The Power of Remembering: Empowering Mondays

It is hard to believe that I have been posting Empowering Mondays for two months now.  Wow. We have covered many topics: (Click on any that you have missed!)

• Power of God at Work in our lives
• Power of Rest and Sabbath
• Power of Life in my Deadness
• Power of God over Strangling Stress
• Power of Walking in God's Calling
• Power of Friendship
• Power of Choice
• Power of Perspective

I have enjoyed reading your comments, hearing your stories, and praying for you as seek to be empowered in your life. Our God is All-Powerful and can conquer anything we wrestle with. He also empowers us with tools to deal with life situations. I hope that you have found this series to be helpful. We have one more post next week and I can't wait to present it to you...with another giveaway!

For today, I wanted to talk about the power of Remembering. 

One of my favorite stories in all of the Old Testament is found in Joshua 3 - 4. The Israelites led by their faithful leader, Joshua, witness a miracle as the Lord God shows up and shows out. The priests carry the ark of the covenant to the tip of the flood staged Jordan River and as "their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away... while the water flowing down to the Dead Sea was completely cut off." The Scripture continues by telling us that  the entire nation of Israel completely crossed the Jordan River on dry ground as the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood in the middle of the Jordan. What a scene! What a miracle! What a story!

But I love what happens next.  Joshua tells the Israelites to appoint twelve men and to go and take twelve stones out of the middle of the river where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant are standing. As soon as the stones were gathered, the Lord commanded the priests carrying the ark to come up out of the Jordan. As soon as the priests' feet touched dry land, the Jordan waters returned to their original flood ridden state. Joshua then takes the twelve stones and sets them up at Gilgal and tells the Israelites that this "rock collection" is to remind them to tell the story of how God enabled the Israelites to cross the Jordan on dry ground... just as God had dried up the Red Sea when they were escaping the Egyptians.  "God did this so that all of the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful..."

We need a "rock collection." Our gathering of "stones" remind us of the awesome and infinite power of our God. They invite questions from our children. "What are those 'rocks' for?" Of course, we may not gather stones. But we do need to have a tangible reminder of God's faithfulness and His goodness. We need to recall what He has done in our past so that we live in our present and move forward into our future. "Remember the wonders He has done."  1 Chronicles 16:12

So, what does your "rock collection" look like?  Have you taken the time to journal God's faithfulness in your life? We need to find ways to remember what God has done in our lives so that we can tell our children and our children's children of His great faithfulness. So, if you don't have a "rock collection," start one! 

Unwrapping the gift of remembering,

Kelli

 Lauren Tucker Photography, on Flickr

The Power of Perspective: Empowering Mondays

First things first, we have Four Winners from my big 4-0 giveaway! (I used a random number generator.)

The Winner of One Thousand Gifts is Abby.

The Winner of When Women Say Yes To God is Julie V.

The Winner of Sun Stand Still is Leslie C.

The Winner of a Starbucks Giftcard is Karin H.

Please email me at kelli{at}ccclive{dot}org with your addresses so I can send your prize to you!  Thanks!

Now, back to my regular blog post...

thanks, Iain Farrell, Flickr

Many of you are familiar with the magazine, Real Simple. I enjoy looking at all the pictures and reading the informative articles, but one of my favorite sections is New Uses for Old Things. Whoever comes up with these new uses for familiar things is a genius! Actually, they are just people with a keen and unique perspective.

Who would have thought that we could use a toilet paper roll to store our hair elastics and bobby pins neatly?

What about putting marbles in your double boiler to alert you to add more water?

What would happen if we gained a new perspective with the people in our life? 

Instead of seeing our husband as the person we have to make happy, see him as the gift God gave us to make us more like Jesus, like sandpaper sanding away our rough edges.

Instead of seeing our children as little people that we have to wait on, provide for, and clean up after, see them as gifts that remind us to laugh at life, to enjoy life with hands in the air, and to eat cake for breakfast.

Instead of seeing the people in our lives that really challenge us as problems, view them as gifts that keep us humble, keep us pliable and teachable, and keep us ever so reliant on God.

What about having a new perspective of our life situations? 

Instead of seeing our health struggle as a curse, see it as an opportunity to totally rely on God, to grow our prayer life, and to increase our trust in Him.

Instead of seeing our relationship issue as a reason to not trust anyone ever again, view it as a way to minister to others, and to seek God before we plunge in again.

Instead of seeing our overwhelming workload as a good reason to quit, use it as a catalyst to get organized, to make some life changes, and to prioritize.

Having a new perspective can be empowering.  When we begin to view those familiar people or situations for what they can be instead of what they have been or what they are even today, we have the power, ignited by hope,that we can carry on.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  

2 Corinthians 4: 18

So, let’s have some perspective.  It may not be Real Simple, but it can be Real Powerful.

So, what is something in your life on which you need to gain a new perspective? Please share in the comments so that I can pray for you.  P.S. I want to thank you all for making my 40^th Birthday unforgettable. 

Unwrapping the gift of perspective,

Kelli

The Power of Choice: eMpowering Mondays

When I look at my life and I feel so overwhelmed by the to-do list, the time crunch, the necessities of the day, I forget to remember that I have choices. That my to-do list is ultimately full of things that I have placed there. That my time crunch is often because I have not managed my time wisely. And when I evaluate those necessities of the day, I find that they are often  not really necessities for living at all.

So I have choices. Choices are powerful. Though my feelings lead me in one direction, I can choose to go another. 

Though choice is an individual right or power, those of us who follow Christ realize that choices made in obedience to Him are impossible without His Power. 

Paul says in Romans 7: 15 - 20: (Message Version)

"What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise... my decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions...I've tried everything and nothing helps. Is there no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different."

Paul understood what we face today.  That we have choices, and we make decisions. But without the power of Jesus Christ, we cannot make the choices that we really need and desire to make.  

choosing to exhort our children rather than exacerbate them

choosing to praise rather than preach

choosing to guide rather than gain control

choosing to give love rather than giving lectures

choosing to show patience rather than showing power

choosing to give thanks rather than giving threats

choosing to be joyful rather than being pitiful

choosing to be kind rather than cruel

choosing to show gentleness rather than showing grievousness

choosing to be faithful rather than faithless

choosing to exhibit self-control rather than self-gratification

choosing to pray rather than presume

Lord, grant us your Power to make powerful choices.

Are these kinds of choices difficult for you? Is there a way that I can pray for you today? I would love to hear your comments. 

Unwrapping the gift of choice,

Kelli