It is easy to get caught up in life, or at least what we perceive that to mean. We all have our schedules, our to-do lists, our big goals we are reaching for…but what does it all mean? What is the purpose? There has never been a time in my life more surrounded by things to do, options to fill your hours with, than my time in college.

You have unlimited clubs you could join, people you could invest in, homework you could be doing, jobs and internships to focus on…and a new freedom to do whatever you want. So you learn to prioritize, to choose what is truly important to you and make time for it. And it is this lesson that we have to take into our daily lives. When you choose to make God your priority, to edge Him into your life in more and more ways, all of the sudden you find the purpose for your work, the fulfillment for your life. All of the sudden, you are an irreplaceable part in an eternal story; no longer simply building up an Earthly sand castle that could fall with the next wave that life throws at you. Edge God In, and He will take care of the rest.

Healing the lost of someone is never easy and lets face it you never get over it.  For me, there is not at day that goes by that I don’t think about my parents, especially my mom who brought me into this world.

So how does one manage through this grief?  As I contemplated on this question, I’ll share the 4 things that work for me.

1. It’s a God thing and only he gives me the peace to deal with grief.
2. It’s the Memories of how beautiful my love ones are and how they influenced my life.
3. It’s  the word of God through Scripture that gives me comfort in my time of need.
4. It’s other Christians, Family, and Friends that are connected to me through a common thread and discern my needs at just the right time.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is a scripture that has helped me through the seasons of my life.  It reminds me that God knows my season and needs way before I do and he is there for me no matter what my season is.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that, which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

~Dr. Stella

A Holy Week Reflection:

So how do you have faith to move your mountain? Watch this =>

God is the greatest  Multi-level marketer (MLM) in the world. Jesus put forth the spark that set His initial downline on fire when He spoke forth the Great Commission in the Gospel of Matthew 28:18-20:

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Isn’t it wonderful to know you are a part of the initial great commission on earth? I remember when I was 17 and I saw something in a group of people who loved and followed Jesus Way in this world and I wanted that for myself.  This is why encountering the love of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is so contagious, there is nothing like it in this world and it keeps getting better with time as we allow His love and forgiveness to override the shiny objects in this world that often evoke the serpents of fear; doubt and worry.

The only difference in language that perhaps more accurately fits God’s MLM would be this:  instead of referring to the people who live in the freedom of knowing the One who died to save them as a “downline” it’s an UPline on all levels! As we surrender UP our needs, plans and purpose to His sovereign will for our lives we get to participate in the freedom that Christ has set us free for, that ultimately leads to the fullness of life.

Enjoy your gift of life and making God recognizable today in your words, thoughts, deeds and actions.

Because of His Love,

Lauren <><

Do not worry about anything but pray about everything…this verse from Phil. 4:6 holds some HUGE promise. If we flip it perhaps it would sounds like this: Pray about everything and you won’t worry about anything.

Easier said than done; however I have been doing my own little internal practice with this using a small prayer to fill in the gaps between focused task mind-space (the mind space that occurs between tasks that require focused attention). A christian brother of mine share a simple prayer that I have made my own.  It is a prayer that has been used by many Christian warriors to help take captive each thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) through out history:

“I love you Jesus; I pray for the salvation of souls and I turn my will over to you.”

It is in the gaps between tasks when our mind is prone to wander into those thoughts that come from the serpents of fear; doubt and worry.  We are told that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  We are also told in 1 Peter chapter 5 that when we resist him, standing firm in our faith that he will flee. Our greatest battle occurs between our two ears, this is also the place of our greatest small victories in life that fuel bigger ones.

This week let’s focus on Edging God In to our thought life by choosing a simple small prayer that keeps our mind-focus & thoughts fixed on Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith.

Edge God In to your thoughts, words, deeds and actions today,

Because of His Love,

Lauren <><

“But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:11

This month we are talking about pruning for growth. Removing those things in our life (reactions; thoughts; perceptions) that result in Edging God Out verses Edging God In.  The world screams and God whispers. How the heck do we hear the voice of God behind us saying, “this is the way walk in it”, when we are captivated by all of the shiny objects screaming for our attention?

We have become imprisoned by the very things that we feel we need in order to experience freedom.  We each have our own shiny object trigger that renders us helpless, at least at the time of the animal planet moment when biologically we become less intelligent.  It is worth our attention to explore those specific things in our day to day life that flip us out of our good intentions to respond to people and life experiences as Jesus did when he walked the earth.

The other day I had a rock star Edge God In quiet time with the Lord only to face plant into reactive negative behavior 3 hours later.  See our weak nature for what it is…a spoiled child that always wants more of those things that are not good, right, true, beautiful, excellent and praise worthy.

The next time you recognize a reaction or thought that is void of Jesus character explore this simple prayer:

Stop! Dear God I choose in this moment to give more authority to your presence in and through me than I do to this thought, situation or reactive behavior that is fueling this EGO moment.  I choose to EDGE YOU INTO every aspect of this situation. Grant me the grace to flee from everything that is void of you.  I love you Jesus, I pray for the salvation of souls and turn my will over to you. 

Give God More Authority than Fear, Doubt & Worry. 

Because of His Love,

Lauren <><