The Question We Can All Ask

How's your day going??

I'll tell ya, I had no vision of sitting and writing this afternoon.  I am frankly on day five of a child with the flu, restless within the walls of this house, not looking cute or clean, and tempted to eat my way through anything chocolate available to me: Nutella hot chocolate, Ghirardelli chocolate chips by the handful, my husband's French Silk birthday pie in the fridge, the kids leftover Valentine's chocolates, oh the damage I am tempted to do when I'm in Nurse Mommy mode for more than 24 hours.  

But, out of nowhere, my heart burns for you today.  My theology is forming to re-articulate that as His heart is burning for you today.  

Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, let us stop.  

Stop the thoughts.  Stop the distractions.  Stop the mental to-doing.  Stop the voice of fear.  Stop the self-obsessed thoughts.  Stop it all for a moment.

And know this: 

You can have more.

More of what? Things? Power? Achievement? Approval? Acceptance?

Maybe.  No.  Yes.  

You can have more of the Living God.  

And, I don't think that there's much more to life than that when all is stripped away.  So many of us nod in our hearts - echoing agreement.  But, if that is true, then each of us should be stopped right where we are with the earth shattering reality of it.  

Pretend you haven't heard truth all your life.  Pretend this is the lightbulb moment, and you are hearing and believing for the first time ever that this is truth.  He is alive, He is at work and He is near and you can dive deep into life in Christ.  

But then, maybe this is the first time that the possibility of that feels real.  I wish I could look you straight in the eyes right now and tell you with every bit of energy that I have that you aren't crazy and this is real.

I don't care if you've been around the block one million times.  I don't care if you've sauntered around the block three quarters of one full time.  I don't care if you've only ever watched as others circled the darn block.  We can have more of the Living God.  

And how do we do that???

We ask Him.  

And that is the first step towards belief - to believe even enough to ask.  It sounds so simple and so inane.  And it sounds like something we all do, all of the time.  But when was the last time you were alone in a room and you said out loud, with your own voice, 'God, I want more of you.' 

The moment of vulnerability for many of us is His reply.  Will He give a lofty theological answer? Will we feel anything? Is He distant? Will everyone but me experience something?  Or worse - will it be silent?

I don't know what you'll feel.  I don't know where you've been.  I don't know your story.  But I am confident in what His heart is towards you.  Confident.  

This is the truth:

• He longs to be known.  He aches to share Himself with you.  He wants you to know Him.
• Jeremiah 9:24 "but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
• He loves you. 
• Romans 8:37-39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

He wants you to know Him.  If you already know Him, He wants you to know more of Him.  He longs for it.  

What if it's true? There's more.  

Message me on facebook if this resonates with you. 

Always,

Honest Abi

When Your Heart Says It's Tired

How are you today? Feeling good? Feeling 'I don't know?' Feeling rocked a bit?  All of that is normal. Isn't that nice to hear? Sometimes, all you need is to hear a voice other than your own say, 'you're normal.'  And it's true.  Whether you are flying high or you are walking through the shadows, it's a normal part of being alive and breathing.

The other day, I was walking and praying.  Praying is conversation/interaction with God... simple, with no rules.  On this particular day, conversations that I had been having with myself (can you relate?!) deep down finally busted up to my conscious thoughts.  Whoa! It's always a mix of shock and relief when those moments hit.  Honesty came tumbling out as I walked back and forth between my kitchen and living room.  The more the honesty came, the quicker my steps became.

I found myself saying rather loudly to Him, "I cannot do this.  My heart cannot do this.  My heart doesn't want to do this.  My heart is tired."

In one swift moment, Truth rushed to my heart and ears.  "Oh, yes you can."

I stopped talking, ears perked.

Quiet now.

There was a firmness to the truth.  A strong hand to it.  Not harsh, but strong.  As if His tone was to say, 'Feelings are indicators but they are not truth. Hear the truth now and run, little girl.  Run.'

And the truth kept tumbling out:

"Oh yes, Abi, yes you can keep going.  Because your heart doesn't have to be strong.... I AM YOUR HEART.  I am the life within your heart.  Do not say, my heart cannot do this because you are right. Your heart absolutely cannot do this and it doesn't have to.  My heart is your heart.  You are IN CHRIST.  A new creation.  You are new.  You are not you.  I am you.  You are me.  I am your heart muscle.  I am the blood pumping through it.  I am the strength of your heart.  I am life.  I am not fatigued.  I am alive and I am the strong heart that carries every bit of weariness you feel in your heart.  I swallow your weariness in my strength.  I AM NOT WEARY.  And this, my heart, is yours. So it is yours to claim.  Yours to wear.  Yours to believe.  Yours to feel.  Yours."

Put your name where mine is.  Take it for your own!

Immediately Psalm 73:26 started rolling through my mind, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. "  HE is the strength of my heart!  

What else can I possibly add to that?!  

He has a strong heart, and He gave it and keeps giving it to us.  Dang.  If that doesn't change the lighting in the room, I don't know what does!

Carry on my strong friends!  

Sincerely,

Honest and Strong Hearted Abi

.....who got tired of trying to take a selfie making my face look like I would if we were sitting face to face and talking about this.  Executing that was above my pay grade :).  I would probably smile at some point, so here's a smile today - from me straight to your heart.  

Truth Telling at Valentine's

Hello, you.

Happy Sunday evening to you....and if you're reading later, by all means, happy this very moment to you.  And happy almost Valentine's Day!

I happen to love heart day.  But, I don't really care who you are, this holiday is fraught with opportunity for the blues.  Whether you are the in love up to your eyeballs type, the 'what love?' type, the bye bye social media 'till it's over type, or the 'meh' type, Valentine's Day can give anyone heartburn.

It just happens to be a time when a slew of messages are hurled at you and before you know it, out of nowhere, you're in a funk.

So, let's practice some truth telling.  Get ahead of the storm and focus on truths instead of traps.  Try focusing here instead of on the lack - whether it's a lack of a person, the lack of performance on a person's part, or anything else we can come up with.  There's really only one love that is perfect. Every other version is human and therefore flawed. Here's the truth:

• I am loved beyond anything I can even imagine.
• Luke 22:19 "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is GIVEN for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.' "

• I am seen and known.
• Jeremiah 1:5 "...Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...."

• His love for me is the MOST dependable thing in my world.
• Psalm 139:11 "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him."

• I don't have to be perfect to be loved.
• 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' "

• I am protected 
• Psalm 91:14 "Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name."

• I am loved
• Isaiah 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through water you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."

• I am loved
• Romans 5:8 "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

• I am loved
• Psalm 103:8 "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."

And that's just the beginning of telling ourselves the truth instead of falling into traps.  You know what we can do with lists like these?  Print them off and go a little crazy-town and start walking around your house or room and saying the statements and Scriptures over yourself.  Go to war a little! Because the truth is that you are loved beyond your wildest imagination.  You are known beyond your ability to know.  You are safe beyond any capacity you have to protect yourself.  Oh man, oh man...this can be a great week if we know the truth.  

Love y'all,

Honest Abi

P.S. This is my 'go a little crazy-town' and start telling yourself the truth face.  Can't you feel it? :)