Courageous Hope

Any area of your life that does not glisten with hope is under the influence of a lie.

Perspective April 21, 2011

Filed under: Hope,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 10:34 pm
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Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross for the Joy set before him.

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus knew what his sacrifice was going to cover, what it was going to accomplish, what it was going to redeem. Jesus knew that his blood would bring freedom to the captives, healing for the sick, restoration to the broken, and beauty for all the ashes. It was such joy he saw ahead of him.  He had joyful anticipation of what was before him. Of the love that was getting ready to tear the veil between God and his people, of the love that was going to restore relationship and bring justice.  He never lost sight of where he was headed, or what he was accomplishing. He clearly saw his seat at the right hand of the Father. This is what it looks like to have heavenly perspective. Heavenly perspective in the midst of violent torture, flesh ripping, gut wrenching pain… is joy.

JOY!

We learn from Jesus how to walk as one in human flesh with the Spirit of the Living God inside of us. Here we see how we too can have heavenly perspective… JOY before us.  I heard Bill Johson say, “We will always reflect the nature of the world we are most aware of.” Jesus was most aware of heaven and heaven’s kingdom and that is reflected in everything he did. When we are most aware of heaven we reflect heaven.  The perspective of heaven always sees the redemption, the love, the JOY. One who reflects heaven knows their identity, their purpose and their destination. Being most aware of heaven is looking beyond the earthly perspective to live from a place of hope, faith, power,  love, peace and joy!

Oh Jesus impart to us your heavenly perspective! Rend the heavens and rain down your JOY!

 

anchor for the storm April 18, 2011

Filed under: Hope,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 11:07 pm
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Hope is an eager expectation of something good. Hope is always anticipating, even more so, it is joyfully anticipating a good outcome. It is more than wishing, it is more than positive thinking. Hope is an anchor for our souls.

During violent storms an anchor is often seen as a sailor’s last hope of riding the storm out. Anchors have long been symbols of hope, safety, and security.

We can place all our trust in Christ the “Anchor” who holds forever. No matter what storms come our way, we are anchored in the Word of God, in the promises He made. We have this sure hope that He will do what He says.

Hebrews 6:18-20 (New Living & Amplified)
Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence, mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement, as we grasp and hold fast to the hope that lies before us, the hope appointed for us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it.  It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary, the very certainty of His Presence.  Jesus has already gone in there for us.

In the midst of fears, doubt, uncertainty, confusion, worries, and the storms of our lives we can grab hold with both hands to the anchor we possess in Christ. In his promises and His faithfulness. A well grounded Hope that supports and keeps us steadfast, stabilizing our souls.

Even more than our anchor, hope is the key to the very door of God’s presence. It is our hope that leads us through right into the very presence of God. This inner sanctuary of His presence is where our power for living comes from. The enduring strength that is rooted in an enduring joy, all of which come from an anchor rooted in the sanctuary of God’s presence and in the immutable, unchangeable, sure, steadfast and powerful Word of God.

“Hope means that our heads do not bump up against the low ceiling of this world; hope means that the exhilarating, wonderful, and terrifying winds of Heaven blow in our ears. More concretely, hope is faith directed at the future. God is the object of hope…it is a definite response to God’s initiative…It is not just “I believe” but “I believe God.” It is not just “I hope” but “I hope in God,” the God revealed in scripture; I hope for all the promises God has given us. Christian hope is certain. God’s promises will come true; For God is truth in itself…” – Peter Kreeft

 

Mark Mayer – A man of courageous hope April 10, 2011

Filed under: Hope,Life,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 8:48 am
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One year ago today I got a phone call that felt like someone had just punched me right in the gut.  “Mark died this morning.” She said.  I was stunned. It took a while for it to sink in because this was not the outcome I had expected.

 

Mark had kidney cancer that went crazy and took over his body. He battled for nearly two years with this evil stuff.

 

Mark fought his battle fiercely and with courageous hope.  There really isn’t any other way to have hope other than the courageous kind.  Mark was the epitome of a man with courageous hope.


One of Mark’s lifetime slogans was from the film Braveheart.

“Every man dies, but not every man Really Lives”

 

Mark was a man who truly LIVED. During the last several months of his life, Mark decided that this cancer was from the devil and not from God. (Because cancer is most definitely from the devil). He decided that God wanted to heal him and he began to seek God.  During the course of seeking God as if his life depended on it, Mark re-discovered who his Jesus was and that his Jesus had died not just for his sins but for his disease and that Jesus wanted to heal Mark.  In his search for healing of his body Mark found a healing for his heart and soul, which led him to a deeper love relationship with God that transformed him.  Mark realized that he had a role in partnering with God to see God’s will done and His kingdom come.

 

In what some people thought might have been foolish or unnecessary Mark went in search of where God was moving and he went there to be a part of the move God was doing. It brought him to healing school in Miami, to Bethel Church in Redding California and to International House of Prayer in Kansas City.  At each location Mark had radical encounters with God and healing prayer.  He would bring all he could back to us here. There was a group of us who had been hungry for God, hungry to see God move, seeking to abandon a powerless brand of Christianity for a powerful one. Mark was paving the way for us and we began to contend for his healing with everything we had. We began to seek God’s face with more authenticity and fervor than ever before. Throughout the process we were all being changed.  We believed in hope and faith that Mark would be healed.

 

When the reports came that would discourage, Mark would ask the tough questions and then choose to believe God’s report over man’s. He would say, “My God doesn’t recognize my diagnosis. It is not about great faith, but faith in a great God!” When people thought he was crazy he went for it anyway. One day my husband said to him, “You know as we have been praying for more of God, I realize in the scriptures sometimes more of God meant some kooky stuff!” to which Mark responded, “Well then I choose to be kooky if that is what more of God looks like.”

 

Mark fought for a freedom in the Spirit and a passion in prayer that was bushwhacking down the overgrowth of years of powerless, cynical Christianity. He was a mighty warrior in God’s kingdom and the fruit of his labor has not been completely reaped yet.

 

Mark faced his disease with a courage and determination like I’ve never seen.  He fought until the last minute, not cowering in the darkness but beaming the light of hope through the valley of the shadow of death, saying, “Hope is joyful anticipation of something good!” I’m living with hope today. How about you?”

 

Mark lived a life of great service to others. Even as he was dying of cancer he was still serving the community and the church where he served as a pastor. His last breaths were those filled with hope for those around him.

 

Mark and everyone who was praying for him in faith really believed he would be healed. But he wasn’t.   There is no rhyme or reason. God did not cause Mark’s cancer. Cancer is always from hell.  Sometimes we pray and heaven comes to earth and God heals. Sometimes we pray and it doesn’t.  I don’t know why.  I have decided that if 100% of our prayers were answered then we would be in heaven. So not everyone gets healed while we are here on earth. But we keep praying, we keep praying for His will to be done and His Kingdom to come here on earth just as it is in Heaven. We do not cower at the threats of the evil one who seeks to devour us but we press on with courageous hope and pray for the sick to be healed.

 

Now here is where I might ruffle feathers but I like to do that sometimes.  I believe it was not God’s will for Mark to die. It was a battle we lost. If I believe it was God’s will for him to die when he did then I would have to believe that God gave him cancer and God most certainly did not give him cancer. There is no disease in God’s kingdom, disease is not from God. We have to make sure we understand this. We sometimes misunderstand God’s sovereignty and we forget what world we are living in. God did not take Mark from us. But he received Mark with loving arms.

 

Mark lived with courageous hope and I know his hope was not disappointed one bit.  Ours and especially the hope of his family were greatly disappointed.  But the scriptures promise us if we trust and hope in God then we will not be disappointed or put to shame.  So I believe that through all the disappointment God can turn it for our good and redeem it. I can see how Mark’s life and death has impacted me for God’s kingdom.

 

One of the many courageously hopeful things Mark said in his “Ramblings” he would send out was this:

“Making sense of today takes your faith off the hook, making sense of today gives God a way out.. Making sense today gives Satan the victory…Everyday Satan tries to remind me that my cancer is winning. Every day Satan tries to remind me that my God didn’t really mean what he said. Every day Satan declares that cross wasn’t sufficient for my cancer. But by faith I rebuke his lies and declare God’s truth. If today I give in and begin to make sense of my death, then he wins. If today I begin to bring closure, then I admit defeat. If today I accept those emails of those of you trying to make sense, then I stop having faith.

Therefore, please don’t send me an email trying to make sense of my life “if” I die of cancer. This may sound harsh but I refuse to hear it right now. Instead, I challenge you to stand with me and walk by faith. I challenge you to live in the supernatural with the promises of God in mind. I challenge you to pray Jesus’ prayer and expect his kingdom and his will in heaven to be done today. I challenge you to be a “fool” for Christ!”

 

If you knew Mark please leave a comment below that speaks of the courageous hope you saw in him.

If you want to read more about Mark click here for the website his daughter made in his memory.

 

9 Lessons from 9 years of marriage April 7, 2011

Filed under: Marriage,Relationships — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 11:06 am
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The kiss at our vow renewal.

Nine years ago today my husband and I got married. I would love to tell you it has all been complete bliss just like the movies and fairy tales but I would be lying. I know some people have an easier time at marriage. We were not those people. Marriage was very hard for us for a long time. I have so much hope for hurting marriages because of what God has brought our marriage out of.

 

The day we got married was a spectacular day.  Aside from the florist getting the flowers wrong and a few minor things, the wedding went off without a hitch, the weather was glorious and it was the best wedding I’ve ever been too J.  But bigger than all of that I can say that God showed up at our wedding. We truly felt something much bigger than ourselves was happening that day.

 

The day I got married I thought I had all the tools I needed for success. I was 24 years old when I got married and I had a college degree, I had studied marriage and family courses at THE Focus on the Family Institute of all places. I had studied under John Eldredge and been mentored under his counseling for a semester. I understood so much about how marriage was supposed to be, about the heart of a woman and the heart of a man. We were the “it” couple destined for great things.  We did things right and waited for marriage. And our wedding was a glorious picture of all of that.

 

We wrote our own vows and they were long and glorious and we meant every word. My great Uncle Bob commented at the reception…”Wow that was quite a lot you were vowing to!” We laughed thinking oh he just doesn’t get it, that’s the kind of marriage we want, (he must not have read Wild At Heart!).  Oh but Uncle Bob had been married for a crazy long time and he knew so much more than we did :-) .

 

About three months after that glorious day we began to fall flat on our face and it only spiraled downward from there.  It was not 100 percent awful, but there were many very dark days.  One of the craziest things about our marriage troubles was that hardly anyone knew anything about them. For years we told no one. Until it became too much to bear and God brought the right listeners.

 

I think no one knew but if I’m honest we were probably giving it away without telling anyone.  I was so hurt and angry over how things were turning out that I was a bitter and angry person and you could hear it in my voice, especially when I spoke to my husband. I shudder when I think about it now.

 

The word “divorce” may not have been in our vocabulary but it was in our thoughts. We felt so stuck. All we were hoping for was to just not be so miserable!

 

We had no idea what God had in store for us. We could not have known the transformation He would bring.  We had no idea how good it could be for us, yes even us!  I cannot even believe how good things are now in my marriage. If you had told me that things would be like this in my marriage back in those dark days, I never would have believed you. Never.

 

One year ago on our eighth wedding anniversary we renewed our vows. We decided to commit those same crazy long vows to each other all over again, but as the new people we had become. This time we knew what we were vowing to, and how hard it is and how beautiful. It was a beautiful redeeming moment. Eight is symbolic for new beginnings and that day was truly a new beginning for us. God has begun to restore all the years the locust had eaten in our marriage.

 

So that is why I have so much hope for marriages that feel hopeless. I plan to write more about this topic on this site to offer that hope to hurting marriages.

 

Yesterday I shared a key ingredient for marriage, with that foundation in mind I’d like to offer you 9 of the lessons I’ve learned over 9 years of marriage. Every one of these lessons was learned the hard way and is easier said than done. These are the lessons God used to bring our marriage out of the pits of despair and into a marriage full of life, love, hope, fun, joy and gratitude.

 

1. Lay down your PRIDE. It is for sure the biggest problem in your marriage. It is the source of so much strife and I would guarantee 90 percent of the issues in most marriages. Lay down YOUR pride. You are the only one who can lay down your Pride. No one can do it for you. When you lay it down, over and over and over… you will see miracles in your marriage. The longer you let your pride reign the more damage you will do to your marriage.

 

2. When the disappointments in marriage come always bring that disappointment to God before bringing it to your spouse. In doing so you allow God to be a filter of that disappointment, as he filters out all the lies you will be left with only truth and a pure heart to approach your spouse with.

 

3. Treat your spouse as if they already were the person you wish they were. That means respect them even when you don’t think they deserve it.  Show honor when they are not acting honorable.

 

4. Surrender to the process of marriage. The sooner the better. Marriage will require change on your part. When two people become one, they become something new, not the same as before. Through all the things that we change or give up as we navigate marriage we grow and deepen into who we are destined to be. Our spouses are the tool God uses to chisel away as he creates a beautiful masterpiece. The sooner we surrender to that process of marriage the sooner we reap the fruit.

 

5. Ask God for the gift of repentance that comes from Godly sorrow. Danny Silk says- “The gift of repentance creates the opportunity for true restoration. In fact, it is absolutely necessary in order to heal a relationship that has been hurt by sinful behavior. True repentance can only come through a relationship with God in which we come into contact with the grace of God to change.” A repentant heart takes the walls down and keeps the walls down.

 

6. Pray for your spouse. The Power of a Praying Wife was the hardest book I ever read and applied in my life. I read it and prayed it when I really did not like my husband and it was so hard. But it changed me and my husband. The most important thing here is always talking to God about your marriage. Sometimes God will lead you to speak up about something, most times he will lead you to shut up. But as long as Holy Spirit is leading and you are following, your marriage will be headed in a good direction.

 

7. The devil hates marriage and he will lie to you about your spouse and your marriage. There is a really good chance you are believing lies about your marriage. STOP! Ask God to show you the lies, break the agreements you have made with those lies and replace them with a truth about your spouse or marriage. When you hear the lie, speak the truth over and over.

 

8. You have the power to bring out the person you want to see in your spouse, to bring out their greatness. You also have the ability to squelch them and destroy them and prevent yourself from enjoying who they could be and who you want them to be. It is all in your words.  Use your words to call forth the greatness out of your spouse.

 

9. Seek help from trusted friends or counselors. Don’t keep your problems a secret. But if the person you are talking to only comforts you and makes you feel justified, and doesn’t point you to Jesus, you need to talk to a different person. (But don’t blab your problems to everyone either.)

 

In closing I would say stay together! What you overcome together will bind you together beyond all you could ever imagine and make you stronger and happier than you think. (And there is a really good chance that half the problems in your marriage are yours. So you will bring those same problems with you to the next relationship). Staying together is so worth it.

 

Our marriage is stronger than ever but it is not perfect. We are walking together toward further healing, further growth and enjoying the fruit along the way.

 

If your marriage is challenging or hurting, do not give up hope!!

If your marriage is alive and well and full of love and joy spread that around to other marriages around you!

 

Essential Marriage Ingredient April 6, 2011

Filed under: Marriage,Relationships — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 9:43 pm
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Marriage is on my mind. Tomorrow my husband and I will celebrate 9 years of marriage. Tomorrow another couple I know will get married. Later this month I will be officiating a wedding for yet another couple.  Love is in the air!

Which has got me thinking….

There is an essential ingredient in marriage, crucial even. This ingredient is still working itself all the way through all the dough of my own marriage.

It is the ingredient of receiving God’s love.  Now perhaps that seems obvious but I think so often we “know” God loves us but we have not fully received His love.

What would all of our marriages be like if we truly and deeply received God’s love for us?

The Love of Jesus would work itself deep down inside of us until it becomes more than enough.  We would be so filled and made complete by the love Father God has for us that a spouse’s love for us would just be icing on the cake.

We would not be defined by our spouse’s love for us but by Christ’s infinite love for us.

The perfect love of God would spill out of us onto our spouse.

God’s love would overwhelm us so much that all insecurity would be squeezed right out.

If we could receive God’s love than we would be able to receive the love of our spouse.

We would walk confidently, freely, without guilt or shame as one loved by God and man.

We would not be so desperate for our spouse to secure our insecurities.

The fear that drives us to control would lose its grip in the freedom and grace found in His love.

Because God’s love is perfect and perfect love drives out fear. His love comes to invade our hearts and drive out all the fear. Fear of rejection, fear of disappointment, fear of regret, fear of shame, fear of heartbreak, fear of not being enough, fear of being too much, fear of fear itself, all of it is banished in the presence of His love.

He offers that love to us.  Will we receive it?

The love we have for our spouses is so imperfect and finite. But when we allow God to love them through us it is perfect love.  We can’t love well without God’s love in us.

Receiving God’s love is the key ingredient for all marriages.

(Stay tuned! Tomorrow I will share 9 lessons I’ve learned in 9 years of marriage!)

 

counting the gifts April 5, 2011

Filed under: Gratitude,musings,Parenting — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 4:01 pm
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So I sort of fell of the blogging wagon lately. My life has been so full (of good things) that I haven’t taken the time to write in my gratitude journal or to blog as often as I was.  But it hasn’t stopped me from noticing the gifts.  The last couple days especially I have just wanted to squeeze my kids because I just can’t get enough of them. They are the cutest things ever and so very precious to me. They are growing so fast. I’ve really enjoyed  doing things with them lately. You will know how cute they are because one of these days I will conquer my photo challenges and start adding more photos to this blog…  but I can sometimes be an analog girl in a digital world so bear with me :-)

I really love keeping track of the gifts and blogging with others at A Holy Experience, it keeps me doing that regularly so I don’t want to stop doing it.  So even if I’m off a day and I skpped a week, here it is anyway:  If you are wondering what I’m talking about, it all started here, and here, and here if you want to read about it.

Here are 87 to 100 on my way to 1000:

  • Watching my children discover things in nature
  • Squeezing my children.
  • Family walks
  • Counting turtles
  • Running into friends at the park.
  • Thunderstorms
  • A friend I could literally talk with for 8 hours and neither of us would run out of things to say!
  • That God reveals himself more and more each day.
  • The way my children dance in worship through the house.
  • That my daughter said “all miracles are true from God”
  • Sharing meals, love and laughter with friends.
  • Tax returns!!!
  • Community events for my kids.
  • Wildflower Honey
  • Endless possibilities…..

 

powerless prayer April 4, 2011

Filed under: Hope,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 11:12 pm
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A little over 3 years ago I began a prayer journey. Weary of praying wimpy, powerless prayers, I decided to start praying as if I actually believed what I was praying and furthermore, to pray for things that were big. Miracles really. The kinds of things that only God could do and then to actually believe He would do them.  Either I believe the Bible or I don’t, and if I do, then I need to start praying like I do.

 

Really God was wooing me, because of his great love for me, drawing me out of a powerless faith one prayer at a time.

 

During that time I heard it argued that one should not pray and believe for things that seem impossible because then we might get our hopes up.  And oh what a shame it would be if we got our hopes up?! Isn’t hope the point? It is our hope (eager expectation for a future good) that fuels powerful prayers that become prayers of faith (sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see).  God responds to faith.

 

Along this journey I came to see something that brought light to how to pray powerful prayers.

 

When Jesus tells us how to pray He says to pray:

“…Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

This implies some things that I think many Christians often overlook.

  1. God’s will is not always being done on earth.
  2. We have a role to play in Gods will and kingdom coming from Heaven to earth.

 

In other words, our prayers can move heaven to earth. Our prayers for God’s will to be done can cause His will to be done.

 

God’s will is always being done in heaven. However, everything that happens in this life on earth is not God’s will. We can partner with God to see His Kingdom come and His will be done. Which is what Jesus asked us to do when He told us how to pray. I once heard John Eldredge say something to the effect that Jesus did not say, “pray that the sun will rise”, or “pray that I will always love you”, because those things are a given. Obviously if we have been told by Jesus pray for God’s will to be done and pray for His kingdom to come then those are not givens, those require our prayers.

 

I don’t want to limit God with weak, powerless prayers and living. I want to see Heaven come to earth through our prayers that are full of hope, faith and power.

 

I dare you, stop praying wimpy prayers and start praying powerful prayers.

 

Because there is hope!

 

Pray for the impossible!

 

I know a man who just got healed of lung & pancreatic cancer, the kind that is terminal and he is alive and well and cancer free!!!

 

I know of marriages on the brink of divorce that have been restored!

 

I’ve seen friends in pits of depression and addiction be set free and get their lives back!

 

There is hope for whatever situation surrounds you and those you love.

 

Forsaking wimpy, complaining, begging prayers for powerful, full of faith, hope and confidence in God’s goodness prayers will change you from the inside out. It will also change the world around you and beyond as you see heaven come to earth in response to your prayers.

 

Ok, so you might be asking yourself what are powerful prayers, what does that look and sound like?

 

Powerful prayers are not yelling, running around spitting at something until it lines up with some weird idea you have. Powerful prayers are not long whining sessions where we list our complaints to God. They don’t come from knowing some formula or specific words, but from knowing who we are.

 

We pray powerful prayers when we know who we are in Christ and we understand the authority He has given us. It is when we posture ourselves as a child of the King and when we begin to walk as royalty we pray as royalty.

 

Powerful prayers are praying for things that we know line up with God’s will and the kingdom of heaven and then declaring them to be so and believing they will be.  (This requires a deeper understanding of what God’s will is which would be another post, but I can tell you without question a few things; that it is always God’s will to heal the sick, restore relationships, and provide for His children).

 

It’s just so often we have good hearts and good intentions but we pray wimpy prayers. But you know what is amazing? God in his amazing grace still hears all the prayers whether they are powerful or not. Sometimes whining is all we’ve got and God hears that. Because He loves his children and so He will listen, but there is a shift in the atmosphere when we pray with the authority Jesus gave us.

 

So like I said, I dare you to pray powerful prayers and see how it changes you and the world around you!

 

 

 
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