by Emma Jenkins | Apr 26, 2018 | Life Advice, Sisterhood, Testimonies |
Seeking my first love, I rise in the morning and God embraces me in His grace that is sufficient. As the soles of my feet hit the floor, I go to the foot of my bed and spend time with Jesus. I delight in His Word that is breathed by Him. He reminds me of Who He is and who I am in Him. I dwell in light and armor up in truth, for I also know that without question, the moment I rise, flaming arrows of deceit and attacks of darkness are coming.
My phone lights up with notifications and as many of us do, I get so excited to go and see what I am being notified about. Picking up my phone and going to social media, I don’t encounter the notifications that anyone would be hoping or expecting to see. I post pictures and videos about Jesus and how beautiful He is, and how He changed my life and how much He loves His people so unconditionally and recklessly. The videos that I post are filled with God’s truth and encouragement, and songs and joy.
Then there are the comments, though. The comments say that my singing makes ears bleed. The comments say that my eyebrows look like caterpillars and that my nose is too big. The comments. They ring loud and clear that I am brainwashed and that my faith is a fairytale. The perverted and disrespectful words sting and hurt. The comments say that I am crazy odd, and that I need to tone it down a little and that I love Jesus too much. People are tagging other people for simply the gratification of laughing at me together. I have been called an “annoying religious Disney princess”, “cringy”, and words so filled with hatred, that I didn’t even know those words existed until I had been called them.
The comments say that I need to be quiet. The comments say I don’t need to live anymore. They mock. They bully. They laugh. They poke. Like stones, they aim and throw a comment here and a comment there to see how they can make me fall. Sometimes, I wonder if the writers of these comments realize that there actually is another person on the other side of the screen. Another heart reading these words that have so much potential to tear apart. I have found myself sometimes looking in the mirror with all of the comments racing through my head, and wow…it would be so effortless to believe them, and sometimes in my human feelings, I momentarily do. Sometimes, even knowing that God is receiving the glory for it, I can’t help but cry because joy doesn’t always look like a smile.
But here’s the reason I keep going: I might get notifications full of these hateful words, but I have already been notified of God’s Word! My phone may have lit up with notifications devaluing my identity, but it came too late because before the beginning of time, my God spoke light into my identity. In the morning when I rose, God notified me with Who He is and who I am in Him already. This morning when I rose, I armored up in truth. Therefore, anything that comes my way that does not align with His Word, I speak truth over it. How is it possible that I can do this even when thousands of notifications come packed with rudeness and wickedness?
BECAUSE I HAVE ALREADY BEEN NOTIFIED AND APPROVED!
When I read the comments that I am not pretty, or my eyebrows look like caterpillars, or my nose is too big, I back it up really quick, and take note of what voice that is coming from.
I remember the comment of my God that declares I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
I am made in His image.
I am “the head and not the tail, I am the top and not the bottom”
I am “all together beautiful, beautiful in every way and “enthralling in the eyes of the Lord.”
I am the apple of God’s eye. I am His masterpiece.
I am clothed in strength and dignity.
I am chosen, holy, and dearly loved.
I am His treasure, called by name and filled with a greater joy.
I remember that I have already received the notification from God that “I don’t have to fear or be dismayed, because He is with me and He is my God, and He will strengthen me and help me and uphold me with His righteous right hand”. I remember that I have already been notified that “I am not here for the approval of people, but of God”. I have already been notified that I am made without shame and because “the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” I am reminded that I am the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
The notification that “the Lord is my Shepherd and I lack no good thing” rings louder. He rejoices over me with louder singing, and quiets the storm of doubt in my heart with His love that never fails. I am squeezed on all sides, but not crushed because His hope is an anchor firm and secure in me. The notifications of the world still come and advance against me, I will even then be confident because my identity is not in the fickleness of society, but the foundation of truth.
If I allow what people say to determine how I act and decide who I am, I will be inconsistent and never become all that God designed me to be. If I fall into believing that I have to have every person like me, thinking that this is what “keeping the peace” means, in actuality I am allowing the enemy to rob the peace within myself.
In 2 Timothy 3:16, it says that “the Word of God is God-breathed, and it has been made profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” In this way, no matter the comment, I am equipped with truth to keep going and remember that I am in the world but not of it. I am equipped with the joy of the Lord that is my strength. I am equipped in the promise that in my weaknesses His strength is made perfect. And I am also equipped to even love the very ones who speak hatred over my life.
Hurt people hurt other people, and people are not my enemy. Those who send comments of discouragement and mockery don’t know how loved they are yet. What an amazing opportunity to love! For anyone can love those who love them back. When I began to see myself the way that God sees me, I couldn’t help but see others the way that He sees others. Jesus had every right and reason to quit on us and to give up on us, and not love us because of how we turn from Him and choose darkness instead of light, but He didn’t. And because Jesus didn’t give up on me when He had every right to, I will not give up on people, especially those who give me every right and reason to. Because Jesus raised me up, I choose to live my life lifting up others with His love that never fails, and truth that sets us free. The world tells us to love those who love us back, but to hate our enemies, but very truly Jesus tells us to love our enemies. To pray for those who persecute us, and to bless those who curse us.
Jesus came to this earth knowing that there would be those whose response would be in hatred, yet He still loved them. Because it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me, I pick up my cross, follow Him and love the world as He so loved regardless of the response. Jesus said that if the world hates you, remember that it hated Him first.
Not only does God’s Word equip me with strength to see myself as He sees, and receive His notification of my identity, but He also gives me the strength to continue speaking His notification and validation over the very ones who notified me with lies. Seeking my first love, I continue to rise in the morning…for there are still hearts that don’t know how loved they are. That in itself empowers my heart to press on. I rejoice being counted worthy to suffer for the Name that commented His approval on my heart before time began. WOW! This makes my heart smile bigger than my face can. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me, including being the original Emma Mae Jenkins that God made me to be!
I can smile, dance, love and sing, and keep on posting and keep on speaking and keep on writing because I have already been notified.
What comments are you listening to?
by Courtney Leatherwood | Apr 11, 2018 | Life Advice, Testimonies |
you are creative.
It’s a feeling that I had not experienced in a long while. Self-doubt. Can you relate? Maybe you have an area in your life where you battle the self-doubt day in and day out. If that’s you, I’m right there with you. Believe it or not, I’ve never experienced a heavy wave self-doubt in the area of my creative ability until recently. The moment I stepped into a full time role of designing, writing and creating, I faced a loud wave of opposition.
For months, I struggled to create anything. Sometimes, I would be so frozen with doubt that I couldn’t create or write or move. It was unreal…but so real to me. It’s sad, really…I was so engaged in my own thoughts and lies, that I could not receive encouragement from friends and family. Can you say words of affirmation: closed for business?
The voices in my head told me things like:
You can’t create that… UNEQUIPPED
Your words won’t be read…. UNNOTICED
Your work looks too much like theirs…COMPARISON
You don’t know what needs to be shared…UNKNOWLEDGABLE
You’re not enough… UNWORTHY
These are some of the lies that I faced for months. Sound familiar? Are there words, thoughts, and obstacles in your life right now that seem like giants? Raise your hand if that’s you, sister!
The way I see it, you have two options in the face of self-doubt:
1. You can believe the lies and remain paralyzed by self-doubt.
Or
2. You can press forward with confidence and experience FREEDOM, living in the fullness of what you’re called to do.
Months after my battle, I had a sweet friend ask me: What does God say is truth?
I am enough in Him.
I am creative because of Him.
I am free because of Him.
I am strong in Him.
I am able in Him.
IN HIM…. He is my strength. Read that one more time if it didn’t sink in.
Everything I see, create and do in this world is because of Him. Every time I feel strong, it is because of Him. Every day I create art or design, is because of Him. And I am fully equipped, because of Him.
So, I’m writing from the other side telling you that in God’s strength, you can experience freedom and joy! Once I surrendered my fears and doubts to Him, I was fueled with creativity like never before (the proof: this new LO magazine). And honestly, I had no idea what I was doing, but God worked in me. I believe He can do that for you too.
Let’s pause for a moment. If you’re reading this and cannot relate, read this: I believe that every human is designed to create and make things for God’s kingdom. I mean, our God is the most creative designer ever. He is our Father and we are all designed to create. Whether it’s art, music, businesses, relationships, community, churches, Instagram captions or stories—every human is wired to create for the Kingdom. When we create the things we are called and positioned to do, we experience freedom.
“ Now, God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” Ephesians 2:7-10 MSG
For those on the verge of creating something big, I want to encourage you in this—God is waiting for each one of you to step forward to create new things. Remember, God made you to create. He has already stirred inside of you ways to make use of your gifts and passions. And if you haven’t experienced that already, let me tell you, God is waiting for you to ask and activate your gifts and passions.
Father, I pray for every person facing self-doubt today. May you silence the voices that are lies, and amplify your truth. Give us eyes to see ourselves how you see us. Reveal to us the gifts you have given us, humble our hearts and empower us to say YES to serving you with those gifts. Father, we thank you that you are always enough. You are our strength. In Jesus, name Amen.
by Laney Rene | Apr 6, 2018 | Testimonies |
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength…”
If you’re reading this blog right now, you’ve probably heard this quoted before, or maybe even quoted it yourself. Usually, people use this verse in times when they’re facing something difficult or trying to accomplish something really hard. But have you ever thought about the significance of the word “all”?
Recently, I’ve been running more often and almost every time I step on the treadmill I find myself quoting Philippians 4:13. But something stuck out to me the other day when I said this verse out loud. The word “all”. Sometimes I think we can lose the significance of that word here. All means ALL. It means the things that we think are hard…but also the things that we feel like come easily to us. I’m not intentionally bursting your bubble, but, if you’ve never thought about this, I think I might be about to. Everything (all) that you can do, is because of Jesus, because everything leads back to Him.
He knew you before you were even in your mother’s womb. He created your brain to think, your legs to move, and your brain to tell your legs to move. He created your bones to grow and your muscles to build strength. He created everything about you. Do you realize you couldn’t even lift a Q-tip without him? As funny as that sounds, it’s 100% the truth. All the things you can do, the things you think you’re good at, or know you’re good at, are actually just because He’s good. It’s His strength moving through your body.
John 15:5 says “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
This verse has been on my mind a lot lately, because I feel like there is something new every day that I am telling Jesus I have no clue how to do. That HE is going to have to help me and be my strength in. Something I’ve found is that just like a good daddy loves to carry you around on his back when you’re young, our heavenly Papa loves to carry us through this life. He just wants us to jump on and trust him.
He won’t drop you! I said He won’t drop you!
This reminds me of a time in my own life, when I remember it being SO clear that He was my strength and He was carrying me through life.
I was backup dancing at the time and we were getting ready for another tour. I remind you, I’m a HIP-HOP dancer…that is it! Ha! That is the extent of my training. I found out we would be doing a contemporary piece, and my first thought was, “you know I’m a hip-hop dancer, right?” But I remember The Lord almost shutting my mouth in that moment and reminding me that without him, I was nothing, and could do nothing—but WITH Him, I could do all things.
So, a couple full day rehearsals and tour rehearsals had passed, and it was the first night of tour…and I was SICK! I didn’t feel well at all. I felt so weak and like all my strength was gone. I remember being so upset and crying about the fact that it was our first show, and how in the world am I going to do this dance? Not only because it’s not a style I’m used to, but now I’m sick too? I was thinking, “What If I fall? This dance has lifts and turns and jumps! Yeah…I’m destined to fall on my face!”
But when I took my eyes off my weakness and looked toward Him, He showed me His strength. He reminded me once again, “Laney, without me, you can do nothing. But with me, you can do all things. I. Won’t. Drop. You.”
That night, I remember dancing like I never had before, because I truly don’t believe it was me dancing. It was literally like my Papa was carrying me through the dance. I felt a supernatural strength that I knew could not have been my own. The lifts were better than I think we had ever done them, because I truly saw that HE was lifting me up off the ground and above my weakness. He showed His strength when I realized and acknowledged I had none without Him.
I feel like the more this becomes a realization to me, the more I’m able to see His strength in my whole life. To see the times He has carried me, when I know I couldn’t carry myself or have the strength to take another step. He has always been there to hold me and to lead me through this life. I believe my life is a story that shows his strength. Without him, I’m weak, I’m broken, I’m tired, I’m empty, I’m lonely, I’m needy, I’m hungry and I’m thirsty. But he has shown me and continues to show me every single day, that he alone is my strength and my answer to all things in this life.
“Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
~ Isaiah 46:4
by JENNY ERLINGSSON | Mar 12, 2018 | Life Advice |
Frustrated was an understatement. I think I was in a bit of shock at the ridiculousness of the situation I found myself in. “How did I get here?” I asked myself, staring at my two feet stretched out in front of me, covered by a sterile white blanket that was not my own. “Here” was a hospital room, where I was hooked up to an IV machine pumping fluid and antibiotics into my body. Giving me what I needed to fight an E. Coli infection I had contracted a few days before, unbeknownst to me. Was it the pasta salad, the salmon, the hot dog? Ugh.
It should not have been that big of a deal, and that’s why I was so annoyed. It was something that I could have gotten over at home. But the issue was that I was pregnant, and the antibiotics that were the most effective to treat the infection were not so good for a growing baby. So instead, I had to be hooked up to an IV of another kind and monitored to make sure my pregnancy wasn’t affected. Did I mention I had 3 other young kids at home? Oh, and that my husband was traveling to Iceland for an important trip in a few days? Or that it had been a few months of circumstances that had attempted to steal my joy time and time again?
My initial thoughts that day were a far cry from what I felt the Lord had spoken over my life for this year. I was letting frustration overtake my joy. My husband and I had just said yes to something huge for our lives and family, and in that step of obedience, the Lord assured me that He would cover me and be my provider, that as his daughter I could trust him.
This applies to all of us. We all belong to Jesus and He can be trusted. He seeks and searches, calls us out by a name that disbands our issues and dispels our fear. He calls us daughters and sons, names we did not earn, an identity that cannot be set by anyone else. Simply His. But with it is the weight of glory, with it is a mantle and a crown, the evidence that we are truly co-heirs with Christ and have access to everything he purchased for us on the cross.
But do we believe this? Do we believe that what He has for us matters more than temporary, frustrating and sometimes downright silly circumstances? We can talk all we want…but will we show our belief by how we walk it out? It’s one thing to say that we believe something and quite another to cultivate an environment around that belief.
I love my amazingly handsome, Viking husband, and the terribly cute and feisty kids that we have. My love however has to go beyond words, beyond the vows that I made. I have to create and continue to cultivate a home out of the overflow of that which I believe in. I am committed to my family and to doing the things that help take care of their needs, and ensure that they flourish. I am committed to partnering with my husband for all that God has called us to do. I am in no way perfect as a wife or mother, but I DO for them because I love and believe in power and purpose of my marriage.
What about you? What things have been spoken over you by the Lord? What have you said yes to? Are you willing to set the atmosphere of your life in a way that declares your trust? Or will you let doubt steal the seeds of faith Jesus desires to plant in your heart?
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was given a seemingly unbelievable promise that would come through impossible circumstances. Yet, she decided that she would believe the words spoken to her. She said yes and agreed with the promise. Instead of staying home where doubt, questions and negativity may have swayed her decision, she went away for 3 months to an environment that would help stir her faith.
One of my favorite verses in scripture is what her cousin Elizabeth spoke over Mary when she arrived. You see, Elizabeth also found herself pregnant. What would have seemed impossible at her advanced age was now a reality. In absolute joy she declared, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Luke 1:45 NIV
Her faith and joy helped create an environment of belief around Mary. So much so, that afterwards Mary sang her own song of gratitude and joy, stirring up her spirit to totally come into agreement with the promise God was going to birth through her. I’m not saying that we all need to or can get away, but I am saying that we need to do whatever it takes to nurture the seeds that God plants in our lives. Fan into flame the sparks that are meant to light up the culture around you.
I think at times, I fail at the cultivation part. I hear a word from the Lord, I get a nudge from his sweet Spirit, a wooing of a promise that he has declared over me and planted in my heart. Something He will reveal when the timing is just right. I hear it, I thank him, I get excited and say I believe it—but then, I stand in the mirror and judge the vessel he wants to bring the promise through. I question his trust in me, and therefore it affects my trust in Him. Instead of pouring life into the promise with uplifting words, I allow past disappointment and hurt and frustration to choke what he is doing in me. It colors my lens and shadows the filter through which I see. And so, I begin to open the door to doubt and rationalization instead of one of belief.
Does this sound familiar? It’s a cycle that demands to be broken because we live in a world that needs to be changed by our belief. It needs the atmospheric change that we produce when we are in tune with the Spirit and abiding with Him. Our culture needs the shift that occurs when the sons and daughters of God believe the words that have been declared over them, from before time began and operate in the ways that bring heaven to earth. We need the blessing that comes through belief, the promise and purpose that can change the course of history.
I know that we have not been tasked to give birth to the physical Son of God like Mary was, but in a way what we have been given is no less significant. When we receive Jesus into our lives, the very Spirit that overshadowed Mary, that rested on Jesus throughout his ministry, that resurrected Him from death, dwells in us! We have opportunity to say yes to God, to choose to believe his words by our ways and our actions and allow him to birth in us and through us promises that are meant to change the destinies of people and nations.
Creation groans and waits in anticipation for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed and operate as they truly are (Romans 8:19) Don’t wait for someone else to see it in you. Come into agreement now with what your Father says about you and do something about it. It may be taking a step of faith, getting out from negativity and surrounding yourself with faith filled friends. It might simply be getting in front of the mirror and say “Girl, God’s got you and you got this!”
I ended up in a hospital bed those months ago, not because I was deathly sick or even because it was some divine time out from the Lord, it was simply because actions were taken in response to the promise within me. My fourth child, my grand finale, needed an environment that would cultivate his growth, not his demise, and as I laid there, something stirred in my spirit and the whirlwind of the past few months culminated into a picture that permeated my heart:
“I believe at times, the Lord allows the storm not only to show us who He is, but to show us who we can be, who we are. Maybe before we were sniveling fearful messes crying out, thinking that the Lord was inactive and silent, letting the circumstance dictate a reactive response. But one day, something shifts, as the wind blows you stand up and realize that he has put his words in your mouth and his love in your heart. That instead of being told what to do by the rage of the wind, you stand firm and declare life over your situations. Fists clenched, head held high, armor glistening in the moonlight, you roar out the glory and the purposes of your King. You speak peace where there is pain, hope where it has waned, provision where it seems nothing can be gained. You decide to believe in all that He says you can be and do, worshipping over the wave and wind. And then you lay down, next to your sleeping savior, not a sign of his inactivity but the reality of the assurance of his victory…and as you choose to rest in his promise, he opens his eyes just a bit, takes in the smell of the sea in your hair, the storm that did NOT overtake you and smiles…’that’s my girl’, he whispers, as he tucks you to his side”.
by Laney Rene | Mar 9, 2018 | Life Advice |
“Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen. This testimony of faith is what previous generations were commended for. Faith empowers us to see that the universe was created and beautifully coordinated by the power of God’s words! He spoke and the invisible realm gave birth to all that is seen.” Hebrews 11:1-3 TPT
When I was asked to write this blog, I honestly thought it was kind of funny that we’re all writing on the topic “believe”, because the last couple months I feel like that is the very thing the enemy has tried to attack and question. “Do you even know what you believe?” You say you believe and trust God, but do you really? Do you really think what you heard was God? Do you really think that’s going to happen?” These are the thoughts that came to mind, but something I’ve learned is that not all of our thoughts are from God (thank goodness!), and not all of our thoughts are a reflection of what we believe. What we believe is found in how we respond to those thoughts, how we act on what we believe and how we speak!
What you believe is so important, because it ultimately determines how you live your life. Everything you do, is based off something you believe or don’t believe. Big or small. Good or bad. You had a thought, you believed it, you acted on it. It’s that simple. In fact, the biggest decision you will ever make is based on what you believed when you accepted Jesus into your heart. That was the biggest and best decision you will ever make. In one moment, your life was changed forever by what you BELIEVE.
That being said, it’s important to know that the enemy is after what you believe. He wants to confuse you, and shake you, and make you question what God has spoken over you. The Bible says he prowls around, seeking who he may devour. In other words, he wants to destroy you! Isn’t that awesome? Hah! Total sarcasm. He wants to destroy the amazing plans God has for your life. The only way He can do that is if you believe that he has that kind of power.
Recently, I was at an event and during worship, I was just praying about some things that God had put in my heart to do. I walked into that night with a sense of those dreams being so big, that I found myself asking God, “Now, how in the world are you going to do this?” But I feel like he probably thinks I’m funny to think that my dreams are big. What is a big dream in comparison to a God that cannot be measured? He said, “baby, where is your faith?” This immediately brought tears to my eyes and a weight lifted off my back. I had been carrying around these dreams, as if it was my job to make them happen—instead of resting, believing, and knowing that they are from Him. He will accomplish all he intended to accomplish through them. Because the dreams in my heart ultimately aren’t about me. And if they were, I really don’t think the enemy would try and question me on how they were going to happen.
For example, I danced as a backup dancer for about 4 and a half years. Yes, I LOVE to dance, but my dream to dance was never just to dance on stage behind a person with a microphone. In fact, I never even thought about doing that until probably a year before it happened. My dream and real passion was to share Jesus and what he has done in my life, and the freedom I found when His love found me. To tell the world of His goodness, and to see people experience true freedom and His great love. So, in the journey of pursuing dance, I had a lot of things that tried to stop me and keep me from that. Not because the devil just didn’t want me to dance, but he knew the power that me dancing would carry, and the freedom it would bring to people because of Who God is and what He had done in my life. The enemy wasn’t just trying to stop dancing, He was trying to stop JESUS in me. He’s not just trying to stop you, he’s trying to stop JESUS in you. The enemy doesn’t like you, because he doesn’t like Jesus, and if you received Jesus into your heart, you now carry Him with you everywhere you go.
Let’s be real, sometimes it’s hard to believe, when there are still things we don’t understand or don’t feel like we have answers to yet. But let me encourage you, when you feel like there’s something you don’t know, just take that as an opportunity to lean in more to what you DO know. As I write this, something tells me maybe you just don’t feel like you know what you know anymore. So, let me tell you some unchangeable truths that you can rest in and believe.
1. You are SO loved by a GOOD Father. (John 3:16)
2. He has good plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11)
3. You’re never alone (Joshua 1:9)
4. God speaks to you and you can hear Him (John 10:27)
5. God gives you dreams (Acts 2:27)
6. You’ve been set free (John 8:36)
7. What the enemy meant for harm in your life God will use for your good (Romans 8:28)
8. No one can steal or take away from what God has planned for your life. (Revelation 3:7, Psalm 16:5)
9. He will make a way, when there seems to be no way (Isaiah 43:19)
10. You have everything you will ever need in Jesus (Philippians 4:19)
And one more thing! Believe this, YOU are the biggest threat there is to the enemy, because of WHO you carry. So walk in that confidence! You don’t have to be afraid, the enemy is actually intimidated by your every move when you’re aware of the power within you.
