purchased.

last week, chuck and i had the opportunity to share an encounter with God that has marked us.  as we worshipped, and then began sharing testimonies and encounters, the presence of God flooded the room.  it was a moment where the Maker of heaven and earth felt so close that you don’t know whether to sit or stand or laugh or cry.  when God comes near…

it was refreshing and freeing to share about a moment where the Holy Spirit came and revealed Jesus.  i was laying on the prayer room floor in DC in 2008.  i looked up and i saw the face of Jesus.  at first, i didn’t even want to look.  i felt unworthy and overwhelmed at the sight of His face.  slowly as if the Father was turning my face i looked at this Man.  as i looked, i saw dried blood on His face.  i was immediately overcome with a sense of His great love and my own gratitude.  the thought that ran through my head was, “that should have been my blood.”

i realized that i never again had the right to doubt His love for me.  He has already proven that and i don’t need one more thing to believe that.

that blood it purchased things for us!

freedom.

from fear of man.

from shame.

from insecurity.

from death.

from the lies of the enemy.

and the list can go on and on…

how often to i go to a store and buy something then just say to the clerk, “ah, you can just keep it”?  umm, NEVER!  i like shopping as much as the next girl, and as soon as that transaction has gone through i am happily bopping out the door, excited to show my husband my latest find. 🙂

the tragic thing is that often we do this with the blood of Jesus.  He has purchased so many things, and we can often leave them at the counter.

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.”

Romans 8:14-15

When Jesus left this world He gave us the Spirit so that we can live a life that is no longer in bondage to fear!

When a lie passes through my mind that wants to drag me back into captivity, i think to myself “Jesus bought me a free pass out of that awful place.”

i don’t know about you, but i want to live my life fully enjoying all that was purchased for me!

i pray that today we will fully live in the land of freedom.  the gate is open, and the Holy Spirit is ready to usher us all in.

life lessons from Phoebe…

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I woke up this morning to the news that little Phoebe Fair has left this earth we call home.  With tears swelling in my eyes, we headed off to church.  On the way, I just kept thinking about how Phoebe was giggling the other day about the girl in the living room roaring like a lion.  My sister and I were texting back and forth a little as the service began, and she mentioned how she just read this verse in Hosea:

“They will walk after the LORD, He will roar like a lion; Indeed He will roar And His sons will come trembling from the west.” -Hosea 11:10

I got halfway through the verse on my iphone and had to pass Chuck the phone, because I couldn’t finish the verse.  Pastors came and greeted us asking how we were.  I replied, “good” with tear stained cheeks.  They probably wondered if there was a pre-service marriage discussion. 🙂 It seemed still to intimate to share the news and how my heart ached for Nathan, Amey, and the boys.

Worship begins and it’s John Mark McMillians song called “Death in Grave”.  I look across the crowd to see a young man passionately worshipping with a lion printed t-shirt.  With tears streaming down my face and my hands lifted high, I thanked Jesus that He truly put death in the grave.  Phoebe heard that lion roar and she knew her Father’s voice.  She knew in her strong spirit that a better home awaited her.  When the lion roared in Hosea, the children went home.

Then my mind moved onto Phoebe’s conversation with her mom awhile back,

Phoebe: “God loves us. God loves us and God is not a meanie.”
Amey: “That’s right Phoebe, God loves us very much.”
Phoebe: “And I am not afraid, say it Mom, say “I am not afraid.”
Amey, teary-eyed: “I am not afraid.”

I am amazed that in the midst of a battle bigger than most of us have ever known, she didn’t waver about the goodness of God. And now she rests, or perhaps dances in the arms of that good God she knows so well.

Please keep her family in your prayers during this fragile time.

For Phoebe’s full story visit her blog…

http://atypicalmiracle.com

stones and stories

Imagei am a story teller.  

my friends laugh at me, and how i will include the smallest details, like how they served avocado with the omelets. it may not be a plot changing detail, but it makes things more interesting.

now my husband and i travel the world teaching, but my story-telling started long before i was acquiring airmiles, and standing behind pulpits.

my first full time ministry position was at a home for young girls in unplanned pregnancies.  i used to sit on a stool in the kitchen and tell them some of my crazy stories.  their protruding bellies would shake while they laughed at my embarrassing moments, all the while trying not to act to entertained as teenagers sometimes do.

and again, my storytelling came alive when i worked with the two year olds in the church nursery on friday nights.  i would hire the assistance of puppets and all kinds of accents to re-tell them the stories of the Bible.  i called it preaching.  preparing for the days to come. (hey, if you can captivate two year olds, you are ready for the masses right?)

as we approach our one year anniversary next month, i’ve been a bit more reflective lately.  yesterday, i read in joshua about the memorial stones.  i love the value God placed on remembering to the israelites.  possibly because i find myself buzzing from one blessing and full-filled dream to the next without taking a moment to create a memorial stone.  

“Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day.”

Joshua 4:9

it also reminds me that story-telling was an old testament command. 

“Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask [c]later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.’”

Joshua 4:6-7

story-telling is a beautiful way of remembering and sharing the goodness of God with the generations to come, that they may feed on his faithfulness.

“Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”

Psalm 37:3

remembering has a way of filling us with faith for the road before us.  it’s a powerful thing. 

my prayer today is that i (and you too) can take the time to remember.  that i will not forget to place memorial stones at all the places where God has reached down from heaven and touched this earth before me. 

 

 

emotional moments.

I think were I first truly learned about emotional moments was probably when I worked at maternity home with young girls in unplanned pregnancies.

Hormones are already fun when you are 15 and then add the equation the factor that you are wearing a person.  One of my mentors taught me about having grace for others when they have “emotional moments”.

I love reading the Psalms and surfing the highs and lows of King David’s emotional moments.  I love his raw honesty, but more than that I am struck by his ability to ultimately take charge of his emotions.  When the Bible talks about our souls, this is largely referring to the emotional part of our being.  

Strongs defines our souls like this…

) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion
a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man
b) living being
c) living being (with life in the blood)
d) the man himself, self, person or individual
e) seat of the appetites
f) seat of emotions and passions

Today I was struck by this passage-

Praise the Lord, my soul;
 all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul,
 and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins
 and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit
 and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things
 so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5

What I think is key is that David commands his soul to praise the Lord.  The enemy tries his hardest to convince us we are victims.  Our emotions seem so huge, and it can feel out of control.

Today, I want to remind myself that I have authority over my soul.  That although my soul and emotions are an important part of who I am, my spirit should rule over my mind, body, and soul.  Image

keys to breakthrough (psalm 37)

happy fourth of july to all my american friends…

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today i just want to share 5 keys to seeing breakthrough in our lives from the wisdom of king david in psalm 37.

1. cultivate the land you already possess.  be thankful for the promises you have already seen God fulfill.  often we forget what He has ALREADY done while waiting on the next promise.  focusing on this builds faith in us and reminds us of what a good God he is. thankfulness leads us into His presence and in His presence is the fullness of joy.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

2. worship.  this is what we are created for.  lose yourself in His glorious presence.  ask Him how you can bring Him pleasure and bless His heart.  take the focus off of you and get lost in His glory.

4 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

3. surrender your plans to Him.  

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:

4. trust that it is ultimately His job to make you shine.  He is way better at promoting us that we are at promoting ourselves.

6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

5. trust in His timing.  He makes all things beautiful in His time.  the Lord once spoke to me, “waiting speaks of worth”.  we are willing to wait for things of value.  when you get weary of waiting remember the most expensive things in life are worth a wait.  as you wait, your promise is accumulating interest.

7 Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

have a happy day and delight yourself in Him.  He is faithful and way better than we can even imagine.  we serve a GOOD God!

space.

i’ve been pondering this idea of space lately… not like star trek space…

but like space to move, to breath, to dream, to discover, and to listen.

it can be so easy to fill our day planners and iphones with appointments and “things” we have to do. important things of course.  i’ve started to think through what are the important things.  i don’t want to be busy.  i don’t want my calendar so full that i don’t even have time for an impromptu chat with my neighbors or their three year old son.

i want to live my life in a way where there is “space” for these types of things.

i want to have space for friends to pop over.

i want my friends to have space for me to pop over. 🙂

i want to have the space to be interrupted, and not stressed by it.

our neighbors have been such good examples of this.  she is a stay at home mom with two little ones and one in school. the other day the wrong soap somehow made it into our dishwasher.  thankfully, i caught it early as a small waterfall of bubbles tried to escape.  as soon as our neighbor got home she brought over their big shop vac.  thank you Jesus.  that thing was amazing.

they are catholic believers, and outside their door is a sign that says “love thy neighbor”.   and they have done an amazing job. we may or may not have broken their lawn mower shortly after moving in.

we westerners would probably all say oh yes, relationship is way more important that tasks, yet the rule more that the exception seems to be the than the to-do list takes priority 90% of the time.

so i want space to deepen the relationships around me.  i want natural organic connections with people, that don’t have to take place at starbucks.

i also want space because in space i can think clearly.

when i silence all the noise, slow down, and actually feel the space, the important things seem to surface.

busyness has a way of making everything spin, but space has a way of bringing clarity.

space has a way of allowing me to recognize the blessings around me, and all the dreams God continues to fulfill.  if i just keep buzzing around and don’t find or create space, i miss these simple yet profound recollections.

and from that place i dream on.  in that place of realization of what a crazy good God i serve, i can dream on to the places that He and i both desire.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

deep breaths. intentional places where we allow space in our lives, schedules, relationships.

Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. (from wikipedia)

boundless.

relative position.

direction.

not sure about you, but i could use a little more of those things.  Image

the lyrics to united pursuit bands, “running in circles” probably says it better than i ever could, so i’ll leave you with them. 🙂

im so forgetful, but you always remind me
youre the only one who brings me peace
youre the only one who brings me peace
x2

so i come, lord i come, i come, lord i come
to tell you i love you
to tell you i need you
to tell you theres no better place for me than in your arms
to tell you im sorry for running in circles
for placing my focus on the ways and not your face
youre the only one who brings me peace
youre the only one who brings me peace

im so forgetful but you always remind me
youre the only one who brings me peace

Read more at http://www.lyrics.com/artists/lyricid/T%2015323308#1Lhlc3qCtpxMkrVG.99

gratitude and grumpy little elves

One of my favorite lines in the movie “Elf” is when he tells the little person he is “an angry little elf”.  And because of that in our house we may or may not label ourselves and each other things such as; happy, sleepy, hungry, grumpy elves, etc.

Don’t judge.

We laugh a lot at our house.

This week was FULL.  And if you know me at all you know I am not one of those people who loves to be “busy”.  Yes I am a strategic achiever, BUT I like rest, downtime, reading, watching HGTV.  That’s why I strategically achieve, so that I can get to that rest time faster!

We got home from 10 days in the Great Lakes on Monday.  Tuesday was full of meetings and a root canal…  So, by Wednesday I found myself quite the grumpy little elf if you will.

On Thursday, the word gratitude just kept skipping through my head.  I left a midday haircut and decided to use some of birthday money and get a treat drink at starbucks.  When I pulled up to get my drink, she said the girl in front of you bought your drink. At that point, I decided it was time to get over my pity party and start thanking God for the blessed life I live.

When I felt tempted to be overwhelmed by the fact that my schedule seemed to be filling up with things I didn’t want to do, I would start to think of all the amazing things about the life I lead.

And we all can.  Reality is the grass always looks greener on the other side, but when we stop peeking over the fence, we can  enjoy whats actually in our backyard.

God is good.

He knows what we need in each season to thrive, to grow, to become all that He has created us to be.  We can trust Him.  We can thank Him for what we do have.  We can choose to look at the beauty rather than the dirt.  We can embrace our season, all that it is, and let go of all that it isn’t.

And today is… A DAY OFF!!  I am happy, happy, happy.  I am happily surrounded by books and journals propped up on my bed with the scent of one of my favorite candles wafting by.  It’s my happy place, and for that I am also thankful!

So have a HAPPY saturday!

I leave you this very cute picture of a slightly unhappy little elf… (She’s 9 now, and a little happier these days)Image

praying for the generations

ImageC and I make it our goal to pray together daily. Sometimes this looks like 20 minutes of us praying for our families, our friends, our country, and other prayer needs.  And honestly, some nights it means one very sleepy Maher praying while the other even more sleepy Maher “agrees”.

Today I was reading through Psalms and came across this scripture.

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

Psalm 92:12-15

I started praying this over my parents.  That they “will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green”.

I pray that they will be like Job whose latter life proved to be better than his former years.  

ImageI think there is something beautiful about praying for the generations.  Whether we are Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, God loves to do things in family lines.  God’s heart is always for the family, and I believe His desire is that we are able to pass on more than just a material inheritance.

So we pray for the fullness over our parents and those who have gone before us, and we also pray for the generations to come. 

We pray that our future children will know Him, love Him, and be healthy, happy, and beautiful.  We sow seeds in the the soil of the destiny.  We bless them before we see their faces or snuggle them.  We pray that they will change the world, and be walking demonstrations of the love of God.

I pray that our family will be known as a Psalm 126 family…

“Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.”

Psalm 126:2-3

So today, I encourage you to pray and think generationally.  Bless those who have gone before you and bless those who will come behind you.  Pray that all of your family will walk in the fullness and be blessed in every area.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”. Galatians 6:9

I’ll leave you on this sweet note… Hehe family photo circa 1988 (?)

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shalom

When I pray over people. I often just release the shalom of heaven over them.  

Most people associate this with peace, which is good, but really a lacking definition of the word.

Strongs defines it as, “completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord”.

Just reading the definition has a way of diffusing tension in me.  This is the heart of our heavenly Father, is that we will be complete, whole, healthy, peaceful, safe, tranquil, prosperous, perfect, full, rested, in harmony with those around us, and free from discord and agitation.  Wow, that’s a really good Dad.

This is how Jewish people greet each other.  How beautiful and rich of a way to say hello!  Whether realizing it or not they are releasing the fullest blessing over each person they choose to greet.

So as you read this today, I speak shalom over you.  

May you be blessed in every area of your life that you may fully receive His gifts, and freely give them away!

Happy Friday!