Category Archives: Faith

Faith is what spurs us to reach higher, stretch further, dig deeper, and press our natural boundaries in hopes that we can exceed all expectations.

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The Lonely Truth

Loneliness is a disease! Did you know ‘lonely’ people have higher cortisol levels and less immunity to infections? Because of this, it is necessary for their bodies to work harder to pump blood. These folks also have increased trouble with self control and are prone to develop the obvious; depression leading to suicide, alcoholism, and difficulty getting deep sleep. And as if that wasn’t enough, they also have faster progression of Alzheimers. Gulp.

Being alone can kill you.

When I feel the weight of being alone, it’s really when I’m not connected with God. When the demands of the day override my dedication to seeking God. I wondered if deep down I was really fearing that God would leave my heart empty for many more days. I confess His goodness with my lips but doubt His faithfulness with disparity. When I am confident in my closeness with Christ, the consciousness of singleness vaporizes. My thoughts become focused on how beautiful and big He is, that my needs for a companion seem so small and somehow fade into the background.

I think it’s interesting that many times in scripture Jesus withdrew to ‘lonely’ places to pray. Why did He go to lonely places on purpose? After all, the enemy prowls around like a lion (1 Peter 5:8). Think about how a lion preys. A lion gets his prey alone. A pride of lion will hunt down game twice it’s size, but singled out, makes for an easy meal. But I imagine Jesus is thinking in the emptiness of a desert place, the worries of the world fade and distractions that once tried to fill this void vanish.

So maybe, just maybe, there is good to be found in being alone after all.

Maybe the lonely truth is that in my abandonment, I find God. And as I soak up the goodness of a Father so deeply in love with me, I realize the pangs of solitary living are satisfied with a robust zeal that revives the beat of my dead heart. I am made whole again, in the constant companionship of Christ, who covers the wounds and fills these longings. My desire begins to weave with His will and my faith strengthens as a single strand becomes the cord.

The seasons shift, but my trust, it still remains.

Oh, my Lord. Some days I think I get what your Word is trying to say, and other days I’m drowning in tears of forgetfulness. I am trying to live in your ways, but my flesh is weak and my spirit fails. Come, like you promised. Fill me with your living Spirit. Just like you said you would. Turn to me and be gracious, God. This loneliness is an affliction to more hearts than my own and so I ask for Your healing touch to revive their souls in this moment. Come with grace and mercy. Come riding on the wind. Come restore your bride, just like you said you would, Jesus. We’re waiting.

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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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Distinguishing The Distractions

About the time my mind matches my destiny and it seems there’s nothing stopping me from achieving a dream, my eyes fall prey to the allure of ‘everything else’ beckoning for my attention at that exact moment. My drive becomes victim to the demands of a distraction.

Sometimes, my own cunning desires manipulate logic and I wind up doing what others want me to do, even if I have no anointing for it. I leave with immediate gratification, but it later fades and I’m left empty of the lasting joy, peace, rest, and wonderful relationships. This isn’t about deceit, it’s simply defining and dividing out the good things from God’s greatness for me.

Not every diversion from schedules and routines is a distraction; I’m still discovering what is and isn’t. I remember in a sermon, my pastor made a statement, “anything that keeps you from church, is probably not from God.” The church, of course, is not four walls of brick and mortar, but fellow believers. That seemed logical, and an easy way to decipher Sunday interruptions at least.

But what about commitments I make the other six days a week? How do I deem what’s a distraction or actually aiding my efforts in a roundabout way?

The tantalizing trait of temptations is that they feed our flesh and ultimately lead us away from God. Temptations are distractions. Distractions are temptations in disguise.

In order to differentiate the devil’s devices from what is heaven sent, I think I need to evaluate whether I’m getting further away from my relationship with Jesus or coming closer as a result of these activities. Do they bring full-on glory to God or mediocre methods to my own madness?time vs distractions

And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction. 1 Corinthians 7:35

And let the beauty and delightfulness and favor of the Lord our God be upon us; confirm and establish the work of our hands-yes, the work of our hands, confirm and establish it. Psalm 90:17

Lead me in the way that I should go, Lord. Strengthen my spirit to discern the difference in these distractions. Help me clear away the clutter so I can clearly see what is worthwhile. Keep my mind steady on the Rock of my salvation and at rest upon your gift of redemption, even when I fall victim to these disturbances. I’m clinging to the promise that you make all things good, all things! Jesus, your grace is all I need. Your grace grace upon grace is all that I breathe.

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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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A Comfortable Conundrum

The thermostat arrow has been brushing 90 degrees for nearly a week in my house. Under the rising temps of the Tennessee summer sun, I was informed the air conditioning compressor broke. I am hot and my temper is infuriated with each passing minute inside these walls. It feels like a furnace of frustration stewing in a sauna of a waiting room.

I’m convinced the devil is turning up the heat so I won’t be able to write in the comfort of my own home. So during the day, I uproot to a Starbucks lounge to pen out my manuscript. It’s a huge hassle because I have not mastered the art of packing light.

Today I arrived home to find my air conditioning was finally fixed! I swung the door open and a blast of cool air sent a greeting right back. What a great way to come home. I dropped everything and explored the other rooms. The vents were all blowing cold air. I fixed a snack and unpacked my bags. This is the time, right after work, I had scheduled to sit down and write, so I open up my computer. Before long, I find myself running on rabbit trails of distractions; ‘I should pay my electric bill first’, ‘I need to cancel my membership to that company before I forget’, ‘I need to text my sister real quick’, ‘let me check my email to see if I got those tickets yet’. Ugh.

I realized in all this that maybe what I thought to be the devil in disguise was actually God’s hand shielding me from the center of getting comfortable. When I’m comfortable, I don’t do my best work. I begin to relax into the work and get lazy when I’m comfortable. The point that my workouts stop being effective is when I become comfortable with exercise.

Living a life of purpose is rarely comfortable. Perhaps when the heat is up, I am right where God wants me… chasing my passion down with determination to fight the fire and complete what my Author has written with this heart.

God, open my eyes to see the beauty of your hand instead of looking for the blame. You are the strength behind the work of these hands. Steal the show, Jesus, with the words You have yet to write through these hands. To You be the glory God, who is able, through your mighty power at work within me, to accomplish infinitely more than I might ask or even think. (Ephesians 3:20) 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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The Pleasure of A Pastime

I have returned from an extended trip to Italy, where I set out to seek God’s insight and reflections about a book I’ve been toiling over for many months. As the mornings rolled on, the straps of my backpack seemed like a smooth sling over my dainty shoulders, as I dipped my head to catch the belt of my bag crossing over my body. Each day was an adventure in search of the Author’s words for me. Chapters unfolded under the Florentine sculptures, the Tuscan sunsets and the towering rocks of Rome. I was encouraged by breathtaking brushstrokes, sounds of authentic instrumentals, sweet aromas lingering in the air, and the grand nature magnificent mountains, sublime statutes, and impressive ocean waves.

I have gleaned much about life, my life, that I hope to share with you over the following days. It was interesting and no happenstance I believe, that just before I took this trip, I was plagued with a triple threat; strep throat, bronchitus and pneumonia. The enemy was surely at work to prevent me from this ordained trip.

One important lesson I learned from the Italians is the art of enjoying each other. Rarely do they abide by schedules or spin the wheels of their life around work. In fact, everything closes down from 12:30pm – 3:30pm and the entire country takes a nap or leisurely converses over coffee to calm down during the day.

This was pure pleasure for a people person like me. I found myself in smiles, striking up conversations with anyone I rubbed shoulders with. What a joy to hear tales of their journeys! It was in this moment I realized that the satisfaction I lack in the States is derivative of the selfishness I make my life out to be. My Monday through Friday consists of an office job, home, on a good day there’s also the gym/park, and every Tuesday I grab coffee with a girlfriend. Usually I save all other bonding opportunities for the weekend; by that time my soul is parched from being deserted all week.

I think we all may deeply be longing daily to connect, yet somehow don’t see people as a priority, like our jobs and home life. We mistake our schedules and career as the key to happiness, as if ‘getting ahead’ will end the disappointments and solve the deeper longing in our soul.

Before I set out for this cross country trip, my cell phone service mistakenly shut off my service. Remember those days before technology shrunk our communication to 140 characters? Those pastimes are over, but I can’t help but think about how happy my memories are of leisure afternoons, uninhibited by the demands we have created.

No wonder I struggle sometimes with a solitary life! I’ve made my days all about me instead of including others. What would happen to my heart if I made more of an effort to choose connection with others as much as I choose to show up at my job? Perhaps if I choose daily to make my life about others, the pleasure I will experience is the peace that satisfies these longings that plague my heart.