People DO change

I recently saw an old friend of mine when I went back to Nashville, Tennessee. I lived there for nearly six years and loved it but God eventually moved me on to Kentucky. Many people often say they have roots in a particular area, state, country...I do not. My roots ground me to the Lord and to my family. I have moved 37 times thus far in my life and have few places I can say seem like home to me. Home here on earth to me is where ever my family is and where ever it is that God plants me for the time being. While being back in Nashville for a few days was not like 'going home', it was still comfortable and familiar...something that put a smile on my face. I love to drive around and see what's changed and what's still the same. My friend is a mix of both. She and I both looked very similar to what we did years ago...younger even...? Okay, no! But yet we had both changed in some fairly dramatic ways.

One thing that struck me square in the face as I sat and enjoyed her company was just how much she had changed emotionally and spiritually. Her life was vastly different than it had been when I lived there. She said the same thing about me. Not only were our choices, our priorities and our work different, but we were both in different places emotionally and spiritually than we had been years ago when we knew each other well. The amazing thing to both of us was that we discovered that the two of us had so very much in common! Now, trust me when I say that years ago we were two very different people...different from each other with very little in common. We cared about each other and enjoyed each other's friendship but I always knew that our interests and viewpoints rarely matched up with one another. But now, ten years after having lived in Nashville, we realized that we could be sympathetic towards one another in a way that only someone who has walked in similar shoes, on a similar path, is able to do.

Something many of us do not think about is the fact that people do change. We remember someone as they were without taking into account the fact that life happens. Pain happens. Love happens. Loss happens. Mistakes are made and healing can occur. All of these things mold and shape who we are. And if we follow our Heavenly Father to, He will be the one who molds and shapes, loves and forgives, pushes and guides. When this happens, changes are made from the inside out. These are the very kinds of changes I saw in my dear friend, as well as the kinds of changes I know have happened within myself over the past ten years.

Too many times I hear people say "People never change." I hear talk show hosts, radio jockeys, armchair psychiatrists and well-meaning people go on and on about how people never change. Can I just say an emphatic - bull. People DO change. We have no choice but to change. Those who profess differently live with blinders on. As life happens, our brains, our emotions, our spirits react. How we then respond to these things in life and whether or not we choose to allow our changes to be made in the Lord or outside of Him determines whether or not the changes will be eternal, quality, beautiful and pleasing unto Him - but changes still happen nonetheless. We don't give others enough credit for having the ability to change but most of us would admit that we are quite different creatures ourselves than we were just two years ago or five years ago. And again, we still give little credit to those around us for having the ability to change as well. I believe and have seen whole-heartedly for myself that one reason relationships fail are not because people 'never change' but rather because people DO change and they do grow. Usually one person progresses and moves forward while the other stands still. Or one moves slower and in a different direction than the other. Standing still in itself is also a change, is it not? If you were once a moving being, acting, growing forward with your mate or your friend and then you halt or stand still, is that not also a change? Change happens...we must open our eyes to it in others and in ourselves.

Having seen my friend made me realize that I sometimes wear an old set of glasses; glasses that only let me see things from the past and from the world. I wonder how often I have seen one of my brothers or sisters in Christ and thought "Oh, they're the same as usual... They'll never change." I have thought this before and steered clear of certain people because I cared not to get involved in their lives because of who they were, how they acted in the past. But I didn’t ask myself if perhaps they had changed. Am I not greatly at fault and flat out ignoring another child of God if I don't at times go check the waters to see if they are still murky or perhaps they have calmed down? Should I check to see if a brother or sister in Christ is covered in moss from standing still? Sometimes, remember, we are called to stand still, to be still. Perhaps at those still moments healing is taking place and when that other person then starts to grow and move forward, he or she will begin to be a new creation in Christ, just as I became. Just as my friend became - with new priorities, a new outlook, renewed love for God and a new sense of self-worth from having our identities in Him rather than in the world.

I pray as you go out today that you look at others through the eyes of Christ and not through glasses that see only the world's point of view. I pray that you can step back and look at others as Christ looks at you - as a being who is poised to change and able to do so - then be ready to be an encourager for those who are changing and for those who have changed.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

~ Karen
www.womaninspired.com
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My Heart's Desire

Sometimes in life we act like little children. God calls us to be child-like in our faith: open, easy to trust Him, ready to believe in Him. But He does not call us to be childish. Childishness is based in immaturity and acting as a child would. Child-like infers possessing the endearing qualities that children hold, rather than the childish qualities that life and growth beckon us to leave behind as we get older. When we Christians maintain a childish attitude then we face life expecting everything to be handed to us and when we don't get what we want we throw a fit, pout or sit down to wallow in our own self-made bed of pity.

There are times in life that, no matter our growth in the Lord, we retreat back to a childish place; most especially if He is calling us to wait on Him for something. Oh, we often do not like to be patient and wait on God's timing for things. There are times I have thought for sure He was giving me a message and guidance in a particular direction but then when I walked the way He told me to, the outcome was different than I thought it would be or the very thing I thought for sure He was going to bless me with was not there waiting for me when I thought my task was accomplished. Don't get me wrong, I don't walk a path He sends me down just to receive a particular blessing but I do know that as I am more obedient in Him, blessings will reign. I know that the closer I am to my Lord, the more clearly His word will be to me. Psalms 37: 4 says: Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. I believe this and live with this truth written upon my heart but what has inevitably happened to me at times in the past is that I did not hold out with faith and patience. I waited for His guidance but then did not stay the course long enough to find out the fullness of His plan or for Him to give me the true desire of my heart.

Wouldn't it be an empty, loveless world if He never completed what He started? But He does. He proved this by the coming of the Messiah His son and by His death on the cross for our sins. He will come again to judge the living and the dead, also as He said He would. It should be our goal to be more Christ-like and yet too many times God calls us to something and we humans never complete the task or we don't hold on with patience and faith as He calls us to do. Like Paul, we must run the race and not give up…we are not to falter nor to waiver in our steadfastness but hold on for that which He has called us.

I recently likened my own faults in this area to that of a child on Christmas morning: the child who hints and begs for a particular gift for months ahead of time. At times we are all like the child who drops hints so strongly that it turns into cute notes left here and there for months, joking about a special gift and even circling pictures in the Sunday ads of that very thing she so much longs to have. Then, when the beautiful day comes, morning being filled with all kinds of excitement, this child rushes to the gifts and searches under the tree. After unwrapping every gift she has, she sits dismayed, slumped over…the boxes, bags and goodies that came were all so wonderful but the one thing she wanted the most was not there. The very gift that she almost begged for and even did extra chores throughout the year hoping to somehow earn was just not under the tree. On knees, head bowed, tears slowly spilling on to her cheeks, she gives up. But the child, in her childish ways, did not look up to see her father coming out of the closet…where he had been all night long putting together the shiny, new pink bike – the very gift she had longed for and prayed for all along.

We are often childish like the child at Christmas time. We want what we want and even if we hold out faith for it we often expect it at a certain time because we think it's the right time for it…and when we don't get it then we give up. We forget that God's timing is not ours OR worse yet, we don't care if God's timing is not ours. We still want what we want when we want it. Tears come easily after a long race or a long and bumpy path but even amongst the tears, He can still be waiting just around the corner with that beautiful thing our heart desires so very much. So, do not give up. Do not quit. We must press on just as Paul did. We must keep running the race. Again, we are called to be child-like in our faith and devotion to our God but not to be childish and immature in our approach to our God and His plan for this life.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things… Phil 3: 12-15

~ Karen
www.womaninspired.com

Let joy be your resting place

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:5 (NIV)

Are you in that ‘poor pitiful me’ place today? Perhaps you were yesterday or you will be tomorrow? It happens to the best of us and especially to those of us who tend to turn inward when we’re feeling down. It’s a bad habit to get into. Getting sullen, quiet, backing off from the world because we feel emotional and sad only makes our pity-party grow into a major life event. When we’re downcast and sad, even if we know it’s a situational or even hormonal thing that will soon pass, God doesn’t want us to turn our pain within. He wants us to share it with Him, pour it out and praise Him even in the midst of it. Because the ‘boo -hooing’ will pass and joy truly will come in the morning if we set our heart and mind on Him and His agenda.

If you're not resting, allowing yourself to mull over worry, fear and pain again and again and again....please read on. If you're in a dark place and you can't see anything hopeful right now, I encourage you to look at the past. Did you think you'd ever make it today? Many of us can say we're shocked we're still here. Many of us can see we've seen dark days and felt such sadness that we didn't think we'd ever find a happy moment again. Many of us can say that our hearts have ached over our own choices as well as how others have treated us. Many of us must look back and realistically say that the days behind us were not all dark, though. In fact, most of us can see a myriad of highs and lows behind us. That's life. That's reality. If you look at life as it is today, remember that it won't always be as it is right now. If you're having a difficult time, remember that happiness might be right around the corner and in fact, likely is! If you're at a high point and happy moments are your norm right now, then don't take them for granted because life DOES happen. You'll need to remember that when times get tough.

No matter what...hold on to the joy that wells up in your soul. Being happy is simply about what's happening in the moment. Being joyful is about knowing what's eternal! Being joyful is about allowing yourself to remember that joy and peace surpass all understanding. When you put that smile of hope on your face and others wonder how you can feel joy in the midst of a situation that should otherwise make your soul feel downcast, you have just shown them that you know how to truly live beyond your circumstances and love yourself enough to allow joy to be your resting place.

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Healing all the broken pieces

“He personally bore our sins in His (own) body on the tree (as on an altar and offered Himself on it), that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” I Peter 2:24 (Amplified Bible)

Healing has been an intense theme in my life since I was in my early twenties. I sought God out for healing from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, severe adhesions, bladder and kidney problems, hemophilia, a brain aneurysm, broken relationships, infertility, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS)…the list goes on. This list might sound meager perhaps compared to yours. Or you may be wondering how in the world my list got so long. But truthfully I am no different than most women. We are each broken vessels, in one way or another, that need to be healed. God has healed many of my physical ailments, though not all. God has put His hand on my heart and my emotions and comforted me many times. What He has not healed me from, He has brought me through and shown me how to use it to help others. He has helped heal all the little cracks inside that used to let my joy escape…and now I am able to hold joy even during the times when my circumstances look seemingly impossible to be joyful about.

We were all born into a sinful world, not of our own doing, and as we walk the path with God or apart from Him, healing is what most people seek. We may call it other things, such as: striving for success, seeking financial freedom, longing for love relationships or ‘reaching for the stars’ but when it comes down to the core of each of these things, what our heart cries out for is fulfillment through spiritual, emotional, mental or physical healing; For if we feel the need to be better, greater, more fulfilled, then we must surmise that we are unfulfilled, incomplete – empty or broken – in one or more of area.

God’s Word tells us that Jesus died for our iniquities. He died for the places inside us that are broken. He died as a sacrifice for our sins and out broken parts. He died to heal the inner-most parts of who we are – the parts that are broken and hurting – that we might be restored and returned to His arms. Because of our hurts most of us attempt to fill ourselves up with things of this world. Many of these pursuits involve sinful tactics and selfish actions to achieve a desired status or recognition. Or they involve filling us with fruitless pursuits that may or may not garner us self-satisfaction, higher wagers, better titles, more accolades. If you’ve come to a place in your life where you realize that the pursuit of all these things is truly is fruitless (bearing no fruit, reaping nothing of substance, lacking in daily nourishment.), then perhaps it’s time to step back and reassess.

I don’t have the answers for your life but I know the One who does. I know that if I pursue God and His path for me rather than what the world expects of me, then I am fully nourished. I don’t feel lost, hungry, empty or afraid. I do feel excited, eager, encouraged, ready to wake up and see what God has next for me…and even when I do feel trepidation or nervousness over what He might expect me to do, I know I am not alone. Where He asks me to go, He will be with me.

If you seek God, you will Him and the path your heart truly desires. If you ask for forgiveness for wasting time, spinning your wheels and letting the world dictate who you should be, He will give it to you. And more importantly, you’ll begin to have healing and fulfillment like you’ve never had before. You are a vessel for God’s love. If you’re broken, allow Him to take you in His hands and heal you. A cup that has cracks in it won’t hold anything for very long, especially joy. God can repair those broken pieces and put you back together in a mighty and beautiful way. I pray you allow Him to.

For more inspiration, check out the book “PMS ~ Praising My Savior” A 28 day devotional for women.

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Have you ever?

Have you ever...played that game that preteens and teenagers play called, "Have You Ever?" It's a pretty simple and silly game but with pretty profound effects. It puts more than a bit of pressure on those playing to come up with something from their meager years to brag about and see who else has not done it. It's basically a competition to see who can best the rest of the group. "Have you ever....kissed a boy you didn't know?" Have you ever....shoplifted?" Have you ever...smoked pot?" Not only can it offer a pull towards exaggeration and lying, it can also plant seeds about what someone else might think is 'cool' to do or awesome to try out!

I prefer a different version of the game...one that is filled with hope and lessons for the Lord. It's more of a spiritual enlightenment or thought provoking kind of a "Have you ever..."

Have you ever....
Woken in the morning and gone straight to your knees in prayer?
Have you ever....
Been so filled with the power of the Holy Spirit that you could not contain your laughter?
Have you ever....
Cried until all your tears seemed to be gone? And felt the presence of God with you?
Have you ever....
Been so hurt by someone that your very soul seemed to ache...and yet forgiven him or her anyhow?
Have you ever....
Made a choice knowing precisely that it was the correct one...and felt peace like you had never felt before because you knew God must surely be pleased?
Have you ever...
Spent an hour just reading your bible...for the heck of it?
Have you ever....
Stopped and helped someone without asking for anything in return and not telling anyone else that you did it?
Have you ever....
Chosen to forego your own time, your own desires, your own wants...in order to help someone else or in order to give to someone else?
Have you ever...
Gotten completely silly? Danced in the rain? Run barefoot in the grass? Skipped down the street? Threw water on a friend? Put food coloring in your pancakes?
Have you ever...
Seen a soldier or a retired military person and just thanked him or her for their service to this country? Thanked them for continuing to fight to allow us to live in a country where we are free to worship our God and proclaim the name of Jesus without the punishment of death or political persecution?
Have you ever...
Loved someone so much that you put his or her needs and wants before your own?
Have you ever...
Had a friend you could truly trust with nearly anything? And proved to him or her that you could be trusted just the same?
Have you ever....
Told someone else about Jesus? Witnessed to someone in a public bathroom? At the store? At church? To your neighbor? To a stranger?
Have you ever...
Thanked God for the good, the bad, the forgiveness, the grace, His word, the love, the family, the friends...that He blessed you with?

If you have not done any of the above, then I challenge you to start with your list today....You will not regret it. More importantly, He will bless you for it.

Karen

www.womaninspired.com


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