to talk to Him, be honest and authentic before God and especially to ask for help.
    He sees the many sacrifices, He sees the hard choices and He sees the heart that desires to obey. He sees the weariness, the patience that is quickly running low and the heart that wonders if this is worth it. Hang in there, talk to God, tell Him you need Him, and trust that your perseverance and sacrifices have not gone by unnoticed.

**Sit quietly again for as long as is available to you.**

Comparison and Discontent

**Sit quietly, relax and close your eyes for one minute before reading.**

    Comparison is often the root of our most discontent moments. We have compared ourselves to what someone has, what they look like, what we do not have or what we want. We compare our real life to what we think their life is like and immediately move to discontent.
    We look around and we wish, we wonder, we pout (at least I do) and we struggle as we spiral into discontent. Comparison can cause us to rise up and to improve. Comparison can also cause us to plummet out of control into discontent.
    Rather than comparison consider calling. Who is God calling you to be? Who is He calling you to be today? Who has He called you to serve today? Consider the present moment, consider that God has created you uniquely and given you experiences and purposes that are hand-crafted for you. As you focus on calling, consider how God is calling you to walk forward rather than get caught up in comparison.

If you have longer than two minutes read John 21:20-23 in the Bible and consider Jesus' response to Peter.

**Sit quietly again for as long as is available to you.**

Your Worst Nightmare

**Sit quietly, relax and close your eyes for one minute before reading.**

    What is your worst nightmare? The thing that makes you gasp for air just thinking about it?
    We all have a worst nightmare and possibly more than one. We all have fears and nightmares of loss. Loss of someone, loss of something maybe even loss of a function or ability. There are things we dearly love and the thought of life without them is unbearable, unfathomable.
    Tim Keller says that our nightmares are indications of the idols in our lives, the thing(s) that take the place of God in our hearts.
    Have you ever thought that your worst nightmare may be an indicator of something that you hold greater than God?  Might it be something that you are holding on to too tightly?
    It is a challenge for me as well as a truth revealer of my heart. I do not want to admit it, but it’s true.
    When I think about my worst nightmares coming true God is often not just lower on the totem pole but He is out of the picture. I cannot fathom my worst nightmare becoming reality  nor can I fathom how God would meet me in it yet He promises He will.
    What is your worst nightmare? How can you release this fear to God and trust in His love and grace that will meet us wherever and whenever in life?

**Sit quietly again for as long as is available to you.**

Driven by Assumptions

**Sit quietly, relax and close your eyes for one minute before reading.**

    You know what they say about assumptions. I am the queen of them and apparently I am not the only one. I was recently reading in the book of Genesis and came across another assumer – Abram. He assumed the Egyptians would see how beautiful his wife Sarai was, would say she is his wife, would kill him and treat her well. He then went on to ask her to lie (based on his assumptions of what would happen) and assumed he would then be treated well and his life spared.
    How often have you made decisions based on assumptions? Driven by them? You assumed someone would not accept you. You assumed that something would go a certain way. You assumed that you already knew what someone was going to say before they say it. Assumptions are not reality yet we treat them as such and then we act on them, often bringing unnecessary hurt and damage. Reminding ourselves of what is true and what is real helps to battle assumptions and in many cases to trust God rather than our made up stories.
    What assumptions do you make? What truth can you remind yourself of that will help you battle assumptions?

**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**

Natural Rhythms

**Sit quietly, relax and close your eyes for one minute before reading.**

    Slow down a bit. When we slow the natural rhythms of life become apparent. In a world of scheduling and constant movement, slowing down allows us to see the natural rhythm of creation, including our own hearts, minds and bodies. We notice how our hearts respond to sad news and notice when those feelings of sadness linger. We notice the times of day that our mind tends to wander or struggle with thinking truth things. We eat when we are hungry rather than when we have a scheduled lunch break. We notice our bodies and how they respond to the day. We not only notice when we are having an “off” day but when we slow we might actually be able to discern why we are having an “off” day.
    We also notice the natural rhythm of others and this increases our sensitivities to them as we consider how they respond to a day, a difficult or joyful life event.
    What natural rhythms have you noticed in life? How can slowing down and taking notice of rhythms connect you to deeper parts of our soul?

**Sit quietly again for as long as is available to you.**

The Gift of Paper

**Sit quietly for one minute before beginning to read.**

    I love paper. I love stationary, notepads, calendars, wrapping paper, cardstock, etc. There is often a gift card to my favorite paper store in my stocking. I love paper.
    A major reason why I love paper is that it is an expression of my creativity. I am not an artist who can paint or draw something from scratch or even watercolor. I like to put things together and paper is the perfect expression of creativity for me. (No, not a scrapbooker either). One of the ways I love to use paper is to write notes to people. Yes, I use paper, pen, an actual stamp and snail mail.
    There is something about receiving a note in the mail. It’s not an email, not a Christmas card (although those are fun) or a thank you card but a note. A handwritten, time-taken, words thought about, pain in the butt going to the post office for stamps note. There is something unique about a note that is encouraging and that expresses thoughtfulness different than anything else. The person reading can take their time, they can read it over and over again and they can save it. The person reading can respond to it on their own terms and in their own time. I believe a handwritten note has power because it includes incredible thoughtfulness and maybe because it is becoming such a rare thing.
    When was the last time you received a handwritten note? How can you share this thoughtful gift with another?

**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**

Hoping Without the Details

**Sit quietly for one minute before beginning to read.**
    A friend and I were recently having coffee and both sharing our separate stories regarding our feelings of fragmentation in our lives. There are bits and pieces of our lives happening but we do not know how it will come together or if it will all come together. We do not know how one thing will fit with another or why even we might be doing some of the things that we are doing now.
    We are both highly intentional people. We do not just do things just to do them, we have ideas, purpose and vision yet we feel lost, in limbo, waiting for the puzzle pieces to fit.
    In the midst of all this we have to hope. And this hope is without details. We have no idea how things will come together or when they will (and we wonder if they will) we hope it does. Somehow, even if we cannot see it we hope that God, the Master weaver, will not leave any part of us out but will bring everything together. We have to hope based on God’s goodness which includes that He has not left us. We cannot see any details but we hope. We hope because God is good, He is loving and He is sovereign.

**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**

Last Place

**Sit quietly for one minute before beginning to read.**

“If I follow the counsel of Jesus and take the last place, I won’t be shocked when others put me there too.”
                                              - Brennan Manning in The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus

    Last place. Ouch. I don’t like it and more likely than not, neither do you. First place I love, being the first in line, the winner. Those are the places that I want to take. Last place not so much. Yet that is what we are called to. Jesus calls us to last place. When I truly consider this call I come face to face with my sense of entitlement and face to face with the fact that I really do not want to follow Jesus where He wants to lead. I do not want to follow Him into last place. Yet He continually calls us into last place.
    Not only does He call us to last place, last place is a reality in life. We will be last in many ways and at many times. We will be last because someone else is better or someone else has the favor of those in charge or because of an injustice (this is true for so many in the world). We cannot always be first and honestly, that’s probably a good thing, at least for me.
    As we follow Jesus into last place we don’t mind standing there. As we follow the humility and sacrifices of Jesus we are not hurt, do not become bitter and do not demand that people treat us a certain way. Following Jesus means that we leave our sense of entitlement and take last place. Oh how difficult this is!
    How is God calling you to last place? If you went ahead and took last place how would that transform how you see others, especially when they put you in last place?

**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**

Agreements

**Sit quietly for one minute before beginning to read.**
    “What agreements have you made?” My spiritual director asked me this a couple months ago as I was sharing with her from my heart. She was essentially asking me what agreements have I made with lies. What in my life have I agreed is a true statement that is actually very far from the truth?
    We have all made agreements with things that are untrue in our lives. Someone in our past said something and it has haunted us and led us ever since. We have bought into a lie about our identity and worth as we depend on others evaluations to inform us. We have believed and lived with things like, “You are just like your father” or “Who would want to marry you looking like that?” or “You are so stupid”. Fill in the blank your poisonous phrase of choice.
    These words are a form of slavery and they are not built on the promises of God, they are built on lies yet we allow them to direct us, guide us – we have made an agreement with them. There are truths throughout Scripture of our true identity and worth. They are based in the promises of God through Christ. Christ speaks truth into our hearts and minds and we are transformed to believe true rather than lies.
    What agreements have you made? What truth can you replace them with? In what areas of thought do you need transformation? Talk to God, ask Him.

If you have longer than two minutes, Read Galatians 4-5:1 about the freedom you have in Christ.

**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**

Sacrifice and Vision

**Sit quietly for one minute before beginning to read.**
    A friend and I have committed to train for a 10k. We have picked a date, we are coming up with a plan and we are going for it! We have a vision of where we’re going and we KNOW there will be sacrifices getting there – time, energy, discipline, etc.
    There is great dependence in sacrifice and in vision. I think of all the little things I do each day sacrificially and get bogged down, tired and have a little pity party. These sacrifices are being made for an outcome I am looking towards but often I lose sight of what that is, I lose sight of the vision. I do not often enough put my vision before me.
    I think of goals, hopes and vision that I have for myself, for those I am leading and my children. I love this and often I get overwhelmed down when I hit the hard stuff, the stuff I do not like or have to persevere through. A great vision will demand sacrifice, will demand discomfort and will demand a lot (if not all) of me.
    When you have both working together in harmony the sacrifices are worth it, you see the end goal, it is constantly before you. The vision keeps you going, making the same sacrifices over and over again, and persevering. The sacrifices are worth it because you see the goal ahead of you.
    What vision or goal do you have for yourself, for those you are leading and influencing? In what ways can you keep in constant before you as you daily sacrifice?

**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**