Dying to Our Dreams

Written By Amy Beth Williams

Have you ever felt like you were in the dying process of your dreams of career, relationships or some other heart’s desire? Is it an unfamiliar and painful place of ambivalence or seeming detachment? What once captivated our hearts is no longer in the forefront but more in the peripheral. There is something freeing about that place but at the same time a bit unfamiliar and eerie. I was reading this morning in Oswald chambers “Utmost For His Highest” and it really struck me. He talks about that very thing as related to sanctification.

“Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ…

In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification….

Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God….(Sanctification) means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me.” Oswald Chambers.

Another source defines sanctification as “the state of proper functioning.” To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is “sanctified” when used to write. Eyeglasses are “sanctified” when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God’s design and purpose.”

I suddenly felt honored to be a part of God’s bigger plan. Knowing that He has a larger purpose for me –
for us. The death of our dreams is sometimes a necessary process in order that He may sanctify our hearts. For that to happen, we must let go of everything we are clutching tightly onto other than God and trust Him with the outcome.

What are you grasping in your hand today? Surrender it to God and trust the designer to establish your life purpose. He will work out in you what He has predestined in you before you were born- and it may just be a resurrection of the very desires and dreams He asked you to die to.

This is the will of God, your sanctification… —1 Thessalonians 4:3

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30

Fried Dreams & Salted Past

by Julie Lucia

Upon reading Fearless, by Max Lucado, I was struck by one profound paragraph – “The prisoners who were optimistic died of broken hearts. The one who survived had sustaining faith.”

During difficult seasons in my life it is in my nature to be optimistic. It is a trait I have been given by my mother and has passed down to my daughter. It has been an enormous comfort when things don’t go the way I planned, (Which happens a lot). It has also caused a lot of heartache and disillusionment when hopes and dreams are dashed or I ask God to fix a situation or show me something good to come out of hurtful circumstances and put a timeline on it.

You might catch me several times telling my children to enjoy the journey. It is because I love to plan. Sometimes I get more excited about planning something then I do the actual event. Maybe it comes from my days as an event planner, but, who doesn’t love the season of Christmas or waiting excitedly for your first baby to be born?

My twenties I planned and excitedly anticipated finishing graduate school, finding a new job, vacations, my wedding, and a new home. My thirties, I waited excitedly for my children to be born and planned out our days, our meals, our getaways and prepared for the first day of school.

Do you notice what they all have in common?  End dates. I knew all the planning and dreaming there would be a day that they would actually take place. Maybe not on the actual day that was scheduled (like two of my children who decided to wait a week after their due date to arrive).

When I came to my forties I found myself not planning anything but our dinner. All those years I was excitedly anticipating something profoundly exciting and now I found myself at a loss. I still have hopes and dreams and promises God has placed in my heart but they are so big there is no specific date given. God has shown me that I literally need to take one day at a time. I don’t need to plan the next big thing. I can be excited about where He is taking me. Maybe I would have learned that earlier my heartaches and disappointments would have been less. I can rest in Him knowing His plans are so much better than mine wherever they take me.

And maybe now I can take my own advice and “Enjoy the Journey.”

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

Life Under Construction

By: Amy Beth Williams

Life under construction:  Experiencing life’s delays, detours and ditches.

For the past several months, I have had the unpleasant experience of road construction right outside my apartment building. Between the jackhammers, bulldozers and orange cones, I am ready for it to be over!

As much as an annoyance this entire project is to me, I have come to realize that my life isn’t much different. God oftentimes has us “under construction” in whatever area He sees fit. First there are the detours. You know, those times when your plan A turned into plan B, turned into Plan Y? It’s when we think we know best and God proves otherwise (and by the way, He is always right). Detours are often necessary for God to test our hearts, grow our faith and to remind us to surrender control and leave the driving to God. We can’t get to our desired destination without His wisdom and guidance.

Secondly, there are the delays. Just when you think the destination is right around the corner, another two months pass, then a year and before you know it, you start to believe God has forgotten you. Waiting is HARD. There is nothing more difficult than waiting on a promise from God without any outward encouragement. The temptation is to take a shortcut but we learned from Abraham and Sarah that it’s better to wait on God than to create a proverbial Ishmael.  Trust His timing. He knows best!

And then there are the ditches. Those places in life where we get stuck and there seems to be no way out. No matter what we do or how hard we try, we feel shipwrecked. I know from my own life, there are many times when the very pit I prayed my way out of was the very place that God was preparing me for the blessing. Just like Joseph, we need to trust that God is in our seemingly helpless situations and is just waiting for us to surrender control so that His glory can be displayed in our lives. There is a purpose even in the ditches of life.

There are few other things about construction I have noticed:

1. It never seems to have an end.

2. Eventually, it does end.

3.  It’s always for a purpose, even when we can’t see it at the time.

We have to remember even when, especially when, God is working on us. Let Him have His way – He knows how to get you to the other side safely. Remember: the orange cones are only temporary!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.” Proverbs 3:5

A Lesson from the Bamboo Tree

By Amy Beth Williams

I was just talking to a friend about how the ordinary days of seeing absolutely nothing are so much more common than the truly “seeing God at work” days. The challenge is to hold on when nothing outwardly changes, knowing that he is working behind the scenes and for us to still rejoice despite what we see – or don’t see. So here’s a mini sermon after doing a little research on how bamboo trees and how we can relate spiritually…

In the first 4years after a bamboo is planted, nothing can be seen but a small blade. It would be easy and logical to assume that every day that passes, nothing is happening and it’s pointless to believe it will. But EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING! What we don’t see is that all the growth is taking place underground building miles of an intricate root system that is so complex and sophisticated that it will support and sustain the massive growth that is predestined for the plant. If you try to pull the tiny blade out of the ground, it’s impossible because the roots grow so deep and they become incredibly strong that it won’t budge. After the root system is complete, the tree can grow up to 90 feet in a year! This compared to other fast growing trees that only reach 2.5 feet per year.

In another article about bamboo trees, I read “You CANNOT shortcut the amount of time it takes a species to establish it’s rhizome (root) system” as it will destroy the sustainability of the plant. How often I want to shortcut the waiting, not realizing that I am destroying the foundation of His blessing. It’s amazing how similarly God works in our own lives. As long as we can stand in a place of belief that God is working and growing us below ground and our only job is to water it, nurture it and not grow discouraged or lose heart when we see nothing change. In that place, we can look above ground at that little tiny sprout and still know it holds everything God promised and no one can yank it out of the ground. Let us not grow weary in waiting but let us thank God for establishing a root system that will uphold His great calling in our lives.

“God is not slow in keeping His promises as some understand slowness.” 2 Peter 3:9

“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24

4 Emotional Triggers

By Amy Williams

If you’re anything like me, you have moments out of nowhere that your emotional balance feels well, out of balance. In a matter of minutes it could go from a moment of victory to an unexpected place of impatience and irritation. Oftentimes for me it can be triggered by a traffic jam or a rude person at the checkout line.  Although our emotions are a significant part of us, they don’t always represent the truth about or situation but they are more a litmus test to understand the root of our feelings. One of the most useful acronyms I have heard several times to remember when you are discouraged is H.A.L.T. Each letter represents an emotional trigger and are a warning sign to stop and address them.

1. Hunger. If you haven’t taken the time to eat and expect to feel emotional stable well, then you’re dreaming! Our bodies need healthy nutrition and though it may seem like an obvious task, I know so many people who realize at dinner time that they haven’t eaten all day. No wonder they are so unpleasant to be around!

2. Anger. This is a big one. If not handled and dealt with our attitudes and personalities are severely affected. Jesus teaches us to be willing to forgive others as He has forgiven us and any pent up anger left with is destined to eat us away like a cancer. We are called to forgive even when the other person isn’t sorry because it only destroy us as it turns into a deep root of anger and bitterness.

3. Lonely. So many people, including myself, dread feeling lonely and constantly keep busy to avoid this painful emotion. We must remember that we when are by ourselves that we are never alone. He is with us every second of the day and when I am tempted to avoid my loneliness instead of address it, I ask the Lord to remind me of His great love and that He is enough. No person, thing, achievement or dream can ever stack up to the overflowing and satisfying love that only He can give.

4. Tired. So many of us push ourselves so far past our healthy limits that it’s no wonder we are tired! When we are intentional about taking time to not only sleep but to rest, it’s amazing how quickly our current situation can turn from a mountain to a mole hill. Rest, I am learning, is crucial to mental clarity and necessary component of a productive life although sometimes it seems counter-intuitive to efficiency fanatics like myself.

Although these triggers are fairly universal, there are many others to list and everyone is different in what affects them the most. It’s important to identify them when our spirits are frazzled and to not just pray for emotional realignment, but to also take the practical steps including rest, fellowship, forgiveness and good nutrition. Once we can learn to manage our emotions in a healthy way, our days will feel less like the crashing of relentless waves and more like a tranquil sea. I don’t know about you but I am ready for some calm in my life!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22

Depend On God

by Amy Beth Williams

I was thinking recently how often time our prayer requests are actually prayers that would lead to independence of God instead of dependence on God, whether it be financial increase, a new home, a new job, health, finding the perfect mate, etc. Although all of these things are good things, at the root of most of our desires is to find a sense of security outside of God. When they are rooted in our self-sufficient efforts, they are actually in direct opposition to God’s desire for us. He calls us to be dependent on Him for all of our needs.

To quote AW Tozer, “Many of us Christians have become extremely skillful in arranging our lives so as to admit the truth of Christianity without being embarrassed by its implications. We arrange things so that we can get on well enough without divine aid, while at the same time ostensibly seeking it. We boast in the Lord, but watch carefully that we never get caught depending on Him.” Ouch. I don’t know about you but those words strike a chord with me. In our society, self-sufficiency and independence are heroic qualities. As s single woman living in LA and working in the industry, anything less than the highest level of self-sufficiency and capability will land you in the unemployment line. I have grown so accustomed over the years to making all my life decisions without a life partner so the root of self-sufficiency goes deep for me. It has taken awhile to unlearn my independence and depend completely on God, trusting that He can hold all of my weight.

As much as there is a societal applause of self-sufficiency, the opposite is sadly true Being defined as a “dependent” person often is associated with weakness, inability, and lack of resourcefulness. But anything less than dependence on God is what Tozer called pseudo faith. He writes:
“Pseudo faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails. Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse. And not since Adam first stood up on earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted Him.”

I am certainly a work in progress when it comes to being stripped away from all of my makeshift crutches. It’s sometimes scary to have to depend on anyone other than yourself who may not have your best interest in mind. But I can assure you of this: God promises that He has our best interest and loves us so deeply and profoundly that we have not even one reason not to trust Him with our past, present and future. Instead of falling to the lies of society, let us fall into the arms of the one whose yoke is easy and His burden light.

John 15:4

^“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

Choosing Contentment

by Amy Williams

There are so many things that happen in our lives and circumstances that can easily steal our joy, aren’t there? From traffic, to unexpected bills to screaming babies, and tax season. The elusive chase for contentment so quickly eludes us when we need it the most. When the apostle Paul writes about how he learned to be content in all situations and goes on to list the worst of the worst circumstances he faced (including being shipwrecked, imprisoned, beaten and in impoverished), I begin to feel incredibly challenged in choosing contentment.

Most would describe me as a joyful, positive and upbeat person, but at times, I am quick to complain when things don’t go my way. Even if I don’t voice my complaint, I can often grumble in my own heart and that is just the same. I was recounting all my letdowns and disappointments recently (which I wouldn’t recommend in exercising contentment) and as the list grew longer, I began to focus on what God didn’t do instead of what he has done. It was an eye-opening realization. Whatever we focus on magnifies. When we focus on the blessings in our lives, the contentment follows.

There are times in our lives when happiness just can’t be found and that is part of our faith journey. But contentment is different. It isn’t just a fleeting feeling as much as it is a choice and a state of mind we can have through the grace of God. Oftentimes our peace becomes upset when our Plan A falls through and we are left with the dreaded Plan B. As believers, it is important for us to be flexible with God’s plans for our lives. We may think we know what is best, but God is sovereign and knows what we need more than we even do. When we are so set on our path that we refuse to consider that God may have another avenue, we are destined to encounter disappointment and discouragement when the plan doesn’t unfold as hoped.

I once heard that the wing span on an airplane is designed to have an 18 feet of flexibility so when the aircraft is in a storm, the wings adjust to the wind gusts and the outside elements threatening to take it down. If that flexibility wasn’t built in, the wings would snap and the plane would crash. Doesn’t that sound like a relateable analogy to you? It does for me. I often feel like a plane with wings made out of glass. When the air is clear and the sun is out, the plane is going to get to its destination without a problem, but as soon as the inevitable storm hits, the panic sets in because we know we aren’t spiritually equipped for the impact. So how do we allow the adjustment to come when things don’t go our way, much less stay content? One of the keys for me is to reflect on God’s past faithfulness not just in my life but in the lives of the saints in the Bible. There are so many remarkable stories of God’s people who overcame great adversity and experienced the fullness of His promises and faithfulness. Make sure to aside time each day to prayer and study the work while asking the Lord to infuse us with His strength and contentment. As long as we try to take control of our lives, we will never experience the peace that passes understanding. He alone can fly the plane of our lives. Without him as our pilot, we will not be able to adjust to the wind and the waves. Trust Him with every area of your life – He wants to prove His love and care for you. And thank Him for all the blessings in your life. Contentment will come when we let go of our own plans and take hold of God’s hand. If you are struggling with discouragement, discontentment or disappointment and need prayer, please email us. We would love to pray for you!

Standing Up For What is Right

(by Julie Lucia)

I am writing this while I sit at the dentist office. Still trying to recover from my confrontation I had with another patient about the TV program in the waiting room. I, first of all, am not confrontational in nature, except when it comes to my children.  Yes, if you are a parent, than you know exactly what I mean.  Sitting in a very ordinary place where most people are cordial with one another is where my inner “Mama Bear” had emerged!  My 11 year-old son was sitting with me and for some odd reason, Jerry Springer was on in the waiting room. The waiting room suddenly felt like a war zone.  It was me against a dark force and I was ready to fight.  After the third cuss word surrounding an R-rated subject matter I had had enough. I kindly asked the secretary behind the desk to give me the remote. The program was way too “adult” for my son to watch. I glanced at the only one who seemed to be watching the TV and apologized for changing it, but it was completely inappropriate for my son. I changed the channel and set the the remote down.  We were not watching it anyway.  It was free for anyone to use.

And then I heard a voice from another waiting patient, “Excuse me, that was very rude,” said the woman. “You could have asked us if we minded you changed it.”

Are you kidding me? The look on my face had to have been priceless. I thought I was going to be crowned as the best parent ever and instead I was being rude. Then an older gentleman agreed! Ahhh! My brain went into “mother mode” and I went on some tirade that I was never going to let my son watch something like that and she could change it when we left. I handed her the remote and even told her to watch whatever she wanted. I wasn’t done – I scolded the older gentleman and told him that it was awful that he had agreed with her. He was mortified that I had confronted him and he backed down. But, I was left feeling agitated. Yes, maybe I was rude, but was that really the point? I ended the conversation telling them that I had too much respect for myself to sit there and watch something like that. Why did this woman feel it was necessary to mention that I was rude? What happened to our world that we don’t think of our children and all that they are exposed to at a young age? Does anyone remember the ancient African Proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child?” Why does society always feel as if they are being the victim? I didn’t change the channel to hurt others, I changed it because of my love for God and my son.  I will always choose morality over being rude! Always!

Maybe we need to be more like “Mama Bear” when it comes to our family values.  Why should we let others influence our children with their bad behaviors?  When is the last time you asked someone to not swear or speak ill of others in front of you or your children? Are you being rude if you say something to them or are they being rude because they are disrespecting you and your child? I say, let’s us be rude then! It is time we take a stand and protect our family.

Proverbs 22:16 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Faith Vs. Fear

I am not sure about you, but I struggle with vacillating between faith and fear more often than I would care to admit. It’s easy to have faith in God when everything is going “my way” but when life starts to turn sideways, its easy for my faith to go along with it.  In an instant, i can  quickly forget all the years of God’s faithfulness in my life when trials befall me. Can you relate? It’s remarkable how we can rationalize that this problem or trial is  harder for God to overcome than the last so we fall into a perpetual state of worry and fear. Worry is having faith in the lies of the enemy instead of the promises of God. Fear is crippling and disabling in every way. Those of us who tend to have overactive, creative minds are even more susceptible. The enemy uses or God-given imaginations against as we play out unreal scenarios in our minds that soon become truth to us. Our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state follow suit. Suddenly our world is spinning and our faith is flimsy all because we believe a lie or a sum of lies. I used to think that everything I thought was truth because I was a Christian but that is far from the case. The enemy has declared a full-fledged war on our minds. If he can control our minds, he can control our thoughts, emotions and eventually our actions. He is not omniscient so he doesn’t know what we are thinking but he knows our trigger points and can deduct what’s working by how we respond to his lies. When he sees we are taking the bait he continues to feed the fears and use circumstances to create even more evidence that his lies are true.

I went through a particularly dark season in my early 20s when a vitamin toxicity caused me to have great panic and fear. I was convinced I was dying. I would hear someone talk about a health problem and I suddenly had all the symptoms. I had diagnosed myself with every possible disease and I was nearly paralyzed by the fear. I would never wish It on anyone but I had a new empathy and compassion for people who struggle with depression and for that reason I am grateful God allowed me to go through it. In my darkest days, I  cried out to God and I began soaking myself in scripture. I wrote out a stack of index cards with verses to memorize to keep my mind saturated with truth and found breakthrough. It’s a powerful tool to overcome fear and allow the  truth to become bigger than the lies.

Following that season, I started paying closer attention to my decision-making and now I always ask myself if I am making this decision out of faith or fear. I encourage you to do the same and begin the daily habit this year of memorizing God’s promises if you don’t already do so. And ask God each day to be the blessed controller of your thoughts and stay discerning and vigilant about what you are dwelling on. Over time, you will begin to see God break the old  destructive thought patterns and begin to transform and renew your mind so that His peace can rule your heart and mind.

Philippians 4:6

“Be anxious for nothing but in everything, in prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known until God. And the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Give Thanks Before the Blessing

By Amy Beth Williams

 

A good friend of mine is a celebrity chef- an amazing one at that! We met on a TV show last year and became instant friends. She recently launched her very own restaurant on a new cruise ship and I got to see her before her month-long voyage.  I wondered why she offered an apology as she handed me a wrapped birthday gift. I opened it to find a picture of what she ordered for me and hadn’t arrived in time for her trip. I was just as content with the photo as I was with the actual gift because I knew it was coming and I was more than willing to wait for it. I love the anticipation of good things in life, don’t we all?

A month  passed and I got to see my friend last week. She handed me my gift and I unwrapped it excitedly. It was exactly what the picture had shown but even better in person. One comment she made made an imprint on my heart. She quipped “you are the only person I know who would send a “thank you” note before even getting the present.” It didn’t even occur to me not to write a thank you card because I knew she was good for her word and in due time, it would be a tangible actualization of what she had promised. 

Then the conviction hit my heart. How often does God make a personal promise to us and instead of thanking him for it in advance, we often obsess about how it’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, and even IF it’s going to happen at all? How dare I even doubt for a second that the God of the universe is faithful to His promises?

One of my favorite scriptures is in Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man that He should lie not the son of man that He should change His mind. Does he speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?   I The Lord have spoken and I will do it.” I hold onto that scripture with both hands because my circumstances often times contradict what He has promised me. When we begin to lean on our own understanding, we become less convinced that He will fulfill His promises, especially when more time  has passed and nothing changes. Waiting is hard, isn’t it? Society is obsessed with instant gratification and I am the worst of all offenders. I am a bona-fide efficiency fanatic. I hate waiting in lines, on runways, in traffic and sadly, waiting on God’s timing. For that reason, it shouldn’t surprise me that it is the exactly the area God wants to work on in my life, and that is evidence of my ten years of waiting on two particular promises that have yet to come to pass. I have finally come to a place of surrender but it has nearly taken me this long to do so. We like control. We like knowing what’s coming and when it’s coming but only God is omniscient and in control.  When we try to take control of any part of our lives, we are essentially trying to be God and we know that never ends well.  So here’s  the takeaway coming from a professional waiter: when God gives you a wrapped gift and all you find inside is a promise, give thanks! He is good for His word and the picture He gives won’t do justice to the actual fulfillment of the gift. So as we wait, let’s remember that if we can trust an imperfect human, how much more should we trust the one who died for us? “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” Psalm 37:7