Sherah

Bible Verse: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Romans 4:8, NKJV) Devotion: As we focus on being intentional, I was reminded this week that we need to keep our opinions in check, and “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,” (2 Cor. 10:5, NIV).   My organization brought some of our students together from across the state to learn the importance of civic duty at the State Capitol. During the Legislative session, I overheard a teacher in the mezzanine say that she and her students left the session because there was a filibuster on the floor and nothing was really happening, it was boring.   Okay, I can see that; but then the next day I had the opportunity to visit with another teacher who shared how exciting it was for him and his students to watch a filibuster in action. They were both watching the same thing, but the opposite outlooks changed the experience for each teacher and influenced the attitudes of their students.   As I reflected on this, it was a bit convicting. Often, I see myself as a glass half full kind of person, with a positive attitude, but I know this is not always true. Sometimes, I follow the crowd and allow other perspectives to shift mine. Sometimes I am the one who has a negative attitude to begin with. If we are always looking for the problem in a situation, we will miss the opportunity within it.   If instead, we look for opportunity and beauty, that is what we will find. I am not suggesting that we put on rose-colored glasses and ignore all the ugliness that comes our way. But rather recognize problems while focusing on solutions. Look for the opportunity in each situation rather than the struggle, find the beauty for ashes; this takes intentionality. Things to consider: Are you more positive or negative? What influences your perspective? Prayer Abba ~ Holy and wonderful you are! Thank you for the opportunities around me and for helping me to recognize them. Guide me to meditate on what is pure, lovely, good, and praiseworthy as I lean to Your Holy Spirit to take every thought captive. In Jesus name, Amen!

And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago;  but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. 2 Corinthians 8:10-11, NKJV Allow me to start by answering the question I left you all with in my last post: What are some good habits that you have developed and how do you keep them from being too ritualistic? My strongest habit is my morning routine; it is during this time that I read scripture and spend time in God’s presence. After reading I pray, meditate, and journal but even this can become ritualistic. Sometimes I add in a worship song or use a commentary, I have even joined group chats to discuss to discuss the reading. If I am short on time, I may forgo journaling or come back to it later. Most of all I start with the intention to deepen my relationship with my Maker and better understand His words. You heard last time the practices that my friend Jenna has on being intentional with her own morning routine as we discussed living intentionally. While I talk about this subject a lot, it is very much a struggle in my life. As Jenna had shared, it does not come naturally, but rather through daily habits and routines we build over time. Some people may be stronger in this area than others, but we all must work at it. The very meaning “done by intention or design,” (Merriam-Webster) suggests that we have to think about it. My confession to you, my readers, is that I have not been very intentional with my writing. The curve balls of life thrown at me last year may provide good reasons, but God is still calling me to finish what I started. A growing desire in my heart has always been there and as I completed my first class in my master’s program, my professor encouraged me that I needed to start ministering now and not wait until I am finished with my degree. Wouldn’t you know, one of his suggestions was a weekly blog and then verse above was in a recent morning devotion. Can we talk about divine confirmation here? As I think back to some earlier blogs, this means being more intentional with my “yes” and “no.” As I say “yes” to blogging once a week, it might mean saying “no” to other things. Only I can choose what. On this journey I am learning even more lessons in prioritizing my time. This can only be done through intentionality, to think before I speak, pray before I choose, and seek God’s guidance in both big and small decisions. Right now, God is guiding me to make this a bigger priority in my life. With that, I make this commitment to you my readers: I will post weekly, sometimes it may be longer, and sometimes shorter. Some weeks I may just post a poem or a prayer that is on my heart, other times, I may repost content from one of my former blog sites. But you have my commitment and promise to receive something weekly from me. Thank you to all of you have encouraged me in my writing! Praying God’s guidance and blessing over your lives as you join me in this journey of intention and perseverance.  

After sharing so much on consistency and accountability, I took a pause from posting for much longer than intended. Through this time, life brought me through many ups and downs: victories, failures, loss, love, and revelation. There have been many lessons learned and some I am still trying to understand. My last post before this break shared my struggle with keeping Jesus as my first love, too often caught up in life. This is what the enemy wants, to keep us looking inward at our wants, feelings, and desires; but inward is the gateway to selfishness. Selflessness on the other hand is what Jesus demonstrated every day. “…Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me,” (Matthew 25:40, NKJV).  And I must ask myself, ‘What am I doing for the least of these?’ Honestly, there is so much need that it can be overwhelming. There are so many hurting people, and just one of me, often hurting in my own way. It is only through the leading and discernment of the Holy Spirit that I can be effective. Sometimes God wants us to wait and pray, other times He wants us to act. As I shared last week God has been impressing upon me to be steadfast, this means sticking to my priorities. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “But let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no,’ ‘no.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one,” (Matthew 5:37, NKJV). Every ‘yes’ is a ‘no’ to something or someone else. We cannot say “yes” to everything, we must establish boundaries and protect ourselves. Jesus Understood this and took time to rest, He did not always say yes, and he did not break His promises or make excuses. But He did always say “yes” to His Heavenly Father. If we are to live according to the Word, a good place to start is, “yes Lord!” This often means doing the hard things, the things we don’t want to do. It means sacrificing comfort for discipline, busyness for rest, distraction for attention. It means letting go of our to-do lists and embracing what is truly important. By modeling this in the way He lived Jesus taught us to seek His Kingdom first, to love one another, to be prepared. He demonstrated the importance of boundaries and spending time alone with the Father. He loved people well and stayed engaged and in the moment throughout His ministry on earth. While I may grapple with when to say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ Jesus points us to the greatest priority, our relationship with Him. A relationship with our Maker takes intentionality, next week we will hear from another dear friend of mine as we begin unpacking the L in BALM, Living intentionally. Consider if your life reflects intentional living. Does your walk reflect Christ? Are you willing to say, “Yes Lord!” Please share your comments. Join the mailing list to receive an email alert for every new post! Blessings!

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 I don’t know about the rest of you, but this last year was tough for me through trials and grief, accountability and commitment, perseverance and longsuffering. When this new blog site was relaunched, I was trying to work towards some of these struggles, but I clearly wasn’t ready and just could not seem to get myself in the headspace to stick to my plan. In my acronym, BALM, I wrote about being consistent and attaining accountability, but I have not gotten to the second half of this acronym. Before I do so I want to set the stage for a successful year, following Jesus wherever He leads. Last year “still” was my focus word, which is where I came up with the name for this website.  Through the practice of being still, I have developed some good habits especially on meditating scripture and listening to God. But in recent reflections, I have come to recognize a weak area of my life that may be preventing me from getting very far and may even be rooted in a stronghold in my life, a wavering spirit. Let me explain because I have never wavered in my love for Jesus, but I often falter in my convictions which results in poor decision making, feelings of insecurity or inadequacy, and regret. From going along with a group decision that I don’t agree with to not enforcing rules in my home, there were too many times that I caved to groupthink and did not stand up for the truth. But this is not who I want to be or how I want to be known. Over the last few months, God has repeatedly brought me to James 1, which has a lot to say about a wavering spirit. In verse 8 we are told that, “a double minded man is unstable.” In verse 12 we read, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation.” In verse 22 we are reminded to, “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” As in verse 23, I was looking in the mirror and forgetting what I looked like. Or more on point, I was reading the word, but not sticking to what God purposed in my heart. As I read through the Christmas story this year, a repeating phrase jumped out at me; every time an angel approached someone, their words started with, “fear not.” Fear has been my problem; fear of rejection, of failure, of being wrong. When we fold to fear, we feed insecurity which leads to a wavering spirit. But if we hold steadfast and stand up for our values, for truth, love, and integrity our fears fade. Merriam-Webster defines steadfast as: firm in belief, determination, or adherence. It seems as though I have stayed determined in only a few things over this last year. Often giving up when it gets rough, especially when it comes to differing viewpoints or even decision making with other people. The pushover in the room with no real conviction, honest to a fault, but not well respected because my peers see how easily I cave. This has been the source of work frustrations, but I did not recognize it until recently. This, however, is not who I am, I am a child of God. Romans 8:14 – 15 tells us that if we are led by the Spirit we are God’s children, adopted into His family. I need to start trusting myself and remember that often I am being led by the Holy Spirit and He knows better than anyone else. Whether I win or lose, stand or fall, I need to be led by the Spirit and I need to trust Him! As I had mentioned in my Christmas letter, Mary had to be steadfast 2,000 years ago as she went through the most amazing, but terrifying experience, giving birth to the son of God. Rather than running away in fear, she faced this challenge and greeted it as an opportunity. Friends, trials and challenges are opportunities to grow, will you join me this year in developing a steadfast spirit? Please share your comments or questions. Subscribe to receive an email for each new post. God speed!  

Last week I shared about the noise and distractors that hinder my walk and I left you with a comment about God reminding me of my First Love, Jesus Christ! Triggered by something I heard on a radio sermon; I started thinking about the first time I really felt the love of God. With feelings of nostalgia, I reminisced about telling my grandmother, that while I have always loved Jesus, I was now in love with Him. Tears streamed down her face in recognition that my heart had changed permanently. The morning following this endearing memory my devotional brought me to Revelation 2:4, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” God’s gentle reminders are always orchestrated beutifully. As I reflected to my thoughts the morning before, I meditated on these words, and recognized that God had been telling me to stop looking for the aha moments, to stop depending on my own self-will, and to start leaning on Him instead. In the noise I forgot my first love. I forgot how to be still, how to quiet my soul, how to wait on Him. He is my first love, not only my Creator, but the Creator of the universe. Nothing is too big, too powerful, too hard, too broken for Him to change, set free, heal, or mend. He alone can soften the hardened soul and awaken a sleeping spirit. Nothing is beyond Him! He truly is my All in All and I can do nothing apart from Him. He is the reason for every success, He has a bigger plan and purpose for every trial, He is my strength, my joy, my calm, my reason! He should be the first I go to whether I am planning, celebrating, or grieving. He is my guide through every aspect of life. Too long have I taken this for granted. Too long have I not recognized His amazing grace. Too long have I leaned on my own self will, no wonder I have failed so miserably. Recently, I heard a guest speaker on my favorite podcast share that we should be going to God for everything, down to simplest of tasks such as what store to frequent. But most days I just go through the motions, doing what feels right in the moment, what’s easiest, what makes the most sense. As Angie mentioned in our conversation, “feelings are fickle.” What is easy is not always right, and what makes sense may not line up with what God has planned. God may not always share His plan in detail with us but be assured that He has a plan, and it is perfect. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,” (Romans 15:13). When we walk toward Him, doing the next right thing, we can find joy and peace in His presence; rest in the hope of His plan. Can you remember a moment that you first truly felt God’s love? Hold on to that moment, cherish it, let it serve as a reminder that He is your first love.

“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;And the fish of the sea will explain to you.” (Job 12:7 – 8) Thinking back to my conversation with Angie and the assuredness that God is our accountability partner, I recognize how He has spoken to me about this it the subtlest of ways, through the beauty of His creation. Anyone who knows me well knows that stand-up paddle boarding is a passion of mine; a hobby that takes intentionality with my full summers. This past June, I changed my plans one evening at the last minute, packed up my new board, and headed to the lake. Despite the heat, the water was calm with a gentle breeze, perfect for a paddle. After turning on my “feel good” play list, I noticed how loud it was, but paddled on anyway. When I stopped halfway through to turn the music down something in me said to turn the music off and enjoy the moment in nature. It was in the quiet that I heard the birds sing and the wind rustle in the trees; I watched goslings and ducklings corralled by their parents through the water and enjoyed an occasional splash from a fish jumping. While nothing truly amazing happened, I stayed in the moment enjoying God’s handiwork. This is when I realized how much I have allowed the noise to distract me. Pondering these thoughts through the rest of my paddle, I remembered an unused line I had written a few years back. “This is the result of too much. Too much stimulation, too many expectations, the attempt to have a people pleasing, ladder climbing, high achieving, keeping up with the Jones’s kind of life.” Talk about little foxes! Wow! Here I was looking for stillness and I found noise instead. A chill came over me the next day as I journaled about this experience, the devil knew I was working toward stillness, so he created a roadblock in the most innocent of ways, a playlist of my favorite Christian artists. The Psalmist reminds us to quiet our spirit in Psalm 131:2. “I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child resting against his mother, my soul within me is like a weaned child.” Music is beautiful, but it is not always necessary, God created the quiet, He encourages stillness to rest in Him, for this is when we can hear Him the clearest. As I reflect, I do not remember much of my paddle while the music was on; I could not tell you what songs I listened to, or recall anything I saw or heard, or even what I was thinking about. But I still remember the second half of my paddle without the music vividly. Present, in the moment, stilled before God in the middle of His handiwork. Struck by epiphany: Too much of anything produces clutter, distraction, and chaos in our lives. Whether music or bright lights, ambition or busyness; too much creates noise, and noise hinders the soul, it blocks creativity, destroys dreams, and thwarts motivation. It was in this clarifying moment that I really grasped the expression, “too much of a good thing.” Even good wholesome music is not good in excess! But in the stillness, I can find BALM for my soul! As I move away from the noise, God has revealed something else, He has reminded me that He is my first love? What has God whispered to your heart? Please share. I will be posting a bonus post this week as well, be watching for it!

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. (Song of Solomon 2:15) Last week we explored the importance of accountability from having people who help hold us responsible, to truly being accountable to God. We discussed how feelings can lead us astray and the importance of obedience in our life. Today we are going to pick back up on the conversation with Angie, starting with the role that consistency plays in accountability. “With consistency and accountability, it’s easy to get started and we have good intentions when we start, but life happens, and things get busy or crazy and things change.” Oh, how I can relate to these words, thinking back to my blog last year that started with great momentum, but eventually crashed and burned.  Angie reminds me that there are things we must do to stay healthy – mentally, emotionally and spiritually – as she refers to her givens, the things we must do even when we don’t feel like it. “When I think about accountability, these are my givens no matter what.” “It’s little things… not even sin that spoils what we are trying to go after.” The little foxes that spoil the vine such as distractions that prevent us from growing and keep us complacent. As our distractors cause us to lose track of time, intentionality is out the window and then we are brought back to our “feelings” searching for the ‘feeling’ of motivation. According to Harvard Psychologist Jerome Bruner, “You are more likely to act yourself into feeling than feel yourself into action,” (Quote taken from the 15 invaluable laws of growth by John C Maxwell). Sometimes we have to fake it until we make it.   Most of Angie’s clients know how to lose weight and make healthy choices, but too often the little foxes are preventing them from reaching their goals. This brings them to Angie for a consistent voice in their ears, a reminder to be intentional and accountable, to stay the course. “There are seasons when we need people in our life,” but Angie also warns that there are seasons God wants us to lean to Him. “He is my coach,” Angie shares how the Holy Spirit consistently gives her guidance. “So, when I come back to little foxes spoil the vine, it really comes down to obedience, it’s being obedient. I know I should be doing that, but… And then we don’t.” This brings me back to a conversation that Angia and I had years earlier about how obedience is not just following directions, but how soon we follow those directions. Are we putting it off a few hours, days, weeks, months? How often do we complain that things are not turning out, when months down the road we still haven’t followed God’s direction in our lives? Angie tells us, “There so are many pieces to accountability, it’s not just one thing. The scripture that comes to mind is, ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33).” Accountability is created when we seek the Lord always, making Him our priority. This may be one of the greatest examples of accountability. “If I am seeking Him first consistently, and I’m doing that first, then His promise tells me, He’ll add those things to me.” When we are accountable first to God, this trait will flow naturally into other areas of life. This does not mean, however, that life is going to be easy as mentioned in the last post, “life is just hard.” Angie recently encountered one of her toughest years since getting set free from addiction, despite the struggle, she got up every day and kept going. “Just keep showing up, go to work today, get up, turn on your light so that you can love people and let God use you.” During this time Angie really leaned into worship, “I would leave and turn my worship music on and cry and go back to work.” Like the rest of us, Angie has days when not everything gets done, but she holds onto her givens by prioritizing her time and recognizing that every day will be different, some days will be harder. In her concluding statements, Angie shared that we should be striving to live for God, asking the question, “God am I listening, am I talking to you always, am I paying attention to what you are putting in front of me, am I being obedient?” It is good to have people in our lives that will help keep us on track, but our goal should be to lean to God above all else and do the right thing because it pleases Him; He is our ultimate accountability partner. Through this journey God has been revealing a lot to me about leaning on Him, showing me the distractors and little foxes in my own life, often in the form of noise or clutter. We will examine this more next week. What little foxes are standing in your way?