Letting go of the past

How many times have you been told, while you’re venting about your feelings, to “Just let it go. Move on.”? Honestly, I get a bit irked when I’m trying to share my feelings and I get cut off with a nonchalant statement meant to shut me down. There is nothing wrong with letting your feelings out. There is nothing wrong with sharing with others what has happened in your past. Sharing your experiences can help bring others through their difficult times. When we’re brought through a situation and God has given us strength or knowledge through it, or even hindsight long afterwards, it’s our duty to help encourage others in similar situations. By letting others know we came through a similarly difficult time, we not only help them but we hopefully will glorify God in the middle of it. 2 Corinthians 12:9 states, “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” When we’ve been made stronger through a problem or have allowed Christ’s strength to get us through, we should boast all the more! However, boasting of Christ’s strength; sharing how He got us through the tough times, is not the same thing as holding on to the past and lamenting about it over and over again.

One thing most of us are far too good at is retaining past pains and pressing them into our today, instead of using them briefly to help others and then setting them back in a memory file of the past where they belong. We have this natural instinct in our brains to bring up all the old scenarios of what we did wrong or how wronged we were by others. Understanding what went wrong at various times in our lives is essential to learning. But we shouldn’t live in the pity and persecution of the past either. There is a balance to be had.

I’ve met women who wear their past mistreatments and painful relationships as a badge or as a banner waving above their heads that lists a line of adjectives describing who they think they are because of what they’ve been through. Let me state for the record, WHO you are is not WHAT you’ve been through. WHO you are solely depends on WHOSE you are. No matter what you’ve been through or who has done what to you, there comes a time when you must choose what you want to be. What you are depends on who you are. When you figure out that you belong to Jesus…then you are His. WHOSE you are will then begin to slowly define who you are and what you do day in and day out. It will mold your choices, your actions and reactions; your words, how you spend your time, how you view family and how you view your future. It can also help you see your past for what it truly was and also help you create a determination deep within to not allow your past to live in the middle of your today!

If you had that banner above your head, what would yours say? “Cheated on? Abused? Neglected? Fired? Manipulated? Beat up? Bruised? Broken? Taken for granted? Ashamed? Adulterer?” I’m sure each of us could recite a litany of adjectives or verbs describing the many ways pain and anger have set up in our lives, creating labels in our heads. The key is letting go of those labels from the past and replacing them with who you are today. If you are His, then perhaps you can get out a permanent marker, scratch over those labels you’ve given yourself and write “Forgiven. Unashamed. Knowledgeable. Authentic. Willing. Reconciled. Open. Molded. Healing. Honest.” With these kind of unjaded, Christ-inspired labels and a new mindset, letting go of the past will be easier. And as you let go of the strong hold the past has on you, you will be able to share about your past on occasion. You will be able to sit in a group of women or one on one with someone else who needs to hear about your shame, your pain and your brokenness…and not just share the difficulties but share how God forgave you, renewed you and made you His…boasting all the more for what He has done for you since.

Karen A. McCracken
www.womaninspired.com

When the breath of God whispers

When you feel deeply, its easy to pretend you don't. When the breath of God whispers in your ear, "Go here..." Do you ignore Him? Do you swat the whispers away like an unwanted fly? Or do you conjure up the courage to GO or DO or BE...as God calls you? If not, then be still, allow God's presence to wash over you and open up to His guidance.

I've never, ever heard anyone say they regret following God's path for their lives. But I hear MANY cry with regret over the time they wasted not following Him.

Passion, purpose and praise!

I have often been told that I am a passionate person or that others appreciate the passion I have for life. I love the word passion. Many people with a worldly view relate this word strictly to sex or sexual acts. Recently during a deep prayer time the word 'passion' kept coming to my heart and mind. I couldn't release it so I researched it. I thought for sure it had a far deeper meaning than merely something sexual.

The word passion comes from the Latin word passio – meaning an act of suffering. More detailed than that, the word came about specifically to describe the time that Jesus Christ suffered between the night of the Last Supper until his death on the cross. The very word, passion, ceased to exist in its fullest meaning before this time period. (Ever wonder why the blockbuster hit was titled, "The Passion of the Christ"? Now you know!) This time period is the foundation for which we have a thing called passion and the gauge to which all acts of true passion should be measured.

Jesus, in His last days, used His mind, heart, body and soul. During this time period when He suffered, He felt great passion and purpose for what He was called to do. Naturally, He was not 'making love' but yet…was He not displaying the most unbelievable act of love ever committed? He suffered much. He anguished much. He enjoyed much, felt much, cared much and all to an extreme intensity and with every part of who He was - mind, heart, body and soul. If you enter into any relationship with the frame of mind and spirit that Jesus had, then you can indeed enter into it with true passion. You can be a recipient and a participant in real God-given, Christ-like passion by embracing life with the same kind of God-breathed passion and purpose.

If you state that someone has lived a passionate life, then in order for that to be true, by the very definition of the word Passion, that life must have been lived as Jesus lived His life; loved as He loved; cared as He cared; believed as He believed and lived accordingly. No, you don't have to be perfect to live with passion! But to live a passionate existence means that you must be prepared to encounter some things similar to that which Jesus encounter in His last days. There are many Christians who ask the question, "Why me?" when they experience trials and difficulties in life. Why you? First off, why not you? And secondly, because if you dare to live a life of passion then you must expect, at the very least, times of deep pain, hurt, emotional upheaval, persecution, physical traumas and times of feeling alone and lonely. Again, remember that the definition of passion exists because of Christ and His last days before his crucifixion.

Also remember that there IS purpose in the passion, just as there was for Christ. You CAN live a life of passion, just as Christ did, but you will never suffer more than Jesus Christ has on your behalf! You were never meant to suffer more than He…though some lament as if they have. I have had many difficult, painful and lonely times in life and am certain there are more to come but if what I have to go through allows me to live a life of passion verses not living a life of passion, then I will endure it! A life without passion will not yield much for the Lord. A life without passion will not likely bring others to Christ. A life lived without passion is rarely a life lived to its' fullest potential and purpose. A marriage without passion will eventually lose its' way and possibly lead to dissolution. A love for the Lord without passion involved is surely an insult to Him. Praising Him without passion is not truly praise. For without the passion, the very thing He brought into this world, we would cease to be free. We would not be saved. The very least we owe to our Father is to dissolve the worldly idea of how we see passion and replace it with the true meaning He gave us through the very life and death His son endured for us!

I encourage you to live a life of passion, which IS indeed living a life of purpose. And with a life such as that, you will hopefully turn all your praise to God for every deep, loving, blessed, momentous, love-filled, laughter-injected, truth bearing, sweet and memorable moment.

~ Karen

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Refuge and refueling

“For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will set me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:5 (NIV)

There are days I want nothing more than to run and hide. Whether due to stress or emotions, there are days I just want to curl up in bed with the covers over my head. Those are the days I’ve learned that I need to seek God even more.

Some days there is no actual trouble I’m hiding from. Sometimes it’s just the world around me and the daily “to do” list that has me seeking shelter. In today’s culture women have even more titles than ever before: home-maker, bread-baker, seamstress, maid, taxi-cab driver, Mom, daughter, wife, care-giver, professional…add to that the tasks of balancing the household finances, volunteering at church and keeping up with all the little pieces of life in between and it’s no wonder so many women are worn out and empty-feeling.

If you’re tempted to retreat from life and all those responsibilities on a regular basis then I encourage you to immediately fall to your knees or rest your head for a moment as you close your eyes and seek God for that place of spiritual refuge. Even if it’s only for a moment or two, God can overcome your heart and your weariness with a fresh message from the Bible or just a whisper to your heart.

And then I encourage you to do what took me waaaay too many years to do: take time for yourself. Set up regularly built-in breaks for yourself. Take time to read, go to lunch, go for a walk or just pamper yourself. God-time and personal respite time will make all the difference in your daily life; whether your hormones are telling you that you do or do not, you DO deserve it.

Feeling like you’re Running On E’, check out the following book for inspiration and encouragement on how to fuel up the right way! Running On E’ (now available as an Ebook and on iTunes)

For more devotionals, check out 28 days of PMS ~ Praising My Savior

Seeking Christian Spiritual LifeCoaching and encouragement along the way? See LifeCoachInspired.com

To schedule Karen for your next conference, retreat or ministry event, go to www.womaninspired.com

Out of the flesh and into faith

“I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up out of a horrible pit (a pit of tumult and of destruction), out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings. And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3 (Amplified Bible)

When God first gave me the idea for PMS – Praising My Savior – as a theme in my life, it seemed ridiculous to me but the more I spoke it out and shared it with other women the more His ideas resonated with me…and not just with me but with many other women as well.

In my twenties and early thirties I was so caught up in what my body was doing that I could barely think of anything else. I had chronic pain, infertility issues, many surgeries and subsequent depression due to my physical ailments and inconsistent periods. I surrounded myself with reminders that I was trapped in a body that didn’t work as I thought it should. I felt inadequate for not being able to have a child and I felt worthless as a woman.

In an attempt to make myself feel better and catch the attention of my husband in the midst of a failing marriage, I went on a radical diet. (If you could call it a diet, that is. I think you actually have to eat something most days to call it a diet!) I also took to exercising 2 and 3 times a day for more than an hour at a time. I thought for sure IF I’d lose weight then all my troubles would go away. I thought IF I would lose pounds then my marriage would be healed and I would feel more attractive.


I did indeed lose weight, drastically. I lost more than 30 pounds in one month. I also started to lose my hair, became dehydrated and my fingernails started to split and fall off. I became sicker than I’d ever been and I had to have my thyroid medication changed several times to keep up with the ways I was abusing my body. And it did nothing what-so-ever to fix my marriage or my self-esteem.

In the process of being so caught up in my flesh and my ‘woe is me’ attitude, I forgot about my relationship with the Lord. I had stopped praying; opting to take more time to exercise rather than having one-on-one quiet time with the Lord. As I faced another surgery, my wake-up call came and I realized that I hadn’t cried out to the Lord in quite some time.


Through some very personal tragic events and God’s prompting, I finally came back to Him…and He waited patiently, with open arms…expectantly. He set my feet more firmly on the path He wanted me on and this time I paid attention!

If you’re in that place, getting so caught up in what your body is doing, that you’re neglecting your spirit and who you are in the Lord, then you need to stop, drop and assess the toll your self-centeredness has taken on who you truly are. Go back to the basics: quiet time every single day with God and His Word. Get out of your flesh and back into His arms. When you do, He truly will put a new song in your mouth.

For more devotionals and inspiration check out “28 Days of PMS ~ Praising My Savior” or “Running On E’

For ebook formats check out iTunes: Womaninspired books