Enjoy the Replay of today’s virtual Edge God In Bible Study.
Because of His Love,
Lauren <><
All posts by LaurenEstella
Cease to Do & Simply Be
“Be Still and Know that I Am God” Psalm 46:10
Perhaps the invitation here is to infuse your daily tasks with moments of silence. Â Cease to DO & simply BE so that the divine spark that is ignited by intimacy with God can override the antics of your mind which is fueled by unbridled ambitions and the need to analyze, interpret and conclude…wow, just writing those 3 words is an energy leak.
How about this week you begin and end your day simply sitting in silence as you express the simple longing of the young boy Samuel: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
Sit for 5-10 minutes in stillness morning & evening and expand 1 minute each day. Â Then infuse your day with shorter moments of stillness before God: take 2 minute silent breaks from the mind and lean into God. Watch and observe yourself do life after these mind breaks and notice how inner peace, confidence and kindness begin to have its way within your responses to life.
Next week I will expand on this practice exploring the methodology around hearing the voice of God.
Dear God, may I be quick to hear and slow to speak as I integrate moments of silence and observation of your presence in all aspects of my life.
Because of His Love,
Lauren <><
Step into the Unfamiliar
Dear God,
Thank you for loving us enough to call us into the unfamiliar, reminding us of Godly character  and strength we too often lock up in the face of fear, doubt and worry. The unfamiliar reminds us of the person you call us to be in this world: faith-filled with a mission to make you recognizable.
Q. When in your life, perhaps it’s now, has God called you into the unfamiliar? A few examples:
- Abraham & Sarah: Having a baby at 90
- Moses in the Desert for 40 Years: Comes up on the “promise land” filled with Giants.
- Noah Building the Ark on Dry Land
- Lazarus Called Back from Death
- Peter Called to Walk on Water
Enjoy the Replay from our Recent Edge God In Virtual Bible Study:
Join us for our next virtual live Edge God In Bible Study Feb 8th at 7:15 am MST: Â CLICK HERE to sign up.
Because of His Life,
Lauren <><
A Prayer at The Break of Dawn
Dear God, thank you for the gift of a new day of life to explore growing in the ways of loving and being loved…You, myself and those around me.
Once again I release my grip on my need to know why things happen as they do along with my need to know how things will turn out. You are in control and that is enough for me. I give you full permission to have your way with me in spite of myself, for I have learned on this short journey of life that as I have surrendered all to you, I am never left empty handed.
Continue to release the shadows that distract me from living out the purpose for which I was created: to love and beloved. Protect me from the need to own, control, possess, analyze, interpret, conclude; from attachments, assumptions, expectations and all sense of entitlement along with the antics of comparison, jealousy and envy… for nothing thrives in a state of war. The only thing I am entitled to know is that you love me completely just as I am and that you will never leave me or forsake me, because of this all things are possible for me. Move me this day to step away from the 3 fuels of discontent and inner turmoil: popularity; position and possessions. For what will I gain if I gain the whole world yet forfeit my soul?
Grant me a spirit of joy and laughter that I may light up from the inside out and may all those who come into this light feel refreshed and inspired. Use my life and my death for the sake of salvation of souls. Use this gift of teaching you have blessed me with to guide people back to themselves as connected to you, so that they may experience their fullest potential of being on earth. You have revealed to me through my own dark night of the soul experience that you do your greatest work in the eye of the storm, through this knowledge resurrect within me a courage that far outweighs the momentary distractions of fear, doubt and worry. For you have brought about a greater good in spite of the darkness than had my personal trials never occurred.
Move me to lean into the mystical experience captured within one of your most masterful creations: the beautiful fragrant rose that emerges in the midst of the thorns. You have me, and I have you…I tremble with eager expectation as to the beauty we will create together as I step into another gift of life today.
Because of His Love,
Lauren <><
What the Bible tells us about Mindfulness
There are many scriptures in the bible that give us examples of how we should be mindful in our thoughts, actions, and deeds.  They also tell us how we as Christians  should  fill our minds with the knowledge and things of Christ.
To be mindful is to be present and to have focused thoughts. Â But what should we be mindful of?
Col 3:2 Â says “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on this earth”.
With all the chaos in the world,  we have the peace in knowing that the things of this world  or only  a moment,  but the one promised to us is eternal. ~Dr. stella
Shiny Objects Distracting You?
“And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are
they that have heard the word, and the cares of the world, and
the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other thingsÂ
entering in, choke the word & it becomes unfruitful.”Â
Jesus: Mark 4:18-19
This is a very popular parable that has circulated
around the globe evoking a sense of curiosity around what kind
of “seed” you happen to be in this world and where have
you been sown? Â We have all heard at one point the
common saying, “you reap what you sow.”
So what kind of seed are you? and what have you
given power over to that is cutting off the life
source that enables you to bloom where you are planted?
Do you follow shiny objects resulting in
a very shallow root system so when the opinions of
other people and circumstances do not show up
in your favor your inner motivation and inspiration
become flat lined & unfruitful?
Or do you withstand the dark moments, with no sign
of light, having full confidence that your God given ability
to break through the dirt of life & bloom in the midst of it
all will override the momentary discomfort
of the growth process?
The choice for a deep reliable root system along
with the ability to bloom where you are planted is yours
and will make all the difference in the outcomes
you will experience on this journey of life.
I remember when my oncologist said, “it is our goal to
try to get you to 5 years.” In spite of that dirt
surrounding me I chose God and all of the healing and
love that flow from that choice with the gift of each new
day. Â Live to bloom no matter what surrounds you.
Now Pause Breathe in the Holy Spirit and Exhale any tension in your body,
Today
Dear God,
As is the case with a beautiful garden, there is a
season when the blooms fade and the vibrant colorsÂ
are replaced with dull, life less surroundings. Â Yet, in
spite of the lack of life that is captured by the human eye,
there is the process of growth and strength
that is occurring beneath the dark, cold dirt.
As the essential life giving elements flow fromÂ
your hand into the soil and seeds that lie beneathÂ
the surface, new life, growth and abundance
return once again to the faithful seeds that
don’t doubt their God given ability to bloom once
again…with more strength & expansion than
the previous season. May it be the same for me this
season. Remind me of my capability to bloom and live
a fruitful life no matter what surrounds me.
Because of His Love <><
Lauren
Flipped by Fear? Read This…
So I was flipped into a small PTSD moment yesterday when I saw three missed calls from my doctor. Before I could even grab the tail of fear it had coursed through my blood stream quicker than my next heart beat. With shaky hands I picked up my cell phone and called back the Dr. whose words instantly calmed my entire biology as he said: clear blood work.
All too often we carry trauma from our past into our present and it only takes a small trigger to spin our biology into a stress frenzy…we can’t think, speak, breathe or reason. After I hung up the phone I said out-loud, “WOW God I fell asleep at the gate of my thoughts which gave way to a mini-possession of fear and anxiety. The next time I am tempted to give more power to something outside of me than I am to your presence within me, grant me spontaneous grace to lean all that I am into you before fear takes up residence in my interior castle.”
Two grab and go verses for this situation:
“Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5 AND
“Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:7-9
Greater is HE who lives inside of me than he who is living in the world,
Lauren <><
True Pride vs A Prideful Nature
How to Recognize Pride vs. A Prideful Nature:
True Pride:
True pride that has its way in you is unable to hear and respond to the voice of humility. Â Therefore it has an insatiable desire to dominate, be seen, acknowledged & recognized. The serpents of jealousy, envy and lack and scarcity slither around in true pride robbing it’s host of inner peace and confidence.
This pride gets easily frustrated & anger flares up when it’s plans are thwarted and people stand in its way of getting what it wants.
It is fueled by unbridled ambition that puts things before people. Â The non-essential before the essential, and will do anything, often void of moral conscious, to get what it wants.
This pride is like a spoiled child and is seldom content or deeply satisfied…always wanting more.
A Spiritually Discerning Person with a Prideful Nature:
Â
Know this: Even as a human being seeking to love, serve and honor God you will experience prideful flare-ups. Â Often times you will think you have passed a godly character development class in earth school only to find yourself taking a refresher course ; Â ).
The difference between a person who lives in service of pride and one who seeks to put God’s ways of love and service first and experiences occasional moments of prideful flare-ups is this:
As soon as pride shows up the spiritually discerning person will feel the burn of whatever action, thought, or word associated with the prideful moment within their biology.
Feeling the discomfort this person will choose to return to God as quickly as possible. Â Identifying and adjusting their thoughts, words and deeds to keep themselves aligned with the higher good of all concerned, which flows form their intimacy with God.
The spiritually discerning person sees pride for what it is and seeks the higher ground of humility, love and gratitude. Â They are also able to forgive others when they have prideful moments.
Basically, the truly prideful person is enslaved to pride as they continually choose it over the ways of their godly nature.
The person who has a prideful nature or tendency as humans do, yet is not a proud person, is one who rejects prideful flare-ups and quickly makes amends as they choose God over their prideful moment.
Begin again, and again and again with even more congruency today than yesterday.
Align your actions with your God given natural state of being filling your responses to life with love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness and self-control.
Authentic transformation beings with ruthless honesty and the ability to adjust and choose God’s abundant grace which always offers the opportunity to begin again.
“Dear God rescue us from the weak moments of the flesh which rob us of the knowing that we are enough IN YOU. We lack nothing, as St. Teresa of Avila says, when we have you. Fill up those spaces within our interior castle which are void of the remembrance that humility, love and confidence make up the foundation for lasting inner peace and life satisfaction.”
Because of His Love,
Lauren <><
God or Man? Flip Your Authority
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI5i-7cCHl4
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
Too often we give more authority to circumstance than we do to
our God given ability to overcome, learn from and move
through perceived challenges in life. This week remember
that GREATER IS THE ONE who lives in YOU than
the one or thing in the world.
Your experience of rising and
falling depending upon how the world judges you is in
direct proportion to the power YOU give to the outside
circumstance to define your worth, value and capability.
If God is for you…who or what can be against you? Flip
your authority today: Give more authority to the strength of God
within you than you give to the opinions of people around you and
or specific outcomes. Failure is just a label we place on an
undesirable outcome. Think about this for a moment, if
you truly believe that God has plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, to give you hope and a future then whatever pops
up before you can be flipped into positive forward momentum.
What if you take a moment this week before any potential threat
to your sense of safety and ability to overcome and you remember
this simple thought: God has overcome all that I feel has overcome
(or potentially overcome) me in my life…He sees all and is more
than capable of doing more than I can ever ask or imagine for
my ultimate good in this world, I am safe and connected to the
One that is greater than circumstance.
Because of His Love,
Lauren <><
Edge God In Podcast 1: The Religion of Evolution
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:36 — 5.7MB) | Embed
Edge God In Podcast 1: The Religion of Evolution
Dear Lord,
Give us the gift of understanding as we approach the very controversial topic of our existence. This is a hard topic to explain so give us the revelation of knowledge to understand that which you would have for us. We know that the Bible gives us answers to all our questions and needs and ask that you open up the answers in this area. Let us also take this knowledge to grow our kingdom and fulfill our purpose here in this life.
EdgeGodIn.com
Scriptures to Explore
- Genesis 1:1,2
- Numbers 6:24-26
- Ecclesiastes 1:9