women getting real

Release Me

/ Jana / 1 Comment

I woke up with a fragments of a song in my head this morning. I heard it yesterday in Jazzercise and it has been rolling around in my head ever since. And when I looked up the lyrics I almost laughed out loud. Let me explain.

Try to picture this. There are 40 – 50 women. Varying ages, shapes and sizes. Jocks, Rocks, Dancers, Divas. But also there are the Wrinkled, Sagging, Wishful and Wanna-bes. We collectively come together to cheer each other on. We motivate and inspire. All this done by just showing up. And while I am there, working on my outer shell, God works on my inner health.  He motivates and inspires. Not for the goal of perfection in the physical. But for the transforming of my perspective.

You see, every woman there works for the goal of seeing herself beautiful. Not just being beautiful. But SEEING herself as beautiful. Some are satisfied, some are killing themselves trying. Most think it is an endless battle they ultimately lose.

But God shows up to tell anyone who will listen how pleased He is that we are taking care of something He loves so very much. And an odd moment occurs every time I go. When you get us all side by side, sweat by sweat, you can really see the beauty and diversity of God. He has made us. Each one. Every one.   What a lot of people call working out, I call Worship.  Because I kid you not, when I show up to invest in this body that God has given me, He meets me there. And He sings over me. Really. 

In the gym, it is really loud, and the workout is really strenuous. But God will have some line blurt out in the middle of a song. It happens like an answer to the question in my head. It happens a lot. So now, I’ve learned to tune my ear. Instead of it being a random, bizarre experience, it is part of our connection, our conversation.

Yesterday, my question to Him was about how to manage all the desires of my heart and still manage the real life demands that coexist. All I heard was:

Release me, release my body…
blah blah blah

Release me, cause I’m not able to…
blah blah blah

Release me, I just can’t do this myself…
blah blah blah

The remainder of the day, I sang those lines. “Release me.” Release me from my need to demand and control. “Release me, cause I’m not able to” do this life alone, nor do I want to. Release me to see You and feel You. Release me from the lie that it is all up to me, all on me, all about me. “I just can’t do this myself.”

So when those lines surfaced again this morning, I looked up the whole song by Agnes. And it is crazy. This song is about a woman who can’t break away from a bad relationship. It has an “addictive hold.” She has no voice or thought except to be consumed by this man. She “knows it’s wrong” but wants it anyway. So she sings, “Release me…” The problem is who is she asking? There is not an addiction that will release you for the asking, nor a user that will stop using because you are hurting. So we are destined to “do what we do not want to do.” Unless. Unless we ask the Right Person to release us.  There is a Healer, a Warrior, a Savior who died to release us from this body of death.  This Lover longs to see us soar in Him, to be released into all that He has ever created us to be.

Who are you asking to release you? You really can’t do this alone.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It…

/ Jana / Leave a comment

Chuck saw this great tagline on the side of a truck. “We are the extra that makes extraordinary possible.” I love this. It goes right along side with something the Lord has been stirring in me.  God has placed within each of us His creative presence. Think about it.  You already understand the notion because we say, ‘I got my artistic bent from my mom.’ Or  ‘I got my sense of direction from my dad.’ Get it? We can naturally link our talents, gifts, and quirks to our parents.

So what did we Supernaturally get from our Heavenly Parent?  Our ability to create. Something of beauty, usefulness, impact. Something that makes us all sit back and say, “Wow, how did you do that?”  To which our honest reply is, “Me and God, we did that together.”  There is a hum, or flow; there is a spiritual tandem that happens when we put our hands and hearts to a task and ask His hands to be in there too.

But here is the challenge.  We are tempted to Cope instead of Create.

What I am seeing is our enemy knows this creative connection and he hates it. He hates the relationship that grows with our Maker during the creative process. He hates the outpouring of God’s glory that the end product generates. He especially hates the healing that comes when we use all that energy to do something With God, rather than coping in effort to hide From God.

So the enemy does all he can to lure us away from any creative process. Give me food, sex, TV, drugs, sports, even books. Give me anything to numb out. But the greatest works of art, music, architecture have been born from a broken heart. People who took human angst and with God’s supernatural connection brought beauty from ashes. Whether big or small, renown or recluse, we were born to create good.

Where is your extra that makes the extraordinary possible? Don’t cope it up and hide it out. Let it out. We need to see what you and God can do together.

Where Is Your Name Stuck?

/ Jana / Leave a comment

Proverbs talks about “the way of a man with a maiden.”  I love how Tim Keller of Redeemer Church teaches on this and on biblical sexuality. He paints a beautiful picture of a pursuing lover, romancing and wooing his woman, providing a safe and loving place for them to truly be naked and unashamed. Known and knowing. A place where a woman freely and willingly offers herself and receives this ardent lover. Wow…what a vision of love. What a great idea from God.

But — this is not always the reality or goal of many men, or women. My husband and I have young daughters, so we are often showing them real life ways to evaluate character and to recognize selfish motives. In themselves and in others. We want them to have a healthy respect for themselves so they will know how to test a guy’s heart. (You know by the time they are in high school they are gonna be sick of us…)

Anyway, Chuck was driving the girls to school and they came upon a truck.  It had one of those painted beach scenes and stuck on the beach scene were two of the classic silver silhouettes of a woman. You know the ones, the truckers’ equivalent to the Playboy bunny. I hate  what both represent. What it reduces a woman to, what it reduces a man to.

So Chuck proceeds to tell the girls, “If you ever meet a guy that wants to date you and he has this on his truck, your answer is ‘No.’ This guy has a wrong view of women. He is just a consumer of beauty, and doesn’t value you for who you are.” (Preach it, brother!)

Of course, Charis quips, “Well what if you are dating him and you didn’t know he drove a truck like that?”  To which Dad says, “Dump him.”

And then, Chuck proceeds to tell one of his favorite stories about one of his sisters. She was going on the first date with a guy. On the side of his truck were decals. It read:  Jeff and …. The other name had been removed and you could see the sticky residue. 

In all seriousness, Jeff looked at Chuck’s sister, smiled and nodded toward the blank spot on his door. “You know, your name could be here,” he said.

WHAT???  If it wasn’t so funny, it would be tragic…And here is our problem.  We as women tolerate that. Why?  Because we settle. We hope to have our names of the side of a guy’s truck, when in reality our names have been engraved on the Palm of God’s hand.

Our desire for beauty, our need for affirmation, our hope for romance and fulfillment is best met in our Bridegroom God. He is our definition and satisfaction. And then with our hearts full of living water, and real love, we are able to enter into relationship with a man. Sisters, let’s not talk about “them.”  Let’s talk about us. Let’s start with the right Man, before we cast our pearls before swine.

The Light of His Presence

/ Jana / 1 Comment

After teaching an intense retreat this weekend, and busy Monday, I sat down today to “eat” on the word. My spirit was grumbling like an empty belly. As I was reading through Psalms, I kept running across the phrase, in the light of your presence.

Not once, but many times.  And as I kept reading, I had a “Nemo” moment: when all these scenes connected together.

The women on Saturday night not knowing how much God desires them…

The teens on Sunday morning, not seeing that God longs to help them succeed in the middle of this culture…

The woman on Monday afternoon, not being able or willing to believe that she doesn’t have to “perform” to be valued…

My own heart needing clarity as I navigate politics and protocols with other organizations…

In the light of Your presence.

Without Him we cannot see. He wants us to get that all these appetites, all these hungers, questions and needs, are met in Him. “In the light of your presence,” there is such comfort. His light reveals. His presence heals. He helps us see what we cannot see, but desperately need to.

Think about these spiritual nuggets:

“There is no shadow of turning with thee”  God is not moving. He will not turn His back on us. Jesus’s death means he will not change his mind about us. There is no darkness in Him, so if we need revelation of our gray areas, we need only ask, believe, receive.

“We walk in the light as He is in the light.” His Spirit is “ever” interceding, ever leading us into greater light and understanding.

“There is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ.” Romans 8:1

God is constantly telling us that They (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are With us and For us.  Their love is the answer for every ache in our hearts. But we have to believe that.

In the disappointing movie, The Invention of Lying, the producers set up the story to be an assault against the Christian faith. But it actually turned out to be a revelation of how desperately the human heart needs and longs for direction. We want and need the light. However, the movie’s message chose to remain in darkness. And hopelessness. They refused to “see” that His presence is real. And His light changes everything.

Utter dependence on God is the goal. Jesus said, Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Feast on Him. Enjoy Him. Let His presence be the Light you live by.

Prayer for Restoration

/ laurajones / Leave a comment

Greetings!

Jana is teaching a women’s retreat tonight and part of the day tomorrow.  This song came to heart to pray over her and the women who are there to hear her.  Join us in asking that the Lord would restore souls.  And revel in this truth yourself: He’s called you by a new name.

Blessings!

Laura

RESTORATION SONG by David Brymer

You bring restoration
You bring restoration
You bring restoration
To my soul

You’ve taken my pain
Called me by a new name
You’ve taken my shame
And in it’s place, You give me joy

You take mourning and turn it into dancing
You take weeping and turn it into laughing
You take mourning and turn it into dancing
You take my sadness and turn it into joy

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You make all things new, all things new

Are You Excited?

/ Jana / 2 Comments

Yesterday was Zoo day with Zooee. (That is Charis’ nickname, Zoo-ee.)  At 5:45 a.m. she jumped in our bed and whispered, “I am so excited, I just can’t wait to go to the Zoo today.”

In my pre-coffee grogginess, I gave her a warm hug and felt her back. “Are you dressed already?” I mumbled.

“Yes!” she all but squeaked. “I looked at the time and I know that we leave at “25 o’clock”  so I didn’t want to be late.”

“Honey,” Chuck said, “We leave at 7:25 not 6:25.”

“Ohhhh,” she said.

The whole rest of the day, from getting to school to waiting in line, to seeing each beautiful animal, Charis’ eyes were glowing. This was one exciting day. At dinner, she had to replay the day for us. She acted out the otters sliding up against the glass, the bird swooping close over her head in the bird show, the slide at Kid’s Cove and many other “moments.”

It was so good for my soul.  Not the child mania of course with groups of colored t-shirts screaming and yelling, or the near comatose chaperones trying to keep up. Her eager anticipation before Zoo day, and her enthusiasm the day of reminded me of what it was like to just be willing to be “wowed.”

I told Chuck for this moment in time, “It is so beautiful to watch a happy child have happy expectations.” Don’t get me wrong, there are many, many children who have no happiness, or hope of happiness. Just watch the movie “Precious” to get a reality check for way too many children right under our noses.

But for this golden moment, it was heavenly. It was a glimpse of our God-image.  She was full of hope and joy, grateful and simply wiggling with “what is to come.” No worry, no doubt, no demands.

Do you have many of these moments with the Lord?  I mean, really. Do you allow yourself time to get out of the muck to look up, look out, and see the “wonder of what is to come”? Do you ever get wiggly over just having a day to play, to have an adventure, to be alive?

There really is something to that childlike faith thing that Jesus talked about. He is so so smart.

An Invitation to Trust

/ Jana / Leave a comment

My friend Toni unknowingly blew my head off one day when she was talking about obedience. She said, “We have a wrong thought about obedience. It is not a hard, mean thing.  It is kind of like when you were a kid and your dad or mom says, ‘Hey I am going to the store, you wanna come?’ ” 

It’s an invitation. An invitation to trust the One who is asking you to come along.

I have brewed on this conversation with my insightful friend for a long time now. Every time I hear Chuck invite one of the girls to go on an errand, the Lord takes my understanding a little deeper. Why does Chuck ask? He wants to have some one-on-one time. He wants to talk to them about something specific. He has a surprise for them. He just enjoys their company.

Rarely do the girls fire off these questions:
Where are we going?
How will we get there?
How long will we be gone?
How much will it cost?
How will I pay for this?
How am I supposed to do this alone?

You see, all they know and rest in is that their dad, imperfect but loving dad, has asked them to go somewhere. The details don’t really matter because it is about the two of them going on an adventure.

If you told them, “you have to go”, the reactions would be different wouldn’t they? That Self kicks up in a moment. And this is the beauty, and the scandal, of our free will choosing of God. Our perfect Loving Father has asked us to trust His leading, trust His way. Trust Him. Even when we don’t understand the details and we can’t foresee the outcome. Jesus said, “Follow me.” He did not say, “You have to follow me.” He invited them into an adventure. And even though His followers surely did not know the future, they saw in His eyes something they could not refuse.

Where are you chafing?  What are you fighting for or against?  Who are you fighting? And what if you just looked instead into the eyes of God?  What if you listened again to what He said, ‘Follow me’, and without throwing out a thousand rebuttals, you just trusted the Heart that was asking you to come on an adventure?

 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
       which have no understanding
       but must be controlled by bit and bridle
       or they will not come to you.
Psalm 32:9

Weed, Seed and Feed … and Plow

/ Jana / Leave a comment

The term, “weed, seed and feed” originally came from a selling cycle. You weed unproductive accounts out, you prospect and propose for new business (seed), and you feed and nurture existing accounts for continued good business.

I like this notion. It is short, concise and helps keep a focus on needed actions. (It really pays in more way than one to have a husband in sales.) Over the years I have seen this principle apply to our spiritual lives.

Weed:
We weed out the activities, beliefs and habits that damage our good spiritual crop. We all need an honest conversation with the Lord about what He sees that hurts or distracts from our harvest. Not once, but continually. Then we need to do what any good farmer would do, pull the weeds.

Seed:
We go to God to receive more love, insight, and “seed,” then we scatter that as He leads. He loves to see new growth in our lives. He rejoices in those tiny green shoots taking root and thriving. But He has not given to us for our enjoyment alone. He has blessed us that we might bless others. At the proper time, He loves for us to work along side Him, casting out seed.

Feed:
We feed and nurture the relationship with Him and with others so that we will surely reap what we have sown. Call it fertilizer. We care for our God field so that we yield a God crop.  Doesn’t this sound so happy? Churchy? And completely unrealistic??? 

It is because of this reaction that I have modified this cycle by adding one crucial step. Plow.

We do well to examine our hearts, fields and harvest. Why? Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Through Him, we are life bearers, seed-bearers. Part of our inheritance as a child of God is that we share in His harvest. Harvest of souls. Harvest of righteousness, wisdom, health and favor.

I talk to many people who do none of these things and then complain that God is not real to them. No weeding (“I can do whatever I want”) no seeding (“I don’t feel like it”) and no feeding (“God doesn’t talk to me, so what is the point?”) His life in you is the only point. Not salvation. Not just buying the field and then letting it lay there dormant and undeveloped. But a field that God has great delight in, great plans to bring forth a harvest.

These dear ones need to ask for one simple thing: that God would plow up their hardened hearts. We need to ask God for a ground that has been softened by the rain of our tears, that has had a rototiller of truth dig deep and turn up the weedy top soil, that has let the warmth of His presence temper and prepare the ground for good seed. So how is your dirt?

 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galations 6:9

A Patient Expectation

/ Jana / 2 Comments

Play along. Imagine you drive up to a restaurant. Even before you walk in the door, you are hungry. The door swings open and you are washed with a flood of aromas — breads, spices, warm and inviting. Your stomach agrees with your selection and urges you on.

Now you are seated at the table, and the server hands you a menu.  Your eyes take in all the possibilities. Choices, options, suggestions, pairings and combinations of flavors, textures and details.

Another rumble and you find you want to hasten the process. You just desperately want to actually be eating and not reading. You want the food to be in front of you, not on a page. Somewhere in this moment is the notion of sustenance, the notion of what you “need” to eat, what would be good for you.

But the first and primary urge is on what you “want” to eat. You desire the desirable.

So finally, the order is placed, your stomach is tense and waiting, waiting. You are so hungry you almost feel sick and then  you…

 get up and walk out of the restaurant.

 A feast is being prepared for you, and you left the building.

Your stomach is in shock. Your server is stiffed, and your body has been robbed of much needed fuel. You are angry and unsatisfied.

Now suppose you turn around and say, “the restaurant didn’t answer your request.”

When you come to the table of God, come with a patient expectation. Come hungry, and come with a willingness to believe that He is preparing a feast for you. He knows and responds to the desires of your heart and the needs of your heart to keep you well fueled. Come to the table. And wait for the meal to arrive. Don’t get up and leave and say God doesn’t answer you. Wait and expect. Ask and receive. Though it tarry, wait for it.

But as it is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him.” 1st Corinthians 2:9

My Soul Sings Out “Halle-lu-jah”

/ Jana / 1 Comment

There is no one like our God.  No one.  Not just when things go like we want them, but when all of life becomes dark, gray or numb. There is no one like Him, Them.  No one who washes us out of Their glorious riches like They do. There is no one loving and leading like They do. No one who can be Father, Brother, Lover like They can. No one who sees our desperate need and reaches out to heal and restore. Not disinterested observers from afar. No, this God is right in the middle of our business. They get in there and wash, and redeem and breathe dead bones back to life.

They delight in being Our God.

Listening right now to the song “Reign in Us” by Starfield. How it makes my soul soar:

Oh great and mighty one
with one desire we come
that You would reign that You would reign in us
we’re offering up our lives
a living sacrifice
that You would reign that You would reign in us

Spirit of the living God fall fresh again
come search our hearts and purify our lives
we need Your perfect love we need Your discipline
we’re lost unless You guide us with Your light

Lord Jesus
come lead us
we’re desperate for Your touch

What are you desperate for?  Life, hope, health, friends, love, money, peace? Come to the One Who promised to meet all your needs out of His glorious abundance. He lacks no good thing.  This whole Zimbabwe trip has forever changed my life and I haven’t even left yet.  The question about God that I had to face is this:  I know You are Good. I know You are Here. I know You are Able. But are You Willing for me?

What  He revealed was that I had a lot of false props in my life.  Lots of places that I leaned on other than Him. And one by one, (and I am quite sure we are not done yet), He is showing me, He doesn’t just say, “I am the Life.”  HE MEANS:  I am the Life. I AM your life.

Every way, every day, every need, every desire. I have so many things to give testimony about to brag on Him.

God has provided all our Zimbabwe funds! You should hear the stories… Only God could have done that.

God has rescued my marriage and we celebrated 19 years on April 13.  Only God could have done that.

God came down in overwhelming extravagance at the retreat. Women were given wings to fly. Only God could have done that.

On and on.  What about you?  What will you give testimony about today?  Don’t miss the power of God that is released when we praise Him in every season, act, and issue.  “And they overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”

Reign in Us

You thought of us before the world began to breathe
You knew our names before we came to be
You saw the very day we fall away from You
and how desperately we need to be redeemed

Lord Jesus
come lead us
we’re desperate for Your touch

Oh great and mighty one
with one desire we come
that You would reign that You would reign in us
we’re offering up our lives
a living sacrifice
that You would reign that You would reign in us

Spirit of the living God fall fresh again
come search our hearts and purify our lives
we need Your perfect love we need Your discipline
we’re lost unless You guide us with Your light

Lord Jesus
come lead us
we’re desperate for Your touch

Oh great and mighty one
with one desire we come
that You would reign that You would reign in us
we’re offering up our lives
a living sacrifice
that You would reign that You would reign in us

we cry out for Your life to revive us cry out
for Your love to define us cry out
for Your mercy to keep us
blameless until You return

oh great and mighty one
with one desire we come
that You would reign that You would reign in us
we’re offering up our lives
a living sacrifice
that You would reign that You would reign in us
[2 x]

You would reign in us

So reign please reign in us
come purify our hearts
we need Your touch
come cleanse us like a flood
and send us out
so the world may know You reign You reign in us
[3 x]