Blog Archives

The Controlling Heart

12/31/2014

Who cannot relate to wanting to control the outcome of situations in life? We all have a desired outcome in everything we do, but control takes it to a whole other level. Sometime the line is blurred for me. I want to be responsible, do the best I can and I have expectations. Sadly I'm a perfectionist.

I have had many expectations for this Christmas Season. I have some time off so I had plans to clean, to try new recipes, to come up with a new healthy menu for the New Year, to paint (hobby), to watch some movies, to spend quality time with my husband and with some friends, to rest and to…. the list is long. I wanted to control every minute of my vacation. The result: it made me anxious, upset and overwhelmed. Nothing really worked out the way I planned. My husband tells me: be flexible honey. The Lord tells me: trust me, I got this.

Sometimes I forget that we are broken people, living in a broken world with other broken people. Life is complicated, but the God who created it all is in control of it all. He reminds us all this like He did with Job, starting in Job 38:

Where were you when I established the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 What supports its foundations?
Or who laid its cornerstone
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7

When I need a little reminder on how big our God is, I go to Job 38 and read about Him. Then I’m reminded in Proverbs 3:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
6 think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

And the result? He promises that too in Isaiah:

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3

Be Blessed and Have a Wonderful New Year where you trust Him more.

Krisztina White

The Disappointed Heart

12/22/2014

We had some friends over recently and the subject of hurricanes came up. I've lived in southwest Florida since the age of five. I was a young girl when hurricane "Donna" blew through sucking the water out of the river. After the storm, we had a serious respect for preparation, but then 40 years or so went by and we grew complacent. Hurricane parties were more exciting than scary. Then came "Charlie" catching us by surprise as we all sat glued to the TV screen watching meteorologists and their spaghetti graph predictions. Once again we were shaken from our complacency as destroyed homes, mangled trees and power outages disrupted our tranquility.

As our conversation moved to another topic, the memories of that summer left me with a sad feeling. You see, that particular hurricane season brought some deep disappointments into my personal life. As any mother knows, we would always prefer to suffer rather than see our children suffer. I was disappointed with God for allowing some things to break the heart of one of my children. I once again asked God, "Why? "Anything but that Lord." I felt so helpless. I would not have chosen this, but I have seen remarkable strength and character developed along the way. God rarely tells us why, but in His mercy He brings good things out of the rubble of broken hearts. I can be truly thankful for all the restorations that have taken place and lives that are now built on firmer foundations.

Whether we are in a storm, coming out of a storm, or preparing for the next storm . . . the one inescapable truth is that storms come to all of us. God is completely trustworthy and He will be with you in the storm.

Beverly Chesnut

The Performing Heart

12/15/2014

Ladies, I imagine that most of us could remember the days of watching the Osmond's on television and thinking how very talented and handsome Donnie was. I would never have guessed that he experienced panic attacks before every performance. This scenario raises the age old question that we all face, "Am I Enough"? We primarily think of this as a problem men face as they deal with the reality of everything that is involved in them being the head of their home and the responsibility of being the Spiritual leader in their home, but we, as women, also face this heart rending question?

I know I am guilty of asking God why I did not get a particular gift or talent. I was made aware through this study that by asking that question and believing that He did not write MY story exactly right, that I was shutting down my heart and believing a lie. My story is being written by the ultimate author and He created me perfectly with all I need to serve and worship Him. I just need to have a surrendered heart and trust Him to use the talents and abilities He chose for me. I want to live out my story with joy and gladness and serve Him all my days!

Jesus was always angry with the Pharisees throughout the Bible because they were always trying to be far more than they were. They pretended to be perfect and far above everyone else. If you find yourself here, as I have, then just repent of this wrong attitude and ask God to forgive you for your shut down heart and recognize that you will never be enough, so quit striving and just live each day in complete surrender and trust God's heart for you. His story for you is just perfect. It doesn't need a "re-write". Enjoy walking each day through your own personal story. It will be a great ride!

LINDA DAVIS

Denise Hildreth Jones: Reclaim Your Heart

12/8/2014

A Journey of a Shutdown Heart

If I know anything in life, I know what it’s like to have a shutdown heart. It happened to me at age 17, when my life turned upside down and my heart started to shut down.

I grew up in Hungary in a divorced family and was raised by my grandparents. At age 17 my dad and his family left the country and came to the states. A year later my grandmother who raised me passed away, and two years later my mother died. I had to take care of everything for everyone who was left behind, and I did shut down my heart just to survive. I did survive college and married a man who helped me during all that loss. All I knew about marriage is that your spouse should be supportive and helpful, but that did not work out as I had expected. In my struggles to find love, my shutdown heart continued in anger against God: “How could you let all these things happen to me?”

After coming to the United States, disaster after disaster continued, as it always does when we make decisions based on our emotions. Anger against God, desperation in everyday life, and search for love is not the best way to make decisions in life. But that is what I did for years. When I arrived to the lowest point of my life with no other hope at all, I finally cried out to God: “Why can’t you give me at least one person who loves me? I don’t want money, riches, success… just love!” So He showed me the love He had for me. The love that was willing to sacrifice His own Son so I can be reunited with Him. So I can call Him Father. So I can be clean of all my sin and be forgiven.

See, all this time I believed many lies about God: He is a God who doesn’t care; He is not there in all my heartaches and pain; He doesn’t love me, and I need to find love on my own.

And yet, you know what God was doing during these years of pain? He was gently inviting me to encounter Him, to discover the life He has for me. He sent people to my workplace to invite me to get to know Him and He gave me friends who already knew Him. He showed me that He did give me a person in Jesus who did love me, and loves me continually with an everlasting love that is enough in all circumstances of life.

My first Bible Study was Experiencing God – how perfect! He made sure that through that study I got to know Him enough to start searching for a person inside myself to see who He created me to be.

Through the years, God through His Word and His Sovereignty slowly opened my heart toward Him and toward others.

I have been reminded of the condition of my heart over the years as I have been preparing for this study. Here’s what the author reminded me of:

“Let me assure you of one thing: when the Creator of the universe took the extreme care that he did in fashioning you, He made you unique and precious, and He gave you the power of choice. Nothing that has happened to you since then – not even the pain of abuse, betrayal, or failure – can take away that power from you. If events beyond your control have caused you to shut down without giving it a thought, you still have a choice of what you will do with your future. No one can take your God-designed, alive heart away from you. Only you can hand it over. And only you – with God’s gracious help – can take it back. “ Denise Hildreth Jones: Reclaiming your Heart

Join us on a journey on reclaiming your heart!

Watch the video on https://www.rightnow.org/Media/Series/2549#1 Denise Hildreth Jones: Reclaiming Your Heart – Introductory Session
Make a comment below to let us know you joined our study and also what encouraged you the most from this week’s lesson.

Grace and Peace to you,

Krisztina White
Women's Ministry Director

Don’t Throw Out Thanks-Giving With The Leftovers

12/1/2014

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.” (Psalm 100:4-5)

It occurs to me that I tend to spend time mustering up extra physical and emotional strength just to “get through” the Thanksgiving holiday as I anticipate traveling and spending time with family and friends while sharing a big meal together. It’s not that I’m not thankful for the opportunity, but the few days at the end of November I’ve been graciously given to rest and celebrate “a time to give thanks” can sometimes be treated as just an obstacle to overcome that gets in the way of what I really have on my mind….Christmas! Instead, however, the Thanksgiving holiday should be enjoyed as the prelude to one of the greatest times of the year…a celebration of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World. For without Him, His work of salvation, and the Good News of the Gospel, I would be hard-pressed to find much to be thankful for in my fallen, sinful state.

I have to admit, though, once December 1st hits the calendar, it’s as if I have thrown out Giving Thanks with my holiday leftovers. Why is that? Without warning, my anxiety goes up, I’m running around feverishly to get the house decorated for Christmas, to make my list and shop for gifts, to help my boys finish up their school semesters, and prepare for family to arrive to spend this infamous holiday with us. But somewhere in all that activity, my Giving Thanks is hardly heard by others and especially not by God. Unfortunately, what replaces thanks-giving is my complaining about all that has to be done, my whining about the cost of everything, and my agitation because there’s too much to do in too little time and too many people are in my way. Somehow, I don’t think that attitude was ever intended to be placed somewhere before Thanksgiving to somewhere after New Year’s. As a believer and follower of Jesus, there is always something to be thankful for, even when everything around me shouts at me to throw out my gratitude and doubt God’s goodness in the mist of the holiday drama.

What if each day in December began with praising God for who He is and giving thanks to Him for all He has already done for me through Jesus? What if that was how I prepared each day for the Christmas holiday season? What would my perspective look like? How would my attitude change? What would be my priorities? How would I treat others? Thanks-giving should naturally flow into Christmas, but it has to begin with a focus vertically on Jesus and the gift of His life, grace, and love so that we can share horizontally that same gift of Jesus’ life, grace, and love with others.

Maybe before you make your list of things to accomplish to be prepared for the Christmas holiday, begin with making a list of all that God has given you to be thankful for in order to prepare your heart to receive God’s grace and love through His Son, Jesus. If not, you may find that you throw out the Gift of Jesus and the Gospel with your Christmas leftovers. Without Jesus, there’s no one like Him who can sustain and carry you through the New Year. Be thankful to God, celebrate His Son – Jesus, and trust Him for your New Year.

“I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:17) Tamar Miller