Do you feel stagnant? Could your life be defined as inactive? Do you feel listless, dull, depressed in your mood and downright low in your spirit? If any or all of these descriptions fit you right now, you could be described as, “in the DOLDRUMS!”

The DOLDRUMS is an actual belt of calm and light baffling winds north of the equator between the northern and southern trade winds in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

It is an actual place where when the northern and southern winds both come through it, it creates a light and calm wind that is basically stagnant and inactive. Ships can literally get stuck!

Do you ever feel STUCK?  I know I do!

Anyone reading my opening paragraph, that truly knows me, would find it hard to believe that it was written by me. I am the “cup half full” gal. I am the, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonde” chick. I am the “sun will come up tomorrow” person. 

So why would I begin my Blog with DOLDRUMS?

Because of TRUTH! I am more driven by TRUTH than I am positivity. TRUTH IS, we all go through the DOLDRUMS at one time or another. Does this make us bad, wrong, negative, sour or faulty in some way? No, this makes us human!

God gives us a beautiful example of an inactive, inoperative, “stagnant” stage when we view the vineyards during their winter season. 

I love riding my bike through the vineyards alongside my husband during all four seasons of the year. We are blessed to live alongside breathtaking trails that wind through the vineyards that pepper the county where we reside. On a recent trail ride I stopped and stared at the stark appearance of the vines. They literally looked dead! I stood and gazed out as far as my eyes could see. Vineyard after vineyard, all the way up to the foot of the mountains was bare. Understanding the state of “rest” the vines were in biologically, hit me spiritually.

Scientists call this normal annual rhythm, “LATENT.”

  “Present but not visible, apparent, or activated; existing as potential.” 

WHAT? Does that excite you like it excites me? That is Hope friends!

I have stagnant, slow, inactive, depressive and downright difficult times that threaten to take me out. Days and sometimes seasons where I feel virtually dead inside. But my God says NO, she is mine, you can’t have her! She is in a DOLDRUM right now, but because of my great love for her, she “exists as potential,” and I have great plans for her!

The DOLDRUMS of our lives do not define us, GOD defines us! We may get stuck and it may feel like the preverbal wind has gone out of our sails. We are stagnant, inactive, depressed, discouraged and stuck. If you are feeling any or all of these, then God has a Word of HOPE for you…

“Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails.”  Psalm 51:12 (MSG)

You exist for potential! God will not throw you out! He will hold onto you and bring you back for the “gray” that surrounds you now! He will put a “fresh wind in your sails!” 

The DOLDRUMS may come but they also will go. We have potential in Jesus Christ our Lord. We always have HOPE in Him! Just like those vines I passed by, it may look like nothing is happening, but something is happening. They may be in a state of rest or inactivity for a season, but they exist for potential. So do you, my friend!

TRUTH BOMB

EVEN IN THE DOLDRUMS REMEMBER YOU EXIST FOR POTENTIAL IN JESUS CHRIST!

Speak Truth Love

As I begin this new week in January, I find myself asking the question…

“How do I deal with the evil, unjust, persecuted, sad, arrogant, lazy, and downright mean spiritedness of the world I live in?”

Now before you write me off as the greatest pessimist or possibly the most negative person you know, think about it.

Do we not wake up each day and face one or more of the negative, ugly issues I stated above? 

Do we not wake up with a positive attitude and soon have that soured by the memory of a sad event? Hopefully, we push that sad event down and focus on the happy. Then we remember how that friend or colleague unjustly treated us and we find it hard to get ready for the day. We push that down as well and manage to get out the door. We get in line for a much needed cup of caffeine and the arrogant/mean (possibly incredibly sad) person in front of us curses at the barista for taking too long to wait on the person in front of him/her.  We smile at the barista as she takes our order and attempt to bring some kindness into her day. We get to work or to the store or wherever our destination that day took us, and we are frustrated with the lack of dedication our co-workers or the store workers demonstrate. Frankly, we feel virtually abused by their laziness. We return home and turn on the nightly news and we are faced with all kinds of evil. There simply is not another word for it!

The day ends with us throwing our hands up in the air and asking God, “how can this be? How can it change and how can I survive it?”

In our outcry, I believe God whispers the answer. The real question is, do we listen and are we willing to apply the answer to our lives?

When we look at the words “MARK” and “BEAR” side by side, it paints a clearer picture for us.

To “BEAR” is to “Hold up under, to remain firm, to be capable of, and to press or push against.”  It even has the definition of being brave and standing up under the suffering.

When we “BEAR” up under our culture and circumstances, we live out Christ’s commands and we “BEAR” the “MARKS” of a Christ follower!

A “MARK” is something that is visible. It is not hidden or covered up. It is a badge, a brand, a visible sign. It is so utilized that it has left an impression.

In other words, people will see it and notice the difference in our lives!

Truth Bomb

When we live like Christ we bear the marks of our Savior!

Romans 12 says that we will love genuinely, hold fast to what is good, show honor, and respect to others. We will not be lazy, we will serve the Lord with joy and gladness. We will be hope filled, faith filled, and constantly in prayer! We will bless those who persecute us and not curse them. We will rejoice with those who are happy and not be a “wet blanket” in their circumstance. We will live in harmony with others and treat everyone the same. We will seek to forgive anyone that wrongs us and will not hold it against them!

We will not seek revenge but will leave it up to God. We will feed the hungry and give them water to drink.

Overall, we will live out Romans 12:21, and not be overcome by our culture or circumstances…

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”   Romans 12:21

Speak Truth Love

It is the second week of the New Year and I could already use a boost! I could use a boost in energy as I strive to get up earlier and make each day count. I could use a boost in discipline as I sit down to read God’s Word each morning. I could use a boost in perseverance as I commit to daily exercise. I could use a boost in will power as I make better food choices each day. It is only 11 days into the New Year and I could really use a BOOST! How about you?

We are not alone! Human nature cries out for encouragement, affirmation, support, and life giving BOOSTS!

Don’t just take my word for it. Take a look at all of the products on the market with the name or promise of a BOOST. There are sports drinks, there are nutritional drinks, there are engine and car parts that offer higher performance. Everywhere we look we can see the need for a “BOOST!”

There was a man who walked on this earthly soil just like you and I do. He gave great effort in serving God and following Him. Most would agree that he was the strong leader of the twelve disciples of Jesus. His name was Simon. His name was Simon that is, until he received a much needed BOOST!

“And I tell you that you are PETER, and on this ROCK I will build my church, and the gates of Hades, (Hell,) will not overcome it.”  Matthew 16:18

Simon receives one of the greatest BOOSTS of all time! Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter. Peter means ROCK. Jesus goes on to tell him that on this ROCK I will build my church. And guess what Peter, NOTHING will overcome it! Not your discouragement, not your trials, not your doubt, not your grief, not your sadness, not your anger, not your frustration! NOTHING will overcome the work that I will do through your life PETER, NOTHING! NOW THAT IS A BOOST! It was just in the nick of time too.

Jesus gives Peter this incredible BOOST of encouragement and support in verse 16.

In the previous verses of chapter 16 Jesus is walking through the disappointment, discouragement and down right disgust of the culture they are living in. And just in case you think it is the secular culture around them, take a closer look at verses 1-12. Jesus is addressing the spiritual leaders of the day, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They are attempting to test Jesus and trying to trap Him. Jesus warns the disciples to “watch out and beware of the “leaven of bread,” the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Then, after realizing that the religious leaders are not strong in their Faith of Jesus, the surrounding culture is steeped in worship of pagan gods.

Wow, Simon and the other disciples must have felt overwhelmed, discouraged and alone.

Sounds like they need a BOOST. Jesus delivers one to Peter right on time!

“…You are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it!“

You will be successful Peter! Discouragement may be all around you, and failures will definitely come, but do not give up! I believe in you! You are a ROCK Peter, and on this Rock, I will build my church and nothing will come against it!

YOU CAN DO THIS PETER!

TRUTH BOMB

JESUS IS THE BOOST WE NEED EVERY DAY TO LIVE THIS LIFE FOR HIM!

What kind of BOOST from God do you need today? What has He asked you to do or overcome? You can only do it in His name and in His strength! If you do it in His name and in His strength, you will not fail!

Speak Truth Love

It’s a new year! The ball dropped, the calendar turned and it’s now the year 2022. So what’s new? It feels like the last year and the year before that. In 2020 we first heard the word COVID. In 2021 COVID became a household term. As the calendar rolled from 2021 to 2022 the cases of COVID seem to have risen and not subsided. Still it is a NEW YEAR and with it comes the promise of something NEW.

NEW promises something different, something better. It implies something fresh or unused. It even stands in the place of the OLD and creates NEW. By definition it brings HOPE. It holds the promise of replacing despair and pessimism with aspiration and optimism. Oh, how we desperately need the NEW!

Well, I have good news and the answer to the question, “So What’s New?”  

The answer is, YOU ARE!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the NEW creation has come: The old has GONE, The NEW IS HERE!”  II Corinthians 5:17

TRUTH BOMB

EVERYONE WHO IS IN CHRIST JESUS IS MADE NEW!

When we are in Christ Jesus we are NEW! The OLD has passed away, it is GONE!

If you are anything like me, you need reminding of that!  It is so easy to fall back into OLD patterns. We continue to go to church and expect everything to be like it was before. Yet, we expect growth and newness. We open our devotionals for the NEW year and read them with the same old mindset and expect our hearts to be made new. We continue in the same exercise patterns, or lack of, and wonder why our body still aches. We continue to make the wrong food choices yet expect our weight to not fluctuate! And we turn the calendar page over from December 31, 2021, to January 1, 2022 and expect COVID to disappear. When we continue to follow our same “old” path, we can expect the same “old” outcome.

There is a parable told by Jesus that illustrates this point for us;

“No one tears a piece from a NEW garment and puts it on an OLD garment. If he does, he will tear the NEW, and the piece from the NEW will not match the OLD. And no one puts NEW wine into OLD wineskins. If he does, the NEW wine will burst the OLD wineskins and the wine will spill and be destroyed. But NEW wine must be put into fresh wineskins.” Luke 5:36-38

Jesus is teaching us through a parable, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, that in order for change to occur we must walk in the NEW! It is good to remember the OLD, learn from it, and even expound upon it. But change and growth will only come as we walk in the NEW! The coming of Jesus Christ brings opportunity for repentance, regeneration and new forms of worship.

JESUS IS THE NEW! He has made us NEW through Him! WE ARE NEW CREATIONS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD!

Yes, we may still be waking up to COVID, to routine schedules and to chaos in our world.

But make no mistake about it, WE ARE NEW CREATIONS IN JESUS and we are being RENEWED daily as we set our minds, hearts and spirits on HIM!

As we begin a NEW year, I am praying that God will give us a NEW focus, one that is committed to embracing the NEW that God Himself puts before us! I am determined to commit to this with you and look forward to diving deep into God’s Word with you each week of this NEW Year. See you back here next week as God reveals more of His Truth to us, His NEW creations!

Speak Truth Love