Do you have YOUR armor on?

I have a friend who is going through a heavy-duty season of "spiritual warfare". If you think that's weird or just something that doesn't happen anymore, think again! And, read 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 that says,

"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our WARFARE are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds."

There is a WAR going on. The question is, do you even care? And, are you engaged in the battle or simply on the sidelines? My admission to you is that there have been times that I have sat on the sidelines because I just didn't want to deal with the "heavy" stuff. Thankfully, my God is so patient with me! And in His sovereign-like way, He simply orchestrates my life such that I am confronted with things that stretch me.

As Neal and I have been made aware of the situation in our friend's life, the Spirit has used it to remind me of some very important spiritual skills that I need to be practicing daily. And, even though I had a godly Mom who lived this very principle out before me, I had foolishly discarded what is a fundamental & foundational skill for every believer/follower of Jesus...which is:

PUT MY SPIRITUAL ARMOR ON INTENTIONALLY & DAILY!

The way God made me aware of my neglect of this skill was through a recent conversation with my friend who had also been asked the question, "Did you put your armor on today?" To which she answered, "What do you mean? I always have my armor on?" To which the response came, "No! You must put it on daily." He then instructed her and her husband to have a specific time each morning in which together they put their armor on. As my friend and I talked, the Spirit reminded me of the passage in Ephesians 6 that outlines all the armor but even more signifcantly the words, "PUT ON..."

I've studied this passage many times, but being the "DUH-sciple" that I am, I tend to forget many important truths! And that is, "put on" is in the PRESENT tense. In other words, when Paul penned these words, the Spirit who lived in him and was doing the inspiring of the words he was penning was intentional when He prompted Paul to write "put on" which means keep on putting on. It is NOT a one time thing! So, now I have my Biblical basis for putting my armor on daily. What next, Lord?

He gave me the opportunity to have a conversation with my youngest daughter on Mother's Day as we were driving back from Atlanta to Charlotte. She was having a tough moment...well really weekend. She's newly married, and....well enough said. As she and I talked, the Spirit prompted me to issue Haley a challenge and one that I would join in with her to do. I told her I wanted her to be intentional about putting her spiritual armor on everyday for the next 30 days and I would also be doing this with her. I told her I would text message her every morning to remind her. So, since the Monday after Mother's Day, she and I have been dressing ourselves for war.

Yesterday's text to Haley that the Spirit gave me said, "Cover my Haley today, Lord, with all You have given to equip her...her S helmet; her R breastplate; her T belt; her F shield; her W sword...all to READY HER FEET TO SWIFTLY SHARE YOUR GOSPEL OF PEACE WITH THOSE YOU BRING INTO HER LIFE."

If none or very little of the above makes sense to you, maybe it's time you read or re-read Ephesians 6:10-18.

I dare you.

p.s on 31 Things I Loved About Mom

I was sharing today with a friend that I had blogged about Mom on Saturday in order to "take my thoughts captive" and how it ended up being 31 things. Her very insightful & quick reply was, " Well of course! After all, your Mom was a Proverbs 31 lady!"

Wow!

The funny part about the 31 things is, I wrote simply as memories quickly came to my mind. At 30, I thought I was finished, so I published my post and laid my head back to take a short nap. Then another memory came racing into my mind as clear as a bell. So I promptly added it and changed the number to 31. God, you are soooo good!

31 Things I Loved about Mom

I won't know until the end of this blog what number to put in the title....because there are just so many good memories of Mom...

Since it's Mother's Day weekend, and I am "home" in Atlanta spending time with my sweet Daddy, I have to be intentional about "taking my thoughts captive" & then Philippians 4:8-ing since it would be so natural to go down the sadness path....because I miss Mom so much. Instead, I want to remember the good things.

Here goes...

1) I loved how she laid out a new outfit on my bed that she bought me while I was at school..this was early on when she knew what I liked & there was no conflict in fashion tastes!

2) I loved that she planned a surprise baby shower for me in Atlanta when I was pregnant with Haley....no one expects a baby shower on their third baby!

3) I loved that she "taught" me to love coffee and loved to talk over a cup...somehow, it just seemed to make the conversation better.

4) I loved how she cooked, even on busy Sundays...there's just no aroma quite like a rump roast in the oven when you open the back door after getting home from church.

5) I loved how she took over my kitchen when she came to visit me in Charlotte, and how she always came with her famous strawberry cake & pasta salad in tow.

6) I loved how she grew to love our dogs...Kelly, Maggie, Lizzie & Ava, not because she was a dog lover because she wasn't, but because she knew her daughter was!

7) I loved how she knew when to stop and rest, even when there was still lots left to do.

8) I loved that she worked in the yard and knew how to mow the grass and even enjoyed it...this woman was not afraid of hard work!

9) I loved how she was always willing to lend a hand on WHATEVER project I had lined up for the weekend when they were visiting. She did it all!

10) I loved how we used to go shopping when my airline pilot Daddy was flying on a trip, even in the middle of the week and on a school night for me.

11) I loved how she always got up with me for school and had Morton "little donuts" and some o.j. waiting on me for breakfast.

12) I loved how she cooked everyone's favorite food on Thanksgiving & Christmas, no matter how big the family kept growing.

13) I loved how she called me her "sunshine".

14) I loved how she laughed, and that she could NEVER remember the punchline to a joke!

15) I loved that she worked the newspaper crossword puzzle everyday for as long as I can remember.

16) I loved that she enjoyed being around all kinds of people and demonstrated that in alot of ways. One of those ways- she was in 3 "bridge clubs": the neighborhood women, the Eastern women & the church couples.

17) I loved how much fun we had planning my wedding. I don't remember one single disagreement between us....we may have had one or two, but I don't remember that we did.

18) I loved that she always came to Charlotte when I had a baby and stayed the week after.

19) I loved that she taught me to love God's Word.

20) I loved that she was a stay-at-home Mom.

21) I loved that she taught young marrieds long after she was one!

22) I loved that she mentored women.

23) I loved that she surprised us all when she bought a snazzy red T-bird when she was in her 60's.

24) I loved how she said, "Thank you Jesus for the parking place" before she found it, and that she truly had a grateful heart, even for the "small" things.

25) I loved how she loved my Daddy.

26) I loved growing up, going to Grayton Beach, Florida with her and all her girlfriends every summer...I can still hear all of them "cackling" as they played bridge well after midnight.

27) I loved that she loved the beach and would get in the ocean, even though she didn't know how to swim.

28) I loved how she made me finish whatever I started...even when I wanted to quit drill team tryouts in the 10th grade, she said absolutely not for which I am so grateful....because being on drill team was undoubtedly one of the highlights of my entire 5 highschool years at Riverwood.

29) I loved that she didn't care what people thought & that she wasn't afraid to walk down the church aisle in her 30s AFTER she was a Sunday school teacher & the wife of a deacon, and say, "I need to be saved."

30) I loved how she loved me.

31) I loved that she was a great Mom, even though her Mom died when she was a baby. I loved her response when I asked her one day how she became such a good Mama...she just shrugged her shoulders & gave credit where credit was due, "The Lord taught me."

I love & miss you Mom! Happy Mother's Day in Heaven!

A New Beginning: Choose to Forgive

As I continue to grieve over the loss of my sweet Mom (she's been in heaven 4 months today), I have been greatly encouraged by a ministry called Griefshare. I receive daily emails from them that have been so helpful in the PROCESS of grieving. Today's email is about forgiveness.

It suddenly occured to me that UNforgiveness is a huge issue for many people which got me to wondering if there's someone out there who needs a "new beginning" in the area of forgiveness. I am convinced this is one of the defeated one's (satan's) most successful arenas: to keep us from forgiving and thus keep us paralyzed in our walk/relationship with Jesus. Therefore, I've simply copied & pasted today's selection because it's just too good not to share...

"Forgiveness is getting your heart right with God by making the choice to forgive others and by receiving His forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean you are relieving someone of responsibility for his or her actions. Forgiveness does not necessarily mean you trust that person. Forgiveness is the act of letting God's love flow through you.

Think about the above definition for a moment.

Doug Easterday says, "You're not alleviating responsibility from anyone by forgiving them. You are transferring it to where it really belongs and that's with God. They will answer to God someday, but if you're requiring them to answer to you, then you have as big a problem as they do.

'Forgiveness is obedience to God.'

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times'" (Matthew 18:21-22).

Lord, it is only by Your power that I can forgive. Keep me from destroying myself with unforgiveness. Amen."

Boasting in my weakness & Delighting in His Word- part 1

A week ago today, I shared with the women of Lakeview Baptist what God had laid on my heart over the course of several months. Their theme for the banquet, NOT chosen by me, was "New Beginnings"....this theme has been my life experience for the most part over the last year and a half and I shared w/ them close to a dozen things in which God has either orchestrated or allowed into my life forcing me to say "goodbye" and presenting me with the opportunity to have a new beginning. By the way, doing the goodbyes of life is something I really stink at!! I'm one of those who is always looking back to the past and remembering it with rose-colored glasses.

God has shown me through this process of allowing so many changes into my life how very weak I am. Years ago, when I was teaching Precept classes at my local church and sitting under the teaching (via video) of Kay Arthur, she would share an example that has stuck with me to this day, and it "fits" here...when we're jostled by challenging lifes circumstances, whatever our glass is FULL OF, will spill out the top.

Am I full of bitterness? Then, that's what comes spilling out. Am I full of fear? Then, that's what will spill out. What about being full of self?...just another name for pride. Or prejudice? The list is endless. Conversely, if I am full of joy, then that's what spills out....or peace or contentment or....you get the idea. Before you dismiss the metaphor, realize that this concept is definitely supported in scripture. So if you esteem God's word, then you need to listen:
~In Proverbs 23:7 , I'm told that, "For as a man thinks within himself, so he is."
~In Proverbs 4:23, I read, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it FLOW the springs of life.".
~Jesus spoke of this many times in scripture. One example is found in Matthew 12:34b- "For the mouth speaks out of that which FILLS the heart."

In other words, what my mind dwells on I will eventually live out.

Ok, so back to being weak. As I've been "jostled" by life (that my God is sovereign over!...He in in control of it all!), weakness is what has spilled out the top. And I'm here to tell you, coming face to face with your weaknesses is no fun. My natural instinct is to justify, give reasons, etc, etc on why I'm this or that way....or I try to compensate by focusing on my strengths. Neither is the way Jesus desires me to respond to this "unveiling". When I respond in my flesh, I "quench" the Spirit working in my heart. I put the fire out, and then I wonder why I have no power in my spiritual life....funny how I conveniently never make the connection!

About 2 months ago, in the midst of beginning preparations for speaking at Lakeview, God provided me with an opportunity to see what I believe is my greatest weakness and what I call "the ugly" in my life. What was the "opportunity"? Neal and I had a HUGE fight....can't even recall what it was about now, but it was a biggie. I know because God used it to show me "the ugly" which is my resistance to Neal's authority...something I have always struggled against since day 1 of our marriage. For years, I would say things like, "I just have a strong personality" or other equally lame comments. But, this day was different I believe because God had been tendering my heart through the study of His word. The soil was tilled and ready for seed.

Here's what I wrote the morning after the fight:

"God's grace is sufficient. Neal & I had a huge fight last night, reminding both of us once again how carnal we can be and ultimately, how we can bring out the worst in each other when we permit that carnality to take over. This is and seems to be the biggest spiritual wekaness I have in this life. When I woke up this morning, my first thoughts turned to the scripture in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 which I had meditated on yesterday...coincidence? I think not. Paul stated that God gave him a 'thorn in the flesh'. I wrote in the margin of my Bible-' the who of P's thorn: satan's harrassing messenger; they why of P's thorn: to keep him from being conceited'. Several things come to mind as I ponder over this today-
1- Neal is at times a "thorn" in my flesh because he has the power to bring out the worst in me and expose my weakness(es)
2-Even though it is Neal who is at times used as a thorn, I know that satan/the defeated one is the one who is "behind" the harrassment
3-The "thorny" messenger caused Paul's weakness(es) to become evident to him. God said that His power is perfected in weakness. So Paul's response to this was, 'Therefore, I will BOAST all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.' Not only that, but he went on to say, 'For the sake of Christ the, I am CONTENT with weaknesses...For when I am weak, then I am strong.' "

That's alot of MEAT to chew on! So, I'll stop blogging for now...more on this subject in my next blog. Stay tuned....meanwhile, why not go to the Lord and ask Him, "What am I FULL of?" I promise you, He will show you. Go ahead. I dare you.

p.s. my Neal also has the ability to bring out the BEST in me....just so you know.