Crisis Prevention

I have been reminded more than once this week God speaks our language. He can use the tiniest, most seemingly insignificant detail and use it to reach us. He loves us that much! I even witnessed Him use me in a ministry session to speak the language of the recipient without me being aware of it until after the fact. God speaks and walls come down!

I'm no stranger to hearing God's voice through the mundane things of life. I've even blogged about it here, here, here and here.

This week He gave me yet another picture using something ordinary...nails, my nails, more specifically my chipping, breaking, splitting nails. I recently started having my nails done with a fairly new technique called Shellac. This isn't necessarily critical for you to know, but I wanted to brag on my friend and nail tech, Bobbie Nation. Bobbie has a heart of gold. Sitting in her chair getting your nails done leaves you feeling not only pretty, but well loved:)

I wasn't scheduled to have them re-done until next week, but I was having a crisis, a nail crisis. I sent Bobbie a text saying, "I'm having a nail crisis! Can you get me in earlier?" I had to wait a few days. The thing with Shellac is even though they are your natural nails, the polish doesn't come off with regular remover. Not something I could really take of myself. It was really bothering me that my nails were looking so raggedy:)

This seemingly superficial post is going to get serious...stay with me:)

In the world of inner healing (lay men's terms, healing of the heart (emotional/spiritual) pain) we often receive requests for ministry that are URGENT. This especially happens when people find themselves in crisis mode. They call and want to be seen yesterday.

My mentor, friend and colleague, Vikki Waters, has trained me well in not allowing others' crisis to become my crisis. There will always be someone needing help and boundaries are crucial when you are involved in ministry.

What I have learned is people in crisis aren't always in a place to receive deep healing. The crisis is all they see and they want it fixed. In reality the best time to receive ministry or inner healing is when life is relatively calm...perhaps even avoiding many of the "crisis" times all together.

If I have any males that are reading this blog, which started out like a piece on "Toddlers and Tiaras," I want you to know I haven't forgotten you. Maybe you can't relate to my nail crisis analogy, but you can relate to car maintenance. Simple things like oil changes can PREVENT major vehicle issues down the road. I'm no car expert, but not changing your oil regularly can lead to some high price engine issues, among other things.

Let's put this in a real life scenario of marriage. Marriage takes work. Marriage is an investment. What can happen if you don't invest enough time and energy in your marriage? Potential boredom, loneliness, un-fulfillment (sexually and/or emotionally,) adultery and loss of relationship are just a few issues that come to mind.

How can these pitfalls be avoided? Maintenance, i.e. date nights, weekend getaways, short walks together, regular sex (very important!!!) and a safe environment in which to talk and share feelings openly without fear of being ignored, chastised or yelled at.

Bottom line and the point of this post is to encourage each of you reading this to be prudent. If you are struggling in an area don't wait for the bottom to drop out before you do something about it. Although I believe nothing is impossible for God and it's never too late for Him to redeem and restore, the truth is, when humans are involved there isn't always a willingness or desire for healing/restoration/redemption/reconciliation. Reconciliation takes both parties to be successful.

As I've said before and I will say again...on your very best day, you are only in control of YOU! Which means you can only do something about YOU! Expecting others around you to change to solve your problems will find you waiting a lifetime and will carry with it much frustration.

What are you waiting for...a crisis? I've been in several crisis times myself and they are NO fun. As far as it has to do with me, I want to maintain, prevent and go after what is broken and allow Holy Spirit to do "maintenance" on my heart and avoid crisis as much as possible! And when crisis does comes, because it will, my hope is to be able to handle it with the mind of Christ, from heaven to earth.

I am ever so thankful Papa God speaks in our language. He doesn't pass up an opportunity to minister to our hearts, but the key is, are you listening? I invite you to open the eyes and ears of your heart and look for Him in the mundane, the simple things in life. My Soul Sings because He uses it all, little and big, to bring Him glory and to bring me into a closer relationship with Him! He is so GOOD!

Are You Content to be Fat?

I had hoped my next blog post would be to share things stirred in my heart from my recent experience at Jesus Culture Awakening. Hopefully I will make time to do so in the future, but for today I feel I have a word from the Lord. I believe it's a personal word for me, but one He is also wanting me to share with His body.

Perhaps it is the result of what I saw and heard shared at the conference...after all, there were many ministries represented and showcased throughout the conference all with the same mission..."Send," "Go," "Love," are words I continually heard. These were people not just content to sit in a conference and listen to great men and women of faith share their stories of miracles and moves of God. No, they were people whose lives had been laid down in total surrender. They were in the trenches doing the "stuff," loving the unlovable, rescuing the dying, releasing the captives. One lady shared of a ministry starting with 5 children rescued from the sex trade, now they are up to several hundred children. They not only feed and house them, they are providing the children an education so they can grow up and be productive citizens! These people are not just preaching the gospel, they are living and doing it!

Which has led me to question are we, the body of Christ, more content to be fat? By fat I mean fat on knowledge...continuing to partake, but never assimilating. Maybe we don't "act" on what we know because we are afraid of what the sacrifice might be. Perhaps we are afraid of failing or of the unknown.

I am reminded of the scripture in I Corinthians that says, "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." Allow me to take this verse out of context and pose the question, is it love that makes it possible for us to put knowledge into action? I believe the answer is yes. It is love that compels us to take knowledge and put action with it...to assimilate what we know.

What I love about spiritual principles is they are always first seen in the natural. If all we did is eat and eat and eat some more, but we never leave the table to exercise what happens? We get fat! Same applies spiritually...if all we do is study, go to church once a week and attend conferences, but never take what we learn and "go out unto all the world" we get fat...fat with knowledge.

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48b)

I don't know about you, but I'm not content to just eat and get fat. I want to share my "food," share my experiences with God, share His love, bring healing to the brokenhearted and set the captives free. This is what I was destined to do, my purpose...the piece of the Father's heart I carry. What part do you carry? If you don't know, I encourage you to ask Him. He has been waiting for you to ask!

Pray with me...Dear Papa, I'm no longer content to sit at Your table and feast without sharing the bounty with those around me. I'm tired of making it all about me, my needs and my wants. I recognize I am blessed to be a blessing. I want to see what you see in this world. I want my heart to break for what breaks Yours. I want to use what I "know" of You and represent You well to others. Papa teach me to put love into action, truth into action...I want to be a living, breathing, walking around example of the gospel of Christ. I want my words and actions to bring You glory and draw others into the abundant and free life You have generously bestowed upon me. Thank You for making the way. Thank You for trusting me, Papa. Thank You for life. Amen!"

It's time for the body of Christ to start assimilating what they know in a spirit of love. There is a world out there dying, literally and figuratively, to know and experience the love of Christ...what if you are the means to bring that freedom to someone? Why not you and why not now? This is the gospel and it makes MY SOUL SING!

If you enjoy My Soul Sings I invite you to become a follower of this blog. If this post has ministered to you, please feel free to share it with friends! Blessings on you!

Time for Rest

This post will be more like a journal entry; a peek inside my heart and mind the past few days.

It hit me Sunday morning while sitting at my daughter's swim meet. I am exhausted. Not just physically tired, but spiritually and emotionally spent to the point I was feeling it in my physical body. I wanted to weep, but how could I in front of all these people? Surely they would think I am crazy if they asked if I was okay and all I said was, "I'm just tired." After all, it's not uncommon to see swimmers break down into emotion because they didn't "perform" to their expectation...yes, a swim meet has it's potential for many adolescent hormonal displays of emotion:) But, that's not me and my onslaught of weepiness was not remotely tied to swimming.

In the midst of it all, I decided when I got home I was unplugging from life...or as Jack Bauer in the former Fox TV series, "24" would say, "I'm going dark." Yes, I went dark Sunday afternoon and evening and it was delightful! Turned my cell phone off, didn't check Facebook and after both of our girls were home for the day, we even unplugged our house phone. And, I rested.

As I awakened this morning I suspected I would feel completely revived and recharged, but that's not the case. Of course I immediately started to access the situation and my conclusion is this...boundaries...I broke Amy's unwritten rule of living life from a place of rest. I've lived my life the past few weeks with little to no room for time to recharge...leaving not only my body tired, but my mind and heart as well.

I have blogged before about ministering from a place of rest and this is crucial in preventing ministry burn out. I broke my own "rule." Well, I'm not real fond of having a lot of "rules" so maybe it's more of a boundary or guideline than it is a rule. After all, even though we live in the New Covenant under God's grace, His "rules" are there in order to protect us, not restrict us. I don't look at the "rules" of scripture as there to keep me from having fun, no, quite the opposite, they are there to keep me safe.

This summer has been insanely busy...mostly coming from having an active 15 year old in the house. Maybe this summer is God's way of preparing my heart to let her drive next year...something that if I ponder too long makes me slightly anxious at the thought:)

Hmmm, I really don't know. But, one thing I do know is this...our bodies were made to need rest, as much as they were made to need food and water. God even modeled resting to us on the 7th day of creation. So, in the midst of the crazy summer schedule I am going to re-evaluate my boundaries and carve out more time for rest.

This past Saturday night at our home church, Joy shared with us about stewardship. Stewardship is about more than just our finances. We will steward well what we have value for...if I'm not stewarding my body well, I'm not only not taking care of God's temple, I'm not honoring my family with the best of me. When I am weary in body, soul and spirit I am not going to be the best wife, mother or friend. Stewarding our bodies well is also an act of worship to God!

I believe I was created to share and be transparent, which is the purpose of this blog post. Somehow, just processing this on "paper" has relieved my soul of a burden...thanks for listening and I hope this will speak to many other "weary" ones.

Exchanging weariness and fatigue for His yoke makes MY SOUL SING! Now, where is my pillow and soft praise music?????

If you enjoy reading My Soul Sings, please become a follower of this blog and consider sharing it with a friend! Blessings on you!

At the Foot of the Cross

When is the last time you visited the foot of the cross? Was it at your salvation? A weekend retreat? When someone you love was very ill and needed a miracle? After a moving sermon during an altar call?

For me, it was yesterday morning. No frills, no pomp, no moving sermon or fancy worship service...no manipulating pastor with good intentions to move his flock closer to Jesus. No, none of that, just a hurting heart and a need to lay it down at His feet.

I knew I was hurt, even angry. What I didn't realize is I needed to forgive. A phone call from a sweet sister who asked the question, "how are you?" was all it took for the waterworks to begin. My reply, "I'm a mess." She asked, "what are you a mess about?" Me, "I don't know."

I got my breath and then my heart started to speak. The issues were soon defined and out in the open. Her reply, "well, Amy, you know the first thing you are going to need to do is forgive."

Really? Forgive? Something I walk people through on a weekly basis and it hadn't even crossed my mind I needed it in my own situation! Yes, we really do need the body (of Christ) to guide us along the narrow path when our "stuff" (aka baggage) is blocking our ability to see and hear God's direction for ourselves. Forgiveness is exactly what was needed.

Holding on to un-forgiveness will almost always block your intimacy with the Father. Now, if you aren't intimate with Him to begin with, you may not be able to relate to that statement. Building an intimate relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit has been my life purpose the last few years and I definitely recognize when there is a block.

There is nothing more discouraging and frustrating then feeling I can't connect with Him. When all I can pray is, "oh, God" and it is seemingly quiet on the other end of the dialogue. Because that is what prayer should be, a dialogue, between you and Him. If we stay focused on ourselves and our "stuff," prayer will be all about our needs/wants and we will completely miss out on the relationship He wants with us. If we are focused on Him, it will be a time of dialogue. He will speak to your heart. One of the goals of *inner healing* is to develop this kind of intimacy with our Daddy.

Where were we...oh yes, forgiveness. So, as I sat at my kitchen counter with my cup of coffee, I started to forgive, "I choose to forgive (name here) for (offense here) and how it made me feel (list of feelings/emotions tied to the offense.) I cancel the debt they owed me to (what they should have done/or my perception of what they should have done, or not done.) Lord, I break agreement with any judgments I made about them and ask you to forgive me. I release them from all my expectations to meet my needs. I turn to You, Father God, to meet my needs and heal all my pain. In Jesus Name, Amen."

I went through this process for each person and then heard the Father gently say, "forgive yourself." Yeah, right! God, I really need to go brush my teeth and get ready to leave for my appointment this morning...catch that self forgiveness later, okay?

I went about my business and couldn't get away from the gentle nudge of Holy Spirit saying, "forgive yourself."

Knowing I wanted my peace back I complied, reluctantly. It went something like this:

I choose to forgive myself for being hard on myself, for resenting myself for allowing this situation to come between me and Papa God. I choose to forgive myself for punishing myself with verbal condemnation and condemning thoughts. I choose to forgive myself for not accepting God's forgiveness in this matter, by making a choice to hold onto the pain. I choose to forgive myself for speaking curses over myself and those involved. For losing my patience and yelling. I choose to forgive myself for opening the door to the enemy in my life, even though I know better! I choose to forgive myself for going to bed angry. I choose to forgive myself for not trusting God to work this together for my good. I choose to forgive myself for setting standards that are too high for me or anyone else in my life to meet and for withholding love because they don't meet them.

Ugly, huh? See why I needed to verbalize that and lay it at His feet?

So, again, I ask you, "when was the last time you visited the foot of the cross?" In inner healing circles we call this "doing kingdom business." DKB is a lifestyle. It isn't just for those moments of intense emotional pull mentioned at the beginning of this post. As soon as Holy Spirit brings it to your mind, you need to make the effort and the choice (oh, it's definitely a choice.)

More often than not it will be done in the presence of One, perhaps at your kitchen counter, maybe in the car, in your quiet time...although there are times when you need the body to come along side you and be your eyes and ears.

James 5:16, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

If you've not experienced this power in prayer maybe it is because you have isolated yourself. You've tried to handle it quietly, on your own and without the support of others. Maybe you're ashamed, embarrassed, or afraid. It's why I wrote this post. I want to share with you the freedom that comes with transparency. Light exposes darkness...every time!

None of us are perfect. Releasing pain, un-forgiveness, sin, etc. is part of every Christian's walk. There is no condemnation in it, only healing, forgiveness and FREEDOM!

I invite you to the foot of the cross...a place of restoration and redemption. To listen to a song about the foot of the cross go here and listen to this beautiful song by Kathryn Scott.

Releasing and receiving forgiveness at the foot of the cross makes My Soul Sing!

*Inner Healing* If you are interested in receiving inner healing or learning more about what inner healing is, please visit Growing in Grace Ministries website at www.iggm.org. Check out the Sozo ministry link. I invite you to come and experience freedom, healing and deliverance!

Priorities and My Life

I just wanted to pop in and say hi to all my blog friends! I usually try to post 2-3 times a week, but this week it just didn't happen.

My excuse for not starting a blog earlier was I felt it would pressure me too much. My old people pleaser traits try to rear their ugly heads from time to time. So, when I began this blog I made a commitment to put my time with God first, then hubby, children, friends and outside ministry (in that order.)

I say "outside ministry" meaning ministry outside of my home. As a mother and wife, my first ministry is to my family...those of you with small children it's okay if they are your ONLY ministry for this season of life.

Jesus said "If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because He is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." (Matthew 10:42) Moms, have you given your child something to eat or drink today? If so, you have served Jesus by serving your (His)children. I would also like to add, as a mom you are an invaluable asset in the kingdom of God. You are sowing into a future generation of revivalists, leaders and kingdom warriors!

This truth took me awhile to grasp. I felt I had to be serving in the "church," and so I said yes to everything and way over committed myself. My relationship with God and my family suffered for it.

My Soul Sings falls into the category of outside ministry, so it's the first thing to go when the other priorities are calling to me.

This weekend I have enjoyed time with my daughters and my hubby. I did some rubber stamping (it's a craft thing, for those of you wondering) with my 10 year old this afternoon. She made a comment that so touched my heart I shared it on my Facebook and I plan to blog about it this coming week. Children are capable of imparting some great wisdom, and that was surely the case with her sweet remark.

As you have read this I hope it has encouraged you to think about where your priorities are. It's good to make sure they are in check from time to time...because it doesn't take much for them to go askew. I don't usually realize this has happened until something suffers.

If I haven't had my alone time with Jesus I start to feel completely separated from Him. Instead of talking with Him throughout my day, I feel He isn't there...but really, it's me that has left, because He doesn't go anywhere:)

When I've not spent enough time with my husband we are more prone to arguments. Same goes with my girls, if their love tanks aren't full there will be more disobedience, disrespect and overall mood changes. I think you get the point.

It's not a coincidence when I've spent time with Jesus the rest of my relationships seem to run more smoothly. I contribute this to my heart being in the right place, connected and focused on the Giver of Life...I am, in turn, able to give life and love to others...which has become one of my core values. I want to give, love, minister and serve from the overflow and abundance God has given me, otherwise someone will get shorted because it is a fleshly effort, not empowered by the Spirit of God.

Wow, to have come here just to say hi, I sure did ramble! Apparently the Holy Spirit had something to say through all this! I pray a blessing over your week. May it be full of love and time in His presence so you can ooze His love on those you love most...because His presence always makes My Soul Sing!