Freedom Session – Page 3

Freedom Friday – On Listening to Gossip

January 16, 2016 by Patti 27 Comments

I believe the single most important thing I can do to keep myself in the “right” place with God is daily Bible reading and journaling. I say daily because that’s my goal, though to be completely honest there are times that I skip this practice for a day, two days, even a week at a time. It is in the skipping that I realize it’s importance as everything goes awry without the daily infusion of God’s Word into my life and my reflection upon it. God speaks to me through His Word.

Welcome to FREEDOM FRIDAY – A devotional, emotional, spiritual and sometimes hysterical series that I will be sharing on occasional Fridays, in addition to my regular Old Things New posts. Why? Because though once bound in chains Christ has set me free – FREE to live, to love, to dance, to sing, to be who God created me to be!

Proverbs 17 was on my reading schedule this past week. Before reading I ~~always~~ usually ask God to highlight any particular verse that He wants to speak through that day. This day it was Proverbs 17:4. Here is how it reads in The Voice Bible.

Wrongdoers perk up when listening to gossip. Click To Tweet

I’d never heard this verse worded quite this way before so I checked out a few other versions. Most simply say that wrongdoers “listen” to gossip (I love how switching up the version of the Bible I read from time to time brings fresh new perspective).

I don’t think of myself as a gossip – anymore – though it used to be that I could add my input with the best of them! I’m NOT Perfect Patti but God has graced me with enough growth that I can usually keep my mouth shut when I shouldn’t speak – at least when it comes to gossip! When it comes to saying silly things, NOT so easy!

After reading this verse I decided to write down a few questions to ask myself:

Do my ears “perk up” at gossip?
Do I become more attentive or do I move away from the conversation?
Does it depend on who the conversation is about?
What if it is about someone who has hurt me or someone I love?
What if it is about someone who always seems to come out on top?
What if it is about someone who isn’t on the “same side” as I’m on?
Do I ever have a sense of vindication or self-satisfaction when I hear an evil word about another person?
Is any of this okay, as long as I don’t say a word of gossip out loud myself?

I believe that to be a listener to gossip can be just as bad as being the gossiper.

By listening without speaking we can appear to be in agreement.
By listening we may believe information about another person that is untrue.
By listening, our view of another person can be tainted.
Finally – if our ears perk up at gossip there may be something inside ourselves that we need to deal with – unforgiveness, judgement, ill will, hatred, insecurity, etc.

Having said all this, let me tell you that sometimes I get hurt and feel like verbally bashing the one who hurt me. I have people who say unkind things about me and to me (when you put yourself out there on a blog that’s going to happen).

When I’m hurt I try to talk to God before running to find someone to share with. Sometimes we need human “one-anothers” also, as the Bible tells us to encourage one another and stir up one another to brotherly love. I have my husband and a couple of trusted friends that have heard my woes from time-to-time and have helped me to see things through God’s eyes. Even so, it is important that I be careful and test my sharing in prayer. God is faithful to show me if I am gossiping (talking with the intent of bringing harm to another) or sharing to receive feedback and insight into a situation.

Haha! That makes me think of something funny I heard from a woman with regard to talking about her husband, “I'm not gossiping, I'm just reporting! Click To Tweet”

Maybe some of you can relate the words I’ve written and need to spend some time asking God if you’ve been an active participant in gossip even if you’ve been a silent participant.

Prayer: Search me oh Lord, and show me if there is any wicked way in me. Cleanse me from anything within me that would cause me to “perk up” at a word of gossip. Give me strength to stand strong against the temptation to sin, even in the listening, and give me words of grace to walk away from situations that compromise my relationship with You and with others. Amen.

Note: The Voice Bible is an actual translation, not a paraphrase, but it is unique in that it was written by esteemed Bible scholars in collaboration with pastors, writers, musicians, poets, and other artists. The goal of this translation was to help bring to believers joy and wonder at God’s revelation. If you are interested in trying a different version for your daily Bible reading I’ve added the link below.

The Voice Bible, Step Into the Story of Scripture

In my next Freedom Friday post I’ll be sharing a frightening vision that a dear and godly friend had, regarding those things we hang onto and how they cloud our relationship with God. It was important to her life personally and I sense that it is an important message for all of us to hear.

Until then, blessings to you dear readers,

Photographs taken in Tybee Island, GA

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

Sunday:

TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, NiftyThriftyThings, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, Sunday Stillness

Monday:

IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, ModVintageLife, TheDedicatedHouse, HuckleberryLove, CarrieThisHome, Dwellings, ProjectInspired

InspireMeMonday, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, Making Your Home Sing Mondays, The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking

Tuesday:

HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, Elizabeth&Co, CoastalCharm, CozyLittleHouse, NaptimeCreations, CedarHillFarmhouse, KatheWithAnE,
VMG206, TuesdaysAtOurHome,

TwirlAndTakeABow, TheWinthropChronicles,

Dream.Create.Inspire.Link, MeCoffeeAndJesus,Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky,Time Warp Wife,Solo Deo Gloria Sisterhood,Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story

Wednesday:

SavvySouthernStyle, IvyAndElephants,

TheBlissfulBee, Posed Perfection, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, A Little R & R, Whole Hearted Home, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Women with Intention, Coffee for Your Heart

Thursday:

ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife, FromMyFrontPorchToYours, ADelightsomeLife, AKAWeekendRetreat,

KatherinesCorner, PrettyPreppyParty, YourTurnToShine, Serving Joyfully/Thriving Thursdays, The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop, I Choose Joy, Live Free Thursday, Thought Provoking Thursday

Friday:

FrenchCountryCottage, MissMustardSeed, ThirtyHandmadeDays, CommonGround, TheShabbyNest, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme, TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday,

DIYVintageChic, ShabbyliciousFriday, TheCreativeCollection, Christian Mommy Blogger Fellowship Fridays, Blessing Counters,Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays,Faith & Fellowship Bloghop, Grace & Truth Linkup, Grace&TruthSharingRedemption’sStories, Dance With Jesus, The Weekend Brew

Saturday:

FunkyJunkInteriors,

OneMoreTimeEvents, SaturdaySparks,
TheInspirationGallery, Still Saturday, The Weekend Brew, Recommendation Saturday, Make My Saturday Sweet

Freedom Friday – On Forgiving Others

July 31, 2015 by Patti 21 Comments

“You will never be more like Jesus than when you forgive.” (Pastor Ken Dyck – Freedom Session International)

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“I will never forgive her for what she did to me!”

“I’ll forgive him but I’m never going to forget how much he hurt me . . . and I’ll never let him forget it either!”

“She destroyed my life! How can you ask me to forgive her?”

We’ve all heard statements like these before, maybe even uttered them ourselves, but the truth of the matter is that God commands us to forgive others. It isn’t an option. In fact, it is a prerequisite to receiving His forgiveness ourselves.

Forgiveness is required by God and it is His design to bring us into freedom! Click To Tweet

Matt. 6:14-15 If you forgive people when they sin against you, then your Father will forgive you when you sin against Him and when you sin against your neighbor. But if you do not forgive your neighbor’s sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (The Voice)

How do you write a short post about forgiveness? It is so complicated when there are levels of wounding in our lives. It is much easier to forgive my husband for forgetting to pick up my bar of Ghirardelli Sea Salt Soiree at the grocery store than it is to forgive someone who caused great emotional damage in my life.

This post is longer than usual and I won’t apologize for that because I really want you to get this! I see too many Christ followers living in bondage to unforgiveness and my deep desire is to see all set free to live life to the fullest! This message of hope and healing is pulled from the best of what I’ve learned through Freedom Session, my own studies on forgiveness, and from sitting under great Pastors!

So grab a beverage, get comfy, and let’s get started.

In the blog post entitled When You’re Not Enough, I talked about some of the steps I’ve taken to overcoming feelings of great inadequacy in my own life. One of the most dramatic breakthroughs I’ve had was my experience of self-forgiveness, which I shared in Forgiving Yourself. Today I want to talk about Forgiving Others.

Forgiveness is really the KEY to freedom. That’s why it is so important that we forgive those who’ve harmed us and that’s why God commands us to do so. When we refuse to forgive, we allow our enemy the devil to have a foothold in our lives (Foothold: a secure position from which further progress may be made). When we choose to forgive, Satan’s power is broken and we open the door for God to work fully in our lives.

So let’s talk about keys. We all know that a key is used to open locks. Living our lives with unforgiveness toward others causes us to be imprisoned behind a locked door. A prison filled with bitterness, anger, and resentment.

Believe me, I’m speaking from personal experience here. When I lived in my own prison of unforgiveness, each time a hurtful memory arose I’d rehash it, reliving the pain. The pain became anger which I felt quite justified in having. Sometimes I’d even bring my husband into the rehashing of the memory and get him to agree with me about how horribly I’d been treated. My poor hubby heard over and over about those who had wounded me, and since some of the same people had wounded him too, we gave some serious time to reliving our tales of woe. Yuck! To be honest, it felt good for awhile, with the release of pent up emotion, but the feelings resurfaced again and again until I chose forgiveness.

Here’s the TRUTH:

Every time we choose to dwell in unforgiveness another LOCK is placed on the jail cell of our own making.

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Now you may question why I would call unforgiveness a jail of your own making when the actions of another person are what caused the pain you feel. While it’s true that the pain was caused by someone else, continuing to live in the pain through unforgiveness is a choice. You hold the key of forgiveness in your hand and you make the choice to use or not to use that key.

When we live in a prison of unforgiveness we live with the ongoing personal effects of being hurt. Those hurts may cause us to feel like we aren’t enough or that we are unworthy. We may feel great rage at others, or even at ourselves for allowing ourselves to be hurt by another. I may feel that nothing good ever comes to me and that God cares about what happens to other people but He must not care about me.

It is a miserable and toxic environment that keeps our emotions in turmoil, often leading to mental disease, physical ailments, even death. In order to survive the pain we may try to mask it through drugs and alcohol, cutting, pornography, or more acceptable behaviors such as perfectionism, achievement, workaholism, or being a super worker at church!

Our methods of coping with pain may indeed seem like positive actions but they are still only a mask for the pain.

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The sad thing is, the person who hurt you may not even know that they hurt you, may not remember that they hurt you, or they may not remember YOU at all! But here you are, living with the consequences of their sin. My husband, master of witty phrases, says that, “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

On the other hand:

Forgiveness breaks the chains that have bound us to the ones who have hurt us!

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So how do we forgive? Pastor Ken Dyck, writer and founder of Freedom Session International states that, “True forgiveness is always motivated by compassion.” Matthew 18:21-35 tells the story of the unmerciful servant who was forgiven by his master but refused to forgive one who owed him a debt. Verse 35 sums up the story by saying that forgiveness must come from the very depths of our hearts!

How do we feel compassion for those who’ve hurt us? That kind of compassion can only come from God and from having come to a place of realizing how much my own sin cost Father God and His son Jesus. Hopefully you’ve come to a place of agreeing with God that you are a sinner and you’ve accepted Him as your Savior, but have you ever experienced deep sorrow over the pain your actions caused Him? I’m not saying you need to go back into an attitude of shame and condemnation (I talked about how wrong that is in my last FF post). What I’m saying here is that coming to a heartfelt understanding of how great His mercy was to save you will help you to have a heart for forgiving others.

Things to think about regarding forgiveness:

We must come into agreement with God that UNforgiveness is WRONG.
Understand that forgiveness is required even if the person who harmed you is not sorry.
Know that forgiveness is a choice – because you won’t feel like doing it.
Understand that forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting. God has the ability to forget but we don’t. Pastor Ken Dyck states that, “Sadness, not bitterness, is the appropriate emotion to recall, in my memory, of the painful things that have happened to me.”
Complete forgiveness includes releasing our “judgments” against others. Ex. “I’ve forgiven Sally but she will always be a liar.” This is in effect holding Sally captive by our judgment about who she is rather than seeing her as God does.
Stop having negative expectations of others or expecting them to do wrong.
Forgive even if the person who wronged you hasn’t asked for forgiveness. Christ’s example to those who crucified him was to say, “Father forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.”
Don’t carry expectations that the person you’ve forgiven will come to you and make things right.
Stop the “instant replay” of the incident, or the sin against you. Pastor Roy Geesey of Outreach Church says, “You can spend your whole life dwelling on what’s been done to you or choose to dwell on the ONE thing that was done for you.”. So take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ – II Cor. 10:5, and choose to dwell on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, excellent or praiseworthy – Phil. 4:8
Determine in your heart that Christ in you is stronger than your memory.
Ask God to give you His view of the people who harmed you, to see them the way He sees them. It is likely that their sin against you is a result of their own brokenness.
Ask God to work in your heart, releasing the pain you’ve held onto and letting Him fill you with more of Him. “The deeper you’ve been wounded the more freedom you will experience when you begin to forgive.” (Pastor Ken Dyck)
It takes time, but His love will replace bitterness and pain and His Spirit will change your way of thinking. As the memories and the feelings arise again to haunt you, remember that it is the enemies goal to keep you and me in a prison of unforgiveness. By choosing forgiveness we choose freedom!
“Yeah . . . but . . .” Yeah but nothing! We need to stop trying to justify our perceived right to be offended. Jesus didn’t give us that right. It only keeps us in a place of fear, bitterness and pain and from living in the the fullness of God!
As we walk in intimacy with Jesus, taking on Christ’s nature, forgiveness becomes easier, especially in light of all He has done for you and ME!

*PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS:

Lord, I forgive…_____________(name the person)

for…______________________(describe the offense)

which made me feel…______________(verbalize painful feelings)

name and describe everything the person did to you that hurt you. Tell God how much it hurt and what you were longing for…
Pray the exact same prayer for each offense you feel that person committed against you.

Then, continue with a prayer such as…

But now, I choose to forgive_______________and release him/her into Your care/accountability. I choose to bear the consequences of their sin against me without bitterness, knowing that You already paid for it on the cross.

Please forgive me for how I’ve sought to protect my heart from being hurt again. I acknowledge that You alone are the protector of my heart & I choose to trust You.

Fill this area in my life with Your Holy Spirit and heal this wound.

Thank You for freeing me from the poison of bitterness.

I relinquish my perceived right to seek revenge or blame this person for any dysfunction or present pain in life as I take responsibility for my own life choices. They owe me nothing! I ask You to heal my damaged emotions from this memory.

I now ask You to bless this person and to pour Your love into my heart for this person & I commit myself to follow You in any steps of reconciliation You ask me to take.

Note: Stay with each person until all the offenses have been dealt with. Stay with that person until you’ve released all your anger and bitterness. You may need to forgive one person for many events.

Offer a prayer of praise to God for the freedom you will experience and practice forgiveness as a lifestyle to maintain your freedom.

Question: Was God’s name on your list of those to forgive?
Hmmm . . . maybe that’s another post, for another day.

FINAL NOTE: I haven’t discussed those who may still be “dangerous” to you or those who are toxic in your life. That is a whole different topic. Joyce Meyer shares in her testimony how she forgave her father for repeated sexual abuse that happened while she was a child. She even invited him into her home to live when he became ill. THAT is amazing, and THAT is what ultimate forgiveness looks like! It takes much growth in forgiveness to do something like that, but what an amazing testimony she has to share of the power of God to heal and set us free when we choose to forgive.

Dear readers, if you are living in unforgiveness, please consider how you’re harming yourselves! As I write these Freedom Friday posts I always ask God to pour His heart into the words I say. He is faithful and He always does. So if you’re questioning whether or not God cares about you, you can believe that these words, written from my heart, are also from God’s heart to yours.

Blessings,

All photos were taken in Alaska by the incredibly talented Mr. Old Things New.

I have been know to link to the following Inspirational Parties:

Mondays Making Your Home Sing Mondays The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings A Proverbs 31 Wife Darling Downs Diaries The Art of Homemaking Project Inspired

Tuesdays MeCoffeeAndJesus Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky Teaching What is Good Time Warp Wife Solo Deo Gloria Sisterhood More of Him Testimony Tuesday Cheerleaders of Faith Tell His Story Titus2Tuesday

Wednesdays A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Wednesday Prayer Girls Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays A Little R & R Whole Hearted Home So Much at Home Mom’s Morning Coffee Women with Intention Coffee for Your Heart Capture Your Journey
Thursdays Serving Joyfully/Thriving Thursdays The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop I Choose Joy Live Free Thursday Thought Provoking Thursday Imparting Grace
Fridays A Look at the Book Christian Mommy Blogger Fellowship Fridays Blessing Counters Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays Faith & Fellowship Bloghop Grace & Truth Linkup Grace&TruthSharingRedemption’sStories Dance With Jesus The Weekend Brew
Saturdays Still Saturday The Weekend Brew Saturday Soiree Recommendation Saturday Make My Saturday Sweet
Sundays Spiritual Sundays Sunday Stillness

Freedom Friday – On Forgiving Yourself

July 10, 2015 by Patti 30 Comments

It had been a rough Saturday night at our house and on Sunday morning a frazzled, someone-help-me-with-my-wife hubby, called in the troops at church. The reconnaissance team, the wearers of spiritual armor, the warriors in prayer.

This was a season of change in our lives, coming on the heals of some rough, REALLY ROUGH, spots in our marriage. We had just moved to a new home, in a new community, with new jobs for both of us, and a newly emptied family nest . . . It took an upending of life as I knew it to bring my deeply buried pain to the surface.

. . . it took an upending of life as I knew it to bring my deeply buried pain to the surface.

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In my last FF post, When You’re Not Enough, I shared with you steps I’ve taken to overcome my feelings of not measuring up to the unrealistic standards I’d set for myself of what it is to be “enough”. One of those steps was to confess past sin and believe that the shame, guilt and condemnation I carried no longer had power or authority over me.

I’ve learned that this is easier said than done for many. Have you ever spoken these words?

“I will never forgive myself for . . .”

“I still live with the guilt of . . .”

“I have so many regrets.”

“If only I had . . . “

Are you continually looking back, not living in the present, not moving forward into new life given by Jesus?

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Working through the pain in my life wasn’t an overnight process. Coming to a place of healing took time and, even now, I have occasional setbacks, little twinges, but nothing like the CRAZY we had to go through during those initial months of prayer ministry and counseling.

It was eleven years ago that we sat in a room after church with three friends who cared enough to give up their own plans to stay and spend the afternoon with me. . . I figure they were either moved by my husband’s desperation or they saw the depth of pain in my eyes which I could no longer hide. . .

After hearing about my current pain we talked some about my past (sometimes you do have to start at the very beginning). After talking for awhile they asked me some questions about forgiveness:

Had I forgiven all those who had harmed me? Had I asked God to forgive me for harboring resentment against them?

Then, from across the room, “Have you forgiven yourself?”

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What? Forgiven myself? Really? I’d never heard of self-forgiveness.

After a little explanation we went to prayer. The leader of this prayer team sat down with me, face-to-face, knee-to-knee, praying. His wife stood behind me agreeing in silent prayer.

This is where it gets weird. Freaky for others to hear about but especially freaky for me . . . the one who was there being prayed for.

As I repeated the words to a prayer of self-forgiveness, deep feelings of agitation began to rise up in me. When I tried to speak words of forgiveness toward myself I had trouble choking the words past the hard knot in my throat. My breathing became labored. I wanted to escape and, in fact, my physical body began to rise right up out of that chair. It wasn’t something I was making happen, my body seemed to have a will of it’s own. The wife placed her hands gently upon my shoulders and commanded my body to be still.

I settled back in the chair, the feeling within me stilled. I spoke out boldly then, finishing my prayer of self-forgiveness and thanking God for the new thing He had done in my life that day.

In that moment it felt like a heavy weight was lifted and glorious peace poured down on me.

This was only the beginning of the process of healing that was to take place in my life over the next several months, but this step was a HUGE and very memorable part of the process.

Maybe you’re like me and so many others and you don’t feel like you can forgive yourself. Maybe you feel like you’ve sinned more than those around you or that the magnitude of your sin is greater. Believe me, I know and understand what you’re feeling.

So LISTEN to this . . .

God our Father gave His only Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins. His blood was shed to cover all our sin . . . no matter how great . . . past, present, and future . . . PERIOD!

It was extravagant, this gift of the Father to me and to you.

So how dare we throw our sin in the face of Father God and say that the blood of His Son was not enough? How dare we presume to think that OUR sin is bigger than the Father’s great gift of forgiveness? It seems to me that it is pure arrogance to continue to declare that He is not enough!

Our Pastor Roy says, “Amazing grace is the last breath of Jesus as He gave His life on the cross.”

Amazing grace is the last breath of Jesus as He gave His life on the cross

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PRAYER . . .

Thank you Papa God for your extravagant gift, the lifeblood of your Son Jesus, that paid for all my sins. Forgive me for not believing that your grace is sufficient for me. I believe. Help my unbelief.

Dear [insert your name here], beloved of the Father. chosen and redeemed by and for Him. I am so, so sorry that I’ve held you captive to the past by refusing to forgive you and by hanging on to the sins of the past. [Your name], I forgive you now for everything you’ve ever done that has caused you to live with shame, guilt, and self-condemnation. I release you to live in the freedom that God has called you to, for it is for freedom that Christ has set you free. I choose this day to stand firm in my freedom and never be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. No longer will I believe the lies of the enemy when he calls to mind the things that are past. No longer will he have any power or authority over me through past memories. From this day forward I choose to believe that I am who God says I am, holy and righteous before Him, through the blood of my Savior Jesus. Amen.

An oft repeated saying in Freedom Session is, “The only way through the pain is through the pain.” This is truth. You can bury the pain and live with the consequences forever or you can allow it to rise to the surface where it can be dealt with forever by the healing power of Christ! A great way to begin the healing process is to forgive yourself.

Blessings,

There are many good healing ministries to lead you on your way to freedom. I have a special place in my heart for Freedom Session because of the difference it has made in my own life, both as a participant and a director. Click HERE for more info.

I have been know to link to the following Inspirational Parties:

Mondays Making Your Home Sing Mondays The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings A Proverbs 31 Wife Darling Downs Diaries The Art of Homemaking Mom2Mom Linkup Project Inspired

All photos taken at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California and shared with written permission from California State Parks.

Freedom Friday – When You’re Not Enough

June 12, 2015 by Patti 17 Comments

Do you ever feel like you’re not enough? Not pretty enough, not clever enough, not perky enough, not young enough, not old enough? Believe it or not, there was a time . . . long, long ago . . . when I could hardly wait for the time that I’d be old enough to attain the respect I felt was my due. I’ve overcome that 🙂

I was raised by hard working, salt-of-the-earth type parents who instilled values in me that said, “God helps those who help themselves” and, “Do everything you can and leave the rest to God.”

Hmmm . . .

Is a 50-50 proposition between God and me what He really wants?

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Today’s culture tells us that we can become whatever we want to be and that success is ours for the taking. We simply have to strive harder, reach farther, believe in ourselves, and never give up. Good positive thoughts right?

So what if we work and strain and struggle to be the best we can be and fail? And we will all fail eventually. What room does all this striving leave for the miraculous, the extraordinary, the astounding, the incredible, the unbelievable?

Oh . . . that’s what I want! I don’t want to do it on my own power when I can have the power of the living God working in and through me to accomplish things greater than I could ever ask or think.

The following is a list of *STEPS I’ve personally taken to change my feeling of not being enough to being exactly what God wants me to be.

Let go of your perception of being in control (because things will eventually spin out of your control).
Acknowledge that God is God and you are not Him.
Turn your life over to God (if you haven’t already), accepting Jesus as Savior and allowing Him to fill you with His Spirit.
Confess past sin and believe that the shame, guilt and condemnation you’ve carried no longer have power or authority over you (I feel a “how to” post coming on that one).
Forgive those who’ve hurt you (and maybe a “how to” post here as well).
Take responsibility and acknowledge wrong to those you’ve hurt (and here!).
Keep a short record of wrongs . . . or, in other words, take responsibility for your actions as soon as you “mess up” and choose to forgive others quickly when they “mess up”.
Spend time with God – in His Word and in prayer – seeking to know Him intimately as “Papa God”. Don’t rush in and out of this time, making it an empty ritual, but stay . . . wait . . . and listen for Him to speak to you. In this time with Him He will affirm you, comfort you, wrap His arms around you and whisper sweet secrets into your ear. He longs to reveal Himself to you, to tell you who you really are in Him and to open up to you what He can do in and through you! It is in this place alone with Him that He will strengthen you to go out into your daily life so filled with Holy Spirit power that the overflow will spill over onto the lives of those around you.
This is the last step: When you come out of that place of fellowship with God, filled and strengthened by Him, go out and let the overflow of His love spill on to others!

Please know this from one who once felt like she was not enough: As a redeemed child of God, a Christ follower, filled with the Holy Spirit you have everything you need.

You are not too little, you are not too much, you are exactly who God created you to be.

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What a relief!!!

Blessings,

Prayer: Dear Papa God, from the depths of my heart I pray and ask that all who read these words will be touched by You and that they will come to understand that they no longer have to strive in their own power but that real strength can be found in You. You are all we need and You give us all we need at just the right time. Lord, please strengthen, affirm, encourage and do a new thing in the lives of those who need it today. Amen.

Scripture to ponder: Psalm 28:7; Psalm 46:10; Isa. 43:19; Zech. 4:6; Matt. 11:28; John 15:15; I Cor. 2:10; Gal. 3:3; Eph. 2:10; Eph. 3:20; Phil, 4:13; Phil. 4:19; II Pet. 1:3

The *STEPS mentioned above are loosely based on The 12 Steps of AA. Freedom Session teaches a Scriptural basis for all 12 steps in an excellent 9 month healing/discipleship program. As a former Director, along with my hubs, I can’t help but plug this life changing ministry here on my blog! For more information about Freedom Session I’ve included a link to their website.

I have been know to link to the following Inspirational Parties:

Mondays Making Your Home Sing Mondays The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings A Proverbs 31 Wife Darling Downs Diaries The Art of Homemaking Mom2Mom Linkup
Tuesdays Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky Cornerstone Confessions Titus 2 Tuesday Teaching What is Good Time Warp Wife Solo Deo Gloria Sisterhood More of Him Testimony Tuesday
Wednesdays A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Juana Mikels Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays A Little R & R Whole Hearted Home So Much at Home Mom’s Morning Coffee Women with Intention
Thursdays Serving Joyfully/Thriving Thursdays

3-D Lessons for Life/Thought Provoking Thursdays The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop I Choose Joy
Fridays A Look at the Book Christian Mommy Blogger Fellowship Fridays Blessing Counters Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays Faith & Fellowship Bloghop Grace & Truth Linkup
Saturdays Still Saturday The Weekend Brew
Sundays Spiritual Sundays Sunday Stillness

Freedom Friday – On Age and Being Relevant

February 13, 2015 by Patti 22 Comments

Six months living in our new South Carolina home and I am content. We’ve found our church home. We’ve made friends we can share a meal or a cup of coffee with. I’ve found a favorite grocery store and . . . dream of dreams . . . my favorite “junque” store! We have four times as many sunny days as we did back in Washington State and when I walk outdoors, even on the coldest winter day, the sun makes me smile . . . and smiling on the outside brings a smile right down into my insides. It is good. Most of the time . . .

Welcome to FREEDOM FRIDAY – A new devotional, emotional, spiritual and sometimes hysterical series that I will be sharing on occasional Fridays, in addition to my regular Old Things New posts. Why? Because though once bound in chains Christ has set me free – FREE to live, to love, to dance, to sing, to be who God created me to be!

When I began this Freedom Friday series my very first post was about Feeling Lonely, an emotion that wasn’t unexpected given that we’d just moved clear across the country to a place I didn’t really know.

My next post was on Friendship With God, where I talked about the challenge I gave myself to become more intimate with God by spending more time in His presence and waiting on Him to reveal Himself to me. Would that change me? It did. It has. God has brought me to a deeper knowledge of Him through the reading of His Word and journaling what He has been saying to me. What a luxury it has been to have more time with Him then I did when I was so busy. How blessed I’ve been to be able to spend extended time in God’s Presence.

Though my husband’s demanding work schedule prevents us from beginning a ministry like Freedom Session right now, smaller one-on-one ministry opportunities have opened up to us. We LOVE and believe in Freedom Session so much that it is sometimes disappointing to think that the door may not open for us to be involved in that same ministry again, and I’ve had to lay it all down and say, “Lord, I surrender the future to you and whatever you have for us is okay.”

In my intimate times with Him, God has been saying to me from Isaiah:

“Rest in me; in quietness and trust you will find strength; I am waiting to answer you; in waiting for Me you will find happiness. And when the answer comes He will say: “Go this way. There is your path; this is how you should go. I will see to it that your efforts are fruitful.”

Is this right Lord? Do you really have something more in store for us? I rest content in this place of “cocooning”, allowing God to minister to and strengthen me after four years of pouring out. It is good, very good. I believe that He does indeed have more for us because the story of healing He has done in our individual lives and in our marriage will not be wasted. So I wait with expectation . . .

until . . . just this week . . . the doubts began to flood over me again, making me feel like the opportunity to minister the way we used to might never come again.

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to throw me off balance:

I’m at the pool where I’m taking water aerobic classes. The pool is warm, I love to swim, and I’m one of the younger class participants so it makes me feel great about donning my swimsuit! After class I go into the locker room to change and see myself in the mirror. How cruel to put a fun house mirror in the dressing room. My thighs and tummy look larger than they do in the mirrors at home and there are dimples everywhere! My skin looks just like the skin of an old woman.

But the mirror doesn’t lie. It’s me . . . the almost 60-year-old Patti who (on the inside) still feels like the 17-year-old Patti who loved swimming in the cold lake, then lying on the dock afterwards to warm herself in the summer sun.

This thought pops into my head, “You are old!” I get dressed and head home where my husband is waiting for me. The thoughts continue and increase in volume as I drive, “Don’t you think you are getting a bit old to do any type of effective ministry? You’re reaching the age where no one will listen to what you have to say, especially young people. You aren’t strong enough to do a ministry like Freedom Session anymore. You don’t have what it takes. You are finished.”

“You are IRREVELANT!”

So with that word ringing in my head, a word that has been assaulting me over and over for the past couple of weeks, I walk in the door of my home. My husband sees my face and asks how I am, to which I answer, “I am old and IRRELEVANT!”

“Whoa! Where is that coming from?”

No answer from me for several minutes . . . then, “I want to retire.”

I don’t even work a job outside the home anymore but in in my head I’m thinking that I want to retire from responsibility, from caring about people, from pouring into the lives of others . . . from ministry . . . because I’m pretty sure that what I have to offer is of no interest to anyone. It doesn’t matter that I have a story to tell, that I have hope to offer to the hurting, or that I’ve seen the power of a redemption story shared. It doesn’t matter because I am old and irrelevant!

Then I ask my husband, “Am I delusional? Are all of these Scriptures I’ve been reading just a lie? Is all of the encouragement God has been giving me just in my head?”

“Absolutely not!” he answers. “We can’t live our lives to the fullest if we aren’t giving back!”

“But look at all of the old people who seem to disappear into the background of the churches, becoming invisible.”

“They are only invisible because they allow themselves to become that way,” my wise husband answers.

And I remember our dear friends Roger and Connie, still active in ministry to others. I think of Elder Pete and his wife Barb who are so key in the support they give to young Pastor Peter. I think of my own sister and brother-in-law, Sharon and John, who are still actively leading others through weekly Bible studies. All people in their 70’s.

I go in to take a shower and as the water pours over me I hear in my spirit another voice saying, “We are not called to be relevant, we are called to be salt.” The very words I typed into my iPhone notes on Sunday as our Pastor Roy spoke.

Awww . . . yes Lord. I am not called to be relevant to the way the world operates today. We Christ followers are a peculiar people. Set apart. Different. And it really doesn’t matter if I’m not relevant because I’m called to be SALT!

Sometimes I speak to myself in disparaging ways and I need to remind myself of who I am in Christ!

Sometimes it is the enemy of my soul who speaks lies to me and I may even believe the lies . . . for a little while . . . but I refuse to stay there, listening to the voice of defeat, because I have the very God of the Universe living inside me and He always turns me back toward the Truth!

Check out these verses. They are for YOU and for ME, because I know everyone gets discouraged:

I am complete in Him Who is the Head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10).
I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5).
I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me (Isaiah 54:14).
I am born of God, and the evil one does not touch me (1 John 5:18).
I am holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16).
I have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5).
I have the peace of God that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
I have the Greater One living in me; greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
I have received the gift of righteousness and reign as a king in life by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17).
I have received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened (Ephesians 1:17-18).
I have received the power of the Holy Spirit to lay hands on the sick and see them recover, to cast out demons, to speak with new tongues. I have power over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm me (Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:17-19).
I have put off the old man and have put on the new man, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him Who created me (Colossians 3:9-10).
I have given, and it is given to me; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, men give into my bosom (Luke 6:38).
I have no lack for my God supplies all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
I can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one with my shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16).
I can do all things through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13).
I show forth the praises of God Who has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
I am God’s child for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, which lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23).
I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:10).
I am a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
I am a spirit being alive to God (Romans 6:11;1 Thessalonians 5:23).
I am a believer, and the light of the Gospel shines in my mind (2 Corinthians 4:4).
I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions (James 1:22,25).
I am a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).
I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loves me (Romans 8:37).
I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11).
I am a partaker of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).
I am an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).
I am part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people (1 Peter 2:9).
I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit; I am not my own (1 Corinthians 6:19).
I am the head and not the tail; I am above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13).
I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).
I am His elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and longsuffering (Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12).
I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood (Ephesians 1:7).
I am delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty (Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Galatians 3:13).
I am firmly rooted, built up, established in my faith and overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:7).
I am called of God to be the voice of His praise (Psalm 66:8; 2 Timothy 1:9).
I am healed by the stripes of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).
I am raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12).
I am greatly loved by God (Romans 1:7; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4).
I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Colossians 1:11).
I am submitted to God, and the devil flees from me because I resist him in the Name of Jesus (James 4:7).
I press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward (Philippians 3:14).
For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20).

List taken from: Joyce Meyer Ministries

So this is the real me this week. An inspirational blogger who has her ups and downs just like every other Christ follower. A ministry person who is having a time of refreshing while waiting for the next thing. A woman entering her 60th year believing that the things that God has planned for her future are greater than she could even imagine.

Prayer: Papa God, thank you that you give us discernment to know the truth from a lie. Thank you for your promises that tell us who we are in you and that you always KEEP your promises. For anyone reading this who may be listening to the lies of the enemy I ask that you would bind, gag and muzzle the enemy in their lives in Jesus name, and speak truth into their spirits, truth that would pour down into the very depths of their beings and change who they believe themselves to be. Speak to them who they really are in You! Lord, please restore hope to those who are feeling hopeless and give them a glimpse of what you have in store for those who love you. We lean on you for strength as we wait for the new thing you want to do in each of our lives. No looking back but looking ahead to what you have for each of us in Your Kingdom. Amen.

My dear friends, God loves you so very much and so do I.

Blessings,

All photos taken at Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, South Carolina

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