Letting Go

It was March 2, 2012, the day of my grandfather's funeral. Poppy, who was ninety-six had passed away peacefully a few days earlier. We had just left the cemetery after the graveside service. I was in the car with my husband when we pulled into the driveway of my grandparents' house that they had lived in my entire life. I’d lived right next door to them during my 3rd through 5th grade years of school. In fact, my family lived with them in this house for a short time while we were waiting for our new house to be built.
 
Minutes before, I had learned that the house and most of the property had been sold. Our family had about thirty days to move everything out of it before the new family would be moving in.
 
Emotions came crashing in my heart as I saw Poppy's tractor sitting there just like it had been for my whole life. It was probably a newer tractor. But he had always had a tractor for as long as I could remember. 

I walked around that day trying to take in the reality of what was happening. As I looked out over my grandparents' property my aunt's words resonated in my heart.
 
"It's a chapter coming to an end."

She was having a hard time with all the sudden change. Seeing my brother and me walking around soaking in the memories that were created on that land was more than she could take. With teary eyes, she walked away and went inside the house.
 

As hard as it was to face the reality of a chapter of my life being over, I knew I needed to face it head on.
 
This reminds me of a memory I have of my father pulling a splinter out of my foot. I was terrified of the pain. I would’ve done anything to avoid it. But my daddy—in his wisdom—knew that the splinter needed to be dealt with or it would become infected. So I wailed as he made me sit still until he gently removed the culprit that was causing the pain. The pain was intense for a short time. But as soon as he removed it I felt better. 

Just like the splinter needed to be removed, our hurts and sorrows need to be removed by our Father in heaven.
 
How many times do we choose to run from pain? When in reality, it is facing our pain that makes it go away. Sure, the grief might be intense for a short time as we are facing it. But in the long run, after the pain has been dealt with we are free to live fully and freely without the pain of the past weighing us down.
 
Pain festers in our hearts and infects us with bad symptoms in the same way a splinter would fester in our foot and cause many bad symptoms.
 
Knowing that I needed to let go of a chapter of my life, I embraced the pain. Week after week I returned to my grandparents' house to help go through their things before the new family moved in. As I combed through each closet and drawer it was therapy for my soul. I would find treasures from my past and gleefully share my excitement, "Look what I found!"
 
The very last day I went to their house was the hardest. The week that I knew would be my very last visit I prayed for God's help. I knew it wouldn't be easy to let go of something that had been a happy part of my life since I was born.
 
As I pondered the memories of my grandparents' home, I heard the Lord’s still small voice within me.  "I will use the house and property to bless another family in the same way it has blessed yours."  As the Lord was speaking to my heart, I realized that in order to experience the new beginnings He had for my life I had to be willing to let go of the past.

Why is it as humans that we hold on so tightly to our pain and to our past?
 

The day that I went to pick up the last piece of furniture, the new family was moving in. I introduced myself and began to share my heart with them. Through a few tears and with my voice breaking, I said, “I want this house to bless your family the way it has blessed mine.”   

The gentleman replied to me, "It already is a blessing us." I want to stay here for the rest of my life." While I shared the difficulty I was having in letting go, he responded, “I've got to go inside now, your words are about to cause me to start sobbing."

I'm the kind of person who truly wears my emotions on my sleeves. The vulnerability I was showing about the difficulty of letting go was really touching his heart. It was a powerful God moment for all of us there that day. In my letting go, the new family was able to embrace the gift of this beautiful, sacred home-place. 

My husband and I stood on the edge of the property that overlooks one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. As I embraced my sadness, my husband prayed the sweetest prayer for me. 

In those last moments standing on that beautiful piece of property that had been a sanctuary for me throughout my life, I realized that the sacredness I felt on Poppy's land could be felt every day of my life wherever I am. I rode away from Poppy’s home on this earth and thought about the legacy that he had left behind for me and for my family. As our car pulled away, I let the tears flow. It was an hour and a half drive home. I prayed, “Lord, heal my heart.” By the time I returned home I felt better.

That was last spring on Good Friday of 2012, three days before Easter. How beautiful of the Lord to allow me to celebrate His resurrection with a healed heart, free of pain.

The legacy of Poppy’s love for Christ lives on in my heart. I am free to carry on and live free from the sadness. When we look heavenward, life is sweet and beautiful. When we focus on what we've lost, our lives become defined by brokenness and pain.

That’s what letting go does. It releases the pain and opens the door in our hearts for new beginnings and new beauty.
 

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:7 ESV

Live Abundantly!

Amy

Spiritual Awakening

The first time I worshiped at Passion City Church (Atlanta, Georgia) in 2009, it was surreal to me. I thought it was because one of my favorite musicians was leading worship. But as time went by, the Lord began to speak to my spirit about what was really happening. Sitting in a sea of college aged kids, I was fixated on one word: REVIVAL. I could see the beginnings of a true spiritual awakening.

Several years later, on June 25, 2011, I had a dream in my sleep about Passion City Church. The message of my dream confirmed to me that what I had been sensing was truly from God.

I began to envision a true movement of God similar to the stories in the book of Acts. I envisioned people getting healed of diseases, the blind getting their vision back, and most importantly I envisioned people weeping in repentance.

It’s been eighteen months since I had the dream in my sleep and over three years since I first visited Passion City Church. With expectation for a great awakening, I have continued to pray for a major Jesus movement to begin there.

Tonight, the Passion 2013 conference began at the Georgia Dome. As my daughter was leaving today to attend the conference, I felt strongly in my spirit that at this event there will be multitudes of people healed, delivered, and touched by Jesus.

As I was watching the live web stream from home, I just sat in awe. I believe this week that Jesus is going to rock the Dome. People will be set free. And I believe this move of God will ignite a movement that will lead to a great awakening in the Church.

Please pray for all those attending and for the people around the world watching. 

So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow... ~ Philippians 2:10

Click here to watch the conference live at various times throughout the week.

Live Abundantly!
Amy

Living in Victory

As I was finishing my 6.5 mile run  several weeks ago, my heart was overflowing with gladness for all that the Lord has restored in my life. It was the first time I've run this distance in over five years because of some various injuries and other challenges. While I was running, memories of the marathon and half-marathon I did 13 years ago flooded my mind.

The Lord reminded me of some verses in Joel. I meditated on the fact that God is the One who restores.  I felt indescribable joy as I pondered the thoughts of all that the Lord has given back to me after it was stolen from my life.

I am right on schedule for running a half-marathon in 2013. This half-marathon is so much greater than a running event for me. It's a celebration of how the Lord has restored my life. He healed my broken marriage, fixed my broken finances, healed my sick body, and restored my ability to run.

Realizing and believing that God is the Restorer is what I believe ignites the supernatural power of Christ.

Many times I have been on the verge of seeing restoration in an area in my life and just before the breakthrough occurs, something happens out of the blue to thwart the good plans God has for me. Well, I have figured out that these “out of the blue” happenings are not coincidental. 

The Bible reveals a powerful truth in John 10:10. Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

The thief has worked overtime to rob from me. But with each effort to sabotage God’s good plans, it backfires and Jesus wins every time. 

Hallelujah!

On Thanksgiving Day, my daughter and I ran eight miles as part of our training regimen for the half-marathon we’re running together in January. It was a victorious day for both of us. My twenty-two year old daughter had never run this distance. And I hadn’t run this distance in probably 10 years. We were elated.

On Monday of this week, just as I was about to begin another training run, I jammed my toe into a piece of furniture accidentally because I had moved it temporarily to get something out from behind it and had forgotten to move it back. My little toe crashed right into the chair leg as I was rushing through my house. I landed onto the floor in pain.

I knew what I had done was bad. The level of pain and the immediate swelling proved to me that it was not just a stubbed toe. My mind immediately went to the place of resigning and accepting a long time of healing.

“Well, there goes my half-marathon race,” I thought to myself.  It was exactly nine weeks until my race.  And with the possibility of a broken toe, I knew I wouldn’t be able to train for weeks.

My next thought was one of faith.

I’ll have to trust God.

As the day went on, my toe hurt worse. I iced it, but by eleven p.m. the bruising had spread in between my toes and onto my actual foot. It was purple, red, and swollen and I could feel a small bump on the side of my toe.  It was so bad that my daughter couldn’t look at it.

I looked up images of broken toes on the Internet and saw that the pictures looked very similar to my toe. Everything I read indicated I had a broken toe. The bad news was that it takes six to eight weeks for a broken toe to heal.

I taped my little toe to the toe next to it and thought, "I am not going to have this accident ruin God's good plans for me. I AM going to run this race." And I prayed for a miracle.

I went to bed with peace and asked the Lord to heal my toe.

When I awoke yesterday morning, my toe was still hurting enough for me to limp, but as the day went on I noticed it was getting better. I never took anything for the pain. I have a very high tolerance for pain. I delivered my son with no epidural or any other pain medication other than local anesthesia for the stitches to be put in place. I honestly didn’t think much about my toe yesterday.

Today (two days after the accident) I have absolutely no pain in my toe. It doesn’t hurt to touch it. It doesn’t hurt to wiggle it. I cut the tape off and was astounded to see that the swelling was completely gone and the bruising is significantly better. By tomorrow, I’m sure the discoloration will be gone altogether.

The Lord healed my toe, just like He has healed me from other things in the past.

If I had resigned to the pain I would not be doing my race in January.  As followers of Christ, we can live in victory.

I've seen many fake miracles on T.V. over the years. The Bible clearly tells us that there are counterfeit miracles. 

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9 (NAS)

But the Bible also tells us that in Jesus Christ there are many real miracles.

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. Act 6:8 (NAS)

God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. Hebrews 2:4 (NAS)

They did not remember His power, the day when He redeemed them from the adversary…Psalm 78:42 (NAS)

So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." John 4:48 (NAS)

 

They performed His wondrous acts among them, And miracles in the land of Ham. Psalm 105:27 (NAS)

God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul… Acts 19:11 (NAS)

…In the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Romans 15:19 (NAS)

A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. John 6:2 (NAS)

 
And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs. Mark 16:20 (NLT)

Most importantly Jesus said, we would do even greater things than He did.

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12 (NIV)

I've never been one to attend healing conferences and miracle services. I've been the one who has stayed at home seeking to know God better through studying my Bible and praying as often as possible. But the closer I get to Christ, the more I see miracles in my life.

When we step up and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ then the non-believers will see the power of Christ working through and in us.

We are called to be the salt and light of the world. Let us go forth as disciples of Christ and walk in faith performing miracles in His name. Let us live in victory so that the doubters will watch and see that Jesus is the Messiah of the world.

Live Abundantly!

Amy

Becoming a Strong Vessel

As children of God we are the vessels of the Holy Spirit. Our Creator desires to empower us to do great things on this earth. The empowerment He gives us begins with getting whole and healthy so that ultimately we can be mighty vessels of His Spirit.

In 1997 I wrote a prayer that changed my life. I prayed, “Lord, I want to be whole and healthy spiritually, emotionally, and physically so that I can be a vessel of Yours.” At the time I wrote this prayer I was battling postpartum depression and felt worn down in every way. I was far from being strong and I desperately wanted to be empowered with God’s strength.

In my weakness, God picked me up, and began strengthening me and making me whole. I am not the same person I was when I wrote that prayer. Today, I am a strong woman of God.

I am writing this with complete humility. Because without the makeover God has given me I would be nothing but a huge mess. If God can make a strong vessel out of a mess like me, He can make one out of anybody.

One of the main purposes of The Live Love Laugh Club is to encourage women to keep moving forward. Part of moving forward is becoming healthier spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

At our last meeting our focus was on physical health. Being healthy physically is a component of being a strong vessel of God. God wants all of us to be strong...He wants us to be healthy and live abundantly!  
Certified Life Coach, Becky Harmon, came to our meeting to talk to us about ‘Four Strategies for Physical Success.’ It was a great blessing to listen to Becky as she shared her wisdom with us. Becky has a strong anointing to bring women into wholeness and health. God is using her mightily through her coaching business, “Success Not Sabotage Coaching.” Visit her website and sign up for a free coaching session: www.successnotsabosage.com