Ready for a New Year!

As another year draws to a close I like to take some time to ask the Lord for a word for the coming year. It's not a resolution or change I claim to make, but asking what the Lord wishes to show me for the coming year. I don't necessarily ponder on this greatly throughout the year, though I often get a few books to help me with the topic. But, I'm always amazed at how the Lord brings this back to my awareness throughout the year.

I put the word or phrase on a notecard and often have some phrases to go with it and a picture that feels as if it fits. For me I have an arrangement of my past words and current word in my closet. It makes my heart happy to see this!

This is another way to be silent and allow the Lord to lead you. If you are interested in how to go about this I'll leave a few steps.

The first step is to become silent. Take time to quiet your soul. Focus on your breath if you need help calming your spirit. When you feel calm and quiet ask the Lord, what is the word you want to give me for the coming year?

I will journal about what I feel the Lord speaking to me. And I love that He will often expand my understanding of the word or phrase throughout the coming year, but especially solidify it for the next few weeks.

Next I will often google the word or phrase until I find an image that matches the spirit of the word. Such as this one for my phrase this year.
 

I love to read so I will often check amazon.com for books that call to me on that word or phrase. I've never been disappointed yet when I follow my heart!

Follow your heart with what calls to you. I've heard of some people doing a poster board full of quotes and pictures of their word. Others find a song that goes with their word for the year. Still others will do artwork. None of it is wrong and if you follow the Lord, you can't get it wrong!

I'd love to hear in the comments about if you've tried this in the past and what works for you. I'd also love if you feel led to share, what's your word for 2018? How did this process go for you? Blessings!

Trust the Process

Recently I was reading in Revelation was about how Satan will be bound for 1,000 years so he cannot tempt anyone. Something I've been pondering lately is why didn't the Lord do this from the start? Why allow Satan the freedom to deceive His children? It hit me that the Lord has an awful lot of trust in this thing called the human race. Somehow He knows this process is for our betterment and refinement.

This passage was from the end of the Bible, so if we go way back to the beginning in Genesis, is it different?

In Genesis 3 notice that God has trusted Adam and Eve enough to not to micromanage them at every moment. He doesn't smother them every moment of every day. They are alone in the Garden and in that moment Satan decides to slide in and work his deception. It works. He makes them doubt God's goodness. Satan helps them start to want power for themselves. He may start it but the man and woman continue this lust for being greater than they are. But at what cost? As soon as they eat the fruit, they realize they are naked! They are vulnerable! How ghastly. They quickly cover themselves up so as not to feel shame at their nakedness, their vulnerability. And so all this hiding begins.

Notice as God comes walking through the Garden, does He shame them? No He asks questions, he called them out of hiding. They are the ones who continue to hide, even as they are invited out. They can't even handle being naked and vulnerable in God's presence. And He loves them enough to make clothes to cover them. To help them be comfortable in His presence, even if it puts a hindrance in their relationship.

They've screwed up big time and God isn't worried! He stays inquisitive and open, but they shut down and blame others instead of taking ownership for their part and admitting their stuff. It doesn't worry God. He isn't all of a sudden nervous because His creation didn't follow His instructions. He doesn't decide to micromanage and now make sure they follow the rules. Somehow, He knows it will all work out.

God held to the boundaries and sent the humans out of the Garden so they couldn't live forever in this state, which is really quite loving. But He didn't shut them out of relationship with Him. He kept trying to find ways to show them how He loved them and was waiting for them. He was and is willing to fill our deepest needs in ways only He can if we are willing to let Him and not be deceived by all the lures of the world.

I want to be like this. To trust the process. To stay open and inquisitive even when those around me shut me out. To set up boundaries, but yet to be there ready and waiting with open arms for when they are ready to open up, even when there is pain in the process. While I know I cannot do this perfectly as God does, and I won't fill the deepest needs of those that turn to me, I can learn my path by being open and inquisitive with myself. To trust the process of my path, even when it feels like I 'failed'. I feel a peaceful calm inside my soul as I contemplate this Simple Trust. That is what I desire. To stay calm when my world is shaking, knowing that God is charge of it all.

If as you try to journey along this journey of life you find yourself stuck, in pain, or unable to move forward, feel free to contact me. I meet with individuals who desire to find deeper connection with God in the circumstances in life, but things seem to get in the way of this connection. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in an appointment or just to see if Inner Healing is a fit for what you are needing right now. loriyoder (@) maplcitychapel (.) org

Amazing Grace

This has become a sweet song and maybe we sing it without giving it much thought. But stop and think, Amazing Grace. Why those words? Because I've been forgiven and set free. And not because of anything I've done, in fact, it's more I've been saved in spite of what I've done. Listen to the words of the chorus. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. Wow! Even wretches like me can be saved in this place!

I grew up thinking that if someone sinned, severe punishment was deserved. The person needed to be taught a lesson. They really needed to learn how bad they truly were. To be made to feel the depth of what they had done. And there is a time and place for punishment, not sure how the world would be without laws and justice. But this isn't how the gospel works.

Read about the Prodigal Son. This son rejected his father and all he was to him. The son went and lived a life of selfish luxury. Finally all his money is spent. He has nothing and he becomes hungry. This is the real reason he decides maybe it's time to head home, his stomach is empty. And the son doesn't expect to be fully restored, he really does expect to be just a servant. Yet what does the Father do? Punish him so he learns his lesson as the older brother would like, as so many of us would like? No the father throws a feast, a banquet, and lavishes his son. He places the son right back into the position of who he is, the son. Not a servant or a slave or even a friend, he's right back to being the son.

I don't know about you, but man, that's Amazing Grace! That's undeserved, lavish, abundant mercy. A while ago I read the book Eve by William Paul Young and Young talks of how all the Father wants of us is to re-turn to Him. The reason Young uses re-turn is because when we sin we've begun to veer off on our path. Picture the Father at the head of our path and we start to shift, sometimes just a few degrees, others times a lot. This shift, it changes our ending point,we'll no longer end up where the Father is waiting. But all we need to do is to re-turn our body in order to face Him once more. And the Father, He is much like that Prodigal Father  and He isn't looking to shame us, He's looking for us to re-turn, turn back to facing Him, and when we do that, there He stands with open arms ready to embrace us and put us back into our position as sons and daughters of the King.

There will be those that ask, What about sin? Aren't you being light on it?

Absolutely not. Sin is really is its' own punishment. It bears consequences that sometimes last a lifetime. Those aren't magically erased. But I believe the worst part is that Si separates us from the Father. And who of us can bear that separation? It's why we are always looking for ways to get back that relationship, but it's not in what we do besides turning to Him. Jesus has done the work for us, He's paid the price. All I need to do is turn back into my loving Father's arms.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
Was blind, but now I see.

Silence, What's the Point?

Psalm 46:10 Be Still and Know that I am God.

If we break this down it means there are two parts to that verse. The first part is Be still. The second part is And know that I am God. Why is that important?

Have you ever heard the saying that if the Devil can't get you to his side, he will just make us busy? I'd add distracted to that. Think of it! What a better way to keep us from connecting with God! It tells us in Psalm 46:10 - “Be still and know that I am God”, but if we can't be still, how will we finish that? How will we know God? 

God speaks to us in our every day world, though we rarely hear it. This is because we need to slow down. Stop. Listen to that still, small voice. But how can we do that while we continue to rush from activity to activity? Today I will just briefly mention a few ways I take time to slow down and meet the Lord, but this post would become far too long if I went into detail on them all. So feel free to ask questions in the comments.

With all these exercises of stillness get into a comfortable position and take a few deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose, hold it, then release out through your mouth. Close your eyes, invite the Holy Spirit to come to your awareness.

*Meditation/Contemplation. This is not like the new age to clear your mind, this is Meditating on God, on His Truth. It says in Psalm 1:2-3 'but those whose delights in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither- whatever they do prospers.' So even the Lord asks us to meditate upon Him and be still in His Presence. To begin to meditate, ask the Lord for a word or phrase to hold on to as you are quiet. As you meditate, if worries or thoughts from life come up, gently notice them and let them pass as clouds in the sky. Release them, then return to the word or phrase the Lord has given you.

*There's an experiential that Terry Wardle teaches called the 3 R's, as a way of coming into the Lord's Presence. In his book called Every Breath We Take, Terry goes into great detail of this. I'd highly encourage you to get it. The first R is to Rest in the Presence of the Lord - in your imagination ask the Lord for the rest He wants to give you. One time as I thought of resting before the Lord, I had the image of curling up in the Father's hand. It was so comfortable and tender. The second R is to Receive what the Lord is wanting to give to you. Ask Him as you are there resting, "Lord what would you like me to receive from you today?" The third R is responding to the Lord's love. Recently at a seminar I asked the Lord how I would respond. This opened things up for me in ways they hadn't before. Always before I just wondered what my response was and while that was good this time I saw the Lord showing me to go and tell others. This was a whole new thought on Responding to what He gave me.

*Imaginative Contemplation from pray-as-you-go.org, this is where you place yourself into stories from Scripture. You become one of the characters or a bystander in the story. You relive this story in your imagination and pay attention to how you feel about what is happening in the story. You pay attention to what things the Lord brings to your thoughts and imagination. Then ask the Lord what He is trying to show you through all of this. It is a powerful exercise to help make the Bible incredibly real. David Benner in Surrender to Love, also talks about a similar exercise. His book is so very powerful.

These are just a few ways to get started in silence. As you journey on Richard Rohr has a few more ideas in his books, as does Terry Wardle. Terry Wardle also has some great seminars as you go along this journey of following stillness and gaining a deeper knowing God. Another great book would be Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton. You can find many more books that will help you grow deeper in your practice of silence. Don't become overwhelmed, pick one practice and start. These above are easy ways to begin, but if you need more information, feel free to ask questions. And because these practices grow as you do, they never become old or boring!

Here's one more reason to begin your practice of silence. Mediation is shown to increase dopamine. Psycologytoday.com defines dopamine as a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers. Dopamine also helps regulate movement and emotional responses, and it enables us not only to see rewards, but to take action to move toward them. Dopamine is also released through exercise. It's also released through certain addictions. I will however leave those for you to research yourself. But how amazing that God uses something He asks us to do anyway to be able to release such a powerful substance in our bodies in a positive way!

If as you try to journey along with Silence you find yourself stuck or unable to move forward, feel free to contact me. I meet with individuals who desire to find deeper connection with God in the circumstances in life, but things seem stuck or painful or maybe something just doesn't seem right. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in an appointment or just to see if Inner Healing is a fit for what you are needing right now.

A Few Thoughts on Stillness

Quietness.

Stillness.

It's so hard to find in this fast-paced, busy world. Yet, it is for this our souls long. Often though we aren't even aware of the longing we have for stillness. We have become so used to distractions. Our phone constantly dinging notifications, telling us all the ways we are important and admired through the likes and shares of Facebook and Instagram, the retweets from Twitter. The rushing around of living life. Constantly hurrying to the next urgent activity. Never having an ending to any of this.

Often we are living up to the expectations of others, our culture, or even our own expectations, not the expectations of Jesus.The real question is, "What is Jesus asking of you?" Jesus knows we have 24 hours. He made them. He made us need time for sleep, need to eat, need to clean up. None of these are surprises to Him. He wouldn't ask us to do things that don't make sure we have time to do all we need to do to care for ourselves and those entrusted to us.

At a women's retreat I spoke at this past weekend I was reminded of the story in Luke 10:38-42. The story of Mary and Martha. It's a story well-known and told often. It's a great story to show how we are meant to be Human BEings, but we tend to live like we are Human DOings. And we think that's what Jesus wanted, for us to live up to all these expectations. However, in the Message version verse 41-42 reads, "The Master said,"Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it-it's the main course, and won't be taken from her.""

I heard it said recently at a Healing Care Ministries event, that Martha was making sandwiches that Jesus never ordered. This was such an Aha! moment for me. How often do I think, this is something I NEED to do? If I don't do it, how will this happen? When in reality, it's something that is an expectation, and something I think I'll be judged for if I don't do it. Martha was in a tough predicament, this gathering was at her house and the societal expectation was for her to make a meal for those gathered at her house. However, as we saw from the experience with the loaves and fishes in Matthew 14, He could feed the multitudes with very little. He didn't need Martha to make a meal, she just thought He did.

How do I know when it's time to Be and when it's time to Do? It's a great question. My experience has been that as I became more of a Human Being and I learned to just Be, the Lord told me when it was time to stand up and Do. Then I come back in His Presence once more, secure in who He has made me to Be and then once more, He will send me out to what He has for me. But I want to be so secure in who I am that I will only want to do what the Lord asks of me, no more and no less. I can only do that when I've taken time for stillness with Him.

I'll address some tips on how to be still in an upcoming post. If you have any questions or comments I'd love to hear them below. Let's keep this topic going. Until next time... Journey on!

Awakening

This is my first post on this blog, which I am calling Awakening. Awakening is the word the Lord has had on my heart for years. I began a journey of healing in June of 2010 due to brokenness inside myself. One of the books I read was Waking the Dead by John Eldredge. The book was wonderful and every time I talked of it, I would gush over what it had done for me. For the longest time however, I couldn't remember the name. I knew what felt most true for me to the deepest part of my soul was the word Awakening. I would tell my friend that name, but then my mind would be triggered to the real title Waking the Dead.

The definition of Awakening according to Oxford Dictionary is: an act or moment of becoming suddenly aware of something. It made so much sense why this word felt so right for inside of myself there was an Awakening that began with my journey. I believe the Lord is calling each one of us into an Awakening and it is why I called both my ministry and this blog Awakening. As long as we are asleep or dead to what's going on around us, as long as we are unaware, we are stuck. We cannot change what we do not acknowledge.

On this journey, a part of my awakening was to become much more aware of my heart and my feelings. I'd always been taught that my emotions and my body were fickle and not to trust them. Therefore for years, I'd been shutting down my heart, feelings, and emotions. When I began to realize how much these feelings and emotions were actually a tool used by the Lord to help me live a life to the full, that's when my journey of healing began.

Emotions and feelings are like a smoke detector. I could just shut it off, but then what good would the smoke detector be? If the smoke detector is to be put to good use, then we are to look around and find what's causing the fire. There are times when the smoke detector is in need of repair. That's where things like good counseling or Inner Healing can be helpful, to help find out where the crossed wires are in this smoke detector that keeps going off without any smoke being present. And all of us need this help from time to time.

As you are possibly hoping to either begin or continue your own journey of Awakening, I invite you to follow this blog. I hope to post ideas and stories that may help you as you go along your journey. We all continue to grow on this journey called life and on this side of Heaven don't see the finished product, however we get to participate in continued healing in our lives. Join me won't you?