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Trisha Keehn

Writer

Trisha Keehn is a creative writer fueled by a lifetime of faith. She is part of the Life.Church and YouVersion Bible App creative writing team, and uses her broadcast news background to help companies choose their words wisely. Trisha is a wife, mom, coffee connoisseur, lover of libraries, and a savvy traveler.

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Living Without Limits

When God sees you, He sees unlimited possibility. He sees unlimited potential. He sees unlimited resources. God’s grace and favor in your life enables you to become what He sees. He is faithful.

“He raised us up together with Him…that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor)…” Ephesians 2:6-7

I’ve been listening to Pastor Judah Smith speak at my church (Lifechurch.tv) about God’s agape love for us. We have a God who knows the past and doesn’t hold it against us, but we also serve a God who knows the future and all the painful decisions we’re about to make, and He still doesn’t hold that against us. He loves us in the present. His love prevails today.

This concept rocked my world to think of the unchanging love of God. I set limits on my life because I don’t understand this kind of faithfulness. I cannot comprehend this kind of non-judgmental goodness. A God who knows darkness and still showers us in love.

I limit God’s work of love in my life because I don’t fully understand His unfading affections. I limit God in my thinking and doubt that He can still love me, with all His might, in my moment of weakness. I limit my steps with unbelief that He will catch me when I go broke and fall.

It’s a struggle to separate my conditional kind of love from the unconditional nature of God.

I’m thinking about in the book of Mark when Jesus couldn’t do mighty works in a particular town because of the unbelief of the people? The limits I put on my life can prevent the hand of Jesus from doing a work here.

Pastor Judah put it in perspective: God loves bad people. God doesn’t waste His love.

I felt so empowered by this. Even when I’m a bad person, God is loving me in that moment. There’s nothing that can hinder or diminish His kind of love.

Just this past week I struggled through a broken heart, burdened by heart beatloneliness from the Father. Today, my passion is blazing once again. Free in His everlasting love. My heart is awakened to His devotion, His love, not mine. In confidence, I’m stepping out in faith and expectancy. I know He created a life of open doors for His work to be accomplished, and I’m ready to walk through them. Multiply it, Lord.

I’m losing the limits. I’m ready to live the limitless life He has prepared for me!

Father, Your unlimited love and grace astonishes me. I know You have good things in store for me. Help me to remove the limits I’ve projected on my life and live in the abundant joy of Your surpassing love. I give You everything that I am and ask that You use me for Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Made For Love

Are you filling your life with something tangible because your emotions are missing the intangible gift of love?

Lately, I’ve been overindulging in emotional eating. No sooner than finishing the last bite of a cow and my stomach is signaling to eat the hog too. It’s a pretty serious problem. Even now, as I type this at 7:30 p.m., I’m taking down several chewy Chips Ahoy and no amount of self control or fullness is registering, so I’m tackling an ice cream sundae because dinner didn’t fill me up.

I’ve had my own hypothesis for these buried emotions I’ve been sweeping under the table I’m gorging at, but my solution is enough exercise will zero out the day and hours of self analysis can be avoided. (I’m going to go out on a limb and say all our problems stem from the same thing I’ve been settling my stomach with.)

My available time is shrinking this summer, which means I need to figure out a better method to make up for these meals or stop being a coward and deal with these emotions so I can stop overeating. The solutions are slim so I invested in wisdom; Breaking Free From Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth.

My hypothesis was right. The deeper emotion that causes people to react in reaching for food is… love, or a lack of, I should say. heart on paperPeople are lonely deep down and they want to feel loved, so they eat to suppress their appetite for affections. It stems from the lack of tenderness and touch in our lives. The stomach isn’t empty, just the love tank.

Regardless of whether you’re single or in a committed relationship, God made us all for love. If you’re body isn’t experiencing a form of love daily, it reacts through depression, anger, anxiety and withdrawal.

I even believe the source of a sour character is a scarcity of love. An inner revolt happens when there is a deficit of devotion and sentiment surrounding our soul; touch, time, gifts, affirmation and even service.

The hard truth is, you may be getting what you’re giving. You are a life created for love, but also a life made to live love. So I thought about how to live love. But the reality is, you can’t walk in these ways of you’re wandering in the wilderness of ‘busyness’.

So first, get free from the demands holding you down and then load up your empty love tank with what it’s really lacking:

1) Guard your heart and mind with the Word of God daily. Don’t let the sun go down or come up without the Word in your mind and on your heart. After all, God is love. If you are in need of love, you are in need of God.

2) Find more friends who are in a similar position of life as you. If you’re single, find single friends. If you’re married, get with other couples.

3) Allow others to love you. We are generally a selfish society. We want love the way we want it. A preference is good, but I’m challenging you to renew your perspective and accept love in the way it’s given. Take what you can get and find the good in it.

heart4) Love lavishly. Encourage others. Get involved in other’s lives (it can be online). Give your time to someone, or even something they care about. Ask questions and follow up! Generously give out hugs. Invite someone to coffee, dinner, a movie or a walk .

Everyone was created to be loved.

Next time you reach for the refrigerator or have an adverse attitude, understand food won’t fill your deeper need. Get un-busy and start extravagantly loving others, and this love will overflow their reservoir and flood your own.

God, you see the depths of our hearts and know that void space that’s crying out for love. Help us to see the need in others. Give us the willingness and energy to begin pouring out what little love we have left in us, trusting that You will bring a mighty flood our way. You are Love. Help us to take Your Word and Spirit and transform lives with the unselfish nature of who You are. In the name of Love, I pray this in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.

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Fighting Fruit Or A Fragmented Faith?

I am staring down this piece of fruit sitting on my desk. I packed it for a nutritious snack later. I’m thinking about the juiciness of this pear and how tasty it would be on my tongue. You will not surely die from a bite, I thought.

But I’ve decided to move the fruit out of eyesight as I’m praying for the peace of Christ to reign supreme over my heart. I’m proclaiming the power that is in Him to be stronger than any desire in me for ‘more’. My hunger for Jesus is bigger than my hunger for the things in this world.

You may be asking, ‘what’s the big deal? It’s just a piece of fruit. Why take such a spiritual stand against something so seemingly harmless?’

I struggle with anxiety. For more than a decade I took anti-depressants, but have been off medications for more than two years now. With that choice has come increasing anxiety. New prescriptions for another health concern perpetuate the panic and add to my angst. When my blood boils, I band-aid the burden by biting into food to release the tension. Then I workout like a body builder to burn the calories I consume. It’s a vicious cycle.

Emotional eating is a shortcut solution the enemy uses to soothe pain on the surface of my underlying issues. When concerns turn into conundrums and consume my thoughts, I mindlessly eat to pacify the problem. I even started drinking decaf coffee. What is even the point of that? But I deducted tranquility is more important to my troubling heart than the jolt of caffeine revving up my metabolism. Stopping coffee altogether is not an option, are you crazy?!

So this brings me back to my stand against Satan, and that succulent piece of fruit (that was) sitting on my desk. The plague won’t let up, but maybe it’s because I just won’t let some things go! I’m aware of his sneaky way to steal the self control God is strengthening me with. I can hear the enemy saying, ‘you will not surely die’.Pear and apple

I remember the last time he tried this trick with an apple on Eve. We all know how that turned out. Wisdom tells me he’s right, I won’t die, but a fragment of my faith will. As silly as it sounds, to someone with anxiety this is where I either choose self control and trusting God to fill my need for more or give in to the fruit, and then the granola bar, bag of almonds, and that small cup of applesauce. This is after I have already consumed a big breakfast. What my heart is hungry for is something food can’t fix.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

With food out of sight, I’m taking a 15-minute break to walk, as I pray for God to show me how to handle the turmoil, instead of eating my way through it.

My God, I ask for your peace and comfort over the storm swirling in my mind. I’m casting all my cares on You. Take this heavy yoke from my head. I know You have a good plan for me and will show yourself strong in this! You are working behind the scenes on my behalf!

The lilies of the field and the birds of the air are cards for, how much more will my heavenly Father take care of me? I’m choosing to trust that You will take care of me. I refuse to dwell on these problems and won’t allow them to steal my peace and joy today. I bless and magnify You alone, Lord. I am meditating on your Word and confess Your promises over my life! May I experience Your peace and joy and blessing in all the days of my life! Amen!

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The Beauty Behind Your Hardship

Sorrento at sunsetSimply stunning, right? Believe it or not, as I held the camera staring out at this sunrise, I could not see the striking beauty captured here because of the circumstance I was standing in. My vision was clouded by a veil of the immediate hardship, which pulled on my heart more than the perfect smudging of colors blending across the sky. The depth of perspective in this scene was jaded by  where I had been standing. My eyes could only see the surface; a tired spirit and sweating body. The enemy had manipulated a worn out marionette, swayed by the difficulties taking stage.

I was alone. Afraid of the things I could see. Frustrated this wasn’t the fairytale journey I had planned. I was caught up in my conditions, instead of the captivating craftsmanship the Author had been drawing my attention to. I wish I had the perspective of Paul, to see my Maker’s grand masterpiece in the present day portraits instead of its imperfections.

Don’t get me wrong. There were times I experienced the supernatural force of praise so powerful, rising up from the pit of my disparity to help me stand strong in faith even when my thoughts or circumstances were tempted to come against the truth. There were images that evoked such vivid depictions of God, I fell on my face in such deep adoration for the Almighty Artist. I believe this was the most difficult part, because I only wished I could live captivated in awe by His artistry every moment.

Is it possible that the way out of hardship is to abandon our bad attitude and negative thoughts by surrendering to praise? One of the toughest things to do in the face of adversity is to take off our frames that are focused on fear and fatigue, and replace them with the lens’ of God’s love. We have a choice to pick up praise, when our life doesn’t live up to expectations or finds us surrounded in a situation that we can’t seem to get out of. It’s hard to be negative when you are declaring the goodness of God!

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9

Are you missing the beauty in today because a veil of hardship comes between you and what’s on the other side? Is your circumstance covering the portrait God has been drawing before your eyes?

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Backpacking My Burden

I’ve been home for a week from my Italy excursion during the month of May. My brain has since been ruminating about the journey and I have found more reflections than I have time to write about. Even as I type, I am juggling several tasks between typing the title and actually transcribing my thoughts in this post.Several friends have asked, so here’s a quick take:

Favorite parts: I loved Florence the most. It had charm, rich history, a kaleidoscope of colors, rolling landscapes, a vibrant culture, and a taste of everything that makes Italy so appealing (my opinion). But really, I enjoyed each area for different reasons. Tuscany was simply stunning during every hour of the day. Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast were lined with trails that weaved along the water.

As a ‘foodie’, I plotted my pilgrimage according to every ‘must try’ by the culinary circles. I’m not even going to start on all the pasta, pizza, pastries and gelato or we’ll be here forever. Italy has cultivated the fine art of anything that comes in a cup. Simply put, the country is king of the kitchen!

So the worst part? Moving around so often. Before I left the states, I planned my priorities like most people; ‘I need to see it all’. As soon as my feet hit foreign ground, I realized it was goinBackpackingg to be a lot more work and less of a vacation. I left my suitcase at home and opted for a backpack to prevent being preyed upon by pick-pocketers. This would have been a wise idea if I hadn’t packed 25 pounds worth of “necessities”.

It seemed like I barely had time to get acquainted with the street grid of a new city before I was packing up and catching the next train out. With each stop, my bag became harder to zip up, which meant heavier to hold. I quickly realized how I underestimated the burden of lugging dead weight on my back in and out of trains and bus stops.

Then it hit me. This is what I do in my personal journey through life. I try to pack in as many activities or friends in a short amount of time so that I can ‘do it all’. In the end, I wind up stressing over all the busyiness instead of being grateful for these moments. I want to absorb the leisure of one or two places and enjoy the depth of relationships with a few people instead of living with regret that I only brushed the surface of it all.

So my recommendations. Don’t go alone. There’s too much beauty to see and share with someone and two pairs of eyes are better than one when you’re navigating from the ground in a new city. Second tip. Tell yourself you CAN come back. That you don’t have to be everywhere and do everything. And in the end, your trip will feel more fulfilling with fewer stops. Lastly. Remember, there are no calories in anything when you’re on vacation, so enjoy it all. Just make sure to get to the gym when you get home 🙂

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Giving Life To Faith

Fresh off of ‘vacation’, I have found myself back to rushing through the day, allowing small frustrations to build up into bigger problems. Today, the last straw came when my pharmacy turned a prescription pick-up into a two day process. With no air conditioning in my car, the temperature in my mind was rising as fast as the heat inside.

I noticed a tire shop nearby. Last week, I had a nail that flattened mine to the rim, when I also realized there was no air in the spare. This seemed like a wise time to fill that up and not entirely waste the 30 minute drive here. I pulled into the garage and popped the trunk. The serviceman starts to laugh as I remove a pair of rollerblades, helmet, overnight bag stuffed with clothes, a bag of recreational equipment, a cooler, blanket and car chalk just to get to the spare underneath.

Now you may think I’m planning for a picnic in the park, but let me just tell you the reason for all this; I simply want to be prepared for a whim. The conversation centered on my skates, when I heard from behind, “Hey, how’s it going?” I turned to see my friend Jeff. We began to talk about my recent trip to Italy but it didn’t take long for the service on the ‘donut’ to be complete. I wrapped up our conversation in favor of a pressing schedule

As I drove away, I realized there was peace in my heart. I knew right then that God had placed my friend there in a time of stress, when I needed connection. ‘What would happen if I blew off the remaining list of to-do’s I was already behind with, and conversed a bit more? What if I set aside my schedule more often in favor of these uplifting exchanges?’ I wondered. Without much hesitation, I turned my car around and rejoined my friend as he waited on his vehicle.

I think it’s quite amazing that if we choose to look outside of our perspective on life, we can see God shifting the sand in our favor. I was late getting to the gym tonight, but I got there with a full spirit instead of one on empty. My soul was no longer burdened with stress but soothed by the conversations with a friend. I felt my confidence restored after I kicked ‘hurry up, you’re late for your schedule’ to the curb. And when I got to the gym, I ran longer and lifted more weights than I set out to. It wasn’t a coincidence; my friend was in the right place at the right time.

Putting action behind your faith requires that you get back up, dust yourself off, and say, “I’m not going to stay down. There’s still time left in the day to turn my heart around.” I encourage you today to let your actions give life to your faith as you step up to new levels of His favor and blessing in your life!

Oh, my gracious God, forgive me for forgetting the favor you give me each day in every circumstance. Thank You for Your Word that builds faith in my heart, thank you for friendships that restore life when I’m down, thank you for your Spirit that refreshes my soul. Open my eyes to the opportunities you are work into my day. I ask for your mighty strength to choose life and action behind this faith I profess. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Where Everybody Knows Your Name

I stepped in with caution and looked to my left. There she was, one of my deepest of friends, waiting patiently with her chin resting in her hands propped up on the table. She jumped up with delight as the smile spread across her face and came running toward the door, thrusting her arms around my neck. Still faint from the journey, my fragile shoulders raised to exchange an embrace. We burst into an explosion of conversation before the coffee was even poured. Stepping up to the register, I hear a familiar voice in the background from behind another counter, ‘hey girl! where have you been?’

Take a trip from home and it isn’t long before we realize how often we take these friendly exchanges for granted. What pleasure can be found in a familiar face and these cordial greetings. The joy is incomparable when we’re in a place where everybody knows your name.

The following day, I attended a work meeting informing leadership about the current state of our scope of work and the projection of where we’re heading. My interest peaked when a fact revealed that many who are homeless or low income visit emergency rooms only because they are lonely and have no one else to talk to. They’re understanding is that it’s a place where someone knows their name and will listen.

The next day while at a luncheon, I met a woman who answers suicide and crisis calls in her line of work. I asked how she handles these situations and if it takes long to take people down from their emotions. She responded, “Really, I just listen most of the time. They are calling because they want someone to just listen and that’s what I’m there for.” She hears repeat callers from time to time because they now know someone will be there when they call.

What if the only place you had to turn for a friend was the ER or a crisis line? Perhaps we already feel this way. We live in a society that is subconsciously disconnecting from each other daily through social media, refraining from exposing too much of the soul, in fear this vulnerability would reveal something we are insecure and ashamed of in ourselves. When emergency strikes, the proverbial veil on this mask we all wear (to some degree) lifts as the beauty of honesty and a naked soul is uncovered. It is in a state of crisis that we reach out and find a friend in anyone who will listen. Are we all just living in a state of emergency?

Before I left for my trip, I stocked up on 30 packets of EmergenC, because I knew I was going into some rough territory, would be in close quarters with people on the plane and in trains, and could possibly be exhausted from the adventures each day. Each morning, I poured 1,000mg of Vitamin C into a glass of water, swallowed the solution and ran out the door. I was resting in my knowledge that a healthy body could keep an emergency away.

There’s no packet of powder you can take that will fill the void of a friend, a familiar face or a listening ear. These are irreplaceable gifts. You are irreplaceable because to someone you are a friend, you are familiar, you are an ear. Emergencies bring panic, fear, tension, and tears. Our Creator didn’t create us to live in a state of daily crisis, this is why He gave us community. Who do you need to reach out to today; maybe just to listen to, maybe just to be a familiar face? Let’s vow to stop this state of living in emergency and be a friend to everyone.

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Begin Again

There’s a message that’s been murmuring in my thoughts and trailing under the point of my pen over the last month and it’s this very simple phrase; Begin Again.

When I fall off the scales in a heaping bowl of ice cream and have no excuse like exercise to fall back on… it’s time to begin again. When I find the days flying by with fleeting to-do’s yet little that remains lasting… it’s time to begin again. When I dedicate the better half of a month to achieving a goal and wake up on day 30 to realize I fell off the bandwagon a quarter of the way through… it’s time to begin again. When anxiety consumes my mind with worry and shame sets in for the hurts I’ve caused… it’s time to begin again!

The other night God woke me in a dream. I had been in a room with glass along one wall and there was a door that led to a patio, which overlooked the world. I was in the room looking for something. I don’t know specifically what I was searching for but I had a sense it wasn’t good and that I’d been doing this for awhile… years maybe. While in this room looking under a bed, God said to me, ‘how long?’ I asked Him, ‘what do you mean?’ He said, ‘how long have you been holding on?’

I realized in that moment I had spent years searching, proving, trying to figure out the past, the mistakes, the regrets, instead of opening the glass door into something new, with a view, of the world. Just through the door were opportunities I had been passing by because I was choosing to stay inside, searching for the ‘pain’, which I’m sure over time had become comfortable and a part of me.

After months of troubling prayers for deliverance, God was showing me the door has always been there. It’s time to get up off my knees, stop the search party and the incessant prayers, and actually walk through the grace He’s already provided and just… begin again.

God, oh my gracious God, you are always good to us. Forgive me Father, for feeling like you’ve been holding back good things and a way out. I feel very elementary in my faith when I reflect on your Word and wonder ‘how in the world did I miss the door?’ Help me to trust you God, as I walk by the light of Your Word. Open my eyes and ears Lord, that I may be reminded of your provision in my past each time I look for you in the future. You are remarkable. Incredible. Awesome in all that You are. I am so blessed to know you as my Father. Thank you God.

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A New Life

This week my heart has been heavy and burdened with unbearable pain for my sister and brother-in-law as they grieve the loss of their baby. I don’t know how parents endure such anguish; I have been so distraught for words. This tragedy falling on the same week we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus; God’s only son. The crushing uncanny sorrow and grief numbed my heart to feel anything at all.IMG_3286

This morning I brought my burdens with me to the sanctuary and with arms stretched wide, I found sweet surrender in worship of our Saviour King. Freedom found me and overwhelmed this soul. My heart basking in the warmth of His light as it shined brightly on my face and flooded everything in me. The pure, all-consuming love of Christ laid all the agony to rest.

Though the storms stirred dust on the surface, every hope within me has been resting in the peace of God’s Spirit that’s remained standing securely in the depths of my soul. Though it seemed so much had changed, my God stayed the same! No wind or wave can ever waver the goodness and grace, the hope and joy, and the absolute sovereignty of my God. I stand amazed at the peace surpassing all understanding, dwelling deep inside.

He alone is good, and because of that, this beaten down heart has been delivered from the burdens of sin and the heartaches in this world.

Jesus, oh my Jesus! You alone are good. Enduring my pain on the cross, raised to life from the dead, you have conquered the grave and claimed victory as my valiant King, so that I may have a new life, free from the burdens of our fallen world. The gift you have given is beyond anything I could ever return; this sacrifice is unspeakable when I think upon your ways. Your unfailing love is unfathomable and yet, I’m asking for more to flood my heart, my mind, my ways… craft in me a new thing that honors You, my King. May this world experience the joy of your work in every breath I exhale, every word that’s delivered, with every beat of my heart, in every step that I take… to you be the glory, Jesus, forever and ever. Amen.

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What Fasting Is Really For

I have a confession to make. I don’t always write my blog posts in the same day or week. Once in a while I will sit behind the keys and pen out several posts at a time, as the Spirit flows through my fingers. And thank God for that because other times, I’ll stare at my screen wondering why a single thought doesn’t come to mind. Tonight, this is my second writing.

The last couple of years I’ve been working on regular fasting. During these prayer times, I began to notice thoughts about God effortlessly pouring out into my journal and blogs. It’s as if God’s thoughts became my thoughts and I transformed into a well seasoned writer, authored by the Spirit transcribing insights from the Heavens. Yet, when I wasn’t fasting, I seemed plagued with ‘writer’s block’. Writing on demand is different; convictions cause content to spill out into stories that move other people.

This all caused me to question the closeness of my relationship with God when I wasn’t fasting. My desire was to hear His ‘still, small voice’ all the time. So I thought if I could fast every Sunday, this would surely clear the queue of distractions and help draw my heart in a little closer. It became very stressful and sadly, I wasn’t retaining any depth from this one day.

I was having lunch with a girlfriend yesterday and mentioned my unfruitful efforts to fast, so that I could hear God’s whispers. I told her I had finally given up my frequent fasts because I felt they were becoming too forced and that perhaps my heart may have been trying to control God’s voice in my life. In this situation, stopping seemed like the best thing for me.

This morning God led me to Isaiah 58. I’m going to paraphrase: The Israelites were being pious, coming into the Temple every day, acting delighted to learn all about God. They pretended to want to be near God by saying ‘We have fasted before you! Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’

Here’s what God said: “I will tell you why! It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves… You humble yourselves by going through the motions…  Do you really think this will please the Lord? This is the kind of fasting I want: Free those wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, remove the chains that bind people, share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.”

I-Yi-Yi! Yes, that spoke to me alright! The conviction cut like a double edged sword! I’ve been making this fast about me and my writing instead of allowing the freedom of the Spirit to flow in His timing. Instead of moving in my love for God by loving others, I had been more concerned about His work in me. Whew! Let me just tell you, I have been rolling this chapter over in my mind for several days since then.

I’m very thankful that God doesn’t give up on us, even when we’ve got it all wrong. He continues to feed us His word and draw us back to the heart of worship. What an amazing God, what a faithful Father. I am in awe at His goodness and generous grace that He lavishes upon a heart, even when it leans away from His desires. He lovingly calls out in His Word, pointing us in the direction we’ve been searching for all along. Thank you Lord.