Tag Archives: freedom

May12

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on May 12, 2014 by lsgrlr

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Leviticus 13. “These are the regulations concerning defiling molds in woolen or linen clothing, woven or knitted material, or any leather article, for pronouncing them clean or unclean” (Verse 59). Today my advice would be to read this chapter. It will show you just how unattainable the law was, how meticulous and to the point it was. How it had no room for gray. Life is not black and white, God did not make it so. The moment He gave mankind the right to say yes or no, to choose; gray entered the picture. The law is to the letter it held no room for grace. All wrong whether purposeful or accidental separated the person from God. From the One that could make their gray areas clear. Be thankful for grace today, be thankful that Christ took our place. Because had He not, we’d be responsible for everything. Be thankful that in Christ we have been made clean. He bears it all in our place.

May2

DAY 122 (2014)

Posted on May 2, 2014 by lsgrlr

Standard

Scale walls…break fences, be unstoppable.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

I have a new mantra: Don’t fall, rise above. It came to me today while I was reflecting on just how crazy my life had become in the span of a few shorts months. I started to realize that my circumstances, situations, and problems had become my central focus, and how easy it is to lose our joy and faith when we allow that to happen. Today as I sat and contemplated my status I realized how much of myself I had given up. Not because I had to, but because I believed that in order to deal with what was happening, I needed to. The irony is that the things I let go of, where the very things that God had provided as a means of dealing with the stressors I was facing. This morning when I woke up I had this thought, “I need a lifestyle change.” Thus, I would go back to the things I love, the things that God has always used to center both my mind and my personality. Things like working out, reading, writing, and photography. Things I have been slowly letting go of because I have been so bogged down lately. The thought of rekindling that part of myself has me excited. What’s my point? Often times in the midst of a trial we let go of the necessary things, only to hold tighter to the trial. I realized today the reason it all seems so dark is because I had let go of the things that God uses as light in my life. So I share my goal with all who need it today… Take back your light. Don’t let your circumstances over take you. Don’t Fall, Rise Above…

“Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

So what’s my plan? Overcome.

Apr21

DAY 111 (2014)

Posted on April 21, 2014 by lsgrlr

Standard

We need to be willing to leave our comfort, to find our TRUE destiny…
(Picture by Lisa R.)

Today I was blessed with free time. It was a beautiful day so I took my bible, my camera, and my math study guide and went to the park. It was a breezy and surprising cool 76 degrees in South Florida. At the park during my alone time, God answered some questions and dealt with my heart. He took me to the book of Jeremiah chapters 42 and 43 to be exact. It is the Story of Johanan and the nation of Judah. They sought out Jeremiah the prophet asking him to go to God on their behalf, they wanted God to tell them where to go and what to do. They pledged to do whatever God said whether it was pleasing or not. However, God’s answer was exactly opposite of what they wanted to hear. Therefore, they decided the answer was not from God. Ouch! That’s me! I have been praying to God asking Him for guidance and direction, but the answer that He is giving is not what I want to hear. So in my human wisdom I decided it couldn’t be God. As the realism of my hypocrisy hit my heart, I looked around at my surrounds and had another revelation: The water was flowing, the birds where chirping. The wind was blowing and the trees where dancing and swaying in the blowing breeze. They were all doing exactly what they were created to do, BUT… I was not. Oddly today’s moment of self discovery was not painful (despite the previous ouch), God gently reminded me that He had a plan for me and if I wanted to achieve it I had to be more like the birds and the trees, and less like Johanan and Judah. I needed to leave my Egypt and live in my Judah (read the chapters it’ll make sense then).

“May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God” (Jeremiah 42:5-6).

So what’s the plan for the journey? I am going to obey whether it is favorable or not.

Apr20

DAY 110 (2014)

Posted on April 20, 2014 by lsgrlr

Standard

Independence should never keep us from the help we need…

My post may be a little hard to follow today as I have a lot I want to say, but limited space to say it. Today I celebrated with fellow Christians the foundation for our hope and faith, the raising of our Lord from the dead. I have been thinking about the Christian walk and what God gave up, what Jesus gave up for us to be able to get back what we lost in the garden (fellowship with God). To relay our heart verses God’s heart I want to tell a story. My mother is an assistant to an elderly couple, both of whom are in their nineties. The wife has Alzheimer (although it’s not severe, yet), the husband has scoliosis and a hernia that weighs almost as much as he does. They are fiercely independent wanting to live life like they are in their twenties. The gentleman is not only independent, but stubborn wanting to do everything on his own. However, the curvature of his spine and his hernia limit not just his structure, but his movement as well. My mom told me a story that happened recently. The gentleman uses a walker however, he is very unstable. He wobbles and sways as he moves, because of this anytime he is stopped, my mom (for his safety and her’s) locks the walker so it doesn’t fall with him. This makes the gentleman upset and in his defiance he will push on the walker almost landing himself and my mother on the floor. In his desire for independence, he refuses to acknowledge his limitations and needs. What’s my point? We do the same thing. Every. Single. Day. We are wobbling in this life, we need God to put the breaks on our walker, before we walk ourselves off a cliff. But we refuse the help, refuse to even acknowledge His existence at times. We like the old man would rather end up on the floor, than accept the help we so desperately need. Jesus in order to give us a way back to God gave up his independence. The creator allowed creation to beat Him, spit on Him, and hang Him on a tree. Ironically all of this was done because He wanted to give us back our freedom (which we mistakenly see as bondage). Look at the world around you then honestly answer these question: Do we seem free? Do we seem happy and content? Are we really chasing our dreams? The honest answer…NO. After you honestly answer, ask yourself this, “Why won’t I accept God’s hand?” Christ came to stabilize our walker and get us to our TRUE destination. We have two choices be like the old man and fight, till we end up on the floor unable to get up. Or we can…Let Go and Let GOD get us where we want to go.

” But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive” (Psalm 54:4).

So what’s the plan? Let God put the breaks on my walker. Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Apr19

DAY 109 (2014)

Posted on April 19, 2014 by lsgrlr

Standard

It’s a new day. Yesterday has been redeemed by the rising of the [Son].
(Picture by Lisa R.)

Yesterday was Good Friday. This morning when I woke up I was actually thinking about the fact that yesterday many years ago, a man who was both fully human and fully deity chose to give it all up for the sin of a people who would (even after so great a sacrifice) reject Him. I though about the crowds yelling, “Crucify, crucify”. I wondered if I had lived during that time, would I too be yelling? Would I too have the crowd mentality? Honest answer? I am sure I would. Why? I would not have the luxury of hindsight. I would not be able to match up biblical prophesy with modern day events and realize accuracy. I wouldn’t understand the difference between religion and relationship. In essence I wouldn’t be viewing it from the standpoint of now. After sufficient humility at the thought that God (the creator of it ALL) wanted a relationship with me, with us. I was brought to the realization of something else. Something amazing. Something I felt I needed to share. We celebrate Friday because He died. We celebrate Sunday because He rose, but what about Saturday? Was He napping? Nope, not Jesus. Today needs to be celebrated too. Yesterday, He died. Tomorrow, He’ll Rise. But Today, today He CONQUERS IT ALL. Happy HE CONQUERS ALL DAY!!!!

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Today instead of a plan I am thankful that Christ conquered it ALL.

Apr13

DAY 103 (2014)

Posted on April 13, 2014 by lsgrlr

Standard

Fear keeps us bound and chained.

I have been hearing this a lot lately: “Move forward”, “Walk”, “Take the step”. I have heard these phrases in different ways over and over again in the last month or so. I will walk past strangers having a conversation and I won’t hear anything, but the word “go”. This morning on the drive to church I was listening to the song, Oceans (Where Feet May Fail), in the midst of listening I heard this in my heart, “WALK”. The song is about letting go of our limitations and allowing God to take our feet to places we didn’t think we could go. Here’s my problem. That’s not the word I want to hear, no, I want to hear, “STAY”. Why? I am scared to move, scared to walk. Because what if I fall? What if I make a bigger mess than what I am currently in? Today in a conversation with the BF he said, “What if move forward means just that?” Let me explain, in my attempt to figure out what God wants me to do I have been searching for things that are about the same as what I am doing now. I have not been looking forward, I have been looking lateral or as my boyfriend says…sideways. It dawned on me that he was right. I didn’t even entertain the idea that the reason God wasn’t opening the doors (even though He’s telling me to walk through) was because I was not entering through the right ones. I know that God loves me. I believe that He will do what He says. But I am most times too afraid, too fearful to grab hold when He’s throwing me the life-vest. My prayer is that I will allow God to break the chains of fear that bind me. That I will move forward (not sideways) into what He has prepared for me.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).

So what’s my plan of attack? Allow God to break my fear chains and set me free to move forward to what He has for me.

Jan23

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on January 23, 2014 by lsgrlr

Standard

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Genesis 3. “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’ He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid'” (Verses 8-10). The side effect of sin? GUILT. SHAME. Prior to the fruit the man and woman enjoyed relationship with God that was free and boundless. Yet eating the fruit took all that away. What’s your fruit? What separates you from God? What keeps you guilty, and bound? Praise be to God for Christ…He is our line to God. He will bridge the gap that sin has created, all we have to do is ask.

Jan17

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on January 17, 2014 by lsgrlr

Standard

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Revelation 20. ” And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done” (Verses 12-13). These verses were very sobering to me. Why? “Each person was judged according to what they had done.” According to what I have done? Judged? There are days when I am too scared to talk to my loved ones about God. Other days it is not fear, but laziness that keeps me from doing the right thing. If I am judged according to what I have done, how will I ever be able to stand? Thanks be to God for Christ! While it is still called today, while you still have the opportunity call upon Him. Ask Him to be your advocate. Then you will be judged by His acts and not your own.

Jan3

DAY 3 (2014)

Posted on January 3, 2014 by lsgrlr

Standard

My day went so fast I hardly know what happened. I woke up, got dress, and went to work. It all was a blur from that point. I got in at 7:45 am and the next thing I knew, it was 4:30 pm. It sped by, like a race car on crack (that mental picture made me laugh). Days like this use to fluster and throw me out of sorts. Yet I have to say today I wasn’t flustered, I was prepared. It interesting how different my mind set has become. I don’t know how to explain it, except to say that I am a lot less phased by the unexpected. I realize now that on the journey no matter how prepared I am flash flood will come, and I will be wading through water to get to my destination. It’s okay though, because I have rain gear. Today when the rains of “busyness” and “now, now, now” fell I just put on my rain hat, held up my umbrella and carried on. No matter what the storms of life may bring, carry on. Today God reminded that as I continue to “go” and “do” there will be storms, fires, and floods, but I can rest because I know the calmer of storms, and the putter outer of fires. His got me covered.

“Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take” (Joshua 1:8-9, The Message Bible).

So what was my plan of attack for today? Go! God got me covered.