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Hope to Get Us Through Our Hardest Days

January 16, 2017 • 11 Comments

Congratulations, we made it to mid-January! The holidays are over. Daylight hours are few. Temperatures are freezing. Sickness is running rampant. And, for many areas of the US, the sun has seemingly vanished.

Happy New Year to us! Or maybe … not-so-happy new year.

Blue Monday is a name given to the third Monday of January, which is reported to be one of the most depressing days of the year. There are many conflicting opinions on the validity of the study that determined this, but regardless of its scientific accuracy, I think it’s still an important thing for us to talk about.

Because for a lot of us — myself included — winter is hard.

A few weeks ago my husband and I were waiting in line for an event. As if my frozen toes weren’t enough evidence to prove it was too cold to be standing outside, one glance at my weather app confirmed my suspicions. I reloaded the app just to make sure it was reading the temperature right, but a second glance proved it was in fact only 7˚ F. Not too far in front of me, a little girl started crying.

“Mommy, I’m cold. Can we please go inside? Please!” she shouted. “I don’t want to be out here anymore.”

My heart felt the weight of her desperate plea, and for a moment, I saw a glimpse of myself in her distress. Because I’ll be real with ya, sisters — this past month has not been an easy one for me.

Maybe you can relate. Maybe, like the little girl standing in the freezing cold, there’s a part of you that’s begging God to come to your rescue right now. You’re crying out, “Father, I’m miserable. Can you please get me out of the mess that I’m in?” But all you’re experiencing is silence. If that’s you, here’s what I want to say to you today:

There’s still hope for life, and there’s a hope that can help you through your hardest days.

There is a hope to get us through our hardest days. His name is Jesus.

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The name of that hope is Jesus Christ — the fulfillment of God’s promises and perfect plan. The risen King who proved once and for all just how deeply the Father loves and cares for us. The Savior who gives us a reason to trust and believe.

No matter what we face, we always have hope, because God’s promises will never fail us.

“We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:1-20 (MSG)

Another version of this passage reads, “we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (NIV). Hope is the anchor. Jesus is the anchor. And we don’t have to do the hard work of securing that anchor to the ocean floor, because Jesus has already secured it there for us. All we have to do is tether our souls to the rope and never let go. Piece of cake, right?

At this point you might be wondering, if it’s so simple, then why does life feel so hopeless sometimes?

If you’ve ever been to a church service, you might’ve heard or sang the old hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Written in 1757 by 22-year-old Robert Robinson, there’s a section of the hymn that I think captures why it’s so hard to stay tethered to the hope of Jesus. Robinson writes, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.”

God’s Word is full of hope. Jesus himself is full of hope. But in our human nature we are full of sin, and that sin makes us wander away from the source of hope. As Paul describes in Romans 7:

“I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway … I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (19, 22-25).

The remedy for our hardest day is and always will be Jesus. He wants to be our hope. He’s asking for us to come to Him so that He may give us rest and restore our weary souls (Matthew 11:28-30). But we have to choose Him first. What does that look like in life’s hard seasons?Read More

17-Day Prayer Challenge {Grow Your Faith In the New Year}

January 9, 2017 • 16 Comments

Bright colors illuminated the living room as the TV camera flipped to capture the Times Square Ball Drop. 59, 58, 57, 56, 55. Meanwhile, family members bustled around the house, partaking in the usual New Year’s Eve festivities.

With a glass of champagne here, and a glass of sparkling grape juice there, the night was full of laughter and cheer.

24, 23, 22, 21. I watched the countdown with great anticipation. 10, 9, 8. And though my body was planted firmly into the couch, the hope and promise of 2017 made my soul feel like it was about to fly right out of my body.

3, 2. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for a new year.

1. And now it’s finally here. Thank you, Lord.

I’m not sure what your 2016 was like, but in my little sphere of the world, it was a tough year. Death, rejection, sickness, relational discord and violence ravaged the lives of many people I know, including myself. It was painful to watch. Painful to experience and endure. But love, joy, hope, faith and the promise of a new year remain.

I’ve been praying a lot for 2017 — for God to make beauty out of the ashes — and in those prayers I feel nothing but hope for the year ahead. Regardless of what happens this year, I’m expecting God to do some pretty amazing things. And I’m hopeful that with this fresh start, my faith will only continue to strengthen and grow. I’m hoping this for you, too.

Today, I want to invite you to feed your faith in 2017 by joining me in this 17-Day Prayer Challenge that will help you hit the reset button on your walk with Jesus. Each day’s prayer challenge revolves around one area of focus, but you can feel free to add to it as you feel led by the Spirit.

Ready to have an incredible year? Let’s get started!

Day 1. Pray that God would awaken the passion inside of you to live for Him and Him alone. Ask God to set a fire within you — a hunger for more of Him and His Word. Pray that your desire to be close to God would only continue to increase. Spend a few minutes remembering and journaling about how you felt when you first came to know Jesus. Ask God to make you feel that way again.

Please join me at iBelieve.com to read and download the rest of this prayer challenge.

When Your Faith Needs a Wake Up Call

January 2, 2017 • 28 Comments

I didn’t stand up. I didn’t lift my hands and sing. Instead, my eyes teared as I looked at the rest of the congregation, which was doing everything that a “good Christian” should be doing in church: standing, singing and lifting hands in praise.

Beautiful melodies drifted through the air — notes rising and falling — and with them, a deep sadness and longing rose in my chest.

I couldn’t remember the last time I felt that alive inside. Because the truth was, after a 4-year on-and-off battle with anxiety attacks, my soul felt like it was slowly dying.

I was ready to feel again and grow in my faith. But I didn’t know where to start.

From the comfort of my church chair, I whispered to God: I want to feel like that again, Lord. I want my soul to be on fire for you. I don’t just want to believe in you, I want to be growing in you. I want to be so passionately, head-over-heels in love with you. But I’m stuck and I don’t know how to get unstuck.

Later that month, my husband tapped me on the shoulder during a different church service.

“Did you look at the bulletin yet?” He said.

“No. Why?” I replied.

“Look who’s coming to perform in concert here,” he pointed to the back of the bulletin.

Hillsong, it read.

Y’all. I don’t know if you’ve heard of Hillsong Worship or any of its sister bands (Young & Free and United), but these guys can sing! But not only can they sing … they can also write! It’s a combination that has created some of the most hauntingly beautiful music I’ve ever listened to. Time and time again, when I’ve needed a helping hand in this journey of faith, their songs have reached me and lifted me up.

In that moment I could almost hear God say to me: This is what I am going to use to wake up your faith, Lauren.

And that’s exactly what He did. After three hours of soul-stirring music, and one of the most empowering talks I’ve ever heard (Christine Caine, you will never cease to amaze me), the fire was back.

Have you ever had a mountain-top experience of faith like the one I just described? A time when God reached down and pulled your soul out of the pit? A time when Heaven touched Earth just to hold your beating heart and let you know everything was going to be OK?

Chances are if you’re a believer, you’ve had an experience like that, and if that’s true, then you know the mountain top doesn’t last forever.

Faith is a journey of mountain tops and valleys lows. Sometimes it’s full of adventure and discovery, other times it can feel routine and mundane.

Regardless of where we find ourselves in the journey, if we’re not intentional or careful along the way, it’s easy to get stuck. And in our stagnancy, it’s easy to forget that part of walking with Jesus is growing in faith.

Part of walking with Jesus is growing in faith.

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Knowing this is what led me to create the 2017 Inspiration Book for you guys. (If you follow my blog, you probably read about it last week. It’s all about reflecting on what we learned in 2016 and setting faith goals for 2017.)

A few weeks before I launched the Inspiration Book, I received several emails from readers asking for prayer and inspiration in regards to making faith resolutions for 2017. “I feel so stuck in my faith and I need God to wake me up, but I don’t know what to do differently,” one reader wrote.

That’s where today’s post comes in. Today I’ve gathered 17 faith resolutions from some of my favorite Christian writers to help you get the wheels turning and make your own faith resolutions. As you read about what others are planning to focus on this year, my hope is that you will be encouraged and inspired to grow even closer to Christ.

Sometimes God uses a concert to wake up our faith, but He is just as able to use quiet time and goal setting to speak to us, too.

If we want to grow our faith, we need to get with God. We need to quiet our souls. We need to listen.

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Here’s some examples of faith resolutions for 2017 to help get you thinking about how you can wake up your faith this year (I’ll go first):

LAUREN GASKILL
After being diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder in 2015, this year has been all about restoring, choosing, spreading and abiding in JOY. In terms of my ministry, 2016 was also a big growing season — a time when God called me into deeper waters and challenged me to take a leap of faith. While joy and faithfulness will remain important in 2017, my resolution is to love and serve others well by spending more time with Love himself.

KELLY BALARIE
When I wrote my, newly released, book, Fear Fighting, I learned if I want to be charged up in God’s purpose, I have to be sitting down in his love. With this, my resolution for 2017 is to get with God: to actively pray, dwell on God’s Word and listen in the white space of my life. In the car? Get with God. Doing dishes? Get with God. Going to bring the trash out? Get with God.

MICHELLE BENGTSON
In past years, my New Years resolutions focused on doing more, achieving more and being better. This year, going through a cancer journey with my husband has shown me what really matters. As I look at a new year, I’ll be returning to the basics: being more present in the moment with others, practicing more gratitude in place of grumbling, and making a greater priority to simply be still and know that God is in control.

BARB ROOSE
Right now, there is a three-word phrase that I’m meditating on based on Exodus 3:14-16, when the Israelites were freed from Pharoah, but still running for their lives in a season of uncertainty. Just Stay Calm … These are Moses’s words to the people as a reminder that they were not alone even though they couldn’t go forward or backward. It’s a reminder that even though I am a writer with a calling, those slow seasons are a part of God’s plan. I must stay calm, not second-guess or freak out about my lack of ability to move things forward. I’ve got to wait for God to make a way.

MARY CARVER
In 2017 I hope to listen closely for God’s voice, but not to stop there. I’m praying that I not only seek Him but that I obey Him as well. And more than ever, I am praying that God gives me the strength to persevere, to finish as strongly as I begin, to be faithful to what He’s placed in front of me.

MELISSA CLARK
This year, I’m focusing on an intention: to be persistently disciplined. My first area of discipline to tackle is waking up early. Early for me at least … 6 a.m. This will give me an hour every morning to start my day with reading, prayer, anda journaling. I believe starting my day this way will pave the way for better decisions and choices throughout my day allowing me to tackle my goals and pursue my dreams.

GRETCHEN FLEMING
After having read through the chronological Bible in 2016, I feel the desire to slow down and focus intently on Jesus. He will be my goal for 2017, as I seek to remember the “one thing needed” that Mary was commended for in Luke 10:42. I will not be planning or strategizing, but instead taking God at His Word that He will direct my path and fulfill His purpose for me, as I am sitting at His feet, listening and learning.

STACEY THUREEN
By God’s grace, I pray for the strength, motivation, and discipline to continue to read God’s word every single day. I plan on doing so by utilizing tools such as the YouVersion Bible App’s daily Bible reading plans, as well as other helpful tools like Barbour Book’s Daily Wisdom for Women Devotional Collection.

SHANNON GEURIN
I simply want to not only hear His voice but listen to His voice. I want to learn how to weed out all of the noise around me and hone in on HIM. This means cutting out all of the nonsense around me. Praying and reading the Bible just isn’t enough for me anymore — I know He wants more from me. And I am going to give it to Him because He deserves that and more.

ALISA NICAUD
I want a deeper, more intimate walk with Jesus. I want to hear and recognize His voice the same way I hear those closest to me. To grow our relationship in this way, I have officially put Him on my calendar! Several times a day I will have a reminder on my phone to stop and take a few minutes to pray, praise Him and seek Him.

ALISON TIEMEYER
So much of my life is shaped by busyness and hurrying, working and attempting perfection. In the coming year, I want to spend time hiding God’s Word in my heart and hiding with the Lord in my spirit. This will only come from a fierce desire given to me by God and a humble obedience to pursue Christ always — through earnest prayer, daily silence, and faithful study.

JENNIFER DUKES LEE
I’ve tried all sorts of resolutions aimed at making me happier, healthier and whole. But by Jan. 20, I’ve usually failed them all. I guess you could say I’m a resolution drop-out. This year, I’m done with resolutions — and making a revolution instead. I’m turning around to live my actual life, instead of sleepwalking through it. If I adopted a word for 2017, it would be “linger.” (Join Jennifer in taking steps toward a happier new year by taking “The Happiness Dare.” Learn more here.)Read More

The Best Christian Blog Posts of 2016

December 28, 2016 • 9 Comments

One of the things I love about blogging is being a part of the blogging community. Each year, I’m amazed by how many new, talented writers I meet (some of whom have become very close friends).

I can’t tell you how many blog posts I read this year, but I can tell you some of my favorites, and I’ve gathered those here for you to read today. Three of these posts are reader favorites from my blog, but the rest are from writers I deeply admire and respect. Here’s a list of the best Christian blog posts from 2016 — in no particular order — with an excerpt from each post.

Why We Don’t Have to Feel Ready by Holley Gerth
“God is not looking for perfect examples. He is looking for ordinary people willing to just love one another. He is calling the messy, the broken and the incomplete. This is good news for all of us. It means our role is not to show off; it’s just to show up. He will give to us and then He’ll give through us. We’re simply asked to be willing and brave enough to do it as we are and not as we’d like to be.”

10 Bible Verses Every Woman Should Memorize by Lauren Gaskill
“God doesn’t just want His children to open up their Bibles on Sunday. He wants His children to be filled with His word each and every day — and He wants to use His Word to transform us from the inside out. If you are interested in memorizing scripture, here are the top 10 verses that have transformed my walk with the Lord.”

What Are You Chasing? by Angela Parlin
“The course we run is the Christian life. But we’re not running to win the prize of salvation, since salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by our own works. What, then, is the prize we’re running to win? What are we running after anyway Jesus. We’re running after Jesus, friends.”

7 Powerful Verses That Will Give You God’s Peace by Deb Wolf
“Peace always seemed like it was just beyond my reach. I knew my lack of peace was a faith issue, but the truth about life’s ‘trials and sorrows’ pushed the possibility of peace right out the door. I knew Jesus words: ‘I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.’ John 16:33. They just didn’t translate into my everyday living.Read More

2017 Positively Lovely Inspiration Book

December 26, 2016 • 12 Comments

After 2015 left me sitting on the floor in a heap of tissues and chocolate wrappers, I was bound and determined to make 2016 a better year. So back in January, I wrote a New Year’s post called “How to Take Your Life Back In 2016.”

In that post, I wrote about the question I had asked myself several times in the weeks leading up to 2016, and that question was — How can I move on from the rubble and take my life back this year? After weeks of prayer and reflection, here’s what I landed on and wrote in that post:

“Want to know how to take your life back in 2016? Make a promise to yourself to fight whatever you are facing with courage and never give up. There will be bad days where we feel like we can’t go on, but we will keep hope alive. Starting this year we will choose joy. Starting this year we will choose to focus on what is good. Amen?”

Sweet friends, today I stand before you with a big smile on my face because, with the help of Jesus, that’s exactly what I did in 2016! I took my life back by choosing courage over fear. I chose joy by launching the Finding Joy Podcast. I chose to focus on the good things in my life by answering God’s call to ministry and launching this new website. I kept hope alive.

A better 2017 starts here.

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And I’m ready to make 2017 an even better year. How about you?

This is our chance, friends. This is our chance to map out a new year — a new adventure full of beauty and opportunity.

We don’t have to let another year pass us by. We can be intentional with our lives. Together, I believe we can dream, grow and experience abundant life in Christ! And the first step we can take to make this happen is set some time aside to get inspired and motivated for the new year.

That’s why I’ve created the 2017 Positively Lovely Inspiration Book, just for you!

This book is packed full of scripture, reflection questions and guided journaling that will help you jumpstart your faith walk this year.

We’ll talk about lessons learned in 2016, how we can grow closer to God in 2017, dreams we have for the future and goals that can help us get there, etc.

2016 was just fine and dandy. But I know 2017 can and will be even better. And not only is it going to be better. It’s going to be positively lovely. Why? Because as daughters of God WE are Positively Lovely.

And knowing and believing that changes everything. It changes how we think about our bodies and souls. It changes how we live. And it changes how we understand our purpose in life.

So here’s to a Positively Lovely 2017.

Cheers to a #PositivelyLovely2017!

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Here’s to imagining and living out a life of abundance. You can click on the button below to download this printable inspiration book — only $5!!! — and it will help you map out what your year could look like if you lived it as the Positively Lovely daughter of God that you are.

I can’t wait to hear all about how this book impacts you! You can post photos of yourself filling out the inspiration book using the hashtag #PositivelyLovely2017. Happy New Year, Lovely Ones!

Finding Joy Ladies Night Out Recap + Live Podcast Recording

December 14, 2016 • 8 Comments

As I sit down to write this recap, there’s a part of me that still can’t believe the first Finding Joy Ladies Night Out has come to an end. I remember getting into my car after the event was over, and turning to my sweet mama, who flew all the way from Indiana to support me. “Is it really over?” I asked. “That went way too fast.”

When I started planning this event, I had no idea what the night would look like. All I knew was that it was something God had called me to do, and that I should expect the unexpected. My idea of a successful Finding Joy LNO was to create an experience where women could come together, enjoy delicious food, do a little Christmas shopping and learn more about the gift of joy.

But like I said, beyond that I had no idea what the night would have in store. I figured at this time of year, maybe 50 women would show up. Fast forward to today. Not only did almost 150 women attended the live event, but an additional 2,200 people were reached on Facebook.

The theme of the night was all about God’s gift of joy, and how we can trade our problems for the promises of God. As I stepped onstage last Friday night, I had happy tears in my eyes before giving my message. The event was more than I could have ever hoped or dreamed of. And, though I put in hundreds of hours planning Finding Joy LNO, the credit all goes to God.

A few highlights from the night: getting to hug and meet so many new women, our caterer’s delicious chicken and wild rice dish, the desserts my small group ladies made, seeing my sweet mama out in the audience, delivering a message to the biggest group of women I’ve ever spoken to before, the live podcast/speaker panel at the end of my message. I wish you could have been there, because my words don’t do justice to just how special this night was.

While I don’t have the full recording of my message available, I have a snippet YouTube and I’ll have a few more on my site later this month. Instead, what I have for you today is a full recording of the live podcast/speaker panel, featuring the lovely ladies pictured below (from left to right): Kimberly Stuart, Julie LeFebure, me, Jen Green, Mary Carver and Jennifer Dukes Lee.

In this live podcast, Kim, Julie, Jen, Mary, Jennifer and I talk about:

The meaning of joy.
How to trade your problems for the promises of God.
How to choose joy during the busy holiday season.
What it looks like to weep and have joy at the same time.
How to model joy for our families. And more!

Get ready for an amazing conversation filled with inspiration and plenty of laughs!

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