Tag - peace

Magnificently Inspiring Faith Manifesto

June 3, 2016

Faith Manifesto:

Walk around arms-wide-open – life passes, you want all God’s good stuff to land in your arms along the way. Grab truth, everything else is living a lie. Listen more than you talk; it is how you get to see Jesus. Seek to understand and you’ll realize the world’s about a whole lot more than – you. Walk in the valleys of humility and you’ll see how mountain-reaching your great God really is. Worry less about who will run the country and remember that Jesus rules. Let critics criticize, but let Christ’s love pulverize their power – over you. Pray like everything in life depends on you, but know your cares just landed on the to-do list of God. Trust that God isn’t just going to give you your good, but he is going to give you his great. Be happy when things don’t turn out as you thought; God has a better plan. Don’t be held back by looking like a perfect picture, grab Jesus’ hand when you look horrid. Suddenly, you find, you look beautiful. Let the waiting rooms of your life, be exchanged for praising rooms – it is God’s training space of outpouring grace. Be like a child – adults make faith too complicated. Lay down against the cross; it will remind you that life’s pains wane in the face of eternity. Seek justice, don’t lose the opportunity to fight for what is right. Love mercy; let others know how great it feels. Seize compassion. Let it fly. Hunger for truth and wave it like a flag. Turn towards God again and again. The face of Jesus is found everywhere – in cranky kids, cantankerous folk, careening cars, chirping creation and quiet moments. Know Jesus stands right with you – you need only see. Confess when you feel far away; God wants you to recognize his love again. Don’t lose the opportunity to spend every day hungry for more. At the end of your days, you want him to look at you and say, “Her. I knew her.” It will make you jump up and down. Until then, be not afraid, for His throne stands close. Walk with the confidence that only the Holy Spirit can give you. Rely on it.

Releasing Results to the Righteous One

June 2, 2016

Katie Reid

Regular Contributor, surrender

3 Comments

Peace in release to His Keeping by Katie M. Reid for purposefulfaith.com

Post by: Katie M. Reid

I had a plan to promote a product. I brainstormed ways to roll it out and made lists of people who might be able and willing to help spread the word. But while in the shower the other day (where it’s quiet enough to get good ideas and where I usually hear God more clearly) I sensed Him asking me something like this…

If you don’t get the outside help you’ve been planning on, will you be okay? Are you dependent on others or will you trust Me to do what I desire through this? Will you release this project and leave the results to Me?

I wrestled for a few moments but quickly realized that God was right, of course.

He was asking me not to hold so tightly to my well-crafted plans but relinquish the outcomes to Him.

There was no guarantee the project would be a success in the world’s eyes but there was a reassuring peace that God’s will would be done. I could insist on my desired outcomes or bend to His higher and better ways—even if the results looked like “not much” or even a failure to others.

As the water poured over me, I was reminded afresh…

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” -Proverbs 16:9

We should rely on God all the way through a project.

I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” -Psalm 16:2

But sometimes we turn what was His to “mine”. Like Gollum, from Lord of the Rings, we hold our “precious” close at all costs. We don’t want to let go because we can’t imagine how life would go on if we lose that which we hold so dear.

What is your “precious”? Is it a person, a project, or a possession with which you have an unhealthy attachment?

Have you turned what once was an act of worship into an idol? Did you start off doing something for God but then it became all about you?

Are you willing to trust God with what He’s asked you to steward or have you made the sneaky shift from steward to prison guard—caging in your “precious” so that it can’t be freed from your watchful gaze?

Or will you bravely unclench your fists and hand over the “precious” to the Great Overseer of your soul?

You are precious in God’s sight. He doesn’t cage you in but sets you free under the necessary boundaries of His loving and watchful gaze.

God is trustworthy. He has entrusted you with people, projects, and possessions to steward well. Release the results to the Righteous One. He does know what’s best. His will for you and your project might look different that you expect but there is great freedom in letting Him lead and use you according to His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Don’t despise His Sovereignty. Don’t discount His Supernatural ability. Don’t depart from His ways.

Find peace as you release people, projects, and possessions to His keeping.

Release what is precious to God and then stand back and see what He will do with your surrender.

Dear God: We want to worship you with clean hands and pure hearts. Thank You for entrusting us with projects, people, and possessions. Help us to steward them well and not elevate them above Your rightful place in our lives. We choose today to release the results to You. You are good. You know what is best. You love us too much to let our desires destroy us. Give us the wisdom and strength to hand over our dreams to Your keeping. Would you take our humble offerings and multiply them for Your purposes and glory? Forgive us for holding on too tightly to that which is mean to be handed over as a fragrant offering to You. We open our fists and raise our hands in worship to You today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Katie M. Reid is a tightly wound woman, of the recovering perfectionist variety, who fumbles to receive and extend grace in everyday moments. She delights in her hubby, five children, and their life in ministry. Through her writing, singing, speaking and photography Katie encourages others to find grace in the unraveling of life.

Connect with Katie at katiemreid.com and on Twitter and Facebook.

3 Ways to Emotionally Win Arguments

May 31, 2016

purposefulfaith

Contentment, failure, faith, fear

7 Comments

I didn’t want to do it, but there I was stuck right in the center of my kitchen, in the mess of it. I leaned in, my temperature boiling, this woman just was not understanding my point.

“There’s no changing a mind like hers,” I thought, “She’s impenetrable.”

I glared. I guess, God was going to have to teach her the hard way – and I was certain I wasn’t going to be praying blessings over her life anymore! Take that!

She is not understanding me. She is hurting me. This is all her fault.

Isn’t it funny how we think? We can even know our thinking is faulty, that we are some small iota in the wrong, but still, we grab onto our small point as if it is a helicopter dropping down a life-line. We think it will get us to battle won, but we usually much more feel like it is battle done as we are left stranded at the top of a building, waving our hands. Helpless. Uncertain. With no one around to fix our aching heart.

Her words approached me strong. Her defensiveness writhed. So did mine, for that matter.

Do your arguments go round and round making you feel like the loser?

Do you start to look at the person like enemy rather than friend?

Usually, I figure, the other person:

Will never listen.
Doesn’t care enough to listen.
Doesn’t get me.
Thinks wrongly about me.
Is always going to win.

Just admitting what you believe about the other fighter is helpful, I find. Lightbulbs go off.

Lightbulb 1: When you’re in mindset – self-protection, it is easy to go into mode – manipulation.

^“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

I don’t do all that. I do other things in the heat of battle; I injure.

Admission and confession offer permission for God to move in.

Lightbulb 2: Love is not me, it is God’s presence in me. The pressure is off.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Tim. 1:7)

Reading this verse makes me want to create a little plaque I hang over my kitchen sink, saying: No fear needed, for with love, I am equipped to win.

This means I stand in the center of the kitchen-tornado with:

1. Power – Christ’s power in me; it does not look like a weak girl getting pummeled but like a force of peace.
2. Love – I have the supernatural power of Jesus Christ; he will help me forward it on.
3. Self-discipline – The ability to know when to speak and when to shush up. I have power to have power over myself. I am not without strength; God made me full of it – in him.

I keep on remembering these 3 things as I am talking; It makes a difference.

I am not without, I am with God, with his grace, with his arsenal of mercy. This is not weak, it is strong. This is not flailing, it is thriving. This is not anger, it is progress.

Lightbulb 3: If Jesus didn’t condemn me, man can’t either. I can always operate from a place of intentional love rather than injured fear.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. Jo. 3:18

I wish I could tell you that day, I won the battle, I didn’t. I lost some pride.

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Remember our BIG God

May 30, 2016

purposefulfaith

Contentment, fear, grace

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Today, I would like to welcome, Sue Allen, as a guest poster for Women’s Ministry Monday. Sue, is in women’s ministry at Northside Methodist Church in Georgia. May her words remind your heart, as much as they did mine, that God’s love is bigger than our widest conception of it…

Guest post by: Sue Allen

I was on an elliptical machine in a hotel fitness room in Asheville, N.C. when my phone signaled her group text. Throughout the day, five of us Bible study friends had been texting support, encouraging our friend whose ten-year-old daughter was undergoing her six-month scans for the cancer she has battled for the past five years. As always, we prayed that the scans would reveal three sweet letters: N.E.D. (No Evidence of Disease).

“Really bad news. They found 2 large bumps.”

Instead of three sweet letters, these eight frightening words broke our heart. We all quickly texted back loving words. “Let this be a bump in your road, not a bolder.” “Love and big prayers are coming your way.” “Praying for you and wishing I could give you a big hug.” “We are your prayer warriors.” “Sweet friend, leave it in God’s hands.”

Clearly God at work, Susan Anderson Yates, beloved Christian writer, had just sent me a copy of her new book Risky Faith. Right before the group text came in, I read the following words on page 14. “I had let my concern for this child grow and grow. It had become so big in my heart that the problem itself became my focus. Perspective was lost. Instead, I was overwhelmed by this current issue. I finally realized I had forgotten who God was.

I had forgotten how very much He loved my child and me. I had forgotten He knew my child much better than I did. I had forgotten He was working in ways I could not see. He was in this issue, totally involved, and His love was perfect. He was so much bigger than I gave Him credit for. It wasn’t that these concepts were new to me. It was more that I wasn’t living day in and day out in the assurance and knowledge of how BIG He is. I was missing out, and the result was anxiety, loss of perspective, and an anemic understanding of God’s personal love.

In that scary moment when I stopped working out and started looking in to find the words to text my friend, I integrated the wisdom I had just read. “I am so sorry. I know this is so frightening and so overwhelming. Remember our God is bigger than cancer, bigger than any circumstances, and the LORD shares His power freely with us. Crumble before Him, sweet friend. Let His loving strength take over for a while. Please call if you want to talk or text until your fingers are tired. We are here for you in any ways you need us.”

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do, James 1:25 (NIV)

Get all Purposeful Faith blog posts by email – click here.

More about Sue Allen:

Enjoy a daily inspiration this summer. Sue Allen, Northside’s Women’s Ministry Director writes a morning blog for men and women, young and old. The 2016 Summertime Devotional, “Breathe God Everywhere”, will come into your inbox each day from June 1 to September 1. To receive this motivational message sign up here. Visit her website to read more blog posts.

Reply here to contact Sue Allen personally.

What Are You Running After?

April 26, 2016

Angela Parlin

faith, Jesus, Regular Contributor

2 Comments

Post By: Angela Parlin

I call myself a runner, but I always feel the need to qualify the statement.

I’m not built like a runner. I’m not a fast runner. My mileage wouldn’t impress you.

But I get out there, onto the trail several times a week. And other than the last few months of four pregnancies plus a couple injuries which sidelined me for a time, I’ve been a runner as long as I can remember.

When I run, I’m usually smiling. It’s a strange habit, but I smile in part because running is my alone time. I walk out the front door, ready to move, and it’s like a big, deep breath. Plus a lot of panting, but still.

I smile because the finish line is always on the horizon, and I’m a hoper and a dreamer. I smile, because I need the opportunity to think my own thoughts for a bit. Thoughts about something other than school and the next meal and a million little tasks to do around the house.

Give me some fresh, quiet air under a big blue sky and the opportunity to think my own thoughts–and it feels like being home. Not so much like being in my home, but at home with myself. 🙂

Last week, out on the trail, one of my thoughts morphed into a pressing question:

What are you running after anyway?

5 Ways to Keep your Eyes on God

April 22, 2016

purposefulfaith

awe, Contentment, expectations, grace, peace

14 Comments

I brought my kids to the beach. I needed to find some refuge to let them a.) play so that I could b.) get a moment with God. Doing this kind of thing is essential, in life, by the way. Sometimes, you have to break away from what you are immersed in so you can find yourself immersed in love, that way when you are re-immersed into life (mothering, relationships, work, health issues, etc.) you survive. This is what I figure, anyway.

Doing this kind of thing is like pre-CPR, it saves you before your signs go vital – from the anxieties and worries of life that intend to put you 10-feet under. I knew the warning signs for myself, so I hightailed myself over to my personal refuge.

The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him. Psalm 37:40

When the beach party was done and all were packed in the car, I slowly meandered down the road to home. The birds chirped, the seagulls floated on the water, the landscape was cloud layers perfectly hovering right above the ocean horizon. I breathed deep, inched on and turned my head ocean to road, ocean to road. Life was good.

I wasn’t missing anything! So big, and so proud – God’s love nearly gave me a hug. We united and it was a beautiful thing.

Until, that guy did his thing. Until, he became – a tailgater. My face tensed, my eyes squinted, “If only he could get a glimpse of me and my contorted and ugly face through the rearview mirror.” Left and right I scooted trying to make sure he saw me!

He was ruining it all. He was my problem. My heart was pumping with the fresh blood of aggravation.

All I knew was that I was getting tailed by pressure, and it was stealing peace. I guess it happens all the time, when I stop, and really think about it.

I feel that others are climbing faster and farther and quicker into writing success than I am. They tail me.

I let demands tower high – be a great mom, author, marketer, wife. Don’t mess up. They tail me.

I have issues, pressing things that need to be handled – bills, agendas, contracts, promises that may not come through. They tail me.

What is tailing you, demanding you to take your eyes off of God?

Work? Others? Finances? Fears? Demands? Children? Health? Progress? Pride?

When we allow external pressures to make us testy,
we can easily miss God’s majesty.

Yet, when we let people or things do what they may do, but we keep our eyes straight, we find ourselves driving straight into peace, calm and serenity.

How do we do this?

Let’s investigate 5 Ways to Keep our Eyes on God:

1. Be present – If you look for God everywhere, you will find him.

2. Delight in him – If you worship him and commune with him like a best friend, he will become your best friend.

3. Detangle with him – Let the best counselor, the Holy Spirit, counsel your heart when it goes haywire (John 14:26). He will, you know, and you’ll find a way.

4. Observe Gods’ teachings intended for you – Consider the question, “What is the Lord trying to teach me through this?”

5. Say thanks – When you get offering thanks, you get knowing who you really are – a loved child, who God will always provide for. You relish in the feeling, your God and your forever standing.

Sure, that man nearly bumped me. He nearly bumped my heart right away from receiving the love of God, but this is the ultimate truth: Even if you get away for a moment, as a believer, your heart will never be removed for an eternal lifetime.

With this, we can just get our heart, our being and our focus back on his trajectory. We can drive, and keep our eyes on God, knowing that we are heading into his glorious riches.

***All pictures taken by my 4-year old son! 😉

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The Question: It Will Bring Life Or Hold You Back

April 19, 2016

purposefulfaith

awe, birth, dreams, faith

21 Comments

I know what you all would say. I am blessed. I got invited as guest on Proverbs 31’s “Compel Conversation”.

You may say, “What is the issue, Kelly? This sounds like a good thing.”

It is. I agree, except for this likely question: “Tell us a little bit about yourself…”

What “little bit” does anyone even care about? Who am I?

Am I the middle schooler who won the Junior Olympics bronze medal for race-walking (yes, it’s as duckish and as funny-looking as it sounds)?

Am I the caffeinated and domesticated house-cleaner, laundry-pusher and child-rearer who works tirelessly to keep the house moving?

Am I the secret vagabond woman who loves to pack up all her goods and travel to some new and foreign land that she hasn’t traversed? After all, I am taping up brown cardboard yet again…

Am I the woman who hides in the bathroom when life gets tough and kids become screamers?

Am I fighter woman, the one constantly trying to keep one hand on God as my feet side-step this world detonating with traps?

Who am I? Who are you, really?

How do we sum up the 78 organs that make up “woman” when they are constantly changing? Growing. Shrinking. Aging. Becoming. Dying.

And why is there this demand that we know?

Will we ever know?

Because I don’t. And, I don’t know if I ever will. And perhaps this is the point. Perhaps we won’t really know our place in home, until we really arrive at home. Perhaps, we won’t see our tailor-made and perfected job in God’s kingdom until we walk right up to the gates – and pull them open – and walk right in.

Then, we will see…

Then, we won’t share a “little bit,” but we will radiate in “the everything” God made us to be.

Does all of this transcend to the here and now?

When do you feel alive?

When I stand in Christ’s love,
I become more aware that who I am is – one – made to love & be loved.

I see:
It is not who we are, but whose we are.
I am not scabbed, but healed by truth.
It’s not about me, but about how God sees me.
It is about where he wants to go…

this is when I come alive.

Perhaps, all these little moments – with God – they force the true out from the cracks.

The heaviness of me…
can’t stop the new growth of God.
It is not restrained by the weight of life…

A woman made in the image of Jesus.
A woman walking with his being in her.
A woman pursuing the dream of his cause.
A woman existing in his truth.
A woman fighting against her desires to win and succeed and – to walk all over people.
A woman looking to get untied, so she can rely on him.
A woman falling on her face, but getting back up again.
A woman healed from things that could have killed her.

This is a little bit about Kelly: A woman twirling in love. A woman listening to the Spirit’s leading. A woman always anticipating more doses of God’s best.

Who are you?

What heaviness is tying you down?

What might God’s love want to push out from within you?

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When You Keep Losing What You Want

April 18, 2016

purposefulfaith

doubt, failure, faith, fear

3 Comments

My dear friend, Christy Underwood, is joining us today. As you will see, her endurance and perseverance is both admirable and touching. I saw it in action as she went through this trial. Today, her story reminds me that even when we feel like the world is hurting us, still, God is always pursuing us.

The nurse came into the room. The test came back negative. My fears were confirmed. I was not pregnant. I had lost the baby. It was difficult but I was thankful that it was early on in the pregnancy and I had minimal physical side effects from the miscarriage.

The doctor told us we should wait a few months before trying again. In the meantime, I went to a women’s conference with our church. A girl at our table told us about a book she was reading called, “Heaven is for Real.” She shared a part where the little boy meets his sister who had died in his mom’s tummy. I excused myself from the table, went to the bathroom, and cried. The Lord spoke to me in those moments. It hit me that the baby we lost is God’s child too, just as I am God’s child. I had focused too much on how I lost MY baby. I was able to see how God loves our/His child the same way He loves me. I realized that God wanted life for His child just like I did. He is the Creator of life. So, why did our child die?

Because we live in an imperfect world.

God could have intervened – but He didn’t.

He chooses not to control our world, because He wants us to have the free will to choose – Him or not.

A few months later, I got pregnant again. I was scared but knew I had to trust the Lord. Our sweet girl is 3 years old now.

After lots of trying – and waiting – to get pregnant again – it happened. Yet, when they did the initial ultrasound, they couldn’t find the heartbeat.

“Take this medication and return in a week.” That’s what the doctor said.

That week was one of the hardest, most anxiety provoking weeks of my life. Nothing had changed. They could see that I had been pregnant, but we lost the baby again. I waited for my body to do what God designed it to, but I was on an emotional rollercoaster. I sought the Lord and He spoke to me. I questioned if God understood my pain, my loss. He said that He indeed understood more than I would ever be able to understand.

He allowed His Son to bear our sin and pay the price, so that we could have a relationship with Him.

“This is how God showed love among us:
He sent His one and only Son into the world
that we might live through Him.” (1 John 4:9)

Time passed, and I got pregnant again. The technician was able to show me the baby and the baby’s heartbeat but the baby was measuring a little smaller than expected. I was hopeful but nervous. I went back a couple weeks later and the baby had barely grown. There was no longer a heartbeat. Again, Lord?

We lost this baby the day before my daughter’s 3rd birthday.

For some, this may have ruined the day. For me, I saw God working. I was thankful to have a brief time of mourning and then found myself rejoicing in the child He had already given us. The Lord was reminding me of all I had to be thankful for. I knew he was going to teach me something. The message I heard this time was, “Praise Me. Focus on who I am.” A song came back to me that I had briefly focused on during my last miscarriage, “Praise You in This Storm,” by Casting Crowns.

Here are some of the lyrics:

I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am

And every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

What storm are you trying to survive?

How is God calling you to praise Him in the midst of this storm?

It comes down to a choice. Will we choose Him or not? Let’s keep our eyes on Him no matter what a fallen world sends our way.

We don’t know what the future holds or what God’s plan is for our lives, but I know – I will do my best to trust Him and seek His will above all else.

Will you?

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Christy (left) is a wife, a mother to one sweet girl, and a speech therapist. She’s lived in Southern California her whole life. Kelly and Christy met in their early 20s at a church retreat and have supported each other through all of the crazy transitions life keeps bringing.

Kelly’s must-add words about Christy: Christy inspires me to be a better friend. She asks the real questions, the tough questions and the caring questions. She is honest and fun all at the same time. She is a woman who seeks after God with her whole heart. I thank God that he made matched us together, two friends who “get” each other. I can’t wait for all the years she and I have ahead of us – in this crazy ride called life.

Thank you, Christy, for using your story for God’s glory!

Why “Easy” Will Hurt You

April 15, 2016

purposefulfaith

blessings, Contentment, faith, fear

5 Comments

I remember when I first saw it. It glowed. It seemed to sparkle. It radiated as the sun touched it’s outsides. All I knew is I wanted it; I had to have it.

Nearly fresh out of high school, with only babysitting money to my name, the magnetic pull of this silver convertible seemed to draw me in. Silver on the outside and hot red on the inside, it would make my college days – easy. Or, so I thought.

I signed on the dotted line and then rode off with my hair flying wild down the highway to what I imagined would be wider smiles, lines of friends and feelings of happiness all around me.

It seemed easy. It felt free – for a moment.

But, free is not free, if you feel an object is the real impetus behind who you are destined to be.

I got glances at a light, but no real relationships in my life. I felt separated, dependent and strapped onto ten-year finance charges. What was supposed to drive me to happiness, was driving me into me into a career dragging debt. It didn’t seem so easy anymore.

What “easy” do you seek to quell the hard things in your life?

What easy do you run to in order to “deal”?

Collecting easy may feel free, but it often drives us right into a tin box with wheels called trapped, especially if God hasn’t authorized its purchase. Sure, we can collect things, and feel good in a moment, but here is the real deal: Love doesn’t hold up well on the shelf of shiny untouchables.

Love is meant to be handled, dispersed and outpoured. It is meant to get dirty and grimy. It is intended to bend a knee on the dirt to wash another’s feet. It is meant to pull close to sin and to address it tenderly. It is meant to be in service.

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. John 13:14

Love is like Jesus. Love is like a benefactor that can’t stop giving. Love is like the best gift ever – with no price tag.

You can never scan it and bag it and show it off like that.
People aren’t attracted by it’s shine.
They are attracted to its authenticity,
within you and me,
the Spirit making his way – out.

Yet, there is one thing we do have right,
we desperately need it.

Our clawing hunt will continue if we look for it in things,
for things are just illusions that hide our eyes from Him –
God.
Enduring peace.
Everlasting joy.
Encompassing love.

So, let’s keep our eyes fixed there, and, perhaps, we will get somewhere. Perhaps, then, rather than feeling like,“God, why have you abandoned me to this?,” we will feel like, “God, wow, I never knew life could be so full of this.”

Then, we will collect moments of fullness that could only be orchestrated by a God of greatness. We will kneel down and praise him. Our hearts will feel full.

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When You Are Left Out of The “In” Club

April 1, 2016

purposefulfaith

Contentment, envy, failure, faith, fear

16 Comments

Everywhere I have been there has always seemed to be an “in” club. There has always been an exclusive group of women who have it better than me.

When I was in middle school, I can remember all the girls faces. They pulled together like a band of linked BFF necklaces. They were unbreakable, together and unified. I was not part of it.

While they laughed, skipped and played – I always hoped to be seen.

While they hung out at one area of the pool – I was on the other.

While they whispered funny jokes – I wondered if they were talking about me?

I was left out.

Even growing up, I keep on seeing these “in” clubs…

At work, there was the “powerful group”, they were always a pay-grade and title above.

Around town, there are social classes. You either have the goods – or you don’t.

In writing, there is the “made-author” group, these are normally the untouchable women via email or social media because they have “people” who take care of that.

No matter what club it is, one thing remains the same:

They are in the light, I am in the dark.
They are center stage, I am in the back row, breaking my neck to see.
They are fun-and-games, big lights and cameras, I am alone.
They are loving life, I am just trying to figure out how to see the action.

I am in the back row and they are in the front.

They have the best seat, I have the worst.

In a way, I feel victimized. I feel left with no decision, just left out.

Have you ever felt this way? Excluded?

But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. Jo. 14:10

What if God has placed us in the lower seat,
because he can best use and grow us there?

What if, over time, that exact seat is what gives us a
freeing view of life
only observable from that vantage point?

I can’t help but notice that those sitting in the lower seat, he refers to as “friend.” In a low seat, you almost can’t help but grow in relationship with God. You call on him. You need him. What if we were to see our seats differently?

Because, God says, what we consider our detested seat,
soon enough will become – our honored seat.

I don’t want to hate what he loves.

Do you?

I can’t help but think of how he grows a person as they sit down low and in the center of “abandoned”…

He looks at them and says:

You don’t need other people, you just need me. You don’t need status, you just need my righteousness. You don’t need looks, wealth, intellect or ability, you just need my purity. I didn’t seat you high, because where I can best mold you and make you is when you are low. Then, I can dig my hands in deep and let them recreate the best you, the you that is truly made in my image. So, keep not your eyes on things or fads, that will come and go, but keep your eyes on me, for I will last forever. And, forever we will go. I love you child and in my club, you will forever reside.

The lower we go, the higher our view of God.

We must decide.

Will we spend our life crying that we sit low,
or will we spend it in peace,
as we remember that God never fails to bring his loved ones high,
in due time?

Whether on earth or in heaven, at the proper time, we will be exalted.
We will be exalted to glories unexplainable,
to words unspeakable,
to life unknowable,
to hope unbreakable,
to peace unfathomable,
to community unparalleled,
to love unsurpassed.

And we will know, we have just uncovered the seat that has been waiting for us all along.