Welcome back to our series on becoming unstuck! We’re focusing on the things that get us stuck, and if we are not careful, can keep us stuck and not move us into the life God intends for us to have!

I LOVE apples! I mean, what is not to love? They come in tons of varieties, colors, and flavors! You can get them tart, you can get them sweet, and even somewhere in between. You can get them red, you can get them green you can get them yellow or a combination of any two or three! And don’t get me started on the varieties… The names are numerous and they come from many different parts of the country! 

You could go for weeks at a time and never have to eat an apple with the same name.  

Have I convinced you yet how great apples are? I haven’t even started on the nutritional value!

Apples are full of fiber, so besides being a sweet and tasty treat they actually help move stuff through your body and make you feel full longer!

Apples are versatile as well! You can eat them raw, whole or sliced. You could dip them in almond butter or peanut butter and sprinkle them with a little bit of cinnamon for a delicious, low calorie, high fiber treat! You can bake them and put them in dozens of delicious, yummy recipes!

I LOVE APPLES!

But more than grabbing one as I run out the door, or slicing one and sprinkling it with a dash of cinnamon and dipping it into almond butter when my energy is running low, I love using it in the phrase, ‘Apple of His Eye!’

“For this is what the Lord Almighty says:…Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye!” Zechariah 2:8

The “apple of his eye,“ means something that He cherishes, and holds close and protects!

God sees us as the “apple of His Eye!

Are you like me? Do you ever STUCK in a pattern of negative thinking about yourself?

The only way I know how to get UNSTUCK is to replace those negative thoughts with God’s words about you…

Jeremiah 31:3–“I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”

I John 3:1-2

“See what great love the father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

Colossians 3:12 – “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe your selves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

I John 4:19 – “We love God, because He first loved us.”

Romans 5:5–

“And Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

I John 4:9-11 “This is how God shows His love among us: He sent His one, and only son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Ephesians 5:2–“And walk in love, as Christ loved us, and gave Himself for us, a fragrant, offering, and sacrifice to God.”

These are just a few of the many words God speaks directly about you! You are His child, THE APPLE OF HIS EYE, He loves you and He didn’t just say so, He proved it! He sent His one and only Son to die so that you could live with him forever!

TRUTH BOMB

NO VOICE ON EARTH IS LOUDER THAN GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU!

So, if you find yourself getting STUCK listening to negative voices about you, even if it’s your own voice, read God’s words about you and get UNSTUCK!

Speak Truth Love

Welcome to a new series on the Blog!

Being STUCK implies that we are caught in something. It may be motionless or continuously repeating the same action or motion over and over and going nowhere.

We are stuck!

We have heard the sayings:

“Stuck in the mud.”

              Or

“Stuck in the middle with you.”

Both of these speak to the motionless kind of being stuck.

Have you ever been STUCK in a pattern of doing good things?

That’s right, you did not misread this, I said GOOD THINGS!

This is a pattern of being STUCK by doing good and not getting to where you should be.

Maybe, just maybe, the “GOOD” things are keeping us from God’s best?

I actually get STUCK in this pattern a lot!

For the Good, the bad and the ugly of it, I was That Girl! The one who did not get into trouble, did not say no, did not not show up, did not not go the extra mile, did not party, did not drink, did not smoke, etc., etc., etc…

I was the nauseating “Goody Goody Two Shoes.” 

I wasn’t trying to set any records or win any awards, I just thought that being good was what I was supposed to be. I am principled by nature and fairly black-and-white. If it’s right, you do it, if it’s wrong, you don’t do it! 

Problem was, I was STUCK in a cycle, a cycle of doing good that produced self righteousness! 

Ephesians Chapter 2 tells us we are all lost without Christ! Doing good does not get us right with God any more than doing bad does. 

Chapter 2 verse 3 says,

“among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh…”

Doing good was a passion of the flesh to feel good about doing good.

Some may argue that it’s a better choice to make then doing bad however, both are passions of the flesh and do not make us right with God!

Both also can become habits that get us STUCK and keep us from God‘s best for us.

Chapter 2 verse 4 tells us that by God’s great love for us and His sacrifice, mercy and grace He made us alive together with Christ Jesus!

Verse 8 clearly tells us that it is NOT anything we have done!

“…This is not your own doing, it is a gift of God.”

It is by faith in Christ Jesus that we have been saved!

Now, before this becomes a Blog on, ‘We Are Not Saved By Good Works’, which we are not, that is not my purpose in this. I already know I am not saved by the good I do.

Verses 8 & 9 Make this point crystal clear in case we missed it…

“… It Is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

My point today, and my hard learned lesson, is that my good can keep me from God‘s best!

God died so that He could have a relationship with me! A forever relationship that lasts into eternity. He wants me to spend time with Him daily!

Too much of the time my “DOING GOOD,” can keep me away from sitting at His feet, talking to Him, listening to Him, reading His word and praising His name!

Doing GOOD for God is important. It is a response of my love for Him toward the immense love He has shown me.

I just need to be cautious not to get STUCK in doing good and thinking that that is what defines me. I do good because I am His and He is worthy!

TRUTH BOMB

BEING STUCK IN DOING GOOD CAN KEEP US FROM GODS BEST!

And in case you were about to correct me, saying, Lisa, you didn’t get to verse 10 in Ephesians 2, let me address that verse. 

Ephesians 2:10 says this: “for you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works…”

God makes it clear that He has good works for us to do. And at the top of the list, is God’s best for us. We spend time with God in worship, reading His word and praying first. Then, God shows us who He wants us to serve, who He wants us to talk to, and how and where He wants us to serve Him.  When we do these kinds of works, we are now accomplishing God’s best for us! And we won’t be “stuck” in the cycle of doing our own good things, and yet missing His best. Sometimes, the best way to get unstuck in the vicious “do good” cycle, is to set aside time each day just to be with Him, and give Him space to show you HIS GOOD TO DO!And then, to quote Nike, JUST DO IT!

Speak Truth Love 

THE WORD “NORMAL” is such a precarious word. It implies that something is right or correct simply because it is what we are used to.

The definition of the word NORMAL is:

“Conforming to the standard or the common type; something that is

USUAL, REGULAR, NATURAL OR AVERAGE.”

OR

“Serving to establish a STANDARD.”

Do you see the common thread between these defining words?

Each produces a standard by which we can be comfortable and in control…

REGULAR, NATURAL, USUAL, AVERAGE!

Predictable, simple and uncomplicated!

If we are not careful these threads can connect and create a web that we can find ourselves stuck in!

STUCK…have you ever felt stuck?

It’s like your feet are in mud and the harder you try to pull them out the more stuck you become. The mud has somehow turned to cement and eventually we just stop trying to pull our feet out. We are stuck!

If we look at it from the scenario of the threads that we weave around and around and create a Web, think about a spider‘s Web. The entire purpose of the web is to catch something until it is so stuck that the spider can capture it, stun it, and use it for food.

I don’t know about you, but I never want to become that stuck!

God cannot use us when we are stuck. As a matter of fact, if we are stuck we may be a hindrance to God using others!

In Ezra chapter 3 verses 12 and 13 we see the Israelites have returned from captivity and have begun rebuilding the temple. After following God‘s instructions, laboring and working very, very hard someone begins to weep. It is one of the older priests, and several other priests join in and the weeping gets louder and turns into wailing. 

“But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundations of this temple being laid, while many others shouted with joy.” But no one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise and the sound was heard far away.” Ezra 3:12 & 13

“IT’S NOT LIKE IT WAS BEFORE!”

“I MISS THE WAY IT USED TO BE!”

“THAT’S NOT THE WAY WE DO IT!”

Sound familiar? 

It’s “THE GOOD OLD DAYS” mentality!

The problem is, the good old days are gone and a new day is here!

While it is wonderful to keep them as a memory and even learn from them, we cannot live in them if we are to keep from getting STUCK! 

We must learn to embrace the NEW!

I don’t really need to define the term NEW. At the mention of it some of you may jump up and down and some of you may get shivers up and down your spine and freeze! 

The definition of NEW does include the unfamiliar and the strange…but it also is defined as “BRINGING INTO BEING AND APPEARING FOR THE FIRST TIME!”

Like a newborn baby, or a brand new temple. If we do not embrace the new, the old will simply crumble around our feet! 

NEW babies have to be born for a new generation to come, and new buildings must be built to replace the old when their time has come and they can no longer stand!

That’s why I like the term “NEW NORMAL!” It helps ease me out of the old and into the NEW! It’s like God is gently taking my hand and encouraging me that while something may be new and different and challenging it can also be fresh and exciting! To me it implies consistency even amid the change.

I have a “NEW NORMAL!” It is not wrong, bad, or anything in between, IT IS JUST NEW!

My eye is different! It is repaired and I can see! I am praising God for His goodness and mercy through all of it! But it is also “unfamiliar and strange!“

My nearsightedness is better and my farsightedness is worse. But God is doing a NEW THING! This is my NEW NORMAL! 

TRUTH BOMB

WE CAN EMBRACE A “NEW NORMAL” WHEN WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT GOD IS IN IT!

NEW can bring excitement with a touch of anxiousness.

NEW can bring adventure with a bit of anxiety over the unknown.

NEW can also bring freshness to something that has grown stale!

NEW can offer hope to something that has become hopeless!

NEW could be exactly what God has chosen for me and you because He loves us and knows it is exactly what we need!

I am learning a NEW NORMAL and a NEW lesson! God has taken something old in me and he has made it NEW. I am learning to embrace it and adjust. My prayer is that my eyes, not just my physical ones but my spiritual ones, are also opened to the other

NEW areas in my life God wants to take me to!

I am sensing some of them, and I am praying for God to open up the others to me! I know that there is no other way to grow except to embrace the NEW and not get stuck in the old!

In my next series I am going to talk about areas of being STUCK.

I know I have them and maybe you do too? I hope you will join me back here as we embrace the NEW NORMAL together!

Speak Truth Love

Last week I shared about my struggle to “get back up on the horse,” AKA, “Back In The Saddle.” For me this meant completing 10 weeks of recovery after my emergency surgery for my detached retina. With no warning or reason, I was facing the possibility of blindness unless surgery was performed and was successful.

The surgery was successful but it was not without a slow and strict recovery.

I did my best to follow doctors orders and to be as patient as I could be. The problem I faced however was getting back to my normal routine and activities. If I resumed my rigorous workout regimen, would it result in another detached retina? After all, there was still no apparent cause of my detached retina in the first place. Would it happen again? How careful did I need to be? Could I resume my normal activities and still be ok? All of these unanswered questions were producing a fear of the unknown consequences. Therefore, I had a choice to make. I could stay stuck in that fear or I could choose to trust God and walk through it!

The best definition I’ve ever heard of courage is from John Wayne

“Being afraid and saddling up anyway.”

John Wayne

The time had come for me to take action! I was either going to stay stuck in my fear or move forward with courage and walk through it.

This is when being a Christ follower gives us all of the strength and reassurance and helps us find ability when we feel like we have none.

“God told Joshua, ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God Is with you wherever you go.’” Joshua 1:9

God is telling Joshua to not be afraid to step in to unknown territory and to face unknown situations! God reminds Joshua that He has made him strong and courageous and he is not to be frightened. He promises him victory, and that God would be with him whenever he went.  

But it was still up to Joshua to act!

The reality of our fear is there, but greater than our fear, is the promise that God will be with us!

TRUTH BOMB

THERE IS NO “BACK IN THE SADDLE“ UNTIL YOU TRUST GOD AND SADDLE UP!

I “saddled up” this week, went to the gym and worked out for the first time in 10 1/2 weeks, post surgery! Praise God my vision is still good! 

It feels good to be back in the saddle again!

Speak Truth Love

I just hit the nine week mark in my healing journey. It is time for me to get back up on the horse! 

While this may be an “idiom,”  a frequently quoted saying that is understood to mean, “you fall down and you get back up again,” I experienced it as a young girl in a very literal sense!

I was raised in the city, but I lived in an area that was zoned for horses. We had an acre and a quarter of property with two big backyards. The second backyard held two horse corrals and a small barn that held grain and tack supplies. The Hay bales were piled outside the back of the barn and when they were first delivered we had a blast building hay forts! However, that’s a story for another time.

My aunt, uncle and cousins lived down the street and around the corner and they had an even bigger backyard. While my dad was building our horse corral, we boarded our horses at their house. This is where my story takes place.

I have three sisters, I am the oldest of four girls. Our dad was an athlete and an outdoorsman. He had many loves in his life, but one of his greatest was horses! He taught us all to ride and how to take care of them. One afternoon our washing machine had broken down and my mom told me that I needed to go to the laundromat with her. We dropped my sisters Lori and Lynnie off with my cousins around the corner and we took off for the laundromat. My mom and I had not been at the laundromat long when my cousins car came roaring up to the front with a sudden halt! Lynnie jumped out of the car crying hysterically. She was three years younger and had been bucked off the back of the horse with a very sore and bruised tailbone. Lori stepped out the car slowly with a washcloth draped over the top of her arm and she was clearly in shock!

Both of my sisters were riding bareback on one of the horses when one of my cousins who wanted to ride and was mad because she wasn’t, threw rocks at the horse. The horse was spooked and started bucking, Lynnie slid off the back and hit the ground hard and Lori hung on for a while and was then thrown into the barbed wire fence. From the top of her under arm, nearly halfway down to her elbow the barbed wire had ripped it clean open! Many stitches were needed and the scars can still be found. When my dad came home from work he talked with all of us. He said, 

“When your arm is healed, we will all go over and ‘get back up on that horse!’ My dad knew that if we did not face our fear and get back up on that horse, time would go by, the fear would grow stronger, and we would never get back on the horse! 

I cannot even imagine how hard that had to be for Lynnie and Lori, who had experienced the trauma of being bucked off and hurt, but I am so thankful that my dad taught us the valuable lesson of, ‘GETTING BACK UP ON THE HORSE!’

As I take steps back into “normalcy,“ I find myself treading lightly!

Yes, I am in my ninth week post surgery, and the gas bubble is finally gone (PRAISE GOD) but my vision is still not 100%, the blurriness is ever present and my confidence level is less than sterling!

I know I need to get back up on the horse again, but I am less than confident about being back in the saddle.

Have you ever been in a bad situation and after it’s over you are still in a little bit of shock?

Maybe you have gone through a fierce rain storm and it finally ends and you are cautious about putting your patio furniture back out for fear it could hit again.

Or maybe you’ve been camping and the winds flare up and the thunder strikes and the rain begins to pour all over your camping equipment. You pull everything in and huddle up and finally it’s over! But you hesitate to step back outside not sure if it’s going to start up again.

Or maybe like me, you have been caught in a fire storm where you had to throw everything you could quickly get your hands on into your car and flee!

I still sleep with certain items under my bed that I feel like I could not live without, so I could quickly grab them in case of another emergency.

I still have no answers as to why my retina detached from my right eye. I also have no guarantees that it won’t happen again! 

Due to the trauma of no reason and no warning for my detached retina, I am timid to jump back into some of my normal routines. I have walked frequently, and have even resumed some of my hikes with my husband. But starting up my normal exercise routine where jumping and lifting and quick movements are involved… I am Trepid!

I know I need to, “GET BACK UP ON THE HORSE,” but I also know that it is going to take more than I have in my own strength to do it!

God promises that His grace is sufficient for me!

TRUTH BOMB

WHEN IT’S TIME TO GET BACK UP ON YOUR HORSE, GOD’S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT TO GET US BACK IN THE SADDLE!

Whatever “horse” obstacle you are facing that is keeping you from being back in the saddle again, know that God‘s grace is sufficient for you!

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

II Corinthians 12:9

God‘s grace is sufficient for us to get back up on the horse again and into the saddle because in our weakness His power is made perfect!

We may be weak, but He is strong! And when we give our weakness to Him, His power perfects our weakness and we are able to get back up on the horse and back in the saddle again!

Speak Truth Love