Stuck

Here's why I've been gone so long...

   Erika got stuck!

Big time. Only, I didn't really realize it'd happened, until it came up in conversation with my friend, Terri. I told her I'd been feeling jealous of another friend who was talking about her journaling.

Ordinarily, something like that wouldn't cause feelings of jealousy for me. Or, I'd guess a better description of what I felt was longing. I longed to write out my feelings. Except I couldn't write.

     And I couldn't truly admit how I felt.

          And I couldn't sing.

And if I can't sing... I'm stuck.

I'm not kidding, I wake up singing (in my head because that would be too annoying to everyone else). Even in the middle of the night if I get up to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water, I wake up with a song.

But alas, my song was gone.

I'm happy to say it's back.  How did I get unstuck again, you might ask?

I asked God to help me figure it out, and after praying, I realized I hadn't acknowledged a hurt. That's a story for another post, but what I thought was a "small" hurt, was really a gaping wound. The enemy just got his dirty self in there and turned it into an infection.

       But, praise God when I asked... He came to my rescue.

Do you have an unacknowledged wound? Try asking God to help you dig down deep and begin the healing only he can do.

Praise the LORD, all you nations;

   extol him, all you peoples.

For great is his love toward us,

   and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.

Praise the LORD.

                                     Psalm 117

Spiritual Gifts

"Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant."          1 Corinthians 12:1

Do you know which spiritual gift you've been given? Are you using it?

From experience, I know this topic can come with a lot of questions...

    How do I know what mine is?
    How can I be sure I have it?
    Where can I go to find out?

The best thing to do is to pay attention when you're serving others. What fills you with joy? What need do you meet that uplifts and encourages those around you? What makes you feel closer to Christ? Spiritual gifts tests are also available, and they're fun to take as well!

Once you start experimenting, God will usually confirm them through the encouragement of other people.

At times, I've struggled with how I should use mine. In fact, now that I'm not on staff of a church anymore, my gifting has shifted. It's up to me to make sure I'm using them properly. Also, a gift unused gets taken away and we may never get the opportunity again.

Paul shows his concern when he offers further explanation as to why he doesn't want us to be ignorant:

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit" (v 4)
"There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord" (v 5)
"There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." (v 6)
"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." (v 7)

Think about the hundreds of ways these gifts can be used for different service and different working!

It means that no matter where we are or what condition we're in, we can use whatever we've been given to serve God.

       Anywhere. Anytime

But we have to know what it is.

Your gift is to be shared with others in service to God and if you're not sure what yours is or how to use it, I urge you to make it your goal to know. It's more than filling a slot at church or volunteering for a couple of hours.

It's God's presence, his Spirit gift, working through you to build up his body. Since we are the body, when we use our gifts for others, we're also helping ourselves grow stronger. Look at what else Paul says about it in Romans 1:11:

"I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each others faith."

We all benefit when we share our gifts with one another. I know that often, I will make a phone call with the intent of encouraging someone and I end up getting just the right message of wisdom. One time I took a meal to someone in need and three years later, ended up being encouraged by her AND amazed by God's perfect timing.

                                                                          Google Images

I challenge you to fan your gifts into flames! (2 Tim 1:6)

Yesterday

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary. '   
   "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!"
And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for all his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:1-8

Yesterday, I got a lesson in persistence. Persistence, by the way, is an attribute I need to cultivate within myself because I often find it lacking.

From the moment I woke up there was conflict. I mean this literally. My husband was cranky even before I got out of our bed in the morning, and he carried it with him all day.

It was unfair.

It was also my daughter's birthday, and even though he was in this foul mood, I was determined not to let it interfere with everything I wanted to do for her. I wasn't going to let it ruin my celebration of her life, or carry my wounding over to her in any way.

In order for this posting to be fair to my husband, I want you to know we are struggling. He's recovering from surgery and I'm recovering from a case of strep and bronchitis. I've been on two rounds of antibiotics and one course of steroids and we're trying to care for one another although we don't feel well. We're doing a remarkable job despite the circumstances.

Anyway, after I got the kids off to school, I had to come home and take a nap because I was feeling so sick. I climbed into my son's bed and shut the door. I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard a scratch at the door.

   Then another.

      Then another.

It was my dog, Titan, but I was determined to be left alone. Determined to ignore him.

Then I heard a snuffling sound, like a dolphin blowing air out of its blowhole. Then more snuffling and blowing.

   Then whining. Little pathetic whining sounds coming through the crack between the door and the floor.

That dumb dog was not giving up. He lives to snuggle with me and no barrier was going to stop him from achieving his goal. Just then, the scripture of the unfair judge and the widow came to the front of my mind. I decided, that like the widow and my dog, I was going to pray down Heaven about the conflict in my house.

I let the dog in and took a nap. For the rest of the day I prayed and didn't speak to my husband at all.

    Here I am again God. You've got to fix this. It's not right, nor fair. The battle is yours.  Today, I am going to be worse than the widow and worse than my dog. I am going to hound you about this. I will be a peacemaker. I will be called a son of God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9

I mean, I literally prayed all day. Almost 10 hours later, my husband came to me and made peace. My daughter never knew there was any strife between us and had a wonderful day of celebration.

Yesterday, God won.

    Yesterday, I won.

        Yesterday, Titan won.