Starting isn’t easy.
Yesterday just wasn’t mine to move forward. I didn’t work out. Didn’t work on my dreams. Didn’t work on much of anything.
On the first day of the year, I was still in the starting blocks as the calendar took off.
Last night, I laid in bed talking my goals off the ledge of failure because here’s what I know about the race we’re in:
You don’t have to be at the front of the pack to finish.
Today is another chance. On your mark. Get set… Go!
Whether you did things right in 2015, stumbled through it or couldn’t seem to get a solid footing on being brave, December 31st is the moment we all toss out the past. Calendars are on their last day. Most pocket planners peak at this moment. Many goals are measured with an end-of-the-year deadline. No matter if you achieved your goal(s) or abandoned them, we all flip open to the first page tomorrow and begin again.
If you want to fan a fire that sets your future ablaze, breathe the air of a ferocious prayer at the base of the future’s flame. January 1st is as close to the bottom, the beginning, as we can get.
The intensity of flavors in a fiery prayer can keep us at the table lingering in our petition with the Lord. I can’t think of a better place to be when there’s a plate piled high taking up residency in my mind that I need to release.
Carve out some time to stir in seasoned supplications you asked for last year and have yet to see. Stay longer and let the taste of these bold requests mix with the sweet intimacy of Jesus. This kind of meal will drown out the blandness of living with anything less than a constant craving for more time at the table.
There are a few personal pieces you may want to add to this prayer starter here, so I encourage you to use a sharp pair of scissors to trim off the excess and tailor the threads of thanksgiving and surrender to custom fit your life.
In Jesus Name, we come before you with boldness. We thank you, Jesus, that we are your sons and daughters and we can approach your throne at any time because of what you did on the cross.
Lord, I thank you for the work that you did on the cross. You did the work so that we can rest. We shake off the worry and anxiety that has us pinned beneath your best.
We pray for a baptism soaking in grace that brings new levels of restoration to these desires You have planted in our soul. We pray for a refreshment of hope in 2016.
Lord, for those who have been working and striving to achieve that love from you, I pray for your power to strengthen their spiritual muscles so that they can shake off this work mentality right now and receive rest and grace and the peace that is only found in you. Lord, You did the work so that we could rest and receive all that is in store for us, in Jesus Name.
In Jesus Name, we receive the wisdom that only you could give us, Father; wisdom to make the right decisions in our careers, with relationships, over our finances and the future. Lord, we thank You now that the Holy Spirit counsels us, comforts us and is the director of our story.
Father, Your word says that we can plan our way, so we bring you our plans for the new year and we lay them at the altar of your will. We acknowledge there are things You see in our future that need adjustment to our plans today, so we lift up to You these goals and ask You to establish our way.
We trust You to lead us into the right appointments this year. We believe that you are setting us up even at this moment with divine meetings in 2016. You are opening every right door and closing every wrong door, and we thank You that You guide us and lead us with peace. And that You are making a way even when there seems to be no way.
With each choice we make, Your Word says that your peace will be the presiding sign that points to the direction we must go. So still the contents of our heart to remain calm in the storms so that we may see this sign.
Lord Jesus, our desire is to act with more courage these days. Strengthen our resilience to say ‘no’ in the name of love and rest and grace, and creating more memories with the people we care for. You are the God who loves us and will bring new life to our worn-out hearts. Fill us also, Lord with the audacity to say ‘yes’ to the talents you have entrusted to us.
Creator of heaven and earth, we acknowledge you have planted a dream in our hearts and interwoven uniqueness that’s exclusive to the story we’ve been living. We’ve been wrestling with doubts because our eyes are still fixed on our weakness. Empower us with the courage to lift our mind above the colossal concern that we’re not worthy enough. Restore the joy in this gifting and help us to refocus the fears to the mere satisfaction that we receive when we’re working out of this skill.
We ask that the noise would recede and the most important things are made clear and lovely. Detach our doing from our being in our minds and open our hearts to the transforming power of being still. Our prayer is that we’ll find ourselves drawn closer to the heart of Your story.
In Jesus’ name, I thank you that You are providing us with everything we need according to Your riches in glory, Lord. We are not limited to our bank account. We are connected to the right hand of the Father who has unlimited resources to dispense to His children.
Lord, I thank you for financial miracles happening right now; debts are being canceled and running over blessings are being poured out.
Lord, I thank you for your healing, in Jesus’ name. That every cell, bone, ligament, tissue, and organ is being brought back to the way they are supposed to be operating, in Jesus’ name.
Lord, I thank you that addictions are being conquered, that strongholds are being released and that chains are being broken even at this moment that we speak it into the atmosphere.
Lord, we declare and we believe that whom the Son has set free is free indeed. Thank you, Father for changing the palette of our desires, the contents of our heart and the thoughts consuming our mind.
We know that You cause all things to work for good to those who are in Christ Jesus, so we acknowledge our inheritance as victors of this world and not victims. Lord, because of You, we will prosper. Because of You, Jesus, we are moving from strength to strength and glory to glory!
Heavenly Father, our prayer is that we will live on fire with hope, fully engaged with intention, alive in our passions, and offering generous amounts of grace as we embrace every opportunity to love in 2016.
May we live fully, deeply, and more courageously with greater impact in our present places. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As a contributor to “liftupyourday.com”, this article first appeared on December 28, 2015.
The new year is starting whether you’ve got a plan for great things or just living on prayer that it won’t be like the last one.
My prayer is that discover the potential God placed under your fingertips and reach for what you haven’t tapped into yet.
You may have climbed the ladder in 2015, but the gifts you were given last season aren’t the same as what’s coming to you in the next. You were designed to grow into new opportunities and talents over time. So although you may be satisfied with where you are, God has new levels for you beyond this point.
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” – Frederick Buechner
You may have to give up contentment to get a little uncomfortable so that God can cultivate his gifting. As long as you keep honoring God and developing your talent, the oil that belongs to you will not flow to anybody else. God will get you to where you are supposed to be.
David spent his days in the shepherd’s field slinging stones with the sheep until a moment came when God put this small, seemingly useless hobby to work defeating a giant. This victory let David to the throne of Israel. (1 Samuel 16 – 17)
Maybe you know what God wants you to do but your talent has gone dormant because you haven’t been disciplined to develop it any further. You might be stuck in an overwhelmed schedule or intimidated by fear that you’re not good enough. Doubt that you’ll be able to stick with it and end up reverting back to your routine after a while.
Failure says ‘what if… what if… what if…’
Faith says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6)
Sometimes we see heroes of faith and think they have it all figured out. But God asks us to do things afraid so that we will lean into Him on faith. If we had all the confidence, courage and strength to do it on your own, we wouldn’t run to Him as the source.
The Father’s gifts were never meant to pressure you. When you’re tempted to ‘wait for the perfect time’ to get out of your comfort zone, lean into the resistance and remind yourself this is an excuse. There is no perfect time. Daring to take the first step is difficult for a reason. Pressing against resistance makes you grow.
God has invested gifts in you and He’s expecting a return on that investment. Like the servants with the master’s money, God is looking for the willing to carry out his plan. (Matthew 25:14-30)
Keep using what God is giving to you and He’ll continue to pour out more through you.
So start the stirring now by praying for this dwelling passion to grow. Stretch your imagination and reframe those intimidations into inspiration. It’s time to turn down the distractions, stop discounting this gift and get focused. It’s time to fan the flame of your blessing.
God has a hedge of protection around you and your future that cannot be penetrated without permission. You don’t have to live worried.
Heavenly Father, develop in us this gift with your grace, your favor, your wisdom, and your strength. Stir up a storm of passion for your blessing and equip us with the courage to get out of our comfort zone this year. To You be all the glory and honor as your work is being revealed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Understanding trust gives us words to say, ‘here’s my struggle and why I can’t rely on you’. Trust is a huge word with tons of weight around it.
There are common, quiet thoughts in our mind about trust that often go unspoken because we’re not really sure on how to sort through the vowels and verbs to make any sense of it. Researcher Brene Brown has a gift with dissecting and then organizing human connection. (Her bestsellers are worth buying; you’ll want to highlight, dog ear and pull these pages from the shelf to share.) Recently, she spliced open the anatomy of trust. Here are a few notes I’ve taken on the way we trust.
Trust is built in small, seemingly insignificant moments. It’s built when we ask for help and someone is there to lend a hand. Anytime we’re scared, there’s an opportunity for someone to build trust with us.
These same moments available for trust building are also available for betrayal. When we choose *not* to connect when the opportunity is there, this silent trust turns into betrayal.
Dr. Brown says that trust is really ‘braving’ connection with people.
B.R.A.V.I.N.G.
Here’s how she breaks down the acronym.
Boundaries: Trust is built when you are clear about your boundaries and you hold to them. I must also be clear about my own and expect you to respect them.
Reliability: Trust is built when you do what you say you are going to do. And not just once. We need to do what we say we are going to do over and over and over again. That’s what builds trust.
We also have to be clear on our limitations so we don’t take on so much that we come up short and can’t deliver on our commitments. Acceptance of these limitations from you and me is vital to trust.
Accountability: Trust is built when you make a mistake and are able to own it, apologize for it and make amends. When I make a mistake, trust is built when I am able to own it, apologize for it and make amends for it.
Vault: Trust is built when what I share with you, you hold in confidence. And what you share with me, I hold in confidence. We both need to see that confidentiality with others is acknowledged in our conversations with each other.
You cannot share things that are not yours to share as a way to hot-wire connection with a friend. Your closeness cannot be built on talking bad about other people. Common enemy intimacy is built on hating the same people. That’s counterfeit trust. That’s not real.
Integrity: Act from a place of integrity and encourage me to do the same thing. This builds trust. Choosing courage over comfort. What’s right over what’s fun, fast or easy. Practicing your values, and not just professing them.
Non-judgment: Trust is built when I can fall apart and struggle and ask for help without being judged by you. And conversely, you can fall apart and struggle and ask for help without being judged by me.
We are generally better at helping people than asking for help. Yet, if you can’t ask for help and I cannot ask, then this is not a trusting relationship. There’s a temptation to assign value to your help. You may determine your worth based on how you’re helping someone. Or perhaps you think less of yourself if you need the help. However, if you think less of yourself for needing help, then when you offer to help someone else, you will think less of them too. We cannot get value from being a helper in a relationship. This is not your worth.
Generosity: It’s only a trusting relationship if you can assume the most generous positive thoughts about what my intentions and behaviors are doing and what my words are saying, and then check in with me. So if I screw up and say something or forget something, you will make a generous, positive assumption. As opposed to guarding your heart from me or ignoring my calls or efforts.
Here’s the catch to trust. We cannot trust others if we don’t first trust ourselves.
One of the biggest casualties with heartbreak, disappointment and failure is is not the loss of trust with other people but the loss of self-trust.
In my own life (Trisha speaking here), Brown’s definitions have breathed new life into my ‘brave’. Past breakups and frustrations have kept my decisions locked in a cage of self reflection and doubt that I could trust myself anymore to make better choices.
If braving relationships with other people is braving connection, then braving self-trust is braving self-love and self-respect.
If you can’t count on yourself, you can’t ask other people to give you what you don’t have. You have to start with self-trust.
Maya Angelou puts it this way, ‘I do not trust people who don’t love themselves and yet tell me ‘I love you’. There’s an African proverb that says, ‘Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt’.
If you struggle with trust, examine first your own self-trust and how you treat yourself. You can’t ask people to give to you what you don’t believe you’re worthy of receiving. You will know you are worthy of receiving trust when you trust yourself above everyone else.
He sees you. He chooses you.
He knows your story and He knows your name.
No matter what you’ve done, His love for you is just the same.
Then he was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.”
A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.
When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked, “So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?” 1 Kings 19: 11-13 (MSG)
Merry Christmas!
His name is Jesus.
Luke 2:4-21 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
We’re still a couple days away from Christmas and I have yet to board a plane to be with family, yet somehow we’ve already found the short fuses and tension stretching patience with each other.
Can you relate?
The problems may have nothing to do with you except that you’re within proximity of the resentful responses and it’s pulling on your patience to stay present with people like this.
I’m paddling in this boat with you, my friend.
The enemy just needs to get us wrapped up in anger and bitterness to steal the show from what this holiday is all about. He wants you to be a bitter soul behind a beautiful face, crippled by the offenses this Christmas.
Maybe you’re coming to the table feeling resentment because your family could never completely understand how your own rejections feel. Yours are seemingly impossible to forgive.
Unforgiveness is the devil’s design to keep you bruised and bleeding and long-term angry. He can use even the lightest offense to do it. You’re not the victim of offense. You’ve been targeted by the devil with anger and he’s been strategizing how to suck all the power out of your life.
Forgive. Because what you have now is not freedom but bitterness. Your forgiveness doesn’t benefit the other person… it’s for you to feel whole and complete. Genuine freedom is waiting for you on the other side of forgiveness. Release your friends, your family… and the ticket agent juggling ten jobs to get you home for Christmas.
My prayer is for God to pull out all the stops and give you the strength to release others from what they owe you. May the Lord shift your thinking from the same old broken roads to a path of peace with each other and focus on the purpose of coming together. #fervent
Don’t let the people you love determine how you’re going to love.
The story of the prodigal son isn’t about a rebellious son who returns home.
This is a story about the grace and tenderness and mercy of a father who would leave his home and run toward a son who rejected him.
His name is Jesus. God left His home to come to this earth in the form of a man for you.
He doesn’t give gifts to people who think they deserve it. God gives gifts to people who know they are not worthy of it.
God thought about you not at your best but at your worst.
May your soul feel chased down by the tender love and mercy of a father this Christmas. And may the overflow of your heart remain full of hope, generously sharing this great joy we have found in Jesus.
