Stilling Me

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Saw a church sign that read:

“Jesus calms the storms of life”

Can I say out loud that I think that’s not always true? Oh no, I hear a rumbling in the church pews! Before you start picking up stones, I’d like to add, I believe He can… and there are times He does. No doubt. My God has more power in his pinky toe to quiet all the storms that rage, to still the mightiest of winds that threatens to beat us up, and rescue us out of the water that longs to hold us under. He wouldn’t even have to flex a muscle. He could just use His voice, “Be Still” and complete peace would awe even the toughest skeptic. But I have a hard time with this sign standing high, promising such things. I guess I’m tired of God getting a bad wrap and maybe it’s because we win people with things that aren’t completely accurate about God and then there’s a let-down effect. Too many times people come to Jesus because they hear “He’ll fix your problem” or “He’ll calm your storms” and when the storm continues to rage they think, “Well, obviously this is a bunch of junk. This ‘Jesus’ didn’t do anything for me! My storm still rages!” They are let down and put out with God because they point at the sign and say, “He didn’t do what He was supposed to do!” Shoot, I’d love an easy life. I’d love a life without storms, without trials, without pain… and fortunately that’s a life that’s in my future (it’s called Heaven). But I’m not home yet. I’m here with my hair whipping around, smacking me in the face, and the water filling up the bottom of my boat!

This

Life

Is

Hard…

What I’ve come to learn and love about God is that He is a very present God in the midst of such storms. He is near, as close as a whisper, as close as my skin, with a hand extended. He indeed is our Savior! Our hope and rescue. He is with us. That is what He promises. He might and He might not calm our storm, but His promise to walk with us in the midst of that storm stands true! There have been many times I’ve cried out to God to change my circumstances or my frustrations and He chooses not to, but He still responds and it’s usually by saying, “Don’t fear. Hold on to Me, Heather! Brace yourself against Me. Lean into My chest.” An offer I can’t refuse. I pin myself against this safe refuge. And in this moment, with His beautiful Spirit, He calms ME… not the storm… ME! And even when the waters rise or the wind picks up, I’m fine. Actually, more than fine. I’m at peace.

He is above all things: our circumstances, our pain, the ever-changing circumstances in this life! We are told to cry out to Him (Psalm 18:6). We are told we can ask for things (Matthew 7:7-12). So don’t hesitate to ask God to calm your storm. You’re not crazy for wanting the rocking of your boat to cease! We all await the moment we feel the settling of the water, and we can finally get up from the fetal position to witness the clouds parting. And as we shield our squinting eyes we see the sun emerging, coming to warm our skin with promises of better days ahead. Setting sail on calm water with nothing but blue skies calling you forward never feels so good! But don’t lose heart if your cry seems to bring no change or if it doesn’t magically cease your rocking boat. I’ll say it again, DON’T LOSE HEART! You can trust Him.

If you are in a storm, know that an even greater promise remains, One that promises to carry you through the storm! He is not ignoring you, He is near, He loves you, and if He’s not stilling the storms He’s wanting to still YOU. A Peace that holds your hand, calms your fears, silences the “what if’s” and brings strength to your trembling knees.

Put your hope in the One that is your only Hope not in the hope of a storm-less life!

Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

A Puppet On A String

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by Heather Spring

I know what you are thinking… “I like her shoes!” Yes! That’s exactly what I was thinking!

Another thing I’ve been thinking is, “Why didn’t God just create a bunch of puppets?” Why did I have to have choices and screw up life? Pinocchio had it all wrong. Stop striving to be a “real boy” and just move when your creator moves you, dance when you’re told to dance, enjoy the way He leads you. You wouldn’t end up with a freaky nose that grows when you say the wrong thing or befriending the wrong people and captive at a weird but alluring Pleasure Island (been there, not what I’d call a good time). If we could just be puppets on a string we would be safe in our Father’s hands. But our Creator thought it would ultimately be best to start life by cutting the strings. We wake up in this world and realize our arms move when we want them to and if we want to go there, we just go. We don’t have to hope, we have a say in the matter. Spiderman once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”  Too bad, so sad we don’t take this into consideration as we frolic around our little world demanding our course.  As a puppet I would think ultimately I would enjoy my creator because I would recognize I was nothing without him. As a puppet I would see the joy that the creator had over his creation, the smile that would overtake his face as he showed me off to others. If something broke, obviously he would be the one that could fix it, untangle my strings, and make me like new. I would love to be that close to my creator. But when I was created, before I could rub the sleep out of my eyes, I woke up and ran. You could say I was trying my legs out, but in reality I just didn’t want to stay put. I liked that I had a choice and freedom. My Creator knew we all could run or forget He existed. That was a possibility and probability. He created me inside and out. He hoped and at some level knew, that at some point, I, Heather, would turn and recognize Him for who He is:  my life-giver, a no-strings-attached kind of guy.

But things have changed these days. I have to say even though I’m free and I have choices each and every day, I don’t live free… on purpose.  I choose to live upside down. I love my Creator and in turn – desire to dance when He says dance, go where He says go, move with the movements of His hands. I stay close not because of strings but because of love. I want to please Him and see a smile on His face when He shows me off to others. I want to stay so close that when I’m broken or need tending to, He’s right there. I have now come to realize even without the strings attached, I’m nothing without Him. Indeed, there are no physical strings; it’s a choice to connect myself to Him. It is a beautiful, free life that I personally participate in, make choices in, find purpose in, and time and time again fail in. This freedom is wonderful and at times feels like a curse. So badly I want to be perfect, like a puppet, but I’m not.

It’s all upside down really. I’m not a slave, but I make myself a slave. Not because I am pathetically hopeless, but because I’m optimistically hopeful, that He will choose to use this life for a greater cause than I could conjure up on my own. That finding my place as His slave makes me more free than when I ran about searching for the next Pleasure Island simply to be yet again disappointed, disillusioned, wounded, and taken captive.

 

”Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” -1 Corinthians 9:19

 

A slave has always been such a harsh word. There’s very good reason for this. In times past, and unfortunately in times present, there are people being forced to work for another, being dominated, controlled, manipulated, abused all for the sake of ownership and furthering oneself in life. Money and power have a lot to do with slavery. But can you imagine choosing slavery? The fact is we are all slaves. It’s just a matter to whom or what we are enslaved to.

 

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:15-16

 

I have chosen to chain myself to One that is good, period. He is a Master that doesn’t manipulate, shame, embarrass, harass, control or dishonor. He longs to invite you into His world so you can experience a full life. Like I said, we are going to be a slave to something. In the book of Romans it’s described as becoming a slave to righteousness. Two words: Slavery and righteousness, it seems one should cancel out the other or maybe be locked in a cage to fight to the death. So what does it mean to be a slave to righteousness? Can you picture submitting and attaching yourself to virtue, morality, justice, decency, uprightness, honesty… God? Because even though you are choosing chains, you’re choosing chains that fasten you to God, a bonding through slavery that creates a union for life with Love, Life, and Perfection.

This feels upside down. You might be thinking, “I thought we were born without strings.” We were. “So why can’t I run my life?” You can try. Let me know how that works out for you. I’ve walked in your shoes. I’ve watched others “run their lives.” It’s never a pretty ending. See if you’re not quickly a slave to something or someone else. But there’s an up side to being down, down in a servant’s position, on your knees offering your life to your Maker. It comes with a joy that you won’t find chained to this world, a slave to your fleshly desires, controlled by the very things that leave you empty. Obeying your Master and Maker leads to living a life that you were ultimately created for – on a mission that has been embedded in your little heart since the beginning of time. A chance to live out a life that feels right, bigger than little ole you, a pride in each step as you walk hand-in-hand with your Creator.

The more I read in the Word the more I realize how upside down I am. I have for so long lived wanting to move up, to be noticed, to build life the way I’ve always dreamed it to be. But the more I read, the more I come to see all these wants, hopes, and goals should really be leading me down. And when I obey His voice and bring myself low that’s when He raises me up. There is an up side to down. Living low raises Him up. And when His name is proclaimed, everything in me resonates and celebrates. Because why should the created be worshipped and the Creator be forgotten?

So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” -Matthew 20:16

 

(awesome photo by: By limeonrocks Gursimran Kaur

http://www.flickr.com/photos/limeonrocks/3856422141/)

Looking Up

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by Heather Spring

Here’s Holly and I as little people. Don’t you just wanna pinch our cheeks?

Our mom used to do this to our hair. Holly’s bangs curled better than mine. I have an ornery cowlick that is at odds with me to this day. My mom did the best she could with my stubborn strands.

As a start to this blog I wanted to briefly explain where I’m at these days: upside down. But there’s an UP side to this down, if I can toy around with these words.

If you’ve read our book, Dancing On My Ashes, you know the season of suffering we experienced and the awakening that happened in our hearts. Our ashes have become our platform, but the beauty that emerged from these ashes has been our message.

Look at my little cuties below and you can almost feel what every mother would feel about their children:  so much love, such hope that they won’t experience pain, disappointment, or moments of fear.

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I was just telling my husband the other day that my heart beats faster when I come to grips with the fact that I can’t protect Noah and Zach from experiencing pain. As a mother I don’t want them to hurt or be rejected… or suffer. I know it’s a part of life, but I can’t say that I don’t wince every time I think about them feeling real heartbreak. If I’m honest, I want all the kids on the playground to want to play with my boys. I want their friends to speak truth to them and never belittle or make fun of them. I want my boys to only date the girl that they end up marrying, so that they’ll never give their hearts away to the wrong girls. And as far as losing someone they love? Can’t we all just experience the rapture? Lord, is that too much to hope for? As silly as that may sound, and even though I know with all my being I can trust God with their precious hearts, everything in me wants to lock them in our house and shelter them from the ugly world out there. It wouldn’t be all that bad. I am loads of fun, people!

But it wasn’t until I was down that I looked up. It wasn’t until my cheek was pressed against the dirt and I was coughing up dust, that I lifted my eyes. Proper perspective doesn’t occur until our false sense of security and what we’ve built our life around comes tumbling down. I became painfully aware of this in 2000. It was a year of so much death, but it was the year that I looked up and found LIFE! It was a year that flipped me upside down… in a good way. Because when you are down, the only place to look is up. And when you look up and see Him, everything you once knew gets flipped upside down. And when you live this life upside down, things become right side up.

Ouch, my brain hurts.

So, as far as my kids are concerned, I want them to see Jesus more than I want them to have a safe and pain-free life. I want them to fall madly in love with their God more than I want them to be picked first for tee ball.

There is indeed an up side to down. If we never experienced the down we might never look up. And if we never look up, then we miss the One that has come to give us real life.

Life…

The abundant life that gives you new eyes and a new heart. So, with our new eyes and our new hearts we share this crazy upside down life of living looking up.

I hope you’ll join us as we look up!