At least no one is trying to kill you...

Most of us know Joseph's story starting with the boy given the coat of many colors, thrown in the pit, then a LONG process of different seasons until he becomes the Pharaoh's right hand man and gets reunited with his family.  But what about David? David's story is very different, but still a story of seasons. Most of us can tell you about his poor choices leading up to and following his affair with Bathsheba, and we take hope from this story because even though he made mistakes he was called a man after God's own heart. What we don't usually focus on is the time between the boy who killed Goliath and him becoming the King that was on his roof looking for trouble.

He was a young boy, the baby of the family when God sent Samuel to anoint him king. He knew what God was going to do with him, but he didn't know how or when. He went from the shepherd in the field to mighty David who people sang songs about how he killed his tens of thousands after defeating Goliath. He became a man (son-in-law) that King Saul grew to hate out of pure jealousy. He spent YEARS running and hiding as Saul chased after him trying to kill him. He showed mercy and grace to the man who would never have done the same, only to spend many more YEARS in a war (after Saul's death) before he actually ruled the kingdom God had given him many years earlier. 

 

David experienced seasons in his life, seasons of joy and hope, seasons of heartache and pain, seasons of victory and defeat. We do know (Philippians 1:6) that "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." We see this played out in David's life as well as Joseph's and many others in the Bible, but I think we forget that for our own lives. I know for me it is a struggle not to continually ask God what the completed Bonnie accomplishes. I have a hard time waiting out the season, sometimes good ones as well as hard ones. 

 

All of that to say...I believe the answer is to live each day to the best of your ability. Allow God to smooth the path ahead. When he begins something in you, he is at work. He continues to work even when you don't see how this is going to get you anywhere. You are simply asked to represent Jesus, show his mercy and grace and follow after the things of his heart. He will put you where he wants you and use you in ways unimaginable. Enjoy the seasons of hope...be calm in the waiting...push through the hurt, God is at work...and no one is trying to kill you!

What season are you in? 

 

What has God put in front of you that you don't know how to get to? (Remember, it is not your job to get yourself there. He is the one at work.)

A message for MOMS!

Something new God is teaching me I thought I would share today is about being a mom and a woman in ministry.  If I'm being really honest I can tell you I have been struggling trying to figure out what it looks like to be a stay at home mom. I am not a homebody. I like to be out and about. I certainly don't like to miss out on anything. And most of all I have prayed for a long time for God to use me in a mighty, powerful way. (Now, don't misunderstand, I don't care if that means I do something big and great or if it is something small and never recognized, I just want God to know I am here to serve him and want to be used by him to further his kingdom.)  I am not trying to minimize the role of the stay at home mom either. I am just trying to figure out what it looks like for me. I am used to going 90mph and I find myself in a new place only having to go 30mph. I don't really know how to "stop and smell the roses" being that I am wired to be very task oriented, so there are lots of discoveries for me here and now.
I have been reading through Ruth and Samuel and God has been really teaching me some different ways that it might look to be used by him. If you look at the story of Ruth and the little bit you get from the life of Hannah what you see is that God used them in a mighty way and they may not have ever known it.
You know the story of Ruth...(If not, you can read it. It's the little, short book in the Old Testament titled, :) Ruth.) She had the opportunity to go home to her family, but stuck with her mother-in-law and saw God go ahead of her and provide for all her needs. She wound up being in the lineage of David, who in case you don't know was in the lineage of Jesus! Pretty big role to play, I'd say, but she had no idea. She just lived her life of honor each day not knowing how she was going to be used.
And Hannah is only mentioned briefly in the beginning of 1 Samuel as one of two wives to Elkanah. That alone is the start to trouble - 2 wives...Anyway, we find Hannah crying out to God because she has been tormented by not being able to have kids. She asks God to give her a son and in return she will give that son back to him. God answers her prayer and she follows through and hands the young boy over to the priest to be raised in service to God. I love in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hannah praises God for what he has done and honors him for his ability, recognizing that he is God! That son was Samuel who grows up to honor God and speaks for the Lord to all of Israel. Hannah, too had no idea how her life would play a mighty role in serving God, she just lived each day to honor him and God did some amazing things through her.
With all that said, I want to encourage any moms, working or not, that God just might be using you in a mighty way just by you being a mother and a woman of honor! So, in search of defining my role in ministry, my job is to do the best I can do to honor God today and teach my kids to do the same.

What speed do you feel like you are going? Do you find yourself focusing on how God might want to use you, or are you just serving him the best way you can where he has you today?

What are you putting in his mouth?

Ok - so it's been a really long time since my last post.  (I kind of feel like I'm starting a confession saying that.) We are moved, mostly settled and trying to start a new normal. As I pray about what to post, I just keep coming back to this same lesson that I actually started writing before the move. Throughout this time of crazy schedules, in between homes for a week, packing and unpacking for almost a month, the thing that stands out most about what God is doing is how he is teaching me to truly hear his voice. God's been teaching me a lot about the differences not only between outside noise and his voice, but also about the difference between his voice and the words I put in his mouth. It is funny how we can read scripture and twist something around to make ourselves think that it is God speaking when really it is how we have taken God's word and made it about what we want to see happen without even realizing it.
I have talked with ladies who have asked "How do you know it is God speaking?" or "How do you hear his voice?" I have spent many hours thinking about those questions and tried to come up with how I answer them.
Mind you - I have no Seminary training or background for this to be anything other than my own experiences. However, here is what I would say is how I know I hear God's voice...

1 - In order for God to speak to you there must be a connection between you. - You spend time with him regularly. You praise him. You read his instruction book, The Bible, daily. You love him and you tell him that with your words and your actions. (This doesn't mean that God can't speak to you and get your attention without spending regular time with him. It simply means that to have a relationship where you truly learn to hear his whispers there has to be a ongoing connection.)

2 - What God says to you is not centered around you. - God has great things in store for you, but what he says to you will not be about lifting you up and making you great. If you think God is speaking to you and what he is saying somehow makes you look really good or puts you in a really good position, just double check that you are not putting words in his mouth. God has designed us to glorify him and lift him up! There are many people in the New Testamant and still today who have lost their lives following what God said for them to do.
   
3 - What God says is often confirmed through people or circumstances. - God will use other people in your life or things happening around you to affirm to you what he has already said.

4 - What God says will happen, happens! - It is not from God if what you think he said does not happen.  Deuteronomy 18:21-22
You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken.

A little side story...
I found myself learning these lessons clearly not too long ago. I know that God has something in store for me, a ministry that I will be able to serve him in a mighty way. I have no idea what that looks like, so as I read scripture I began to picture some ways that could be accomplished. I took God's word and in my heart, as if God was saying it to me, I told myself this is what he is telling me. "He is going to allow this to happen and do this, so that I can do this..." I was completely convinced that it was from God. It came to my mind during a quiet time. It was based on scripture.I have been seeking him with all my heart, having a great connection with him. Why wouldn't it be what God wanted for me?
I had the opportunity for it to be confirmed through a circumstance that same morning, but it was not. That still wasn't enough. I was convinced God was going to do this, so I kept thinking of other ways that it could work out. Through out this time I have to admit God had to be looking down at me going "Oh Bonnie, when are you going to learn? What are you doing all this running around for? If you would just get out of the way and stop making your own plan, I could really do some pretty cool things with you." 
Finally, I was able to stop and look at why I came up with this thought in the first place. I was hiding the fact from myself, but ultimately this plan was to elevate me. Although God would be honored in the outcome, the plan itself was about elevating me to the place I thought I should be, not about following him and his plan. 

When Jesus was in the wilderness being temped, Satan even used scripture to try to get Jesus to mess up. It is very important to know when God is speaking vs when you are putting words in his mouth. I know that if you are a Christ Follower, if you have given your life to follow after Christ, God is present and he is real! If you spend time with him, and cry out for him to speak to you, he will answer. Jeremiah 33:3 says:  
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Are you putting words in God's mouth, or are you allowing him to teach you great things?


I would love to hear some of the ways that you know when God is speaking.  Please post comments and share what God is teaching you and how you hear his voice.

The Big News!

SO, the next step on the journey...WE'RE MOVING TO SOUTH CAROLINA!
PT has accepted a job as the Discipleship Pastor at NewSpring's Greenville campus, and we will be there by the end of July. I have to focus on the move and not on the leaving, but we are very excited to know we are headed right where God wants us to be. I can't wait to see what all he teaches us there. I will be staying home with the boys, (at least for now) and am really excited to see what all we can get in to. :) God is so good!

Here is a little note that PT and I posted on Facebook, if you are in town and can join us for a little farewell get together we would love to see you! Farewell Note

The Gap Between Hopes and Dreams

As we have stepped out in faith to see what the new journey is that God has for us I have come up with an idea for what causes us to fall between getting our hopes up and accomplishing our dreams. I know without a doubt that God was at the heart of this leap of faith we have taken, so I had a certain expectation of what he was going to do. I remember telling my friend Janay, in the beginning, that I expected to be home a couple of weeks. Which would be great to spend some time with the family and give my house a good cleaning. We would then be offered the perfect job and we would not miss a beat financially. She kept her laughing to a minimum and asked me when I was going to come back to reality. It's funny now, but I was just certain God was able to do this. He called us out here (See my first post for the story.) and promised me he had all the details covered. Why wouldn't it be that smooth? At that moment God began to challenge me with "What if I don't meet your expectations? Do you still trust me?"
Not only were we clinging to the promise God made us that he had all the details covered and would "smooth the road ahead of us" (Isaiah 42:16), but we were believing Ephesians 3:20 - God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. And there it is...THE GAP! No, not the store, the place where we lose hope and settle for something other than the dreams God has for our lives. We fall in this trap that God doing "immeasurably more" is the same thing as taking our expectations and making them even better. If I know that I have enough money to make it 3 months before finding a new job, then God doing immeasurably more should mean he does it in 2-3 weeks, right?
Well, if you have been following our story, you know we have been on this journey for almost 4 months now. The money is at the end. I'm not quite sure how it made it this long, to be honest. We are way past my pretty little expectation of what God was going to do, but I am still certain that he can do immeasurably more. It just looks different than I expect. In fact, we came really close to falling in the gap last week. We were interviewing for a job at an AMAZING church. I love the pastor, and would be so excited to be a part of this church. However, God began making it very clear this is not where we were supposed to be. As I stated, we are out of money and really needed to take this job, but what about his promise to smooth the road ahead of us? Do I still trust him? It's been pretty easy to trust him when there is money in the bank, but when we have nothing to rely on but him, what do we do? We TRUST! I honestly believe this is where most people fall in the gap. It doesn't make any sense. People are telling you there is no other way. You doubt what God was doing with you in the first place. You don't say it directly, but you are not longer certain God was leading you. Instead you think maybe it was just me thinking that...
I can't say it is easy to hold tight to hopes, but don't give up! Cling to the promises that God has made to you about your dreams, and one step at a time he will get you where he wants you. Don't fall in the gap...trust him to keep walking until you get to where he wants you. I can tell you I would not trade the last 3 months for anything. God has taught me so many things I would have missed out on if he had met my expectations. I am so thankful that he is a bridge between hopes and dreams.

A Walk Through The Mall

I hit a point in my walk after being a Christ Follower for  15 years where I knew I was walking with God, but I just didn't feel close to him. I was challenged by reading a young girl's blog of all the things God was teaching her and how real he was in her life. I didn't understand why that was not happening in my relationship with him anymore. As I cried out to God for my walk to be that real and exciting again he gave me a visual to put it into perspective.
I have a little boy who is 5 now. When he was little he liked to know his boundaries, but he loved opportunities where he could be independent. We would go to the mall together. When we walked from the car to the door of the mall I always held his hand, but once inside he had a little freedom. He loved to run out ahead of me while we walked though the mall. When he got a little too far ahead I would simply call out for him to wait up. When we got to a turn and he didn't know which way to go, he would look back to me for direction.
God said, that's what my relationship with him had become. He held me tight when things weren't safe, but when things were good, I liked to run out ahead of him. I could still hear his voice when I got too far, and I always sought direction when I didn't know which way to go.
God brought me to this point to let me know he wanted more from our relationship. I pictured PT walking through the mall with his mom and how different that looks. He walks arm in arm with her. They have conversation along the way. When they get to a turn they turn in unison because they know where they are going together.
I am so thankful for this visual. I use it as a check point regularly to determine how I am doing in my walk with him. I want so desperately to be side by side with God on this journey.

How do you walk with God?  What kinds of things do you do to stay close to him?

I hope you dance!

I know the Lee Ann Womack song I Hope You Dance is a bit of a cheesy song. However, God has used this as a reminder for me to be involved in my own life in spite of what others think.
I grew up pretty conservative. I don't know if it was something I picked up from my parents or just worked my way into it on my own. Either way, I was always aware of what was going on around me. I didn't realize it at the time, but I can definitely see now how that influenced my behavior. I have always been "professional", which for me, if I'm honest, translates into "afraid of what others might think." Back in the fall of 2010, when God really began igniting something new in me, PT and I found ourselves at several weddings. I can't say that I am a good dancer, but I have to admit I started longing to have the freedom to just get out there and let loose.
Recently I was reading Mark Batterson's Soul Print and he talks about this in relation to David's life. You may already know that David was known for dancing and praising the Lord. Now that doesn't sound so bad, right? Let's just set the stage for a better understanding. David was entering the city as King for the first time. He knew for many years that God selected him to be the next king, but Saul had been king and there was a lot of drama over a long period of time while he waited for his turn.
Well, it was finally here! He was entering the city in his own parade. He was honoring the Lord before all of Israel and bringing the Ark of God to the city. It was then that he decided to let loose..."And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment." (2 Samuel 6:14) Batterson portrays the event:
Mothers don't know whether to cover their children's eyes. His staff don't know whether to stop him. And a collective blush sweeps across the crowd. The king of Israel is down to a linen loincloth. Then His Majesty starts dancing like a little child without a care in the world.
Let me just say, I am not sure I can go that far in my letting loose at a wedding, especially where my husband is the pastor who just performed the ceremony. However, it is a good reminder that I can't be inhibited so much by what others might think that I am afraid to really be me.
Are you worried about what others might think? Does it keep you from being who God wants you to be? I hope you can find some assurance from this story of David, like I did, to know that it's ok to be you. God made you just the way you are for a reason and he doesn't want you to let life pass you by without YOU being a part of it.

I HOPE YOU DANCE!