Daffodils & Detox

My daffodils are in full bloom, but after some cold fronts that swept through the South and a few rain showers they are a little hesitant to come out.  As I walked up the driveway this morning to take my daughter to the bus stop, I noticed my yellow friends looked a little beat up.

I thought of people....I thought of me.  Weathered by life. 

Have you every felt weathered by the storms of life?  They don't even have to be storms. It could simply be the busyness that beats us up & squeezes the life out of us, making us afraid to open up, stand strong, and face the sun.

Maybe at times we feel like we are the only ones standing up for something, while others have given up or chosen to look away or just don't care.

Or perhaps we are just faking it, trying to be someone we're not...

Looking good on the outside but empty and lifeless on the inside.

On the outside we are looking healthy & ALIVE, but on the inside we are dealing with toxic thoughts that speak doubt to our hopes, shame to our souls, and insecurity into our lives.  Why do we pick on ourselves?

Toxins exist in many facets. 

Mental toxins. Physical toxins. Spiritual toxins.

One of the greatest toxins is STRESS, and life is filled to overflowing with this type of toxin.  You have a list as long as mine: trying to live within a limited budget, keep up with the never-ending emails that help us manage all our family activities, upcoming high-school schedules to think through, testing, meetings, health issues, what's for dinner?, who needs me now?, and can I say TAXES?!! 

STOP! It's time for a DETOX! 

You see, I can keep on multi-tasking, get my to-do list somewhat done each day, be a good mom by driving my kids around and making meals, plan my Sunday school lessons, exercise at the gym, and even eat healthy food, BUT if I don't deal with the "toxins" already existing in my life, all those good things I do are in vain.  

I'm doing the "right" things by outside standards, but I'm still dying inside.

Where is the LIFE in this thing called life?

I can eat healthy, but my body can't fully absorb all the great nutrients I'm spending a lot of money for until I can get rid of the toxins in my body.

My immune system can't ward off sickness when it already has a war going on against all the stress in my body.  

I can check off my spiritual to-do list - 1) went to church, 2) visited my elderly neighbor, 3) led Bible Study, 4) prayed with my kids before bed and yet still miss a vibrant, real friendship with the Lord.

I can do all the things great moms do and sadly miss the point of being a mom! 

Toxins get in the way.  They are poisons to our very soul that keep us earth bound and even chained to things we would not like to admit.  They can be disguised as important or urgent. And can be unseen unless addressed with intentionality and bold faith.  They aren't items we can grab, but we know they are there because we can feel their affects on us. 

What would it be like if we had a full-blown detox - mind, body, soul, and spirit - so that we could be free to LOVE the Lord and others with all those same things, full of all the Holy Spirit's nutrients to live life fully and whole heartedly. 

Let's just stop and breathe and detox. Put our feet up. Clear our minds of toxic thoughts not of God, and listen to His nurturing truth to you. Clear out the distractions and put aside the to-do's. He wants to speak life into you and me! 

Perhaps all you need is to notice you have a loyal friend by your side.

....and realize you aren't standing alone after all!  Thank God for them.

A lot of things going on....on the outside.  But what's going on...in the inside?  

Are we ALIVE?  

The very thing Christ died for - so we could LIVE!  Not in vain, but victorious!

I don't want to be a beat up, weathered victim. 

 I want to open up, face the Son, and bloom brightly as a reflection of His victory in my life! 

***************

Lastly, I will share a simple DETOX DRINK from one of my favorite health doctors - Dr. Axe.  I try to drink this in the morning at least 15-20 minutes before breakfast.  It's an inexpensive way to detoxify and help cleanse your body of toxins in a safe, natural way.  Dr. Axe is the expert so check out his great articles and recipes here.

Mix All Ingredients:
1-2 tbsp Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
1-2 tbsp Organic Lemon Juice
1 pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 pinch of Ginger Powder

1 pinch of Ground Turmeric
1 pinch of Cinnamon
Drizzle of Raw Local Honey

4-8 oz of Water 

Check out my new coffee mug!  

There is a common ALIVE theme going on.

Well, since we're still talking ALIVE... one way you can experience living is by creating some space for the Wesleyan Women's:

ALIVE Conference

Nashville, TN

April 17-19, 2015

It's not too late to register. I've had the privilege of meeting and praying with the incredible women who are leading this up.  They are pouring their hearts and souls into this and covering it with daily prayer.  I have such great anticipation for what God is going to do in and through our lives because of this gathering.

Come join us!  Feel free to contact me if you are interested in more information.  I'd love to talk to you about it!

Making An Offering

This year God is teaching me about the word - OFFERING.

Not as in money, but that is one form of offering too. The Lord is teaching me how to offer every aspect of my natural life as a "living sacrifice" as Paul describes in Romans chapter 12.

God presented a question to me not too long ago that took me by surprise:

"What is your offering to Me today?"

I was like... "huh?"  What does that mean?  I thought offerings & sacrifices were outdated.  A part of the past.  Old school.  Old testament.  I thought offerings were unnecessary.

Back on the old homestead (aka. The Bluff), it was difficult enough when my mom would tell me that the truck was coming to butcher one of our cows so that we would have meat to eat.  She told me not to go outside for a few hours. 

Can you imagine how hard it was for an 8 year old to not go outside for just a peek at something she was told not to watch or look at?  I don't know if moms & dads realize this, but when kids are told not to look at something, there is this uncontrollable urge TO look!   

Most of the time I wasn't emotionally attached to the cows in our field, but a few exceptions were my first 4-H cow - Snowflake...

and then Snowboy, whom I also showed at the county fairs the following year.

  The hardest thing I had to do was sell Snowboy at the auction at the end of the fair.  I knew his future, and I had to say good-bye to a friend.  One of the hardest things I ever had to do as a young girl.  

(Wow, as I write this my eyes begin to drown in the uprising of tears)

I wasn't able to bring Snowboy back to the green pastures of The Bluff as I did with his sister Snowflake the year before.  It was a hard day.  I didn't understand it. I was angry at the boys at the fair who made fun of my tears & heartache.  And I thought I had betrayed my friend.

Offerings are not easy.  They are sacrifices...giving up things we like holding on to. Giving up things that are safe and familiar to us.  They are good things like dreams. They are selfish things like wants.  They are noble things like rights.  They are habits.  Things we treasure.  People we love.

There is a cost to offerings, but what God has taught me these past few months is that there is also a beautiful exchange that happens when we give our offerings to our Heavenly Father.  In fact, it is the best exchange rate you'll ever receive!

Oswald Chambers describes it as offering the natural in exchange for the supernatural.

That is what I want!  

That's what I need -  to experience the supernatural in this natural world.  What would life be like if we always made that exchange daily!?!

When God is teaching me something, I can't help but tell my best friend about it.  
A best friend is someone who listens and understands and is confidential with your feelings.  Right? 

Well....that is, unless your best friend is a Pastor!   Then your experiences either become a part of his sermon or he asks you to write one and share with the entire church body yourself!  

February 11, 2015: God told me it was "time". (I won't go into detail.  That's for another post later on.)  But when Brent asked me to speak last Sunday, I knew it was the "time" God was speaking to me about, and I wanted to live out this offering lesson He was teaching me.  This was my offering!

So here it is...my offering.  For me, my only audience was an Audience of One.  God, who gave me this message and gave me the opportunity to offer it back to Him through Reach One Church, graciously met my greatest desires through my very own offerings to Him.

Reach One Church - "What Is Your Offering?"

For His Glory and Our Good....