I Should Be...

I should be freaking out right now.  In fact, I should have been freaking out for a month now, at least. 

Deadlines.
Business/work pressures.
Kids.
Responsibilities.
Unexpected bad news.
Holidays.

The month of November has been full of ups and downs. And there’s every indication that December will be more of the same. But this season has been different for me. It would not be unusual for me to have mini meltdowns silently in my head for weeks, fretting over the things on the list above, only to have it all spill out in a major meltdown with tears and snot bubbles.

But this season, I’m finding myself much less stressed.  Things I used to worry about no longer cause my stomach to clench in knots.  In fact, I’m going to be bold and say that this season has been a season of peace. Now don’t get me wrong, I have shed some tears and had a couple moments of silent panic this month but it has not overtaken me.  

So what is different for me this month than in the past? My thoughts.

Philippians 4:6 instructs us not to be anxious about anything.  We are told to bring our prayers and requests to God with a thankful heart.  And then when we do that, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds.  

But, you might say, “I’ve done that and I am still fearful, worried, stressed, etc....”

Well, let’s keep reading in Philippians, because this is key to moving forward...

“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

After you have prayed, after you have cried out to God – where do your thoughts go? Are they heading back into the mire of worry and stress?  Are they diving deep into the dark unknowns? Are you trying to be two steps ahead of whatever is chasing you down?

As I have navigated this month, I’ve tried to be very careful and purposeful in where my thoughts go.  And I’m not talking about “the power of positive thinking” here.  I’m talking about focusing my thoughts on Christ. After I have prayed and allowed God’s peace to wash over me, I’ve been careful to not let my thoughts wander but to keep them focused on God. My desire is to hold on to the peace He has graciously given me.

“You keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.” Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

Where are your thoughts heading today? What’s trying to dominate your mind? May I offer up a bit of direction? Here’s where I have been trying to steer my thoughts to lately... 

Whatever is true – remembering all I know about God from what He has revealed in His Word.
Whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable – focusing in on Jesus and all He has done for me.
Whatever is excellent or praiseworthy – keeping my eyes open for all God is doing right now in front of me and thanking Him for it!

I hope that helps you, sweet friend, as much as it has been helping me!  May we move forward with our thoughts fixed on Christ and resting in the abundant peace that only He can give!

Post by: Marcy Gates

The Little That Things Stick

Posting what I'm about to write actually feels really vulnerable to me. I've written vulnerable things before but typically they are past vulnerabilities not real time, current vulnerable things. So here it goes... A walk through my mind and heart so to speak...

No matter how hard we try, the little things stick. I'm talking about little things that people might say or do to us. Or maybe random things we read. Those little things begin to shape us. Sometimes they can shape us for the better; other times, not so much. And thrown in between can be downright lies. We are not always aware of the lies, or how the little things shape us. 

When I was a preteen I remember reading a devotional. The devotional talked about how the grass isn't always greener on the other side. The context was marriage and the example had to do with laundry. And the only other thing I remember is leaving that devotional time with this thought, "It doesn't really matter how your spouse folds the towels, the important part is that they are folding towels."

I don't know why I remember this. I don't know why my little teen devotional magazine was talking that in depth about marriage. But, I'm glad it did, because I think this concept has helped me in my marriage. A little thing that stuck with me that I didn't put there on purpose. 

When I was about 18 or 19 years old, a co-worker said something to me that shaped the way I thought about myself as a mother. I was going to college full time and I worked part time at a grocery store. My son, would stay with my dad. The grocery store was basically on the same route to and from school. Often times I would stop to get my paycheck either on my way to school or on my way home. A weekly occurrence at the time. But one day a co-worker said something along the lines of, "Geez, what do you do? I never see you with your kid."

I remember feeling shocked, then sad and guilty, then angry. I wanted to explain myself, "Well, you only see me while I'm working or on my way to and from school! I obviously wouldn't have my child with me during those times!" Humpf! But her words stung. And they settled deep. And for a long time, I operated out of that lie. That I somehow wasn't a good enough mom because she never saw me with my son. That I was somehow not spending enough time with him. It was a downright lie. One that I held onto for a long time. At some point I was able to uproot that lie and get free, but that one little thing, it shaped me. 

Fast forward to today. During Pastor John's 'Free Indeed 'series at West Ridge, he talked about lies we believe versus the truth that sets us free. And I realized that there are these little things, lies, which I've let stick and have been operating out of. The vulnerable part here, I don't know what all of them are right now, but I know that they are there. So I'm asking God to show them to me, to reveal them so I can cut them off and move on. It might take some time (mostly because I can be stubborn sometimes) but I know God will continue to set me free. 

I think that's why it's so important to stay "plugged in". Plugged in to church community, small groups, serving, reading God's Word, worshipping. Little by little God's breaking down the little things that stick. And I'm so glad He's not done with me yet! The best is yet to be! 

While reading this were you reminded of little things that stuck with you?  Were there good and/or bad things? How do you combat the lies? We'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Post by: Jimmie Lee DiIanni

She Did What?! (Part 2)

Thanks for meeting me back here for Part 2!!  If you missed Part 1 of our story, you can catch up right here: She Did What?! (Part 1)

So when we left "Bible Times" on Friday, Deborah and Barak had defeated the army that was on the verge of attacking them and the leader of the enemy army, Sisera, was on the RUN...

Sisera is in full on escape mode when he finds his way to the tent of Jael.  Sisera assumed that since Jael’s hubby was on peaceful terms with his boss, King Jabin, that this tent would be a safe place to hide out for a while.  Ummm.... Let’s just see...

Jael went out and greeted Sisera.  She invited him in to the tent, told him to make himself at home, and covered him with a cozy blanket (I envision a soft chenille and not some scratchy wooly thing, lol!) He asks for a drink of water and Jael does one better! She gives him some milk. So our girl Jael is really pulling out all the stops.  (Think Martha Stewart with a Pinterest worthy tent, lol!)

Sisera is feeling pretty comfy at this point. So much so that he orders Jael to stand at the entrance of her tent and instructs her to lie... 

“Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’” Judges 4:20 (NIV)

Now, I’m not too sure about you but I can just imagine our girl, Jael, screaming inside her own head at this point.  Like, “No, you did NOT just say that to me!!!”  Because while Sisera believed that tent was a safe place, that he had found a friend in a land of foes, he was dead wrong...

“But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.” Judges 4:21 (NIV)

Now’s the time to say – SHE DID WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Jael killed Sisera.  With a tent peg.  To the head!

Whew. Sounds crazy, right? But listen, there’s a big lesson to learn from Jael too just like we did with Deborah.  She recognized the enemy and did not hesitate to stop him in his tracks.  How about you? Have you determined the enemy in your tent?  Are you eliminating it?

Listen, I am not saying take a tent peg to your husband because he keeps snoring.  What I am saying is this, we all have an enemy we need to face.  The sooner you address it, the better.  And, I’m not going to sugar coat this, our enemy is Satan.  Often in our lives, we allow things to defeat us and they may have been things we welcomed into our lives, our households, our “tents” so to speak.  My encouragement to you is to be alert.  Be aware of when the enemy is trying to gain a foothold in your life.  And then address it.  Put a stop to it with the tools God has given you (His armor, Ephesians 6:10-19) because you can!

That’s what our heroine Jael did. She saw the enemy trying to make himself at home in her tent, where she lived.  She knew that she had the ability to remove whatever was not for God and/or from God from her home.  And she went to work.  She didn’t run away from it.  She didn’t sneak out behind her tent to talk to the other ladies and get their advice.  She recognized evil and immediately took a stand. 

My friends, we too, can take a stand.  Let’s look at Deborah and Jael as examples of strong, righteous women of God.  They positioned themselves to be used by Him and did not waiver.  They knew what God wanted them to do and were obedient to Him. And through their obedience, God used them for amazing things!

Post by: Marcy Gates

She Did What?! (Part 1)

Ladies, for our time together today let’s take it back to what my kiddos refer to as “Bible Times”. Yes, we are digging into the Old Testament!  Now don’t click away from me just yet! I know sometimes when we hear that we will be focusing in on the Old Testament we inwardly groan and wonder if this is going to be a dry, boring story filled with a long list of people’s names we can’t pronounce. Well, this, is NOT that kind of post my friend!  Stick with me because I’m telling you, you are going to get to the very end of this story and say to yourself, “She did what?!”

We are going to dive into Judges 4 but first allow me to set the scene... The Israelites were in a period of time where they experienced highs and lows in their relationship with God.  They would closely follow the Lord, trusting in Him, and walking obediently with Him.  But then...  well, then they would fall away.  They would start worshipping false gods and drift away from the Lord for whatever was new and shiny.  They would become disobedient and ultimately fall into sin.  And since sin has consequences, God allowed the enemies of the Israelites to overtake them. When the Israelites cried out to God for help, God answered by raising up a judge to lead the people and help guide them back to Him.  Deborah is one of those such people – a judge!

From the very beginning of Deborah’s story, the amazing thing about her is that she was ready and willing to be used by God.  She led a life that placed her in a position to be used for God’s kingdom.  That makes me want to take a look at my own life for a second.  Am I in a position to be used by God? Am I living a life pleasing to Him? Goodness, I sure hope so!  I want to be living a righteous life, listening for God’s voice and walking obediently with Him.  And if there’s an area where I am not, I want to be sure to bring it to Him.  If there is sin in my life, I need to come to God for forgiveness.

But back to our gal, Deborah... So one day, Deborah is out there, performing her “judge duties” and she gets a word from the Lord.  In Judges 4, she passes it along to Barak (and no, not Barak Obama, lol!) who was a captain in the Israelite army...

“She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor.  I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”  Judges 4:6-7 (NIV)

Basically, Deborah is telling Barak what needs to be done to defeat their enemies.  Now, let’s just take a step back and look at this.  First, Deborah was in a position to hear clearly from the Lord. Which, don’t we all want that?! I love when the still, small Voice of God whispers straight to my heart! Second, she didn’t hesitate to deliver the word she as given. Listen, I know sometimes as women, we second guess, well... everything! We wonder, “Did I hear correctly? What will this person think?” And so on.  But I want to encourage you, if you believe that you earnestly received a word from the Lord for another person, share it with them!  If it lines up with the truth of scripture, if it will encourage and/or build that person up, please share what God has given you. 

Returning to the story... What does Barak do with this information? Basically he tells Deborah, “I’ll do it but only if you come with me.” (verse 8) Deborah agrees, once again showing wisdom, patience, and trust in the Lord.  I mean, listen, girlfriend is going into a battle that God told her they would win. She’s trusting God to keep her, Barak, and their army from getting crushed.  That’s showing some major trust in the Lord!

So, Deborah, Barak, and the army march off to battle King Jabin’s army, headed by Sisera. Side note, Sisera and his warriors were not a group of wimpy dudes either.  Sisera had 900 iron chariots at his disposal plus a ton of troops ready to fight.  Those iron chariots were no joke.  They were one of the most feared weapons of battle back then.  Kinda similar to what an armored tank is like to us today. Yikes!

What happened next??  I’m so glad you asked!  Deborah got word that Sisera had positioned his army and was ready to get the battle going.  She told Barak NOW was the time to head Sisera’s way.  She also reminded him of two very important things:

“Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him.” Judges 4:14 (NIV)

First, she reminded Barak that God had promised them victory.  Then she encouraged him with the promise that God had gone ahead of him. And you know what? Those are promises we can hold on to too!  God has promised us victory as well and it is found in our Savior.  Jesus died and rose again three days later.  That, is a stunning victory!  Also, God goes before you, yes, you!  Even in 2017!  That’s not one of those things that happened in “Bible Times” – it is a promise we can cling to TODAY! 

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deut. 31:8 (NIV)

Now, before the war could even begin, God threw Sisera, his chariot drivers, and warriors all into a straight up PANIC. They were SCARED.  In fact, ole Sisera was so frightened – he hopped right out of his chariot and FLED! Like on foot.  This guy full on RAN AWAY! Barak and the Israelite army pursued Sisera’s men and the whole army was defeated. 

God kept His promises!  He went before the Israelite army and scared the bad guys right outta their sandals.  Then He enabled, equipped, and positioned Barak and his men for victory.  Friends, that is the God we serve to this day – a faithful, promise-keeping GOD!

But wait!! There’s more to this story!! What happened to Sisera, our scaredy-cat bad guy who ran away crying for his mommy?! (Ok, I added that crying part - lol!) You will just have to pop back to the blog on MONDAY (8/28/17) to find out!  And maybe you will be asking yourself... "She did what?!"  

See you right back here on Monday friends!! Have an awesome weekend : )

Post by: Marcy Gates

Overcoming Our Fears

I am not a fan of air travel.  Or waiting in long lines.  Or large crowds of people.  So, of course it would make sense that for our first real family vacation we would travel to... 

DISNEY WORLD. 

At this stage of their lives, two of my three daughters are past the Disney Princess thing.  They are more into Star Wars.  Actually, my husband and I are into Star Wars too.  My youngest, though, she still will dress up in a Belle dress or play with her Minnie Mouse puzzles here and there.  So while none of us are die-hard fans of a certain mouse, Disney World still sounded like a great idea.   With all the new Star Wars attractions and a few princesses thrown in for good measure, we decided we needed to start planning our trip!

The next decision was whether to drive or fly to Florida.  Y’all, I’m not going to sugar coat this at all.  I don’t like to fly.  The thought of being stuck in a big tin can 30,000 feet in the sky, where everything is out of my control, is terrifying to me.  In fact, the last time I flew anywhere was over ten years ago.  And I started to freak out and full on ugly-cry as we took off.  I know, I am a peach to travel with.  Just ask my husband. But I digress...

We estimated that we would lose a day and half of vacation time just driving from Pennsylvania to Florida.  And that was one way.  It almost seemed like we would be driving for the same amount of time we’d actually be at Disney.  So, we opted to fly.

Gulp.

As the morning of our flight to Florida drew near, I felt butterflies of anxiety flare up in my stomach.  I did my best to hide it though.  The last thing I wanted to do was let my kiddos know I was scared to fly.  I didn’t want to transfer that fear on to them nor did I want three terrified kids and one jittery wife for my husband to care for on a two hour flight. 

I prayed an awful lot before our vacation.  I prayed for our safety, good health, and for peace.  I didn’t want my family’s adventure to be clouded over with my fear and worry.  I wanted to have fun and enjoy this precious time when we could all be together.  I kept telling the Lord, “If You can just get me past this whole flying thing...”

And that’s when He whispered to my heart, “I am faithful.”  Then I remembered what I know about God.  He IS faithful.  He can be trusted.  He is for me.  He will protect me.  He loves me! As the day of our departure drew near, God kept leading me to Scriptures during my quiet time that reinforced what He spoke to my heart...

“The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121:7-8 (NIV)

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)

When we boarded our plane for Orlando, I kept repeating God’s Word over and over in my head: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

I purposefully did not seat myself next to the window, but in between my youngest and a stranger sitting in the aisle seat.  My husband sat across from us with our other daughters.  What I thought I had planned as a strategic parenting move was really God’s Hand at work.  My little one kept me occupied almost the entire flight!  She talked my ear off during take-off so I couldn’t focus on the plane leaving the runway.  She had me play games like “I Spy” and “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. We colored and did word searches.  She kept the shade down on the window because she felt it was too bright so I couldn’t really ever see how high up we truly were.  And when this little one had run out of things to occupy her mother with, that’s precisely when my neighbor to left of me decided it was a great time to chat about Pittsburgh, his trip to Yellow Stone, and his life in Orlando.  And then just like that... We landed.  Two hours blew by and I was fine.

Our vacation? It was wonderful!  We had a great time and left with so many memories!  Our flight back home to Pittsburgh?  Well, I had my special seat mate again and boy, she kept me busy.  Lots of coloring and games to play.  While I was still repeating 2 Timothy over silently in my head, it was less out of trying to squelch fear from trying to take hold and more because I was resting in God’s faithfulness displayed.  A declaration that I did NOT have a spirit of fear but a SOUND MIND.

I love this quote from “Jesus Always” by Sarah Young about when we are afraid, “Cling tightly to My hand and walk resolutely past those dark presences of fearfulness and despair.  Keep looking toward My radiant Presence that beams out rays of unfailing Love and endless encouragement.”

Is there something you really want to do but fear is holding you back?   Have you let anxiety take hold and keep you from trusting God?  I want to encourage you today to take it to the Lord. Lay it all out before Him and ask for His help.  God wants you to have a sound mind.  Fear is not from Him and He doesn’t want it to rule your life.  Worry can keep us from experiencing all that God has in store for us!

Let’s focus on trusting God with our fears.  Keep our eyes fixed on the One who has amazing plans for us.  When fear tries to knock us down, lean into His presence and rest in His unfailing love.  God will melt those fears away in His magnificent light.  And when you find yourself with a sound mind, you will realize just how faithful He is!

Post by: Marcy Gates