Daily Fast Fuel

God Bless the Queen and her Mop

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:57:00 +0000

I am the Queen of my castle. Together with my handsome King, we make the castle rules and we get to enforce them. We are in control. We are in charge. We are… GREAT.

Will someone please explain the hierarchy of parenting greatness to our four and two-year old?

Inexplicably, this here Queenie feels like a servant most of the time.

When the short folks are hungry, we hop up to feed them. Diapers need changing? Guess who takes care of that? And if the short folks are sick in the middle of the night? Yep. All attended to by His and/or Her Royal Pickard Highnesses…the folks who thought they were calling the shots.

Most of the time, “leading” as a parent looks and feels a whole lot more like SERVING.

I’m fairly sure this was intentional on God’s part. For, even as we seek obedience to our authority, there are many things our children need that they simply cannot do on their own.

We are in charge. But they need our help.

God is in charge. But we need His help.

God leads with greatness. But we need his support. So God helps. God Serves.

Greatness. Service.

They go together like peas and carrots (which I will most likely be spooning into someone’s mouth later this week).

That is all for now folks. The Queen needs her rest. Servanthood starts early in the morning.

Katie Pickard is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Learning to Serve

noreply@blogger.com (Anitra Elmore) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:54:00 +0000

And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."

There was a time when I seemed to interpret being "servant of all" as meaning I had to do "all the serving." What I know now is that, if I'd continued at that pace, it would have left me burned-out, embattled, bitter and ready to stop serving altogether.

It's a dangerous place to be, and perhaps you've been there too. It's easy to see all the things that need to be done (especially in the church) and assume you're the man for all the jobs.

That was the old me.

Then, thankfully, I learned something. In a fit of frustration, I asked the Lord what He was calling me to do--in this life, in the church, for the kingdom. I can't say whether the answer came quickly, but once it came, it completely changed things for me. Now, when I'm asked to serve, or I see a need, I filter it through the answer He gave me. If it doesn't fit, I say no. No guilt. No condemnation. No second-guessing.

Of course there have been times when an opportunity didn't seem to fit but I believed the Lord was leading me to say yes. It hasn't happened often, but when it has, I've seen the Lord's hand in it all the way. I have never felt free-er to serve or more blessed in serving than I have since learning this. Need this lesson as badly as I did? There's an empty seat in the classroom and it's waiting for you.

Anitra Elmore is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Give Towards, Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (Joline) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 03:43:00 +0000

This post may sound oddly familiar.

But due to our topic of the week, I'm being given a chance to expound on it a bit more.

Service: just as we all play a unique part in the body, we also serve in unique ways. You won't find me in the nursery. You won't find me on short term mission trips - at least, not right now. God can do whatever he would like and call me along with Him. But, for the purpose of this post - my feet are planted right here.

I serve as a connector.

A what?

I like to ensure that people feel connected and find a place to serve in the church. Or the community. Or, say someone mentions they are in need of something (an actual item, or assistance of some kind), I like to find a way to fulfill that. I'll sniff it out.

When my husband was in seminary, it was known about campus that I was a whiz at finding people apartments. And jobs. Honestly, I just listened and noted needs. And then listened some more to those who had . . . apartments to rent. And jobs to fill. I don't think what I did was that remarkable, but, apparently, it calmed the anxiety of many of a student.

Immediate needs are my hot button. I'm wired like that.

I pray for the ability to give freely and without hesitation or reservation. Both words seem fitting.

It's my whole philosophy of "giving towards", rather than "giving away." For really, the items I have aren't really mine to begin with, but rather a blessing, right? So, if I have the chance to give towards the needs of others, I want to do so. I like to find solutions to conundrums.

That's my service - giving towards. And like my beagles, who drive me insane, and yet I love them anyway, I always have my nose to the ground and my ear on alert for needs that God may have provided an answer for - through me.

(Amazing that as difficult and broken we are, He still chooses to use our weak and cracked vessels to help others.)

Joline Atkins is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

The Pathway to Greatness

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:31:00 +0000

This week at the Daily Fast Fuel we take a journey on the pathway to greatness. Jesus said we'd do greater works than He! But before our heads get too puffy, let's take some time this week to consider the example Jesus gave us. What does it mean to be great like Jesus?

Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

But He is also the great servant.

Perhaps this path won't be as clear cut as we thought. This week, may we consider the path to greatness, marked with service.

Sara Rust is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Smart Gals (and a Few Guys) on Giving

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Legg) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:00:00 +0000

*Mary Kay National Sales Director Rena Tarbet said it this way: “You know, you can’t out-give God. You’ve got a little bitty shovel and He’s got a great big shovel.”

I love that mental picture. We are shoveling out blessings and He is shoveling exponentially more back to us. God gives EXTRAVAGANTLY.

*Joyce Meyer: “When you give, you get the blessing. They just get the stuff.”

If we give $10, we don’t get $10 back from God. We get something unique to us and to our situation. God gives PERSONALLY.

*Margot, executor of her mother’s will (with a twinkle in her eye): “I tell you, every other check the woman wrote was to a charity. I’m writing all of these letters: ‘Dear Little Brothers of the Poor, I am sorry. The well has run dry.’”

Giving not only affects the recipient, but those around the giver. God gives a LEGACY.

*The farmer to his son: “I noticed you left your wallet in the tractor so I brought it in. I also noticed it didn’t have any money in it so I put a twenty in there.”

Putting money INTO a found wallet? That sounds like fun. How many different ways can we come up with to give? God gives CREATIVELY (and He has a good time doing it).

*God Himself: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."(Malachi 3:10)

I have heard that this is the only place in the entire Bible where God says to TEST HIM. I vote we try it.

And we might look into building a barn or two.

Debbie Legg is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

When Giving Releases Abundance

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 03:45:00 +0000

"And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which makes a penny.

And he called his disciples to him and said to them, 'Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." Mark 12:41-44

I read this passage imagining Jesus people watching. I wonder at all the thoughts that ran through his mind while watching the people give into the offering box. All we know is a widow caught his attention. I wonder if she ever knew how she moved God's heart that day. Jesus calls over his disciples and gives them a little lesson on the heart of giving. What does it look like to give out of abundance vs. out of poverty? Not that Jesus directly condemns those who gave out of their abundance, but rather he is showing us the difference. And there's something about giving when you don't have much to give that grabs the attention of heaven.

One day when I was talking to God about this passage I recall saying to him, "Lord, she might have given you all she had!" And His response to me was, "Yes, and so I gave her all I had." Not long after this verse we enter into Jesus final days and his sacrifice on the cross. And just like the widow, Jesus, who had made himself nothing, gave everything. What was released in the sacrifice was abundance.

God is captivated by a generous heart. God can use our simple generosity to unleash His kingdom. I find myself challenged this week to ask the Lord what can I offer up to Him, that He might bring abundance to strangers, to friends, to family.

What might be your offering?

Sara Rust is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

How He Healed His Broken Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:54:00 +0000

Often times when we talk of giving and receiving, we think of what WE are giving and what WE will receive. We go on mission trips, and we always come back with the wisdom that we received more than we brought to the folks we served. When we serve at soup kitchens, same story. Visiting shut-ins? Same. Praying with folks at the hospital? Same. Over and over again, if we are brave enough, we play out this same beautiful story time and again.

In my ponderings this week, I find myself inspired that our beautiful stories of giving are there for one, and only one, beautiful reason.

Because Jesus gave first.

When we struggle or are in need in some way, our default move is to get something for ourselves to take away the pain. Sometimes it is a challenge, but we learn slowly that often the answer is to give, to serve, and somehow, mysteriously, that service, that giving of oneself is a balm on our hurt.

Jesus felt some hurt. He knows what that's about. He knows what it's like to be rejected, to be unloved, to bear false accusations. And I don't just mean when he was betrayed by Judas, or mocked by Roman soldiers. I mean that Jesus has felt hurt ever since humanity fell away from Him.

Perhaps, if we were in his position, our instinct would be to demand that our people, whom we created, GIVE us what we deserve...respect, love, honor, and loyalty. Jesus could have demanded that. Jesus could have demanded that we step up and heal His hurt.

But he didn't.

Jesus, instead chose to give.

Jesus was brave enough to give up His life, in order that He might receive ours. Jesus' very costly service, his gift, his ultimate sacrifice, gave him a balm for His own hurt. His children, if they chose to be so, could be fully restored to Him.

Love drove the giving that led to the receiving.

And, praise be to God, the miracle continues today!

Amen.

Katie Pickard is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Making Giving Your Life's Work

noreply@blogger.com (Anitra Elmore) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 05:47:00 +0000

The greatest sermon I've "seen" on giving was preached to me by an unbeliever.

My husband and I lived in the garage apartment of her home, where we worked for her and her husband in exchange for rent. He was a savvy, successful business man who had amassed a great deal of wealth. She was a savvy, successful giver who spent her days giving that wealth away.

I remember walking into her home office and listening to her explain what she did there. The correct phrase for it is "philanthropy," but what I heard her say is that she used that office for the sole purpose of giving (and giving and giving) to others.

It totally messed me up.

You wouldn't believe the piles of mail and drawers of files all dedicated to her giving. I was already floored that "real" people had as much money as they did and beyond floored to discover the work she did in giving it away. I'd never been that close to that much material wealth or seen that level of active generosity. It marked me indelibly and although our time there was challenging, the Lord used her to show me the kind of giving (and living!) that's possible.

So, I set a goal. I am in laser-beam pursuit of that level of giving and the joy that comes from doing it for the Lord's glory. And maybe one day, some young wife who I've helped will write, "The greatest sermon I've 'seen' on giving was preached to me by a believer who made it her life's work..."

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:6-9

Anitra Elmore is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Giving Towards

noreply@blogger.com (Joline) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:55:00 +0000

Caution, lest this post be considered "the rich man, boasting of his riches", I will be leaving out some details this week.

For the lesson is more important than the specific actions I've been able to take this year.

We've always had an on again/off again relationship with tithing.

Because we've always struggled with money. For several reasons. One of which being mis-management. And while I'm still not perfect at managing money, and I blow it from time to time, (Did I really need to buy that? Did we really need to eat out?), we have improved greatly.

Why?

Because I decided I wanted to give more. I saw need. I wanted to "make more so I could give more." I prayed that God would give me the ability to "give without over-thinking", not with reckless abandon, but with . . . abandon. I wanted the experience of not having to stop, check my accounts, figure out if giving would be the "right thing to do", and miss the moment of just handing over some of my "haves" to those who had "need". I changed my thinking. No longer did I want to give "away". I wanted to give "towards."

He blessed me with this in January and February. Towards a specific family. There was absolutely no question in my mind that God was answering my prayer. I was to give towards their need. And boy was I feeling joyful about it. For one of the first times ever.

And not only did the experience help cover some financial needs for this family, it also served to develop a new friendship that I didn't think would ever exist.

That's important to note. For my giving financially towards a need, did not result in my being given more of the same . . . no, God blessed me with something deeper.

New friends.

Give TOWARDS.

And receive.

Joline Atkins is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Giving to Receive

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 05:23:00 +0000

Howdy Readers!

This week the Daily Fast Fuel gals are whipping up another week of reflections on the "opposites" that the life of a Christ-Follower bring. Last week we were dying to live, and this week we are GIVING to RECEIVE!

I cannot tell you how excited I am to read the posts this week, as this is one of my favorite themes in the Bible. In fact, it has been a reigning truth in my life for quite some time. It took hold of me in High School because it was, in fact, my school's motto. You've heard me mention my boarding school before: St. Catherine's School in Richmond, Virginia. They really set the vision of the school up for long-lasting impact when they focused their efforts on this one little, but powerful sentence:

What we keep we lose, only what we give remains our own.

It has stuck with me for 20 years.

What elements of giving and receiving have stuck with you over the years? Do share with us this week as we share with you!

Katie Pickard is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Death of a Small Life

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Legg) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 03:00:00 +0000

We know the fairy tales. We are familiar with the Reluctant Hero on a Quest scenario. The poor, unassuming farm boys/servant girls/orphans lead small lives in small worlds. Suddenly, they are presented with a problem/object/invitation. Hesitantly, they accept the challenge. They fail their first trials. They discover mentors. Enemies mount offensive tactics. The challenges grow more daunting and the chances of success grow slimmer. Yet by the end of the story they succeed in their task and become who we knew they were destined to be.

What happens to convince them first, to step out of their smaller story into a larger one, and second, to accept the truth about who they really are?

The first answer is that something in them decides against the status quo. The second answer is that they die to themselves.

This process of dying to themselves begins when they accept that they have a purpose in a story larger than what they’ve known. It ends when they take the risks and make the sacrifices for the good of the others. It is the sacrifice that wins the heart of the special someone, defeats the enemy, saves the day.

It’s no different for us.

Finding our lives by losing them means sacrificing the small to get the large, the mediocre for the excellent, the safe for the stunning.

Is it really a sacrifice to give up small, mediocre, and safe to gain large, excellent, and stunning?

I don’t know who it was who said, “the greater the risk, the greater the reward” but I would bet they were not living the mediocre thing.

Was Peter’s life mediocre? Was Paul’s safe? Were David’s and Moses’ lives small?

Was Jesus’ life any of those?

Don’t let yours be. Let the small go. Grasp the large. Decide for the adventure. Accept who you really are.

Find your life by losing it.

It. Is. Worth. It.

Debbie Legg is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Dying to Live

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 06:40:00 +0000

My senior year of college, my greatest aspiration was to head to the nations and become the Indiana Jones of missions. I wanted adventure and to see God move, being a part of what He was doing throughout the world. With great faith, I pursued a missions opportunity in the Middle East.

My family was not so keen on this idea, though they love Jesus greatly. They also love me greatly and desired for me to stay safe. Everything in me was burning to go. The hearts of my family were desperate for me to stay.

Over the course of several months, I laid down my desire to journey to the nations and instead honored the desires of my family.

Dying to myself in that season looked like me crying in the fetal position on my dorm room floor. A lot. Dying hurts.

But our God is so faithful. My journey of honoring my family led me to a little town which held my family's history. I ventured down to Cairo, Illinois to do missions there.

And that's where I came alive. I met Jesus in such a profound way in that rinky dink little town. My love for Him exploded and my relationship with Him grew deeper and sweeter. I can't put a price tag on what God did in my heart in that season. And all of it began by dying.

What I'm learning time and time again in my journey is that God really is for me, and if He leads me to lay something down - even if it looks so good, what He has for me is better.

It is the nature and character of God to bring life from death. So if you find yourself in a season of dying, be encouraged that the heart and purpose of God is that you would live- abundantly, and you can trust our faithful God is up to something.

"Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you." Psalm 63:3

Sara Rust is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

21 Days to Die

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:23:00 +0000

I just completed a 21-day program in which I ate nothing but whole foods. Nothing processed. Nothing fake.

I am not a cook, and everything had to be made from scratch, so this was a huge challenge for me. It was like a 21-day cooking boot camp. Like in any boot camp, the old self was beat out of me and a new one was born.

The first few days were tough (like I-might-just-eat-my-arm-off-I’m-so-hungry tough). I was not feeling great and began to question the virtues of the changes I had made.

Then things began to change. I began to crave the mass amounts of veggies I was eating. I found I actually enjoyed sloooowing down to eat my meal (instead of inhaling it in anticipation of the inevitable, “MOOOM! Simon just took my…” dispute).

All along, I fully intended this to be a temporary 21-day deal. I looked forward to Day 22 for all sorts of reasons (some of them peanut butter related). But the funny thing is, my old favorites didn't taste the same to me. More than that, they didn't digest the same way either (Ugh). I actually felt sick to my stomach.

I had so committed myself to recalibrating my body from the inside out, it no longer tolerated what it used to. And in the end I found?

I felt more alive.

Old habits had to die in order for me to experience

new life.

So it goes when feeding the soul. I don’t think we realize how much sin affects the health of our very soul. Giving up some well-enjoyed vices like short-temperedness, impatience, or selfishness can be painful. You know it’s true. I mean, how easy is it to brush off unloving behavior because we had a “long day” or were “just tired”? We excuse ourselves. When, in reality, we just fed our soul JUNK. Consume too much of that and we waddle around in an obesity of sin.

So? The junk consumption has gotta die. We’ve got to force-feed ourselves the patience, goodness, kindness and gentleness until we crave them. We’ve got to feast on love until selfishness doesn’t taste the same. We’ve got to let the Holy Spirit wash through us so completely that our souls can no longer tolerate sin.

It is the only way to live.

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” – 3 John 2

Katie Pickard is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Losing My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Anitra Elmore) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 02:48:00 +0000

Sometimes, I'm almost certain that I never really knew God until I had children. I say that tongue-in-cheek, of course, but I really do have to admit that I didn't fully understand what it meant to lose my life until I had a couple of little people depending on me for theirs.

I gotta tell you that nothing helps you overcome the "My-life" like regularly and willfully sacrificing for someone else, and each moment of my life as a parent has been opportunity after opportunity to lose my life and find it in the process.

I lost my life when my body became an incubator. I lost a little more of my life when that incubator became a walking diner. Yet a little more of my life has been lost to nights without sleep, hours in the carpool lane and change after change of best laid plans. Yet every little sacrifice and every little piece of life lost is returned to me in droves as I watch my children flourish.

And thankfully, all this life-losing as a mom spills over to other situations as well. It's been the Lord's on-the-job training in losing life and I'm so thankful for the wonderful life I've found in the process.

Anitra Elmore is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

From Zombie to Life

noreply@blogger.com (Joline) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 03:16:00 +0000

I am a fan of The Walking Dead.

Now before you pull the "it's so violent and graphic" card, know that I agree with you. The characters, however, are REALLY good, and . . . as I've come to realize after a number of seasons, The Walking Dead, or zombie movies, stories, etc. in general, are really just allegory. Everyone has a different opinion of what that allegory is, but in my opinion?????

Ephesians 2:1-7.

We were dead. Some are still "dead". Walking around. Craving the immediate gratifications of the world. Out for themselves. Serving only their immediate personal needs. Merely "surviving".
And they don't even realize they are dead.

And yet, here's the topsy part. We have to DIE to our "walking dead" selves, in order to find LIFE.

In my job as a fitness/wellness coach, I see "before and after" photos daily. And here, too, my clients had to DIE to their cravings, their immediate desires, their "walking dead" existence, and make sacrifices to begin truly living.

So, while my fascination with zombies actually has me getting costumed/makeup'd to chase after racers in the Run for Your Lives race in August, I am quite pleased that as a 17 year old, I left behind my zombie life, choosing the life that Jesus offers.

I still nurse some zombie tendencies, but I no longer AM one.

I am alive.

Joline Atkins is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

This Topsy Turvy Life

noreply@blogger.com (Anitra Elmore) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:50:00 +0000

There is so much about our Christian life that is absolutely upside-down.

We receive because we give.

We live because we've died.

We find greatness because we serve.

We find life as we lose it.

And, while these little conundrums make life interesting, they often prove to be a little challenging to live out. It's definitely easier with friends, and it's a good thing you have a few! For the next few weeks, we'll be sharing some of our challenges and writing about how we navigate the perplexities this topsy-turvy life. We're starting with the notion of how we find our lives by losing them. So, pull up a chair and let's dig in.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. - (Matthew 16:25)

Anitra Elmore is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Wearing Winter White

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Legg) — Fri, 31 May 2013 03:00:00 +0000

You know that liquid stuff that drops from the sky occasionally? Yes, I know it’s called rain. Well, actually, in the spring, summer, and fall it is rain. Here in Southern Illinois, winters can get cold enough that instead of rain, we get snow.

I love snow. Yes, it can be hard to drive in and it can drift into piles that make even getting out the door impossible, but I still love it. Snow means sleds and rosy cheeks, hot chocolate and snuggles and snow angels. It means everything I see covered with a beautiful blanket of pure white.

I love white, especially in a season of drab browns and cement grays. It brightens. It softens. It enchants. It covers.

Like worship. Worship is the white of winter. Praising God for everything I know, when all I see and feel is drab cement. Even when I don’t feel like it. ESPECIALLY when I don’t feel like it.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10,11)

Praising the One Who Gives All Good Things doesn’t change the color of the landscape but it does cover it with hope. Snow in winter promises good things to come.

Debbie Legg is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Baby It's Cold Outside

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 29 May 2013 05:03:00 +0000

I mentioned last week that I remember moving from the big lone star state all the way up “north” to Virginia, where it got as cold as 32 degrees (shudder). Little did I know that a few years down the line I would be living in Chicago. There, I would be brutally introduced to a weather anomaly we Deep-Southers had never dreamed of: “below zero”. I would start to understand why folks threw around phrases like “exposed skin” when talking about the weather. Let me tell you what. After them kind of days, 32 degrees feels downright balmy. Truth.

But you know what else? As much as I worried about how my little Cajun self would tolerate skin-cracking cold, I discovered that it’s all about what you wrap around yourself. I discovered silk long underwear. I discovered that one does not leave the house without a scarf, hat, and gloves (exposed skin, y’all). And the gloves weren't just the sweet knit ones your buddy made for you in her spare time…they were leather and lined so you could simultaneously be warm and grip your bitterly cold steering wheel!

When bearing a winter of especially brutal harshness, you can withstand just about anything, really, as long as you wrap yourself up properly. Truth.

What winter gear do you grab when you’re headed out into the “winter” of today? And what if you forgot your coat at home? If you found yourself shivering in the cold, would you deny the offer of your sweetheart’s warm jacket?

I’d take it if I were you. It’s a pretty good one.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with honor and majesty. You cover yourself with light as with a garment: you stretch out the heavens like a curtain.” Psalm 104: 1,2

Katie Pickard is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Overcoming Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Anitra Elmore) — Tue, 28 May 2013 03:30:00 +0000

My husband and I have known many winters--marital winters, financial winters, emotional winters, you name it. We've known wintry days when we thought we'd be blown over by the storm, and cold, bitter nights when we thought the sun would never rise. We've trudged uphill through torrential winds and plowed through miles and miles of ice and snow. To say it in non-winter terms, we've been through some serious stuff!

And, while much of that "stuff" appeared to be strong enough to destroy us, we've survived. We pushed through winter season after winter season and we've emerged stronger, wiser and whole. It still surprises us to look back and see how much we've overcome and our only reasonable response is gratefulness to God. My hope, as I write, is that the same power that reached through our winters will reach through yours. May you know the joy of looking back and seeing just how able He is to help you overcome.

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

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Winter Thaw

noreply@blogger.com (Joline) — Mon, 27 May 2013 04:24:00 +0000

January 2013. Winter. In more ways than one.

A number of relational hiccups sent me into a "winter of discontent", the likes of which I have never experienced. The pain was deep. And meandered back and forth between a chill that hurt to the core, and one that left me numb and paralyzed.

Although resolution was sought, and even received, the freeze penetrated so deeply, that it remained stalwart. I couldn't shake it.

For months.

Ice stood its ground like mighty bergs. Solid and unrelenting. Immovable. Impenetrable.

I know my Father, however.

And for as many times as I prayed for release, and it didn't come, I knew, in time it would.

Spring just wasn't ready to make it's appearance. I had to wait. Had to keep trusting that God would bring about the thaw I was seeking.

Only God can melt away "always winter and never Christmas."

I am thankful for the frozen tundra that stood its ground for 4, almost 5 months - even though it had such an incredible stronghold upon me. I am thankful, because I knew that my cries for God for release, were indeed being heard, and would indeed be answered.

It is here where I pray for you, reader. That you would know the character of your Lord so intimately, that even in the midst of icy trials, you would know that He, in His time, and in His way, can melt even the most stubborn of situations.

One blow of His warm breath, and the splinters and shards of ice and shame that have remained for days, months or years, are gone. Erased.

Just. Like. That.

Even though it may take time, Spring is always on the way.

But one would never appreciate Spring, unless they first experience Winter.

Joline Atkins is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

A Winter Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Anitra Elmore) — Sun, 26 May 2013 03:30:00 +0000

Winter walks. We all have to take them. They represent the cold, sometimes dark and bitter seasons we often experience, and while these usually aren't our favorite times, they are necessary times if we wish to grow.

This week, we'll be sharing some of our winter walks in an effort to encourage you through yours. Grab your coat, hat and mittens and tag along. Don't worry about the cold--we've got you covered.

Anitra Elmore is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Embracing Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Legg) — Fri, 24 May 2013 03:00:00 +0000

My favorite thing about fall is the changing colors of the leaves. I am awed, year after year, by the process of fading chlorophyll revealing the vivacious reds, oranges and yellows that have been masked all summer long.

Despite the fact that I have witnessed autumn more than forty times I have never waned in appreciating the wonder of the aging majesty. In fact, I identify with it.

In many ways it could be said that I am in the autumn of my life. The way I am choosing to embrace it is to shed the chlorophyll of peer pressure, of societal expectations, of Shoulds and Musts and Because I Said Sos. I am purposing to look, and behave, less like everyone else and more like the singular woman God created me to be.

My friends, no matter what season of life we’re in, we can seek God's unique purpose for us and call forth the bright yellows, fiery oranges, and magnificent reds that have been hiding behind fashion dos and don’ts, makeup trends and fitness fads.

Break away from shades of green and embrace all that God has designed deep inside of you.

But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. [She] bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13:23, NET)

Debbie Legg is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Fall's Blessing

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:30:00 +0000

Fall for me is "the beginning". The beginning of a new school year, the end of summer rest. It's game time. Time to take a few breaths before the great race of the next academic calendar.

It seems rather odd, then, that fall should be a time of reaping. It's the time for gathering the harvest, for receiving the labor of your hands and the blessing of God. Right when I'm ready to sow new seeds and put myself to work, my seasonal God says it's time to take and eat, enjoy the fruits of your labor.

A funny juxtaposition - or one of great wisdom. So often in my Christian walk I can ready myself for "the great planting" and forget that in some ways, we are always walking in "the great harvest." Jesus has opened a door to the ever flowing Fall season. He decreed it when He said, "It is finished" on the cross. Certainly there is work to be done for the kingdom - there is work to be done in the natural when there is a harvest. But a great work has proceed the harvest.

Today I pray for little reminders of the great work Jesus has done for us on the cross. I pray we celebrate His goodness in inviting us into the harvest season. And I pray for each of us we be filled with joy, as we delight in the fruits of His labor - even now.

"Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest." John 4:35

Sara Rust is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Fortune Teller's Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:57:00 +0000

When I was in elementary school, the only Fall leaves I ever saw were those stapled to the bulletin boards in our classroom. For me, Fall was only in pictures. Otherwise, it was just the time in southern Louisiana when you might (**might) have to grab a sweater.

It wasn’t until I headed to boarding school up in Richmond, Virginia that I saw my first real fall colors in person. They were magnificent. I’m sure it helped that my school/home was gorgeous and that I spent the peak leaf weekend in Williamsburg with my dad. It was the first Parent’s Weekend, and the first time I had seen either of my parents since school started (my mom had to stay home with my other siblings in South America). That was a Fall of immeasurable change…changes that I anguished over in anticipation of. And yet, it proved to be magnificent.

That’s the thing with change, isn’t it? It could be so subtle that you just need to pull on a sweater. Or it could be so extreme, you’ll be calling your folks, who now live in another country, to tell them it was as cold as 32 degrees outside (that’s crazy-cold for Cajuns, chere). It could be like witnessing an explosion of color in nature that no picture could ever truly capture, and experiencing an unforgettable weekend alone with your dad (a rarity in a family with four kids!).

Since change can vary so greatly, why is it that we tend to foretell its woes when we know change is coming? Christianity tends to frown upon fortune telling, so why do it? Are we at a carnival?

Nope.

Take off those big hoop earrings and step away from the crystal ball.

Step away.

Then grab some Truth, take a look at change again, and enjoy the wonder and mystery of the transformations that life can bring. After all, change could be magnificent.

(That will be one token for Mother Fortuna. Thank you.)

Katie Pickard is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Season of Preparation

noreply@blogger.com (Anitra Elmore) — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:30:00 +0000

I love Candy Apples. I look forward to Fall each year, because that is the absolute best time to enjoy my favorite treat. In fact, I know that Fall has officially arrived when that yummy goodness calls to me from Grocery store shelves, much like I know a spiritual Fall has arrived when God calls me into a season of preparation.

These are the times He nudges me to pray harder, to open my spiritual eyes wider and to dig my faith heels in deeper. I can tell His goal is to prepare me for the winter trials that loom ahead and I focus on storing up knowledge, asking Him for wisdom and pressing in, so that impending trouble doesn't take me by surprise.

Perhaps you're feeling that nudge--sensing that He's calling you into a season of preparation. If so, don't delay in answering, because winter will surely come I He wants you to be prepared.

Anitra Elmore is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.