His Way

I have witnessed firsthand someone have a tremendous encounter with the Lord and consciously choose to continue to sin against Him. 

Following the Lord cannot be merely emotional.

I have watched with my own eyes people proclaim Christ while willfully doing the devil's bidding. 

Following the Lord will look a kinda way.

I have seen those with knowledge about scripture and Biblical commands destroy their spouse, love self over others, live terrified, function in isolation, cling to pain, abuse their children, and live hateful.

Following the Lord impacts everything and affects everyone.

I have counseled hearts that know the Lord but don't believe Him, be forgiven while harboring unforgiveness, call Jesus Lord while rejecting His Word, quote scripture while denying it's power.

Following the Lord goes well beyond knowing, reading, claiming, and decreeing. 

If we truly believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:16), that He came for freedom (Jn 8:32), salvation (Acts 4:12), deliverance (Romans 11:26), and is our ever present help in our time of need (Ps 46:1), then our life will reek of submission, surrender, yielding, and trust that doesn't make earthly sense. 

There will be a consistent choosing His way over our own way, even when - and especially when - our way feels easier, justified, and right. 

Matthew 7:20 reminds us, "You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?" What do people see when they witness your life? 

Does keeping company with you give life by its fruitfulness or does being close to you leave a wound by its hurtfulness? 

If you're unsure, ask with encouraged honesty and be willing to listen. Pray and ask the Lord for help where you struggle.

Pain + Suffering

 It is human nature to not wanna feel the hard things... but hard the hard things will come.

Not due to lack of faith.

Not due to weak prayers.

Not due to a missed tithe.

Not due to poor declarations.

Not due to skipped Sunday School class.

Not due to frail belief.

But, rather, due to living in a sin-riddled world, where the effects of sin still reach us, where death breaks hearts, where diagnoses wreck plans, where accidents bring pain, where betrayal rips apart oneness, where abuse and trauma destroy.

In John 16:33, Jesus says, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Trouble and pain will come.

Heartbreak and sorrow will come.

Take heart; peace is found in Jesus Christ.

"Can I move from diligently seeking relief to diligently seeking to glorify Him as I treasure Him more than my own health or comfort?" Nancy Guthrie

If agony is the season you're in, take heart. We do not have a High Priest unable to sympathize with us. I pray this podcast is an encouragement to you.

Pain That Can't Be Prayed Away

Sneakiness of Error

This Tozer quote captures a recent path in my journey with the Lord. Learning that His Word is the ultimate authority sounds obvious until it's time to submit. Deception is a sneaky thing, undetected and unchosen. Nobody picks to believe inaccuracies. But, when the Word cuts, it's our humbling honor as Christians to yield to it.

Newsflash: 

Your flesh won't like it. 

You may have to move churches. 

You may be shunned by family members. 

You may be quite lonely. 

You may be embarrassed. 

You may have to repent.

My heart has been humbled and brought low. The illumination of error in my life has shaken me to my core in the best of ways. Learning to study the Word with proper hermeneutics changed everything for me.

I grieve for learning this later in life. I grieve for all the Bible Studies I've facilitated without teaching. I grieve for usurping the order of the Lord out of ignorance.

At the same time, I'm thankful, trusting in the Lord's sovereignty, steadfast love, and basking in His great mercy. He never left me, shepherding the shepherdless, leading me to discover who He really is, purifying everything I believed about Him. 

Where are you struggling to yield to the Word? 

What is the quality of your Bible Study time? 

How is the Word purifying what you believe about God?

My Favorite Place

Where secrets find light

Where sins are confessed

Where struggles find empathy

Where encouragement flows

Where feelings are validated

Where trauma is processed

Where breakthrough takes place

Where truth has its way

Where Jesus is magnified

Where salvation flows freely

Where holiness is presented

Where grief is shared

Where hope is multiplied

Where breath can be deep

Where listening is commonplace

Where repentance is welcome

Where trajectories get shifted

Where "normal" is challenged

Where perspectives are shared

Where purpose can be discovered

Where understanding happens

Where Holy Spirit leads

Where battles are fought

Where equipping happens

Where Scripture is always topic

However you wanna say it,

it's my favorite place to be.

Prayer + Obedience

An AW Tozer quote that's been ringing in my mind: "Prayer is never a substitute for obedience." 

Prayer itself will never fill the shoes or take the place of obedience in our lives.

It's one thing to ask of the Lord. 

It's another to obey what He's already spoken. 

It's one thing to cry out for His intervention. 

It's another to submit to His ways. 

It's one thing to want Him to bring revival. 

It's another to steward our lives in holiness. 

It's one thing to ask for miracles.

It's another to give up our wants.

What are we doing when our prayer eclipses our obedience or when our willingness to obey hinges on condition?

For a deeper dive: 1 Samuel 15:22; Luke 6:46; John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-3.

Micro-Moments

A micro-moment is defined as a very short amount of time, usually one that is seen as being important in some way. We typically do not even realize we are living in these until it is too late.

As Christ-followers, our lives are filled with micro-moments of appeasing our flesh or surrendering to the Lord. In a micro-moment, we can:

Forgive instead of letting bitterness fester;

Utter a slow word of kindness instead of a quick harsh word;

Open our Bible instead of social media;

Choose integrity instead of compromise;

Go to the Lord in prayer instead of gossiping again;

Tend to our spirit instead of feeding an addiction;

Steward well instead of spend compulsively;

Be honest instead of people-pleasing;

Thank the Lord for blessing instead of fret over the frustrating.

Micro-moments are so easily dismissed as not a big deal. Yet, they are the precise things that lead to chains. The little things are the big things!

Be encouraged today to embrace the significance of your every single micro-moment of life. It is an absolute wonder that we have been crucified with Christ. Our flesh no longer gets to call the shots, because we now live by faith in the One who gave it all!

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

In Him, 

Falen

(originally published in Temple Care Biblical Counseling Newsletter, Sept. 2024)

All & Exactly

You are all and exactly what I need Lord

You are safety and you are intimacy

You are my provision and you are my stability

Like a foundation

Solid and unchanging

Reliable and without absence

You are here

You are all and exactly what I need

In the calm and in the storm

In the waking and in the rest

You are all and exactly what I need

Stable and unphased

Solid and unquakable

You are all and exactly what I need

What my family needs

What my workplace needs

What my city needs

What my state needs

What my nation needs

What the globe needs

What the cosmos need

For you are maker and master

Father and friend

Expansive and specific

Necessary and singular

Satisfier and sustainer

More than enough

All and exactly

Ps. 42:7

If deep calls out to deep, then would it not be true that shallow call out to shallow?

I am reminded of shallow and surface friendships, shallow and surface image - whether digital or professional, shallow and surface faith and dare I say shallow and surface christianity.

Maybe being no longer satisfied, content with, entertained by, or comfortable with surface is evidentiary of depth. Maybe the depth is a secondary consequence of a singular superior focus.

A quote echoes in my heart "an inch wide and a mile deep."

A place where shallow no longer fits or can survive. A place where trust brings admittance and uninhibited vulnerability is essential.

There is an immersion that takes place at certain depths that can never be experienced in the shallow.

I am all in.

There is no fear here.
There is no worry here.
There is no bitterness or resentment here.
There is no hatred or sarcasm here.
There is no pain here.
There is no addiction here.
There is no manipulation here.
There is no scheming here.
There is no loneliness here.
There is no betrayal here.
There is no disappointment here.

The waves and the breakers won't allow it. Rolling over me, only one thing matters. The singular and superior focus. His name is Yahweh.

Phil 3:14

I press on
I keep going
I won't stop
I persevere
I refuse to give up
I keep fighting for and

Toward the goal for the prize
For there is reward
A grand and beautiful one
An accomplishment to be proud of
A reason to celebrate

of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus
Such a call as this
An upward one

Come hell or high water
No matter the circumstance
The atmosphere
The attitude
The struggle
The difficulty
The draining
The frustration

I won't stop heading toward and through and to the prize of that which is higher
An upward call of God
A higher purpose
Seeing the view from an elevated perspective
Knowing that there is purpose and goodness ahead
To persevere because there is more going on than simply what we can see when we are in the thick of it

That upward call is the goal
Upward Not Inward
Such an anthem
Higher are your thoughts
Higher are your ways
 

Let It Be

Let your words forever be my default.

Let your truth ever reign within me. 

Let your peace always resonate.

Let my vision remain upward.

Let inhales be your presence and exhales be your glory.

Let all my opinions carry authorship from Heaven.

Let my perspective always be enthroned with yours.

Let every desire within me flow from every desire of yours.

Let my every motive be earmarked for your glory.

Let all my utterances echo the sound of Your kingdom.

Let every selfish intention die.

Let every emotion not from you bow its knee to the supremacy of Your character.

Let the anthem of my days share the melody of your throne.

Let Your purpose ever be my priority.

Let Your undeniable goodness be more than evident.

Let it be.

Please know...

I wake up so angry.  

I am mad.  

I am infuriated.  

I am heartbroken.

I want to hold your face in my hands, look you into the eyes, and tell you something you need to know. 

I don't want to tell you something sweet and encouraging, because "that's how she is" or "that's just what she does." No!

I want you to open your yes.  

The veil to be lifted. 

The lies to be exposed.  

The fog to fade.  

The truth to be known.  

By you.

I want you to know that what I am about to say is true, attainable, nonfiction, not only a possibility--but a reality to be had.  I want you to know this message is for you.

I want you to know this deep within your soul. Imprint it on your heart. Never forget it. 

Don't let the negative thoughts,
words of others,
mistakes of your past,
the situation you are in,
the trials you face,
or the lies of the enemy
to rob you of this truth.

You ready for it?

You are loved.

Yes, you!

You do not need a man to love you to feel and be loved.

The best behaved children to determine your worth and value.

The perfect marriage to feel constant adoration.

The validation of those around you to feel valued and affirmed.
To constantly act a certain way to get people to like you.
A certain number of views or followers to feel heard.

Please understand the sincere and passionate truth in these statements:

You are treasured.

You are loved.

You are pursued.

You are worth more than you will ever know.

Please stop accepting defeat, pain, trauma, and a life without hope and peace as the norm.

Please stop letting the mistakes and failures of your past keep you from the truth that you are a beloved daughter to the King of Kings.

Please stop settling for less than when there is so much greatness ahead of you.

Please stop wallowing in the victim-of-life's-circumstances puddle and rise up to the royal position you are called.

There is so much more for you, baby girl.

You are destined for greatness.

Step into it.

You are more than you think you are.

God is closer than you think He is.

I love you.