healing

A New Spin on Forgiveness

/ Jana / Leave a comment

I love it when the Holy Spirit blows me up. He keeps bringing revelation about love and forgiveness. At Yes and Amen  the Lord  called for us to fall in love with Him.  How do we love Him more? At WGR class last Tuesday, we looked at the parable Jesus told about the two debtors.

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. (Luke 7:41)

Jesus used this parable to challenge the hard-hearted homeowner who scorned the woman washing Jesus’s feet with her tears.  The bottom line is he who has been forgiven much, loves much. Jesus directly equates our ability to love with our willingness to receive forgiveness from God. But there’s more.

Sunday morning, I was in a wad  before church and  journaled out some confusion and frustrations in relationships. The Lord spoke that forgiveness was the key. So I wrote out the names of the strained relationships and asked the Lord to bring forgiveness to bear in the hearts involved. Then, what was the topic at church on Sunday morning?

Yes, a message on forgiveness. There were  new pieces revealed in this conversation with the Lord even as the pastor was speaking.

The pastor, Scott Hughes,  taught out of Luke 9 where Jesus said that if we are to follow him, we must take up our cross daily. I began to groan under the hint of “work it up” theology, but  Scott quickly commented how misunderstood this verse is. He broke down the meaning. The cross is a symbol of God’s love, the sacrifice of Jesus, the total forgiveness of our sin, but also the sin of every person in the world.  The cross means I’m forgiven, but so is the person I have conflict with.

So when we take up our cross daily, we take up, we carry around with us, the weight, the meaning, the reality, of God’s love and his total forgiveness. We carry the cross so we think rightly about our relationship with God and our total acceptance by Him. But we also carry the cross as a reminder that the others in our lives, even the ones we want to punch in the face, are also dearly loved and forgiven by God.

Then the Lord added His beautiful touch of revelation and the pieces starting connecting together like magnets pulling pins together.

He brought back a memory from another sermon from a few Easter’s ago. Greg Pinkner had fish tank on the stage and illustrated the story of the ax head being raised up out of the river. He said it was a picture of the resurrection of Christ. Greg had a blooming dogwood branch in his hand. As as he taught — about things begin buried, out of reach, and should not be able to be raised up, things like an ax head, like our sin, like  the crucified man named Jesus—he would push the dogwood branch down to the bottom of the water and hold it there.

But as he talked about the power of God, the power of His word, the heart of God to restore all things, Pinkner would release the branch and it would spring back to the surface of the water. The branch could not stay submerged. It had to come to the surface. He did this three or four times. By the third time, I wanted to stand up and yell HALLELUJAH!!! God has taken our sin and our separation and by His own Hand, He buried it in Jesus, once and for all. And then by His own mercy, He called Jesus back out of the grave and us with Him! Jesus could not stay in the grave!

So the cross isn’t just a sign of death. It is a sign of Life. New Life. Resurrected Life. When we pick up our cross daily we can take our offenses and hurts and “bury them” in the Cross of Jesus. He will bring new life where there was only death and separation before. And part of His new life, is an increased love for Him and for others because of this beautiful forgiven and resurrected life.

Oh the beauty of the Forgiving Father! The power of the Resurrected Christ! The promise of the Wonderful Counselor who leads us into increasing freedom with others, and from others.

Could we love others more if we forgave more? Could we love others more if we embraced how much we have been forgiven by God? May God grant us eyes to see and ears to hear all that He has in store for us through His love.

Loving What God Loves

/ Jana / 1 Comment

It never fails. After an event as powerful as Unhindered 2012, I began to unpack the car,  my heart, and my notes. “Ah” comes the familiar sigh, as my eyes glanced over the post-it notes I used as speaking cues.

“I forgot that verse.”

“Oh I didn’t show that slide.”

“Wow Lord, I didn’t tell them that story of how You came through for us.”

I had coffee with Chuck this afternoon and ran down the list of what “I didn’t say.”  I wasn’t sad or disappointed. I didn’t feel shame. I was just stating the facts. And yet…

“What did I talk about?” I asked him laughing, recalling the Spirit’s mighty presence surrounding the women.  Chuck’s blue eyes and response burned right through me. “You told them exactly what God wanted them to hear!”

(Lord, thank you for this redeemed co-heir, partner, coach, friend and husband.)

“Well then, I just need to write out the rest of what I left out then.”  And he ardently agreed.

It matters because God is telling a powerful story. When you registered for the UE, you weren’t connecting to me. You were responding to the Spirit of the Living God.  So for the next several days, let’s see what else He has to pour out.

Today the pressing topic is God’s utter satisfaction in you.  I heard from women afterwards, and even on my team, the concern and fear that God is displeased, disappointed, frustrated, or “tired of my sh#@!”  When the presence of the Lord is so strong, we often see our shortcomings, deficits, ruts and rebellions all the more clearly. But God.

It is God’s glory  that exposes, overshadows, and covers our human-ness. It is His glory that stirs something in us to ache for “farther up and farther in.”  And it is our inward groan for “more” that should be our greatest encouragement.

The only reason we long for someone’s  total embrace of our true selves,  total acceptance of our good and bad sides,  total filling of a perfect love, and total forgiveness for the seen and unseen sin, is because deep inside we suspect we are more than we appear. God is not like us, but we are made in His image and our spirits hunger for the reality of Him. Dead people don’t worry about sin. “The love of Christ  compels” us to be like Him.

We have an internal hard drive that runs best when we are living out of His embrace, acceptance, fullness and forgiveness. So if our enemy can convince us or distract us by believing less, desiring less,  enjoying less, then he has us right where he wants us: Doubting the Love of God.

The best thing you can claim today is God’s perfect, joyful, continuous, unconditional delight in you. Not because of who you are, but because of Whose you are.

The Infinite God of Endless Delight.

 

Annual Marriage Retreat

/ Lyschel / Leave a comment
Our annual marriage retreat is scheduled for February 3 – 5, 2012. Register today!

Do you wonder if there are ways to connect more deeply with your mate? Do you long for more intimate connections on every level, emotionally, physically, spiritually? Well so does the Lord. He longs for the two of you to experience intimacy with Him and each other.

This retreat is a time to explore ways to make that connection real.

Whether you are barely speaking, or deeply in love, the intention of this retreat is to help us connect our marriage to God’s heart. Every year the material is different, but the desire is the same, to grow more in love with God and each other.

With all that pulls against you and your marriage, this time away is a chance to discover new ways, new habits, new beginnings that help you grow closer together.

“Perfect love casts out fear.” We want to learn how to live in this place for a lifetime.

To hear a testimony from a previous attendee check out the video

Retreat price includes two nights lodging in private suites, 4 meals and teaching sessions.

Retreat will be held at Smokey Mountain Christian Village.

A Great Light

/ Jana / Leave a comment

I was adding ornaments to my tree this morning. I had to laugh. They look like miniature disco balls. But they also looked liked mosaics. Broken shards delicately placed together to form a whole new piece of art.  And when the little white Christmas lights hit them, “Voila!”

Sparkles. Colors. Reflections bouncing everywhere. Grabbing color from the tree and other nearby ornaments, it became so much more in the light.

You were made to reflect the light. Not be the center or source of light, but close enough to reflect and bounce and dare I say it, dance in the light.

No wonder then that Jesus is called the great light that has come into the world. No wonder the darkness can not overcome Him. No wonder we look and feel so much better when we are close to Him. He came so we could reflect Him. Brilliantly, beautifullly, eternally.

And just as an exclamation point to this thought, I came back to the tree a little later in the morning and the sun was shining on the tree…talk about glowing!

So shine baby, shine.

“Blessed is the people who know the joyful sound;
they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance.”  Psalm 89:15

 

First Things First

/ Jana / 1 Comment

Since the beginning of November, God has been bringing the story of two fish and five loaves ( John 6) around and around. From  different perspectives and places, He just keeps teaching and revealing. And the bottom line: give thanks and believe.

Don’t look at the circumstances: 5,000 people needing to be fed (15,000 if you count women and children). Don’t look at what you’ve got in your hand: two fish and five loaves.  Look at Who you are with. The Son of the Most High God.

And what does He do? He looks to heaven and gives thanks for what God is about to do. Then as calmly as can be, the disciples began distributing. And they just kept on distributing. There were 12 baskets of leftovers. Not 12 cups. Twelve baskets.  This is after everyone has had their fill. There was no Black Friday stampeding here. Everyone had enough and there were leftovers even.

Who is this God, who is this Jesus, who is this Spirit that can impact our natural world with their supernatural power? The same God that is with you today.

Don’t look at the crowds or  your meager offering. Look to heaven, give thanks and then do what He has told you to do. He is faithful.

Here are some pearls from Abiding Glory on Sunday about gratitude that God has been expanding for me.

1) “Kingdom protocol is first “God, thank you” then please.” “ Jesus always thanked God first before He asked anything. We are instructed to “enter his courts with thanksgiving” then we proceed to the inner courts for petitions. This is a weighty concept but will change your faith life and your prayer life.

2) “Gratitude is never invisible or silent.” I love this. It is not enough to be thankful, you must express it. To God, to others. We often expect God and other people to “know” we are grateful.  But both you and the other person are blessed when you tell them, show them you are thankful. Already this week, I have been very conscious about expressing my thanks to Him and those who bless me.

3) “Gratitude sustains joy and blessing. Without it, you soon begin to take your blessing for granted.“ Ouch. This one hits way too close to home. Everything we have is a gift from God. EVERYTHING.  Be sure to sit in a posture of thanks rather than “I deserve this.”

4) “Gratitude begins where my sense of entitlement ends.”  It is hard to be thankful and be demanding at the same time. We are consumed in our country, and the Church, with our rights, our privileges. When “you owe me” turns into “I am so blessed,” things shift in our soul.

5) “Grateful people can find a blessing, enlarge a blessing or create a blessing in almost any circumstance.” I don’t know about you, but I want this to be my life motto.  Because the opposite affect scares me to death: Negative people can miss a blessing, minimize a blessing and destroy a blessing in almost any circumstance.

Let us be the people who remember the goodness of our God. Look to Him. Give thanks. Live in His blessing.

 

Yes and Amen Retreat

/ Lyschel / Leave a comment

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.“
2 Corinthians 1:20

Friday, April 13 through Sunday, April 15, 2012

We are going to use this “get away from the world time” to talk about:

What are God’s dreams for us?

What does He see for our lives, and our futures?

What has He already said, “Yes and Amen” to that we just don’t know about yet?

How do women get Un-stuck?

False expectations and demands around food, sex, beauty, and love (and the Lord only knows what else…) What lifts women up?

Rest and release in the love of God.

Freedom to use our voice and heart.

Letting go of the need to control.


Join us for this unique retreat held at Smoky Mountain Christian Village.  A beautiful complex out of the traffic zone of Pigeon Forge, TN

Weekend Package Includes:  Cost is only $80!

  • Five sessions of Teaching and Materials with Jana Spicka
  • 2 Night’s Lodging in a large and spacious chalet.  Heated pool and nature trails on site.
  • Four Meals and Snacks. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday morning. (Friday night dinner is on your own before first session.)

This is an intimate gathering limited to 18 women. So don’t wait to register.

Reserve Your Spot Today

 

Click here to hear a testimony from one of last years attendees.

Women Getting Real Weekly Class

/ Lyschel / Leave a comment

This  is a great place to go deeper into relationship with Jesus and  other  women. Both seem scary we know. But this is a place where we talk  about  real life topics and look for God to show up in the middle of  our lives.

The class is for all ages and does not require perfect attendance. Or homework.

Join us in person at Fellowship Church on Middlebrook Pike,  Knoxville,TN every Tuesday night from 7:00pm – 9:00pm (childcare is  provided for those who register).

For specific details around the class please feel free to email us at info@womengettingreal.com.

We meet three weeks on and one week off. Dates of class are listed below. We are planning to Livestream at least once month. So stay tuned for those details. Be sure to sign up for RSS or Facebook alerts so you don’t miss out on “Monday Snack Time with Jana”, its a weekly vlog.

Class Dates for Spring Semester 2011: April 5, 19, 26; May 3, 17, 24, 31
(new class location coming soon, stay tuned for details)

To hear audio from classes up until now check out our archived classes

Our Heart for Unhindered

/ Jana / 1 Comment

This is the Lord’s mission statement. It’s what He’s always doing. And this is our desire for the women who are part of Unhindered 2.0.  Don’t miss an amazing day with the Lord as we press into His freedom, His favor, His comfort, and His beauty for us. You can still register here.

Isaiah 61:1-3

 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
   because the LORD has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
   to proclaim freedom for the captives
   and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
   and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
   instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
   instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
   instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   a planting of the LORD
   for the display of his splendor.

Dear Diary…

/ Jana / 2 Comments

Have you ever had the “song” thing happen?  Remember the high school or college romance when you had “Our Song”? Sigh. But the part that nobody ever told you about was that every time you heard the song from that  infatuated moment forward until you were wrinkled and gray you would think of that person, that time, that romance.

I don’t know about you, but these are not always happy memories for me. I don’t like being reminded of him, or us, or how much it hurt.

But God.

Last night, He showed me how He is the Redeemer of all things. Because last night, I was on this excellent date with Chuck, and over the speaker I hear this song. It was a song God had given me a year ago. I stopped mid-sentence to listen. And to remember. He reminded me of all that was going on during that time, and all that He had healed (obviously with Chuck and I being on an excellent date). But He also reminded me of the His love for me.

No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you

Who knew? Who knew that Jesus remembered “Our Song”?  Or that when memories come back from this Love Affair they aren’t hurtful. But indescribable. Beautiful. Wonderful. A love affair that will never end.

I am beginning to see that Jesus likes to share His entries in His diary about me — with me. Love notes, whispers, songs, and dried leaf hearts. He is the pursuing Lover we have been looking for our whole lives . . . .

Listen. You will hear Him singing over you.

Delicious Deception

/ Jana / Leave a comment

There is a lot of effort, advice, and energy surrounding our issues.  I am thinking of food in particular. It is a tragic trend to study.

Chuck and I have seen the odd parallel rise among the sexes. As men turned to porn for relief, excitement and comfort, women turned to food for the same. For both there exists a deception of love and acceptance.  We form “relationship” with an object. We turn to a seductive picture of a body and how it promises to momentarily makes us feel. We turn to a seductive picture of a food item and how it promises to momentarily make us feel.

I kid you not in Walmart last year, there was a calendar display that stopped me suddenly. Side by side. Maxim and Desserts. It was such a telling moment. Two different calendars, one simple lie. A year full of fantasy.

What flavor ? Red head or strawberry? Brunette or banana split?

For both sexes, the compass of True North is broken.  Or maybe instead of True North, the compass of Truth is broken.  We turn to something other than Truth to define, comfort, heal us.

Sure, sure we know that. We only have to look at our out of whack minds and bodies to see this doesn’t work. But now what? Is joining another “don’t touch, don’t eat” group going to really heal the hurt and hunger inside?

For today, I want to suggest you begin a conversation with God and ask Him: Where do I go when I hurt?

It is not a quick conversation. But a slow dawning. Like the sun coming up, the sky goes from black to gray to full light. Ask the Lord to bring you revelation. Before you tear down idols, you have to know the Truth. So let’s begin there.

YOU AND I
by Shane Barnard and Shane Everett

Clean I call you clean
I came to clean you and it’s done
Here’s a call to all who’ve
Felt disqualified to run
Pleasures flowing here and there
From my right hand
What’s mine is yours
Come behold all of who I am

You and I will run
You and I will run forever
All is done
You and I will run

Come with what you do not have
And buy what’s undeserved
Feast and drink, the bounty’s great
I know you hear
But have you heard
Have you heard

Clean!
I’ve called you clean!
“I am dirty”
Clean!
“So unworthy”
Clean!
“Dirty”
That’s what I’m wanting

You and I will run
You and I will run forever
All is done
You and I will run

“Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”
(Is 55:1)

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
(2 Corinthians 5:21)