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How to move from burned out to renewed energy

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When the soul lacks rest

White space and quiet.

Peace and tranquility.

These are the things I crave.

Our souls are living crushed and overwhelmed by busy schedules and information streams that never sleep.

We consume. We produce. We race from here to there. We wave our busy flag with pride, while inside our soul begs for slow.

God whispers. Do we hear? He speaks. Do we recognize His voice?

God says fast

Last weekend God whispered for me to rest from the constant stream of information and the hum of social media. He extended an invitation to fast from the noise of the world and come back to Him in the quiet. I responded with a quick yes. My soul is not meant to carry the weight of all information it receives via the internet.

When I take these fasts, I enter burned out and tired. I leave renewed and energized. I often wonder why I wait so long.

Running from fear and exhaustion

There’s a fascinating story in the Bible. 1 King 19. Elijah flees. He’s burned out. He’s scared.

He laid down and told God he’d had enough and wanted to die.

God answered by sending an angel to provide food and water. Elijah took it then lay down again and slept. Again the angel returned. He told Elijah the journey ahead was too much for him and gave him more food and water. Elijah received the strength he needed and continued 40 days on his journey. Then he came to a cave.

I relate much to Elijah through this story. At times I feel so on fire for the Lord and give and give and pour and pour. Then in exhaustion and fear, I want to run away.

I get burned out. Burned out in my callings, my ministries, my passions. I get burned out in my simple day to day, ordinary life too.

Where do we find our retreat?

I crave the cave.

All I want is to retreat to the safety of my cave.

The Lord came to Elijah and asked him a question. You know, God always knows the answer. God knows the truth and at times will ask us so we are forced to face the truth we are ignoring.

In verse 9 God asks Elijah, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

I love the intimacy God uses when He speaks. The sound of our own name can be a beautiful thing.

Verse 10 ‘He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

The Lord instructed Elijah to leave the cave and stand on the mountain. He tells Elijah the Lord is about to pass by.

God meets us in our hiding place

God wanted to pull him out of his dark hiding place.

God pulls us out of our darkness as well. He wants us to hear Him speaking.

I noticed something I never noticed before as I read this passage. Watch this.

’11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.’

I always envisioned this story with Elijah coming out of the cave first. But he didn’t. He waited until he recognized the voice of the Lord.

God speaks

God used the ordinary over the miraculous to speak. He does the same today. He can speak however and whenever He chooses. But do we hear Him?

Elijah recognized that gentle whisper and stepped out of his dark cave.

And when I retreat from the world and tuck into my personal cave, the Lord meets me too. He invites me out.

When Elijah recognized God’s whisper, God spoke. He asked the exact question He asked Elijah the first time.

‘Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”‘

Elijah answered the EXACT same way. So God asked the same question. Elijah gave the same answer.

Did you see that??? This struck me.

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

At this point, God gave Elijah specific instructions to go back the way he came. God told Elijah what to do and how to do it.

Fear fades. Strength returns.

Elijah left renewed. He followed God’s instructions.

He went from fearful and burned out, to renewed and strengthened. Not by the cave, but by an encounter with God.

What I need is more of God. What I need is Him alone. What I need is to recognize His voice and listen to His words.

I need less world, more Word.

Less world.

More Word.

When I break away from whatever is weighing down my soul, I receive refreshment from God. Often, He responds for me to go back the way I came, but He gives me Himself so I can take the journey back.

You know what I think? I think if we spent more time focused on the character and heart of God, we’d experience less fear, less anxiety, less worry, less burn out. Because in light of the awesomeness of who He is, all else shrinks.

What we focus on grows.

When I focus on my problems, they grow bigger. When I focus on my anxious heart, the anxiety triples in size. When I focus on my fear, I’m consumed by the darkness it lives in.

But when I focus on who God is, my heart rate slows. My breathing evens. My shoulders relax. I can be still because I remember just who He is.

Maybe you

  • are in need of a renewal of strength and energy.
  • are burned out craving a cave to hide in.
  • are trying to outrun your fear that won’t give up the chase.
  • feel you can’t hear God speak anymore.
  • are looking to hit a restart button.
  • just need to be renewed.

I have something I think will help. Let me be clear. God alone is all you need. His Word.

But sometimes we find we need something to nudge us a bit, remind us, or help us reconnect.

ebook devotional

If that sounds like you, I invite you to grab a copy of Illuminate. Illuminate is a 14 day devotion that will be a soothing balm to your soul. It is gentle and kind and will redirect your focus from your fear and worry onto your Creator. It will help you to remember how to maintain your focus on Jesus.

Illuminate is a mixture of devotions centered on the character of God and scripture readings and meditations. It’s available as either an audio devotional with pdf transcripts that arrives in your inbox once per day over a 14 day period. Or as an ebook download you can receive all at once. Your choice. One price. Yours forever.

I find myself going back to it at various seasons when I feel my distraction level and stress levels rising. It calms and quiets my soul. And I hope it will do the same for you.

It’s available on sale for 50% right now too! Grab a copy for yourself and a few friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does God even hear my prayers? Will this ever happen?

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Click to listen to audio
7 Minute listen

Does God hear my cry?

“Lord, how long must I keep praying this same thing?”

“Lord, do you hear me?”

“Lord, will this ever happen?”

“Lord, did I hear you wrong?”

Any of these questions sound familiar? Have you found yourself praying so long for something that you eventually stop praying for it?

Maybe you assume God is only good sometimes or to some people or in the right situations.

Where we focus matters

At some point we shift our focus off who God is, and with all intensity, focus on that thing we are praying. All our passion and focus directed at the cry of our heart.

This is the moment doubt is given a voice, fear takes a bold stand, and discouragement hops into the front seat.

A key verse for us to brand into our heart is found at the end of Isaiah 60:22.

“I am Yahweh; I will accomplish it quickly in its time.”

Friends, He isn’t slow to respond.

[Tweet “God is perfect, patient, and right on time.”]

God is perfect, patient, and right on time.

When the time is 100% perfect, He will act quickly.

God isn’t

  • ignoring us.
  • unkind or cruel.
  • bothered and too busy.

He will accomplish all things quickly in its time. He is perfect. He is Sovereign.

When doubt and fear creep in, we must remind ourselves to take our eyes off ourselves and desires and place them on who God is. This is the secret. This is the key to perfect peace.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Isaiah 26:3

When something begins to weigh heavily on my soul, I have to make a choice. Will I allow what the Lord has defeated to overwhelm me? Or will I choose to remember who He is?

But the Lord.

Sometimes when I read scripture, one or two small words leap out to me. I underline them and toss them around.

Isaiah 60:19 “….but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.”

But the Lord.

  • When discouragement tempts me to fall prey to its power, I can say, “but the Lord.”
  • When fear screams in tantrum, I can say, “but the Lord.”
  • When doubt whispers in the dark, I can say, “but the Lord.”

Friends, He is good always. Do you believe that with everything in your soul?

If I’m honest, I don’t always believe this to be true. I do in my head, but I don’t let it connect to my heart. I live in a way that conveys the opposite to be true. That God isn’t good always.

What the Bible doesn’t say

A popular misinterpreted passage of scripture tells us God won’t give us more than we can bear. This is not true. We live in a fallen, sin-filled world. Do you mean to tell me the mother who buries her child can bear the weight of that grief? So what happens when she is drowning in the darkest pit she’s ever known? Is she to believe she’s somehow supposed to bear that weight?

When people tell her God won’t give her more than she can handle, what will she begin to think about God?

He promises to be our strength when we are weak. We can’t bear what this world offers us. Only God can do that.

God didn’t say He’d not give us more than we could bear. No, this is what He said.

What the Bible Does Say

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

  • We will face more than we can handle.
  • But Jesus overcame it all.
  • So we must choose to remember “but God”.
  • We must remember His Word tells us He will act quickly in its time.
  • We must remember He is our Healer and our Comforter.
  • By His stripes we are healed.
  • One day He will wipe away every tear.

I’m a part of Community Bible Study. This year we are studying Isaiah. What a book. This is my 3rd time studying this book, and I still struggle through each passage. Today’s commentary is so good I had to share it with you.

“Jesus knew that we tend to give up when prayers are unfulfilled. But God will act on His own timetable, not ours. So we may need to talk with God repeatedly about the same issue. As we do, we get to know Him better. And as we know Him better, we begin to understand how He wants us to pray – “at all times in the Spirit, with…supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18)”

Community Bible Study, Isaiah Vol. 2 page 144.

Some practical help

I wrote a devotion to help us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. It’s so easy to focus on the problems that seem bigger than we know our God to be.

We find ourselves

  • overwhelmed
  • worried
  • and fearful

….because we can’t see a solution or a happy ending in sight. But we look at the wrong spot. We have to teach ourselves a new habit.

Habits are hard to break. I recently read a book The Power of Habits. It was pretty thought-provoking as I considered my thought habits. My worry habits. I bet you have a few as well.

The good news is the brain is pliable and is able to be retrained. We have to retrain our thoughts to focus on who God is rather than what we worry about.

This is why

ebook devotional

Illuminate will take you on a 14 day journey into a more intimate walk with God. It’s gentle and kind to your soul. One day at a time to reflect on His nature. When you see Him by the light of His Word, all the darkness you face will begin to fade.

If you haven’t purchased your copy yet, maybe today is a good day.

Maybe you have a friend you want to encourage? Send her a copy by purchasing and entering her email address.

One final thing

And before I forget, I’ve started a new Instagram account. I’d love if you’d follow along if you are already on IG. And tag a friend or many.

And one more thing, I don’t take for granted you spending your time here with me. In a world where so much pulls for our online attention, you spending this time here with me reflecting on God’s glory means a lot. Blessings to you!

 

 

Be Very Careful the Words You Speak – It’s Life and Death

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Power of Words

If we realized the power of our words and thoughts, we’d be much more careful in the choosing of them.

What we think and believe impacts how we live and the person we become. What we speak shapes our future.

I cringe when I hear adults speak of their future teens negatively. Statements such as, “I dread the rebellious teenage years.”

Who said they’d be rebellious?

Or “Well, I know one day my teen won’t want to be around me.”

Yeah? Says who?

Why would we say these things?

I desire to create an environment my kids want to be around. I want to love them well and enjoy them. We are in the teenage years now and this is by far my very favorite season. I speak this out to my teens, telling them how fun they are to be around, how much they make me laugh.

Why would we speak fear-driven thoughts? Why would we plant these seed thoughts in our children? They are listening and absorbing. They will absolutely rise to what’s expected of them.

Speak life.

Speak power and authority.

Speak destiny.

Speak God’s Word and promises.

At some point I noticed the trace of a trait in one of my sons I wanted him to notice and build on.

He is confident in who he is. He’s not easily persuaded and he’s ok not looking like the world around him. I wanted him to see how strong of a character trait this is.

Kids and teens are drowning in a lack of identity and a strive to fit in with the rest of their friends.

“I see in you such a strength. You really know who you are in Christ. And because of this, you don’t have to try to fit in with others or be tempted to take part in what they do because you know who you are.”

It was a passing comment honestly. I spoke it in truth, but it was a glimmer I want to glisten and shine over time.

Weeks later I overheard a conversation of his. He explained to someone that he isn’t persuaded to follow others because he knows who he is in Christ.

I stopped. I stood overwhelmed at the power my spoken words held in his thoughts and beliefs about who he is.

Pray

Lord, may we choose our words wisely. May we speak life into and over our kids, our families, and ourselves. May our words be seasoned with salt. May we reflect your love and your truth in everything we speak. May we cast out fear thoughts and lies spoken from the depths of darkness. May we walk in the light You’ve shown.

Words and Stories I’ll Never Forget

10 years ago I sat in a doctor’s office. He said something I’ll never forget. “In all my years as a doctor, I’ve learned something about fear. In many of my patients with cancer I’ve found their biggest fear in life was getting cancer.”

He went on to talk to me about fear. He wasn’t really talking about cancer. Nor am I. And I’m not making any kind of health statements at all. Please hear me on this.

I’m simply sharing a statement he made that impacted how I decided that day to think. The point he made is the power of our thoughts and our mind to impact our future.

If we fear something, often we actually live into that very fear. Again, please don’t misunderstand. I’m speaking about fear and the grip and influence it CAN have. I’m not at all saying that all of our sicknesses and diseases came because we thought them into being.

Fear Not

God has not given us a spirit of fear. Fear is straight from hell.

Years after this comment from my doctor, I listened to a Ted Talk on the power of our thoughts. He told a story of a patient told he was dying of terminal cancer. He was given 3 months to live. 3 months later he died. The autopsy revealed he had no cancer. He was told he was dying. He believed he was dying. He died in 3 months. This story has never left me.

Over the last year, God has brought my way more information, more books, more conversations, more sermons on the power of our minds than I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I don’t believe that is a coincidence.

Recently, one very dear to me confessed a deep fear of cancer in their future. They’ve never had a scare, but it surrounds us. Because years ago God brought people and conversations into my life on this very thing, I knew how to talk to this person. We began casting out fear knowing it’s not from God. We began praying God’s Word claiming a sound mind.

It’s Our Choice

I’m choosing to speak life, think life, live in God’s light.

Will bad things happen still? Yes. Will sickness and death happen despite our happy thoughts? Yes.

Am I saying we just think and talk happy and nothing bad happens? For sure, not. Not at all.

We live in a fallen world. Sickness, death, sadness will be all around us. One day every tear will be wiped away. That is our hope.

We can choose to speak words of life, hope, goodness, and love.

When we see the hint of godliness in our kids, let’s speak it out loud to them. When we see them encourage a friend to tell the truth rather than lie, speak that out to them. “You are a young man who walks in truth and honesty. I love that about you.”

When we see them wake up to their alarm on their own, we can say, “I love your initiative and self-discipline to wake up and handle your business on your own. I can’t wait to see how that serves you well in the future.”

When we see them walk away from a sibling argument, we can say, “I noticed you exercised self control over your tongue. Thank you for being a person who seeks peace.”

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Proverbs 18:21

Lord, equip us to use our tongues wisely. Guard our minds from believing lies or listening to the voice of fear, which is not your voice. Make us attentive to You. Speak life into us that we may be so filled by You that You flow out of us to all around us. Amen.

P.S.

Have you read Switch on Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf? It’s an excellent read I highly recommend. She combines the science of the brain with the Creator of our minds. It’s fascinating and unlike many books of its type, it’s not written over our abilities to process the information shared. She also has a fantastic podcast I love listening to. It’s short and impactful each episode.

P.S.S

If you are looking to experience God in fresh and intimate ways, I invite you to grab your copy of Illuminate today. It’s 14 days of devotions centered on who God says He is.

Illuminate will give you a practical way to learn to switch your focus and stop giving more attention to fear than to the One who says ‘fear not’.

If you are tired of living by fear, anxiety, and worry, Illuminate will be a sweet balm to your soul. It’s available in 2 formats: Ebook and Audio (with pdf download).

Here’s what some are saying:

ebook devotional

Get the ebook version here.

Get the audio devotional here.

 

My Thoughts on a New York Times article Raising Children Without the Concept of Sin

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“My religious fundamentalist childhood was built around the fear of sin. My daughters don’t even know the word.”

This is the sentence that made me open an article from a news source I never read.

‘As my 9-year-old daughter watched them pass, her forehead knitted, and then she looked up at me with solemn hazel eyes.

“Mama, what is sin?” she asked.

The merriment of the fair receded and I stared at her, my brain spinning with the magnitude of her question. By failing to teach my child the meaning of the word sin, had I somehow failed to give her a moral foundation?

Sin. That tiny word still makes me cringe with residual fear. Fear of being judged unworthy. Fear of the eternal torture of hell. Fear of my father’s belt.”‘

This is an excerpt from The New York Times article, Raising Children Without the Concept of Sin.

As I read the author’s words, I wanted to reach through the screen and pull her close, hug her, and whisper, “You are known and loved.”

Honestly, without love at the core of everything, we can become focused more on issues than people. If I’m honest, I can lose sight of the people behind the issues they stand upon. We are surrounded by broken hearts in need of truth wrapped in love.

Our life experiences become a filter through which we see life. Had I been raised in the same environment described in this article, I can’t say I wouldn’t feel the same way about God and sin.

“God was a megaphone bleating in my head: “You’re bad, you’re bad, you’re bad!” I had recurring nightmares of malevolent winds tornado-ing through my bedroom — a metaphor, I now realize, for an invisible and vindictive god.”

Note the little ‘g’ use for God.

Oh, the deception of the enemy on this precious child of God. Raised in a home that didn’t know God yet used Him as a form of fear and punishment. And what’s a child to do?

Our natural inclination is to project our earthly father onto our Heavenly Father.

No matter how good or heinous our earthly father is, that’s not God. One man in all humanity is a picture of God. Jesus.

Perfect, spotless, righteous, kind, just, loving, tender, merciful. He alone is the only one who can give us a picture of the Father.

“At 17, after being caught “fornicating” with my high school boyfriend, I was sent to a Christian reform school where children were beaten in the name of God. It was there that I learned that religion has nothing to do with goodness and there’s a strong link between zealotry and hypocrisy.”

I agree with her statement. Religion has nothing to do with goodness. The “religious” killed Jesus. Christianity is not a religion. It’s a relationship.

“I lost my faith by fits and starts.”

“Religious brainwashing imposed from infancy is hard to shake, and I continued to confuse “Christian” with “trustworthy” and “moral.”

Again I agree, religious brainwashing is hard to shake. So much evil has been birthed in the name of religion.

Because someone proclaims to be a christian doesn’t make it so. At the same time, I have done and said things that misrepresent Christianity.

“When my husband and I contemplated having children, I wondered how I’d teach them right from wrong without a church. I toyed with the idea of dropping them off at a Sunday school, where they could ingest bite-sized chunks of morality in catchy songs and coloring books. But my husband — Catholic by culture, atheist by intellect — wanted nothing to do with organized religion.”

Implanted deep in the heart of every human is a hunger and thirst for truth, goodness, and love. We were all created in the image of God with a heart designed to love Him and long for Him. That’s why we spend our lives searching for meaning and significance. When we finally encounter the God of the universe, we find our place. Right in His arms, the ones outstretched toward us since the beginning of time.

“As a girl, my focus was on gaining admittance to heaven. Now I believe that this life is the only life we’ll know; this planet, our only existence. I am no longer motivated by fear of an unproven hell, but by real-world concerns about injustice and inequality.”

God, too, is concerned with real-world concerns and injustice. So much so that He sent His only Son to the cross on our behalf. To right the wrongs and defeat evil and death once and for all.

You know, I was once a girl focused on working my way to heaven too. I worked my entire life to be good enough. That was an impossible feat. At various points I’d throw my hands up and say, “It’s just too hard.” And I’d go my own way. At 23 I had an encounter with God. A switch flipped in my brain shining light on the darkness that surrounded my false beliefs of living a perfectly holy life to work my way to God.

I remember saying, “That’s it, God! I get it now. It IS impossible for me to be good enough to make my way to heaven. That’s why you sent Jesus to die in my place.” A lifetime of the knowledge right before my very eyes that I never understood.

It was a word I’d never understood, used in church circles by “good” people. Grace. What in the world did it mean? I thought I knew, but until that light bulb moment, that word lived in the dark of my understanding.

This life isn’t the only life we’ll know. If so, what would be the point of it all? If it simply just ends and goes away. Why? There must be more. There is more.

The author refers to an unproven hell, choosing instead to place her faith in her unproven belief that this life is all we’ll know. Both beliefs require a level of faith. She didn’t lose her faith. She simply took her once faith in a God and placed it her own ideas and thoughts.

But I don’t fault her. The one I fault -Satan. The one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The one who is out fighting for souls. To blind the people into believing heaven and hell isn’t real is to win them to the darkness. A forever eternity void of all hope.

“I gazed into Davia’s upturned face and felt a rush of love and happiness. I had raised her without sin.”

None of us are born without a knowledge of sin in our souls. We all know. Deep down we know. While her daughter might not know the term and definition, inside she knows.

“An explanation of sin could wait.”

It was the closing sentence that caught my breath. “An explanation of sin could wait.” It can’t wait. We aren’t promised our next breath. We don’t know the time or day that will be our last moment on this earth. And when we depart, life continues after. The choice is ours. Will we choose heaven or hell? The choosing happens now in this life. Once we depart this life, it’s too late.

This New York Times article reflects the real beliefs of thousands and thousands of people. Would you join me today in praying for the ones who have believed the enemy’s lies? Let’s ask God to intersect our lives with these people who need to hear that God is not an invisible, vindictive God. Let’s wrap them in love and pour into them out of the overflow He’s poured into us.

Time is fleeting.

 

Ready to go deeper with God? To push back the dark? Illuminate is a 14 day devotion to help you focus on who God is as revealed by His Word. It’s the only way to counter the lies of this world- to know Him, His voice, His character. He loves you like crazy.

 

 

How you can truly rest

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“At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.”

Mark 15:33

It was gruesome, bloody, unfair. He was rejected by His own.

His silence speaks.

His eyes find mine. Right now. In this moment.

He wasn’t who they expected. It wasn’t how they imagined a Messiah. He didn’t fit their narrative.

They had ideas of the kind of king they wanted. It wasn’t Jesus.

Yet, He was and is I Am. And this infuriated the religious leaders.

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

John 18:4-6

The ones who claimed to know God didn’t know God at all.

Today, I remember. I remember the sacrifice He made.

What God does flows from who He is.

The darkness couldn’t stay because the Light had come. God illuminated the darkness then and He illuminates today.

When I remember who God is, it changes how I see what He does.

May we begin the art of remembering who He really is. The world is working overtime to override what we know. So we make a choice to invest in remembrance.

Today, I remember the sacrifice He made because God is love. Offering His only Son flowed out of who He is. He is love. He is just. He is holy.

Remembering is changing me. It takes my eyes drawn into myself and points them up to Him. As I stand in awe of who He is, all my fears fade away, anxieties dissolve, insecurities vanish.

He is infinitely more than I know. I want to know Him more.

I’m hungry and thirsty.

And I know I’m not alone. I know there are some of you just like me. You desire to know Him deeper. You want more of Him.

So I’ve created a tool to help us learn to remember. It’s a daily practice of refocusing back on God. To His Word. I share stories and His Word. We reflect and contemplate. We pray. We seek. He changes us. He draws us close as we draw near to Him.

He’s ready to do a new thing in you. Will you allow Him?

Illuminate – Seeing God by the Light of His Word is a 14 day experience. It’s audio with transcript, slipped quietly into your inbox once a day for 14 days. It’s yours to keep, never expires. You can listen over and over again.

I’ve included a sample from Day 6 – I Am. I pray it blesses you.

You can purchase here.

For more information, click here.

 

It’s Time To Take Back Ground – Are You With Me?

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“What if what we need….is to go back to remembering who God is?”

The weight of that question laid over us like the blankets cocooning us against the howling Lake Michigan wind.

Huddled like teens away at camp, the questions from deep within bounced back and forth between us.

With tenderness we held the holiness of the ponderings leading us to the question we believe was God-breathed.

Who is God? Really? Not the version the world creates. Not who others tell us He is. But who He is as revealed by Him!

We know God. We walk with Him. But He is infinite and we forget. Or worse, we harbor lies deep in our souls that we don’t even know are there. Lies like God isn’t good all the time. Or I have to take care of myself because God might fail me. Or I need to prove myself because I have to earn God’s love.

There are so many lies that bury themselves inside our hearts without us even realizing it. That is until we find ourselves in a situation that requires complete and total trust in God. And we have to go back to remembering who He is.

When we focus there, everything begins to change.

What if the answer to our biggest challenges in life is found by one simple practice or discipline? Actually, I now believe it is.

Lord, You light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.

With You I can attack a barrier,
and with my God I can leap over a wall.

Psalm 18:28-29, HCSB

 

You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
    my God turns my darkness into light.
 With your help I can advance against a troop;
    with my God I can scale a wall.

Psalm 18:28-28, NIV

Friend, it’s time to take a stand. Time to take back ground the enemy has taken from you. No longer will you allow him to bully you. No longer will he use fear tactics, depression, anxiety, or diagnosis. No longer will he use your pain as a weapon against you. No longer will he use your illness against you. No longer will he use your insecurity.

Nope. He’s done. You know why? Because God is bigger.

It’s a simple truth we know but forget to live into. For too long we’ve allowed the devil to speak too loudly. Why do we listen to him? Have we forgotten he’s a liar?

The enemy tells us God’s not good.

God is good.

The enemy tells us God won’t catch us when we fall.

God tells us He will never leave or forsake us.

The enemy tells us to protect our hearts because no one is looking out for us.

God tells us He bottles up our tears.

The enemy tells us no one sees or understands.

God tells us He’s numbered the hairs on our head. And the stars he calls by name. Yeah, He sees alright.

Take that satan, you liar!

God has been showing me for a year it’s time to go on the offense.

Too often we wait to start fighting when the weight of the world feels it may crush us.

So God woke me early one morning, only a few short weeks after I sat huddled like a teenager with my friend at a writer’s retreat. He woke me with His Presence and His Words. His Holy Spirit began to pour out over me, and I experienced a time with Him like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. And now I finally get to share it all with you.

I have a few questions for you:

  • Do you find yourself facing problems, grief, difficult people or situations and feel it will swallow you right up?
  • Do you find yourself walking under the whispers of insecurity, doubt, guilt, shame, or fear? (You aren’t alone)
  • Do you feel distant from God?
  • Do you wonder how others hear from God and you don’t?
  • Do you simply need a heart renewal and revival?
  • Are you hungry for that which sustains?

You are not alone. It’s time to illuminate the darkness.

I have written and created a devotion just for you.

Illuminate – Seeing God by the Light of His Word is available for purchase here.

Here’s a post with all the questions you might have.

Or you can visit here for a video trailer and reviews.

 

 

 

 

 

Are you ready for a breakthrough & ready to push back the dark? It’s time to illuminate!

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audio devotional

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE!

CLICK THE PICTURE OR HERE TO PURCHASE

What is it?

  • A 14 day, focused devotional experience centered on the character and heart of God.
  • It’s audio. Because life is busy and the stack of books piling up on your nightstand are reminding you of this fact. You commute to work, carpool kids, clean the house, and exercise. All these aspects of life that make it hard to sit down and quietly turn the page now will not hold you back. Listen while you walk and work. Listen while you drive and clean. (Each day arrives with a full pdf transcript as well.)

Who is it for?

  • It’s for the christian who wants to experience God in a more intimate way.
  • It’s for the person who is tired of seeing fears, anxieties, and problems as bigger than our God.
  • It’s for the person who can’t find the time for traditional devotionals.
  • It’s for the person who desperately needs a revival of the heart, a spiritual awakening from slumber, monotony, and staleness.
  • It’s for the person who feels overwhelmed by life, racing to keep up with the pack, and desperate to find a moment of rest and time to breathe again in order to see God clearly at work.
  • It’s for the person who keeps saying, “Once I get here (or do this) then I can rest.” Yet, you find it’s a race with no end.
  • It’s for the person with an insatiable hunger and thirst for the things of God. You can’t get enough of Him. You are ready for more and you know He’s infinitely more than you can fathom. So you have open palms and surrendered arms asking Him to bring more of Him to you.

Why do you need it?

  • Because we all need to be reminded to remember.
  • Because we want to begin a new discipline that is an art. The art and discipline of remembrance- who God is as revealed in His Word.
  • Because you need a perspective shift. A tool to teach you to take your eyes off your problems and place them onto the One Who quiets the wind and the waves.
  • Because writing it changed my life, and I want the same for you.

How does it work?

  1. Click the picture on this post or visit www.renee-robinson.com/shop and select the Illuminate icon.
  2. Add Illuminate to your cart and follow the steps through checkout. Be sure to enter the email you want to receive the devotion to.
  3. After checking out, you will receive an email receipt.
  4. Within one hour of checking out you will receive your Day 1 email. In this email you will receive the audio link as well as the transcript link.
  5. To listen to the audio, simply click where it prompts you and the player will begin playing. Now sit back and let me gently and slowly read to you while soft music plays in the background.
  6. For the next 13 days, you will receive one email a day, slipped quietly into your inbox. Each day is approximately 10 minutes or less.

FAQ:

  • I’m not good with technology. Will this be difficult?
    • This is a simple to use process. You need a credit card and email address. Within approximately an hour of ordering, you will receive the email for Day 1. Each day following, you will receive the next day in your inbox.
  • How do I listen?
    • You can listen through your phone, computer, or ipad. You can listen through speakers or headphones.
  • How long does it take for the Day 1 email to arrive?
    • It arrives within the first hour of purchase. However, it frequently lands in junk, spam, or promotions. Be sure to check there if it doesn’t arrive to your inbox after purchase. Add Renee Robinson to your address book.
  • What if I like reading better than listening?
    • I had you in mind too, my friend! Each day has a full pdf transcript.
  • Can I buy multiple copies as gifts?
    • Yes, and I hope you do! However, you will need to purchase each copy in a separate transaction. Be sure to to enter the email address for the gift recipient. Quickly after purchasing, send a note letting them know what is coming.
  • I didn’t receive my Day 1 email?
    • Please check your spam, junk, and promotions folders. Some email accounts have multiple junk folders. Also be sure to mark the email as not spam/junk and add Renee Robinson to your address list to help route your emails properly.
  • Will I have forever access to this devotion?
    • Yes, it doesn’t expire. It is yours to keep.
  • Why does it come in 14 emails instead of all in one download?
    • Great question! The answer is simply that I want you to walk slowly with God through this journey. The truths and reminders He will reveal need to be sipped on and soaked in. I’m afraid if I gave it to you all at once, you would attempt to devour it. Slowly digest, my friend.
  • Is it a Bible Study?
    • No, it’s a daily devotional. However, every other day offers scripture meditations and prayers. At the end of these days, I’ve offered some questions for you to ponder if you would like to go deeper with God.
  • Can I get a refund if I don’t like it?
    • I’m confident you will love Illuminate. However, in the event you don’t, I’m happy to offer you a full refund within 14 days of purchase. Simply email me at renee@renee-robinson.com.
  • I have questions you didn’t answer.
    • Email me at renee@renee-robinson.com
  • I absolutely LOVE illuminate and want to help you spread the word. Do you offer an affiliate program?
    • At this time I don’t offer an affiliate program. I’m thrilled you want to spread the word. Honestly, the best thing you could do is share with everyone you know. Share on social media, email your friends. Stop by my Instagram or Pinterest pages and grab my graphics and share your heart out!  Use #illuminatedevotion. Thank you and I love you!
  • I’m not a woman. Is this for me too?
    • The majority of my readers are women, and illuminate is certainly targeted to women. However, I’ve had several men tell me they loved it! So there ya go!
    • I’ve also had families tell me using it as a family devotion has blessed their family. While I never envisioned that, the Spirit is moving, and your older children may love it as well!
  • I’m still not ready to order. Can you give me more information?