At The Sound Of Your Great Name

There have been times during worship when my deepest pain, the wounds of my heart, the struggles of life, come to the surface. As I feel the pain and worship through my wounds, I find God to be nearer than ever. Lifting up all that swirls within, worshipping Him as I give Him the burdens that are too big for me to handle...it is in these moments that I find Jesus to be a Comforter that surpasses any other comfort.

Recently I heard Natalie Grant's song Your Great Name. What a song- a reminder of our God, of the power that is held in the name of Jesus.

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us


Son of God and Man


You are high and lifted up, that all the world


Will praise Your great name

Today is a day to worship God, to call on the name of Jesus. Whether that means lifting up your deepest need or lifting your hands to our Savior out of the overflow of your heart, He will meet you where you are and you will know Him to be all that you need.

All the weak find their strength


At the sound of Your great name


Hungry souls receive grace


At the sound of Your great name

The fatherless, they find their rest


At the sound of Your great name


Sick are healed and the dead are raised


At the sound of Your great name


You can listen to this song here.  Blessings to you today.

Protecting Our Wounds

Hi, Ladies. It is October. I still want to believe it is summer, but it isn't. It is fall, which always seems to me just a brief pause before winter hits.
Recently, Delton and I had a "just had to laugh" moment, which ended up in the Pastor's Pulpit he wrote for the Waynesboro Record Herald. I asked him if I could share it with you...Here it is, in his words....

Wounded Hands are Hard to Hold

by Delton Lehman

Is there anything more natural and easy than holding hands? A right hand and left hand seemed to be made to fit together, whether you are simply cupping them together or interlocking fingers they simply fit.

Except when they don't.

The other day my wife and I were in the van heading to a since forgotten destination, when, as is often our habit, we reached over to hold hands as we talked and drove. Now, I had recently taken a spill when trying to escape being tackled by one of my boys, leaving a patch of my palm in our yard. So, as our hands embraced I simply, almost unconsciously, adjusted our hold to protect my sore palm. My wife moved her hand back. I simply moved my hand again to a more pain free position. She moved her hand back. Finally I informed her of my reason for adjusting my hand - that I was trying to protect my hurt palm. To which she replied that she was trying to protect her sore finger!

This experience has become a clear picture to me of what happens in so many relationships. Have you ever found that what should be 'natural' - a dating relationship, planning a family vacation, or simply sharing with a friend the events of our day, can becomes awkward and frustrating! Why? Because we are all trying to protect a wound, often doing so unconsciously. It's not on our hands, but on our hearts. And many times our efforts to protect that wound causes pain for others, who in turn act in self protection, to which we respond....

A husband withdraws in fear of rejection, 'touching' his wife's fear of abandonment so she becomes nagging and clingy. He withdraws more...

A son lashes out in rebellion, feeling misunderstood and manipulated. Dad and mom, driven by a sense of failing as parents, counter with increased control. He rebels all the more...

A young woman, unsure of her worth, pushes herself for perfection and is infuriated by the slightest criticism, causing friends to become distant. Feeling more insecure, she pushes herself harder...

And so our crazy dance spins while we wonder why things seem so hard.

Wounded hands are hard to hold. Yet, there is one person with wounded hands that will not draw away from us in self-protection - Jesus Christ. He doesn't hide his wounded hands, rather extends them to us declaring that "by His wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) Our sin has wounded Him greatly. But His love, displayed in His death and resurrection, is extended to cover our sin. When you find yourself completely and securely held in His hands, hiding gives way to transparency, self-consciousness to selflessness, a guarded spirit to a generous spirit.

Allow His wounded hands to heal you, so you can be free to extend your hand to others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(charity again...) I see this playing out in ways in my life. In my insecurity, I can't imagine that people would want to take time out of their busy schedules to get together with me...so, I fail to mention to my sister that I will be in her hometown for the day.  And I wound her. In my hurt, I pull away...an endless cycle, unless we allow truth...healing...forgiveness to begin to direct our encounters. An endless cycle, unless we allow God to break it. 

We will be getting together at Charlene's home this coming Tuesday (October 8th) evening from 7-9 p.m. for our usual LIFT time. Laughter, hot drinks, and good fellowship! What fun! 

Two thoughts have been on my mind for this time together.

~ Did Delton's words stir anything in you? How have you seen this play out in your life? How have you found healing and health?

~There is a song I have been thinking about, Follow You Into the World by Leeland. Here are the lyrics. and here is the video. I know each of us has different passions, a heart for different ministries, different ways that we feel God calling us to meet the needs of the hurting. Let's take some time to share what is on our heart. Bring any brochures, newsletters, update letters, flyers, and let's take the opportunity to share with others the ministries/mission that God has placed on our heart or is calling us into. 

I look forward to getting together with you, and sharing life together. 

Blessings...

Charity

Poison Thoughts

"For most of my life," Joyce Meyer writes in Battlefield of the Mind, "I didn't think about what I was thinking about. I simply thought whatever fell into my head. I had no revelation that Satan could inject thoughts into my mind. Much of what was in my head was either lies that Satan was telling me or just plain nonsense, things that really were not worth spending my time thinking about. The devil was controlling my life because he was controlling my thoughts." (quote found in Having a Mary Spirit,  by Joanna Weaver)
I had a battle with my mind yesterday. I fought for truth as little lies poked and prodded, stung and pierced. While at the park with the three youngest children last evening, the battle began. Delton just told you he was going dove hunting this evening. He hardly even asked if that was okay with you. Harmless enough thoughts, really. Just mulling over what really happened, right? The intensity increased. Why does he get to spend all evening doing a hobby? What gives him the right to simply spring this change of plans on me? I couldn't do that to him, because I am responsible for the kids. I am stuck. He is free. That isn't fair... and so my thought continued. Really, it was an insidious lie, surrounded by truth. Delton had pretty abruptly decided to spend the evening out hunting, leaving me to decide how to entertain the kids during our usual "family time". I am mature, though. Or so my thoughts tried to convince me. I won't get angry or bitter. No. But really, this isn't right. This shouldn't be. This hurts. What if he starts doing this all the time? I need to talk to him about this. Express my hurt. Express the unfairness of what he did to me. 
And then, because this is a familiar pattern for me, I realized the path I was quickly headed down. The self-pity. The mountain-out-of-a-molehill drama queen reaction. As my flesh nestled in, secure in battle victory, I began fighting back with a higher truth.A love-covered truth. Delton just bought that gun today, a gun he has been waiting years to purchase. He is excited, and he knows I am excited for him. He took Ezra with him, and willingly would have taken Asher as well. Delton is an awesome dad who just spent the morning (as he does EVERY THURSDAY morning) watching our kids so that I can get out by myself. And as I turned my heart towards love, as I remained on high-alert, aware of the thoughts that were threatening to undermine my love for Delton, as I continued speaking truth to my heart, the battle was won. At his return this evening, Delton would not find a fuming, tight-lipped wife. His heart would not be frozed by the dreaded phrase, "we need to talk." By God's grace, Delton would return home to a wife who was an overflowing vessel of God's grace and love.
Poison thoughts, I found myself calling them. Thoughts with enough truth to them that we easily allow ourselves the luxury of mulling over them. She didn't return my phone call. He ignored me. He didn't do this or that even though HE KNOWS how I feel about that...and so on. And then we continue down the road that leads to where all sin leads...destruction. Yes, sin. When our thought lives are not in subjection to Christ, we are walking in sin.
I am learning to listen to my thoughts, and to take them captive. Not simply "trying not to think about it", but actively speaking God's truth into the situation that is replaying itself. Praying blessing on those I would rather judge. Forgiving those who have not lived up to my standards. Loving others, even in my thoughts, as God loves them. Because, really, we are what we think. If I think bitter thoughts, I become bitter (really....I know this from experience). Don't think, don't convince yourself, that you can fill your mind with thoughts of judgment, self-pity, pain, how-could-they thoughts, and not reap the consequences.
I am writing this as I see it played out in my life in several major areas. This minor "irritation" with Delton is nothing compared to the battles that have played out in my mind over the last months, as I have been aware more than ever of how closely related my spirit and mind are. As I turn my thoughts over to God, asking Him to change them when I am unable to change them myself, when I have no desire to choose love, as I simply throw myself on His mercy to do what I cannot, He changes the lifeless gray battleground into a fragrant field of blooming flowers. A sunrise filled horizon. A glory-bathed display of God being God in my life. Relationships are free to flourish. I am free to grow. Broken situations become His responsibility and I am released to live with joy rather than judgment.
The battlefield of the mind. It is real. Let's "take captive every thought" (2 Corinthians 10:5). There is a glory to be revealed in each of us that will never be revealed if the core of who we are has been handed over to the enemy. Let's allow God to rule and reign in every area of our life, beginning even with our thought life.

Earthquake

When was the last time you were pressed by circumstances...and were surprised at what came out of you?
When was the last time you were hurt...and were shocked at the heat of your response?
When was the last time you cried deeply, or shouted, or withdrew, or turned again to the sin you thought you had banished?
I am discovering fault lines in my life...cracks within that are openings for the enemy, openings for lies to enter and dwell. I have been pressed lately, and I am seeing what lay dormant in my heart for years. Yuck! And yet, I can embrace the pain. It hurts good, you might say, because my desire is to be like Christ. My desire is to be transparent. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Psalm 51:6. My inmost places have the capacity to be sin-riddled as long as they remain hidden, unknown by those around me. Sometimes, a mystery even to me. Until...the pressing comes. The hurt shocks. The misunderstanding takes my breathe away.
This fault line, this weakness, this unredeemed portion of my inner (wo)man, is revealed in the hard time. I have cried a lot over recent situations, many of them. Had many one-sided conversations. Been the "right" one in many daydreams. And realized that there is a root here that God is bringing to the surface in His infinite daddy-love. There is a lot of lie in my inner parts that only He, the truth-giver, can reveal.
I want the lie, the hurt, the shame, the brokenness to be removed. There is so much of life to be lived...a life that is good!! I live a different life when I allow my hurt to be the author of each day. God is the author of life...let's allow Him to do what He desires in each of us, then sit back and watch Him write GLORY over each moment of our lives. Our lives, lived in truth, for His glory.
That when pressed, we bleed love.
That when hurt, we offer grace.
That when the tears come, they bathe our soul and the offender in the love of the Healer.
This is my desire.

Failure to Thrive

Yikes. What a title to this post, and yet lately I have felt like that label described me and everything that I put my hand to. A clean house (failure). Time with God (failure). Eating well (failure). Updating this blog (failure). I have known that God is bigger than my actions, but when I stumble, when perfection eludes me....perhaps messages that I am most familiar with are most likely to begin playing in my mind in times like these.
I am done with A Confident Heart. Finished. Besides the fact that I lost it twice, I gleaned from it what I could, and am ready to move on. I believe there is a lot in that book that I still need to learn (re-read the above paragraph if you question that) but somehow I lost focus. For me to continue to post, to continue to be fed and pour that out in this blog, I needed to find another tool. Do you mind?
It is amazing how failure, hurt, mistakes, whatever it is, keep us from walking in what God wants for us. Even in me not knowing how to say...I am done with this book I chose!...I pulled away, kept silent, and put way too much time into feeling broken when there is a whole God-life to be lived. You, me, and those around us...He delights in us, and that delight moves us toward Him, moves us into the dance He has composed for each of us. It is through truth, though, not lies, that we enter into all He has for us. Through our true identity as daughters of the King. Beloved. Redeemed. Restored.
We are 6 months into 2013. What has this year been like for you? What have you learned? What has been restored? What has been broken? It is good for me to review these questions and to once again re-focus on the God who is calling me...even when I have trouble hearing His voice.
His word, His blessings, His promises assure us that we are loved, and the purposes and plans He has for us are still being completed. So, no more "failure to thrive" diagnosis, okay? No walking in self-prescribed labels. He said that in Him we live and move and have our being and that doesn't sound anything like failure to thrive!!

Some thoughts to ponder...

Hi, Ladies! Here are some thoughts from Rhoda as she has been reading and processing "A Confident Heart."

Ladies/Sisters
I have had these thoughts turning in my mind for weeks... So at last I am putting them down to share with you...

I started out reading a chapter every week or so of our book "A Confident Heart" in January but then... well ... Here it is May and I am at Chapter 6!  I find it is worth pressing on even at this slow rate.

In Chapter 5... "Living Beyond the Shadow of My Doubts" I found the the last paragraph on page 89 to capture my attention.  I quote:
    "When doubt washes over me, often it is because something has happened to trigger my old             emotions and create thoughts in my mind that are similar to those I had as a child.  Sometimes         that hurt little girl still has too much say in my heart.  If I listen to her, powerful yet immature             emotions from my past rise to the surface.  But they are not truth in my life.  The insecurities             from your past are not the truth in your life either.  ...."I realize I have been dealing with this very issue of past hurts that my little girl wants to put as current truth.  In order to move beyond I found I needed to take what Renee has said a step further.   In processing the past  the "little girl"  needed to be heard, validated and then have the Lord tell her the truth in order to move on to healing.  If we just "don't listen to the little girl" we are just suppressing the hurt and it will keep resurfacing.  The Lord is so gracious to help us look at our past and reveal what is truth so that we are able to move on to live with "a confident heart"!

Now on to Chapter 6 where I will learn to "get my good enough from Jesus"!!  And this is so timely for me as well! 

Learning to enjoy the journey to wholeness!
Rhoda Lehman
~~~~Charity again....I have been thinking about A Confident Heart recently....thinking about it, yet not reading it. It is always hard for me to pick up a book once I haven't read it for a while...yet this is a book that contains a message I need. So, I am going to pick up the book again this week, scan the chapter titles, and choose one that catches my eye. Maybe I will do this again next week, too. So, if like me you have lost momentum in reading, don't worry. Just go at your own pace, do what works for you...and let me know what ministers to you through your reading.

I need You to love me...

Some days, a song will draw me in, in a way it never has before. I will suddenly hear the familiar lyrics, and truly listen for the first time.
This morning I saw the cover of my journal where I had inked in the four themes for the ladies group this year.

Your past does not define you.

You don't have to walk in shame.

God can redeem the story of your life.

God has a beautiful purpose and plan for your life.

 

I didn't want to say anything about this theme because...well...haven't we moved on? Forgetting the past and pressing on to what lies ahead?

Yes. I am not who I once was.

And no...there are some days when I once again need to run headlong into my Father's embrace and hear the reassurance of His love without end.

It is on a day like today that I heard this song, a song that may perhaps be the cry of your heart. May it remind you that you are loved. Deeply......

 

I Need You To Love Me (Barlow Girls)