Just sent this to a friend and then it made me think of you all too …

“Hey my friend, I’ve been thinking about you this morning and wanted to see how you’re doing?

You are so well loved. You delight God. All of us around you are so glad we know you and so glad you’ve come into our lives. Be nice to you today. Enjoy your wife [husband or significant other]. Enjoy this weather.

Take a deep breath and remember that you are the target of God’s affection and desire and he does not sense any lack. He doesn’t wish you were someone else. He doesn’t mutter “oh shit” under his breath when he sees you coming up the sidewalk. He’s happy about you and who you are.”

I love you guys.

Jana was teaching yesterday, discussing Ephesians 3:20-21.  She said, “we are living frozen, small, unimaginative lives… it’s time to throw off the fetters.”

We see a word, we’ve heard it, we don’t often think about what it means.
Fetter – “a chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, typically placed around the ankles.”

What commitments, coping mechanisms, fears, anxieties, or worries have you living in less than you are capable of?  As Kris Vallotton might ask, what would you do with your life if you were ten times bolder?  If you’re not doing that now, you have given in to fear.

Today’s a new day, return to the source, remember who you are and get back at it.

 

Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 CSB

Woke up thinking about this current season of favor, the kindness of God and how he’s talking to us all the time. This is going to be an incredible summer of promise and miracles for all of us.

“but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭1:33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I may just have to change the name of my blog.

Driving to Nashville this morning, talking to Jana. I had to pull over and write this down while it was fresh.

She says, “you know, I want an unoffendable spirit. When someone says something to me that I don’t understand, I just want to say ‘I’m not sure what you mean by that?’ Because I see, rather than my own story that I’m making up about what they’re saying, it could be one of three things:

1. They have valid coaching or correction for me and I need to hear it.
2. They are insulting me, in a passive-aggressive way, and we need to bring that out into the open and deal with it.
3. I’m just making crap up, or it’s the enemy speaking to me, and I need to know their heart so I can flush what’s not true”

Jesus said “be careful how you listen.” It’s worth asking a question to clarify meaning.

PS: Watch your tonality when you ask this, don’t offend in the way you say it. You don’t want to insinuate, you’re just trying to create a safe place where actual communication and understanding can grow.

My youngest daughter Charis was going thru some tough times late last fall.  She’s a verbal processor.  I would watch as she worked out her feelings with Jana, both trading a few sentences, frankly, as women do so well to confirm clarity, empathy and connection.

Then I tried it.  You know, you just throw in a few words when there’s a gap.  “Stop interrupting me,” Charis said.  “Hmm,” I thought, “I just did what they did.”  They’d continue talking, I’d see another gap, and then, “Stop interrupting her,” Jana would say.

I was really confused.  I could not see what I was doing.  I took it back to Jesus.  “If two women I love and trust are telling me I’m interrupting them, then I need you to show me what I’m doing here.”

And this next part was awful.  I learned that I was interrupting women across the board – women who lead companies and medical practices that are my customers, women who are strong and resourceful and are my peers at work, women I respect who are connected to our ministry and love others so well.  Ouch.  And I would tell you that I honor women and I’m an advocate.

I went back to Charis after this discovery and thanked her for her courage to call me out and shared what I learned in the process.  My lesson?  Mind the Gap.  Waiting for my chance to blurt out a quick fix to someone’s problem, or whatever it is I think that’s more important than what they’re saying, does not build connection or honor my sisters.