Shine Bright, Right Where You Are

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. – Isaiah 60:1 

Have you ever met someone who brightens a room with their presence?  Someone who, when they speak passionately about someone or something dear to their heart, seems to radiate a visible light?

Last week, I wrote about meeting a woman at Whole Foods who did just that. (If you didn’t read the post, I recommend that you take a few minutes to do so by clicking here.) Needing to know the source of her radiance, I interrupted the stillness between us and bluntly said, “You seem so peaceful and joyful. Where does that come from?”  That one question reached across the table and started a friendship between two unlikely women.

This morning we got to know each other over a long breakfast.  She grew up poor in several Southern cities.  I grew up in middle class neighborhoods of the Midwest and East Coast.  Her skin is black.  Mine is white.  She is thin.  I am not.  Her black hair falls past her shoulders in dreadlocks.  My blonde hair is straight as a board. I live comfortably, in a house with a family of five.  She lives with fifteen other women and sleeps on church floors every night, because she’s homeless.

I think she’s beautiful.  She thinks the same of me.  I believe the beauty we see comes from the depths of our hearts, where the Holy Spirit dwells.  From there, our faith shines bright and we encourage one another to follow Jesus every day, every step of the way.  

Every morning my new friend rises from her thin mat on the floor, folds her threadbare blanket, then packs all her belongings into a suitcase.  She brushes her teeth and washes her face in a borrowed bathroom, then sets out to shine God’s light to whoever she meets.  I’m so thankful God sent her to me last week. 

I asked her today if she’s scared to be homeless.  With a beaming smile she told me God is protecting her and she’s confident that she’s right where He wants her to be.  She believes she was placed with these fifteen other women to pray for them and shine God’s bright light into their difficult lives.  She brings the light of hope into a dark place.  

Where has God placed you to shine?  Right where you are! God can be your source of light.  You can radiate peace, joy, and love wherever you go and to whoever you meet.  You are beautiful too!

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Freedom

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  - John 8:31-32

Joyce Meyer is one of my favorite Bible teachers.  For over forty years she’s delivered inspirational, thought provoking, and life changing messages of Biblical truth to audiences around the world.  I start every morning by reading a page of her daily devotional, and usually end up reading or hearing one (or more) of her other messages later in the day. 

Imagine my excitement these past two days, sitting among thousands of believers at Joyce’s FREEDOM conference in Denver.  Picture me with a smile on my face, scribbling furiously into the notebook on my lap.  It’s been a little slice of heaven for me.

Joyce’s message of freedom, delivered in her trademark rich, deep voice, was that Jesus didn’t die for us to live mediocre lives.  Instead, His life was given to set us free from bondage, slavery, and the prisons we lock ourselves in.  He cares about the condition of our hearts and desires for us to fully enjoy our everyday lives. 

From ministering to women in prisons around the country, Joyce has noticed that women behind physical bars can be more free than many of the rest of us.  She explained that while we may be free to move about in our lives, we can still be imprisoned by something that has too much control over us.  

What is that one thing that has too much power in your life?  Is it another person who causes you to view yourself negatively?  Maybe it’s what you use every day to cope with life’s stresses.  It might be a number on the bathroom scale that screams whether you’re beautiful or not.  Or, maybe it’s the title you think you need in order to be successful.  Whatever your “one thing” is, and we all have at least one, God wants to set us FREE from it.

The Bible encourages us to “Walk about in freedom after we seek God’s truths” (Psalm 119:45).  Start your journey today by talking to God about the “one thing” that’s hindering your full freedom in Christ.  He is ready to listen and wants to set us free.

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Why Worry?

Who of you by worrying and being anxious can add a single hour to your day? – Matthew 6:27 

I’m walking around like a zombie today because I lost three hours of sleep last night.  Why?  Because I was worried.  You name it, I was worrying about it.  Know what I mean?

I worried about my teenager’s turmoils, upcoming deadlines, emails I forgot to send, requests I had to decline, big family decisions, friends’ pain and loss, endless details left undone, big bills, my body, and the dog.  Yes, I even worried about the dog.  

I followed past advice I’ve shared with you before and counted my blessings instead of sheep.  That worked for a bit, until the doorbell rang around 3am. (What a terrible time for that Wake Up Call!) I jumped out of bed and stumbled to the window, fully expecting to see a police car, waiting with news about one of my teenagers dying in a car crash.  With my heart racing and sweat beading on my my forehead, I opened the front door to …. nothing.  It was only a bad dream.  

Where would you place yourself on the Worry-Meter these Days? 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25 “Do not worry about your life…”  Some days, I’d like to say to Him, “Jesus, life is crazy.  Have you seen how fast I’m living it these days?  Please explain to me why, if worry can’t add a single hour to my life, that I seem to gain so many of them at night lying awake and worrying?”

As I’ve studied worry, I’ve discovered these truths from God.  I hope they encourage you as much as they do me.  

• Worry Hurts –our body, mind, and soul
• Worry Hinders – zaps our energy and affects tomorrow
• Prayer Helps – prayer calms worry
• God Hears – give your worries to God because He cares about everything
• Trust Happens –choose daily to trust God
• Reliance Heightens – reliance on God strengthens your relationship with Him 

It’s hard, but in the face of worry, let’s choose to rely on God.  We’ll feel lighter and sleep better!  

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Take a Hike With God

“As your love in wave after wave crashes over me, crashes over me.  For you are for us.  You are not against us.  Champion of heaven you made a way for all to enter into your love.” 

–  Bethel Music. “You Make Me Brave” 

During the weeks leading up to August 11^th of last year, I cried out to God every day asking Him to cure my dear friend and mentor Alice’s cancer.  It was the first time I’ve ever had to plead for a friend’s life.  I believed with all my heart that God could heal Alice.  He had the power to wipe away the invasive tumor.  Once God performed His healing miracle, I was sure Alice would write about it and tell the whole world.  I knew without a doubt that her short stories would encourage other cancer patients to be brave, cling to God, love abundantly, and give thanks, no matter what. 

Instead of answering my prayers and giving Alice a miraculous story to write about, God took her home to heaven.  My pleas for healing changed to shouts of anger. I told God His timing was all wrong because Alice had so much work still left to do on this earth.  I mourned the loss of my mentor who inspired me to step out into the deep waters of ministry and be brave in sharing the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Call with others.  She was my source of bravery.  What was I supposed to do now?

Have you ever argued with God?  Have you ever told Him you knew better, that His timing was all off, or that He wrecked your beautiful plans? From experience, I can tell you that arguing with God gets you nowhere except more frustrated and disappointed.

After months of sadness and refusing to move forward, it was Alice’s husband who invited me to a grief meeting.  After we shared how we were doing, he said, “Laura, you’re really angry with God.  You will need to forgive Him to move on.”  At first I wanted to punch him, because the truth hurts.  Then, like an earthquake cracking hard-packed ground, something shifted inside of me.

I know it might sound weird but soon after, I scheduled a hike to talk with God and deal with my anger.  Because I was alone in the wilderness, I talked aloud to God and told him how mad I was about losing Alice.  I spoke candidly, “God what were you thinking?”  On and on I told God how so many of us relied on Alice and had so much more to learn from her. 

When I finally shut up, I knew that God had been listening because I felt overwhelmed by His presence.  I sat on the side of the trail and sobbed.  In the quietness of my soul, I heard, “Alice made you brave for a time. Now rely on me and I will guide you.  I will make you brave.”  

God’s closeness and His reassuring voice, prompted me to speak the words that I should have been spoken months prior.  “God, I am sorry.  I’ve been so angry with you that I forgot you are my source of strength, not Alice, not any one else, only You.”  As the words escaped my mouth, a wave of love flooded my heart.  Wave after wave, God’s love was washing over my sorrow, pain, heartache, and disappointment.  He was healing my broken heart with His love.  

God’s love is waiting to crash over you too.  He promises to be close when you’re broken- hearted. (Psalms 34:18) God has the power to heal you when the pain is paralyzing, and He can restore you after ruin.  

Will you shout to the Lord and tell Him how you feel?  No matter the circumstances you face, God is always there for you.  No one else but God can make you brave enough to keep moving though any hardship towards the great plans He has for you. 

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Hour of Power

For when I am weak in human strength, then I am strong, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength. – 2 Corinthians 12:10 (AMP)

A woman I truly admire stopped me last week and told me that when her 3 o’clock alarm sounds in the afternoon, she’s usually exhausted and needs a nap, a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine to snap out of her afternoon lull.  She hugged me tight and said, “What I really need at 3pm, is more of God!”

Years ago the energy drink company, Red Bull launched a marketing campaign calling customers to fight their afternoon energy depletion by drinking a Red Bull every day at 3pm.  They actually called it a “3pm Wake Up Call.”  

When I saw Red Bull’s advertisement, I thought of what my friend said last week.  People don’t need to chug energy drinks to make it through the rest of the day.  What they really need is a Wake Up Call from God to be reminded that they have God’s power living in them to continue running their “race” and they can do all things that through God’s strength who lives in and through them.

Yes, the power of God is alive in you!  The Bible tells us that the same power that rose Jesus from the grave, lives in you. (Romans 8:11) Take courage, you can tap into God’s unlimited power.

It is true!  Even when you are weak and tired, the strength and power of God is always available. Take the apostle Paul as an example.  Three times he pleaded with God to take away the torment of the “thorn in his flesh.” God refused, saying “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weaknesses.”  This promise from God transformed Paul’s attitude from complaining about his weakness to boasting in the Lord.  God gave Paul a jolt of new energy and new perspective.

Our 3 o’clock alarms can do the same thing for us!  When you’re hit with the “tired stick” in the afternoon, lift your eyes to the One who has all the power you will ever need.  It is not weak to ask for help. You are not a coward when you look to God to strengthen you.  You are in fact brave when you truly believe you can draw strength from God above because His power lives in you.

Let your 3 o’clock alarm catapult your energy levels and attitudes to a place where you too boast and praise God for His unlimited power and strength.  

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Happy Birthday!

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. 

– Numbers 6:24-26 

Forty-seven years ago today, my tiny twenty-two-year-old mom gave birth to a plump baby girl in a hot and humid North Carolina Army hospital.  She can’t believe her first child is closer to fifty than forty.  Her daughter can’t believe she just told you her age.  

Do you look forward to your birthday every year or do you dread it?  Do you hide your age or share it?  Do you act like someone younger?  Do you feel like someone older?  If you could do anything you wanted on your birthday, what would you do and who would you spend it with?

I will spend today with my two best friends.  First, I’ll study, write, and pray with Jesus in the morning.  Then, I’ll spend the rest of the day with my husband hiking, swimming, and hopefully eating lobster.  I say “hopefully” because the city of Boulder has banned the sale of live lobsters in grocery stores.  You can buy marijuana on almost every block, but you can’t get fresh lobsters… 

As I was planning my “special day,” I began to ponder my hopes and dreams for the year ahead.  I read Numbers 2:24-26 as a Birthday Blessing and personalized it for all of us.  Please pray it with me.

Lord God,

Bless me and keep me close to You.

Make your face shine upon me so I can feel your presence powerfully at work in my life.

Be forever gracious to me, especially when I stumble and fall.

Show me the plans you have for me and give me your peace along the way.

Lead me on Lord.  I will follow you.

In Jesus’ Powerful Name I Pray,

Amen

The best birthday gift you can give me today is to share the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Call with the people you care about.  Introduce them to this simple pause and watch them wake up to God’s presence, power, and plans for their lives. 

I truly believe that gratitude to God has the power to change the world.  Someday soon, I pray that everyone, in every nation, will wake up to Him at 3pm and unite through thanksgiving!

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Happy Anniversary!

Let us spur one another on toward love. 

– Hebrews 10:24

Today is my mom and stepdad’s first wedding anniversary.  Join me in toasting Bobbie and Norm!  Last summer. after years of dating and traveling the world together, they and the families of their five children gathered on the Maine coast to take part in their wedding – just one day shy of Norm’s 80^th birthday.

Several years ago, our daughter Abby, then eight years old, called Norm over to the couch and motioned for him to sit beside her.  With Norm’s undivided attention, she made her case for why he should ask Bobbie (her “Mimi”) to marry him.  Besides the fact that they were in love, she pointed out, if he married Mimi, he’d also get three more awesome grandchildren.  (bumping up the total from six to nine).  Who could pass up a sweet deal like that?  At the time, he did.

Eight years later, in the middle of the night, Norm dreamed that he was back on that couch, hearing his granddaughter’s proposal again.  When he woke up, he decided to take her advice. 

A year ago today, Abby got her wish for more cousins and I finally got the sisters I’d wanted since I was a little girl. In fact, twenty-two of us, including Bobbie and Norm have been joined together.  I’d always dreamed of a big family and love made that happen.

God’s word is simple: He is love.  When we love others we are spreading God’s greatest gift.  He asks each one of us to spur one another on toward love.  

As we race through our days, it’s easy to take family for granted.  We assume they know we love them.  Today, let’s stop for a moment and thank God for our families: our parents, siblings, cousins, in-laws, and spouses. Let’s cherish our family and let them know they are loved; by God and by us.  

So pick up the phone, write the text, and give the hug.  Today let’s all toast “Family!”

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Dressing Up

Put on the Full Armor of God 

– Ephesians 6:11

Yesterday we chatted about clothing ourselves with Christ’s compassion, gentleness, kindness, and humility.  Today, let’s dress for success and go to WAR and against the spiritual battles raging around us. 

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  - Ephesians 6:12

God goes on to describe the armor He provides us for the battles we fight every day:

• Belt of Truth – Buckle it around your waist and ignore the enemy’s lies.  You are good enough because you are a child of God; loved, accepted, and forgiven by faith.

• Breastplate of Righteousness – Slide it on to protect your heart from the temptations of today’s culture.  Following God’s right and just path is often difficult and flies in the face of what the world expects.

• Shield of Faith – Grab it, lift it up, and fend off the the enemy’s attacks of insults, setbacks, and criticism.  Faith is your best weapon against fear.  

• Helmet of Salvation –Strap it on and protect yourself from thoughts of needing to be perfect to be saved.  Your salvation comes solely from His grace. Trust in that alone. 

• Sword of the Spirit – Your only offensive weapon!  Hold tight to God’s word and use it against the enemy.  Know that the word breaks chains and tears down walls of guilt and shame. Share the word with others, slice through the darkness and walk confidently forward in faith.  

Finally, be strong in the Lord and His mighty power.  Jesus has already won the greatest battle in history and is seated in heaven next to God cheering you on.  You’ve got this battle!  Fight strong, stand firm, and pray every day with thanksgiving in your heart.

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Compassion Crosses Over

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  – Colossians 3:12

Joyce Meyer, one of my favorite Bible teachers, has said that when she gets dressed in the morning, she images herself “putting on” the characteristics of Christ.  I envision her first putting on a blouse that covers her heart with Christ’s compassion.  Then, she slips on her pressed pants and is reminded to walk in peace all day long.  Finally, when she dons a colorful jacket, she is surrounding herself with Jesus’ gentleness and kindness. 

What are some characteristics of God that you could display today?  Could compassion be your first response when a friend is late or makes a rude comment?  Can you show others your gentleness and patience while, say, stuck in line at the grocery store or with a crying toddler?  

Jesus had the amazing ability to cross over man-made boundaries with compassion, gentleness, and kindness.  One day, He and His disciples were traveling through Samaria.  Most Jewish men would have chosen to walk the much-longer route around the city, because they considered Samaritans to be an inferior mixed race.  Jesus, however, walked right through the city at mid-day, stopping to ask a woman at Jacob’s well for water.  She was shocked!  Jewish men didn’t talk to Samaritan men, let alone women.

To avoid the heat of the day, women traveled to the well in the early morning and again in the late afternoon to fetch water for their families.  Biblical scholars believe the woman Jesus met was there at high noon in order to avoid the other women.  The heat of their judgment of her sinful lifestyle must have been hotter and harder to bear than that of the sun. 

Jesus, too, knew of her secrets and shame.  Instead of the heat of judgment, he offered her His “living water” of forgiveness and salvation.  His loving compassion crossed the boundaries between them. 

Wherever you walk and whoever you meet, you can share God’s compassion with hurt and broken people.  Sharing God’s love in gentle, kind ways is humbly clothing yourself with the characteristics of Christ.  He is looking for people that will reach across boundaries, build bridges, and link arms with others, no matter where they’ve been or what they’ve done.  Will you?

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

It's The Heart That Matters

Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart. – 1 Samuel 16:7 (MSG)

When I was young, and my mom’s mother (Mamma) was alive, I remember holding her hand in mine and moving her loose skin around in circular motions.  I found it fascinating that her tissue-paper thin skin was so stretched out and wrinkly that I could move it from one side of her hand to the other, clearly seeing the veins and frail bones underneath.  As a young girl, I imagined that my Mamma’s hands had always looked like that.

But they hadn’t.  At one time, my Mamma’s hands were smooth, taut, and strong. They cooked, cleaned, wrote letters, hung laundry on the clothes line, ironed, picked pears, hugged, and held babies. 

Think for a moment what you do with your hands every day.  Who and what do you touch?  What do you move, hold, or love with your hands?  What do you enjoy doing with them?  Now look at both your hands.  Have they always looked like this?  Are they youthful or wrinkled, strong or frail?  

If your hands are speckled with age spots and wrinkled, there are plenty of anti-aging creams on the market for you.  “Cover-up and tighten up” is what the world tells us to do. But God doesn’t care if we’re wrinkled or smooth, tall or skinny, fat or thin.  He looks into our hearts and deeply cares about what’s inside.

What is inside?

Try this exercise I did with my Bible study a while ago:

• Draw a large heart (your heart) on a piece of paper 
• Divide the heart into 8-10 different sized pieces
• Label each piece with a key word that describes a part of your heart (i.e. Love, Hate, Compassion, Anger, Jealousy, Kindness…)
• Finally, imagine God sitting down to review your work

The first time I did this “Pieces of My Heart” exercise, I compared my heart to what I thought Jesus’ heart would look like.  How far I fell short was a rude awakening.  

What about your heart?  What labels do you need to change?  Let’s align our hearts with God’s and care more about our character than our clothes, cosmetics, or outward appearance.  After all it’s the Heart that Matters Most!

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement