Write…Giving Wings to the Words of My Heart

The Dance...

Words dance on the screen as my fingers tap away at the keyboard.

The words form as the synapses fire away in my brain, pouring out onto the page.

Much like the motion of the dancer as the music dictates the direction of her flowing body.

Others join in the dance, feeling the rhythm and flow of the dancer's soul...

The Song...

Heart, head, and fingers intermingle, spilling out onto the page.

Melodious words flowing from fingertips and floating into the fathomless space.

The resulting sweet sound…heard by heart

... resonating within the soul of the 'hearer'. 

The Arrow…

Words in my head are like arrows in the quiver. 

Arrows are not meant to remain in the quiver…that safe place where nothing can come against it.

An arrow, and so our words, are to be released into the world. 

Soaring straight for its intended target. Accompanied by a prayer for grace. Intent upon impact. 

The impact reverberating throughout space and time.

Forever leaving its mark on the world. 

…and so I write.

The words of the mouth are deep waters, 

but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.~Proverbs 18:4

You might also like this related post...One Word…Write



I'm linking up with Lisa-Jo and the Five Minute Friday writers. Join us…

Hop over to Five Minute Friday and find out what it's all about. Better yet…join the fun!!

Alone Again…the Lie

Alone again…naturally…We all feel that way at times.

Broken promises…
broken relationships.

Surrounded by people, yet no one listening…
no…not listening but understanding.

Who understands your deepest longings?
Who gets you'?

So there you are…alone again, naturally!

There was a song that came out in 1972 by that title. Alone Again, Naturally, by Gilbert O'Sullivan, was a beautiful and simple pop song...with lyrics that were steeped in depressing sentiments.  Let me share just a few of the lyrics here:


But as if to knock me down
Reality came around
And without so much as a mere touch
Cut me into little pieces

Leaving me to doubt
All about God and His mercy
For if He really does exist
Why does He desert me

In my hour of need?
I truly am indeed
Alone again, naturally

It is not surprising to me that this song topped the music charts for 6 weeks straight.  Why? Because there is within each one of us a longing to be known, fully known. It is as if there is a hole that needs to be filled.  We look to all kinds of things to fill that hole…circumstances, people, material possessions. And when those things bring disappointment in our lives…we feel as if we have been knocked down…let down. We feel as if we are left alone to deal with the aftermath of disappointment in unmet expectations. When we hear of someone else experiencing those same disappointments in life, we don't feel quite so alone. Ironic isn't it?

So many times in our aloneness we turn to God…not for comfort, but to question. Why? If you are there, why did (fill in the blank) happen?  Why do I feel left alone to struggle with these feelings, with this issue?  Possibly even, as the song suggests, we begin to doubt God and His existence, His great love, and His mercy.  Ever been there?  When I find myself wondering…where are you God…I know I need to turn away from the voice of the enemy and listen to the Voice of Truth.

The truth is… 

We were created for relationship.

It is not natural for man or woman to be alone (Genesis 2:18). God created us to be in relationship. To live in community with Himself and others.   However, the enemy of our soul wants us to believe the lie that there is some one person or thing out there that can complete us…that perhaps God is not enough. When people disappoint us, when things don't fill the gap, we feel abandoned and alone, but the reality is...this is a lie from the enemy of our soul!

God is faithful

He is faithful even when it seems our world as we know it is falling apart. He promises never to leave us or forsake us. Be honest with God about how you feel and what you perceive your circumstance to be.  Whether you are disappointed, angry, hurt, no matter the feeling…God understands and loves you and wants you to come to Him.  While all of your questions and frustrations may not be explained away, He will offer peace and rest.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. ~Matthew 11:28-30

Only God, through His son, can satisfy our deepest longing.

That hole? Those deep longings within you?  It cannot be satisfied with marriage, children, or any other  thing we try and fill it up with. Are those things bad? No, both are from the hand of God and are indeed great blessings.  However, He did not give us the covenant of marriage and the blessing of children to fill  up our emptiness. If that were the case…then where would the hope be for the single or the barren? Or for that matter, why would there be so many lonely married women and men?

We must acknowledge that God is working in us something greater than what we immediately see. We must quit pushing against His greater plan for our lives, and join with Him in accomplishing all we were created to be.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and monetary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ~2 Corinthians  4:16-18

If we are longing for something more than our relationship with Jesus Christ, then that something is an idol.  With God our happiness cannot depend on another human being, or material possessions, or even our own health. Jesus alone provides us with the strength and the ability to lead a productive, rich, and purposeful life.

Jesus understands the pain of loneliness. 

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like on from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ~Isaiah 53:3

Jesus is the only one who truly understands the pain of loneliness. He knows the pain of betrayal at the hands of one of His very own disciples. He, who knew no sin, went to the cross willingly. He was rejected and abused. He died an excruciatingly painful death on the cross. He did that to pay the penalty for my sins, for your sins, for the sins of us all.   In Him we have forgiveness.  HE is our righteousness.  It gives me comfort to know that HE is my advocate. He understands.

God can be trusted.

You are not alone in your struggles. God is with you. He is ready to help, guide, strengthen and encourage you.  God loves and supports His children. He can be trusted with you and for you!

What then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all…how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died…more that that, who was raised to life…it at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:  "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  ~Romans 8:31-39

The problem comes in that we can only trust someone to the point that we know them.  In order to fully trust Him we need to know Him, and we can only know as far as we know His Word, the Bible.  Our own ability to comprehend God is limited.(Isaiah 55:8-9). The true God is revealed to us, all that we need to understand of who He is and how He works in our lives, through His Word.

Never alone again.

 His Word…His story…His promise to us that He will never leave us. When Jesus returned to the Father after His resurrection He left His disciples with a promise. That promise is for you and I as well.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever…the Spirit of Truth. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  ~John 14:16-18

Never.alone.again. I am a living testament to that truth. Through it all…pain, fear, self-doubt, rejection, loneliness, death…and so much more. He has never left me. His promises are true. He can be trusted.

You are not alone.

Related post: Alone…and lonely

Every Wednesday Holley Gerth hosts the link-up Coffee For Your Heart and this week we're writing on the prompt "You Aren't Alone."  I hope that my post has encouraged you.

You Are Loved! Thoughts for the New Year

It's a New Year and a time for new beginnings.  Leave the old behind and step forward into your future with the knowledge that you are loved by the Creator of the universe.  You. are. loved. Don't forget that!  Not only are you loved but, if you are His, you have been called for a purpose…. to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him.

God wants you to have a life that is full of His goodness, abounding in the riches of His love. A life filled with purpose.

The enemy, the devil, wants to destroy you…plain and simple.  He wants to plant thoughts in your head to make you feel like a failure, with no purpose.  In John chapter 10, verse 10 we read the words of Jesus, "The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Jesus wants you to live a full life filled with the purpose of His love.

When we respond to the invitation to follow Jesus and try to live as He lived, even in all of our imperfection, He promises that our joy will be full. (John 15:11 and 16:24).  When He tells us that we would have life to the full in John 10:10, the word for full here in Greek is, perissos...it means "super-abundant, superior in quality, over and above. It is an extravagant, abundant word, full of promise and hope." (see Keri Wyatt Kent's, Deeper Into the Word, New Testament).

Sometimes we allow ourselves to be swayed by the standards of the world and begin to tell ourselves lies that we are 'less than'…not pretty enough, not smart enough, not organized enough. Enough. enough.enough! Stop the lies dead in their tracks and replace them with the truth of God's word. We are to 'take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.' We are to take back our thought life, putting it under the authority of Christ and His word.

 When the world or the enemy of our soul tries to tell us that we are 'less than', we tend to let it sink deep into our thought life. The lie takes root and our emotions become engaged, dictating the way we interact with the world in which we live. It can begin to take over, stealing our focus and causing feelings of helplessness. It becomes a stronghold in our lives, holding us down and keeping us from becoming all that God created us to be.  It drains our emotional energy and keeps us from fulfilling the abundant life that God has called us to. This is exactly what the enemy wants.  We need to turn away from the lie of 'less than' and turn to the truth of God's Word.  HE IS ENOUGH so we don't have to be.  We don't' have to strive to be perfect…to have the perfect family, perfect kids, perfect body, perfect life.  The truth is no one is perfect but the one who created us. And HE IS ENOUGH. We are perfected IN HIM and HE.IS.ENOUGH.

 Instead of letting the world define you, or listening to the enemy as he whispers lies into your ear, lies of worthlessness, and hopelessness…allow God to lead you into a full life….a life of joy and purpose. Allow Him to take your less than and turn it into more than enough.

I want to live that kind of 'full' life, a life that is more than enough! Don't you?

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.    ~2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Hope Awaits...A Story Yet To Be Unfold

I've been in a bit of a writer's funk, but I am determined to climb out of it today and join the blog world. Despite the fact that it is…

One of those days…

You know the kind.  Winter grey and dreary…cold winds blowing. Partial blankets of thin white snow cover the ground here and there in the effort to herald in the winter months.  I'm sitting in my comfy home office chair with my lap quilt pulled up as far as it will go, while still allowing my arms and hands the freedom to type out these words.  A hot cup of tea sitting by my side, begging to be sipped as the warmth escapes through the thin steam evaporating into the air.

But as I write, I realize the gift that God has given me today. The gift of reflection…let me show you what I mean…

What is it waits,
beneath the snow?
A story yet to be unfold.
~Gay Idle

A story. Each one of us has a story to tell. Yes, even you! The longer I live the more this truth becomes ever more clear. The story is unique to each one of us. Different…yet the same.  How can that be?

The stories are the same in that we each have been, or will be, wounded in some way in our lives.

The wounds come in all shapes and forms…

rejection... lost love... the death of a loved one... physical abuse...sexual abuse...abandonment…miscarriage...verbal abuse...physical disability...financial loss...poor choices...emotional pain...

and on and on….

It all boils down to the fact that we live in a fallen world. In this world where sin seems to reign, we all feel its effects…sometimes because of our own ability to fall to the temptation of the sin before us and sometimes because of the fallen state of others. Either way, we are left with wounds from the fallout as we walk this journey called life.  So while I may not be able to fully empathize with you in your woundedness, I can surely sympathize, knowing what it is to walk with the scars left from my own wounds acquired in this life.  

This brings me back to this cold and dreary day. A picture to me of this life…and yet…what lies beneath the blanket of snow?  Not death…life!  Life awaiting for the cold to thaw.

Sometimes our story needs to endure the winter…to lie dormant before it is ready to burst forth as the buds in spring. (tweet this)

Sometimes there is purpose in the pain. Sometimes the pain is, pure and simple…the enemy's attempt to bring us down.  Either way…every time, if we allow it, God works through the pain, the wounds, and brings healing, forgiveness, and restoration. Leaving only scars as the evidence of a life healed, redeemed, and ready to bring hope to others because of the hope that is within us. 

Not a wishful thinking kind of hope. Rather, the hope that is the assurance of a life that 'knows that it knows', because it has endured, even triumphed over the past, over the harsh realities of this journey. What joy and peace come to us through the enduring. 

We have a choice to make. Through the hard parts of our journey, will we quit, stall out, refuse to allow God to revive us from this 'winter of our discontent'?  Will we choose to remain in the pit of our pain and wallow in the depths of self-pity? Will we allow it to deplete our feelings of worth, and our self-care and love to deteriorate…creating within us the inability to reach out to others and/or even to reach out to God?

Or…

Will we choose hope?! Hope in the unfailing love of a Father in Heaven who loves me…who loves you, more than either of us can even imagine! A loving Father who offers grace, forgiveness, redemption, and healing. Who gives hope to the weary, strength for the journey. He gives light, love, joy, and yes…even laughter, especially laughter…. on the path!   

I choose to walk forward carrying my scars, the proof of my healing, into the springtime of my journey…awaiting new life and opportunities that lie on the road ahead.  As Jo Ann Fore says in her book When a Woman Finds Her Voice, "Your story, wrapped in God, around His word, and what He has done in your life will safely lead women home." My heart's cry is that God will use my scars, my life, my experiences, my story to lead other women to the hope and life that can be found in Him. 

How will your story unfold? 

What are you going to do with it? 

Are you ready to walk forward into the season of hope? 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit You may abound in hope.
                                                                                               ~Romans 15:13

Today am linking up with Jo Ann and other beautiful women, with freedom and joy and purpose to share our hearts and allow God to use us...our voices...to make a difference, to help women find hope and healing.  This week's topic is, Using Our Stories. Join us and share your story!

Do The Hard Thing! Tear Down The Walls! Open Your Heart!

Oh, how Satan wants our hearts!

John 10:10 tells us that the enemy of our souls wants to steal and kill and destroy. He wants nothing more than to destroy us by separating us from God. If he can't keep us from loving God, from trusting God, then he will go after our relationships with others.

You might think, "Well, as long as my relationship with God is good, what difference does it make if I distance myself in my relationships with friends or with family?"

That wall around your heart that you've cherished, protected, and rebuilt after each offense doesn't hurt others as much as it hurts you. It separates you from God, even though you might reason that walling yourself off doesn't have anything to do with your view of God.~ Mary DeMuth

We cannot love and serve God in a silo. (click to tweet)

What do I mean by that? The ‘silo effect’ refers to individuals working alone, who are not communicating with others or sharing common goals for the greater good of the community. The silo refers to being surrounded by vertical walls, causing inward focus and vertical communication. But the problem with this is that it limits productivity, growth, and health within an organization. It causes damage to the very thing you are trying to protect. 


This translates into ‘Kingdom living’ as one who just isolates herself from others. She lives as if it only matters that she loves God, but there is no reason to neither cooperate nor perhaps even participate within the ‘body of Christ. The problem with this is that we were created in the image of God. There is perfect symbiotic relationship within the Godhead, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…perfection in community in the living illustration of God, Himself. He created us to have relationship with others…to live in community. We were created for community!

When I began reading Mary’s book, The Wall Around Your Heart, I thought that I had a pretty good handle on relationships and community living. You see I’m one of those rare individuals that God has given the gift of ‘easy forgivingness’. I couldn’t hold a grudge if my life depended on it. I am not easily offended, nor am I afraid of confrontation. It’s not because I let people walk on me, either. I enjoy a good healthy debate and I am not afraid of disagreeing with a friend. I’m okay if we both ‘agree to disagree’…most of the time. 
But the more I read about using the Lord’s prayer as a roadmap to healing and bringing down the walls we tend to put up…the walls of offense, the walls of defensiveness, or the walls to just protect our hearts from further hurt… the more I began to realize that I had put up some walls. Walls, not of lack of forgiveness, but walls of not wanting to be hurt, or even being vulnerable to hurt… once again.

As a church planting pastor’s wife, I have run into individuals who have made snap judgments of me. There is so much to do and so little help when the church plant opens its doors. So naturally, in the beginning, I was doing many tasks and working in many different areas of ministry just to keep things running. In my mind, it was just one of those ‘for such a time as this’ moments in time that God had called me to until He brought others to fill those roles. After which He would release me to pursue the areas of ministry for which He had given me a passion and equipping. 

Sometimes in my eagerness to get a ministry in place and running efficiently, I was a bit too focused, too intense. And in the process, some read that as being ‘mean’ or harsh. Learning of this crushed me to the core of my heart. My desire was to love these people. After hearing (second hand) that yet another ‘sister-in-Christ’ had misunderstood or misread my intentions, I began to draw away a bit. Oh, I still worked hard in the church and prayed hard for God to send someone to fill these positions that I know He had not called me to forever, but just for the time being. Yet, I began to lose my love for the town and the very people He had called me to minister to in love. I didn’t hold a grudge against the individual people who had hurt me. I knew why they were misreading my heart. I also knew some of them were dealing with hurts in their own past rendering them incapable of extending an open heart and giving them unrealistic expectations of their preacher’s wife. Never the less…it still hurt.

My hurt heart caused me to draw away from the very community that God had called me to. So if this was God’s calling, why was I hurting? Well because, as the saying goes, ‘hurt people, hurt people’. I knew that God had called me to this community of 'hurt people' to be an instrument of healing and reconciliation, breaking down the strongholds of the enemy, strongholds that had been deeply embedded in this community. Mary’s words began to resonate within my heart. I began to realize that I had participated in the breaking of community by backing away when wounded. I felt the need to call out to God for forgiveness for myself, to own my responsibility in the miscommunication, and to give me the ability to love these people…the very ones who had hurt me in their own misunderstanding.

God in His great mercy and love is drawing me back in…back into His fold. He is bringing alongside women in my lives that are encouragers…women who love and laugh. Women who trust my heart and motives…even when in my eagerness I mess up, yet again, and in doing so, He is healing my ‘cracked heart’ right in the midst of the very community in which it was wounded.

Life is hard but God is good! Relationship is hard, but relationship is good! Marriage is hard, but marriage is good! Living in community is hard, but community is good! Are you getting it? Building walls only make it harder to live and love and be loved. Yes…building walls isolates you from others but it doesn’t protect you from further hurt because the hurt just seeps down further into the depths of your heart and soul.

My challenge for you is…
Do the hard thing! Tear down the walls! Open your heart to receive all the good that God has for you!!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Do the hard thing and open your heart.

The quote in this article is from Mary DeMuth's new book, The Wall Around Your Heart.
 If you would like to get your own copy just click on the book image. 

You can also watch The Wall Around Your Heart Book Trailer 
here:
Welcome to the openhearted revolution!