Courageous Hope

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

Where do we even begin to change a culture of exploitation? March 21, 2013

Filed under: Commercial Sexual Exploitation,Hope,Human Trafficking,musings,Sex Trafficking,Supernatural Living,Women's Issues — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 3:52 pm
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The news and the world-wide web are ringing loud the alarm of the tragedy at Steubenville.  Where boys, just young boys…saw a vulnerable young girl…and used her body for their pleasure and entertainment while she was unaware. They callously photographed her and blasted their exploits on the internet shamelessly. Eye witnesses treated the incident with a casualty that borders cruelty.   The blogosphere is running wild with brilliant words and brutal words about this story.  But what I’m struck with is how at the core of this Steubenville rape story is the same mindset that is enslaving 27 million people around the world.

No matter which way you look at it, “Trafficking is an exploitation of vulnerability” she said.

I’ve meditated on those words since I first heard them in the Nefarious documentary.

There are many who believe that those involved in commercial sexual exploitation are there by choice.  No matter what way you look at it, sex for sale, sex trafficking, strip clubs, escorts, prostitutes and  pornography, it’s all an exploitation of vulnerability. No matter what way you look at what happened in Steubenville…it’s an exploitation of vulnerability.

Two young men have been sentenced to juvenile detention for their exploitation of that young girl and a wake up call has rattled a community and a nation. Yet this month in the state I live in it is estimated that 7,200 men will purchase commercial sex. And nearly all of them go un-sentenced. If they are arrested at all, the slap on the wrist they receive is not painful enough to stop them. They will use the body of a woman, who is likely a slave to her pimp whose controlling and abusive ways have exploited her vulnerability,  to service their lust. And just like all the teenagers at that party in Steubenville…we know it’s going on, we look the other way and we don’t stop it. We casually accept this as a part of life, part of our society that will never go away.

People want to place blame in every direction. But I say we all take ownership.

All of us. All humans.

Because somehow we have created a world where boys can rape unconscious girls. And men can order up women, as they would order take out, to be delivered to their room and service their sexual needs.

How did we get here?  How did we become so callous  that it is common for the vulnerable in our world to be exploited in so many different ways?

How can one human decide another human’s value is less than their own to the point of exploiting the other’s weakness to their own advantage?  

So what are we going to do? What are you going to do?  Enough is enough already people! We have to do something.

Where do we even start?

How do we shift from a culture of exploitation to a culture of edification?

How do we shift from a culture of hate to a culture of love?

I am going to start….with my children.

I will teach my daughter:

Her beauty and her strength.  The gift that her vulnerable heart really is to the world. How incredibly valuable she is and how incredibly valuable each person is.

I will teach my son:

How to respect himself. How to respect and honor girls and never to objectify them. How to use his strength to fight for good.

I will teach my children:

That they are loved. To honor all life and all people. How to stand up and speak up when someone is being taken advantage of. To speak for those who have no voice. That we encourage those who are weak and never exploit them. To take responsibility for their actions. To take responsibility for the atmosphere they create everywhere they go. That all that is necessary for evil to continue is for good men and women to do nothing. That it is their calling in life to be a funnel of God’s love.  The only way to love people well is to love God first and let all that amazing love overflow out of you and onto everyone around you. That everything is about loving God and loving people.

The only way I will teach that to my children is by living it out in front of them everyday.

So I guess really….I’m starting with me.

That is a place to start.

 

Superbowl, Sex Trafficking, & Stopping For The One February 23, 2013

Filed under: Life,Supernatural Living,Women's Issues — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 9:59 pm
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IMG_0718 IMG_0671 End It MovementWhile for most Americans The Superbowl is a fun tradition, it is also commonly known as one of the biggest days of the year for commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). I had the incredible opportunity to join with some of the key leaders in the Atlanta area that are rescuing and rehabilitating victims of CSE and sex trafficking on a mission trip to New Orleans on Superbowl weekend. Our Atlanta group joined forces with organizations currently serving New Orleans for raising awareness and doing outreach. Even though the opportunity came to me at the last-minute I knew I was supposed to go. I think what initially drew me, aside from my growing passion for this issue, was just knowing that we were going to walk right straight into the darkest places and bring light. We were going to go into places saturated with perverted sex and instead we would saturate it with purest Love. We were going to enter places most religious people think you should stay away from. I love the quote from Mick Mooney, “A heart full of love reaches into places that a head full of doctrines never will.” That is what we did in New Orleans. We loved loved loved. It was really fun walking in the thick of it and releasing the Kingdom of Heaven!

The first amazing thing that happened was that through the amazing generosity of people in my life I was able to go on this trip last-minute and all my expenses were paid including childcare for my children so that I could be away. I am humbled and grateful for that opportunity. Thank you to those that supported me financially and through prayer on this trip!

With it’s bright colors, inspiring architecture and beckoning balconies the French Quarter of New Orleans has this Southern charm and historical appeal that draws you in. Music, often jazz, fills the air, artists paint and create on the streets, smells of chicory, jambalaya and beignets mingle together and I take it all in and I just love this place! There was a celebratory spirit and excitement in the air as so many fans were there just to celebrate their team making it to the big game. And then as you enter the areas where the bars and strip clubs gather, there right in the daylight or the nightlight, you find women and girls standing in doorways or windows wearing just strings of clothing leaving nothing to the imagination. Offered on display for examination they were just another product for consumption on Bourbon Street. These women were for sale. It’s disturbing to think about how in this very same city, many years ago, African slaves stood upon the docks for would-be-purchasers to examine the product. But this particular violation of human rights we see now does not discriminate by color. Perhaps not all these women have been trafficked, perhaps they are not all under the captivity of a pimp, but if sex is for sale and the objectification of the female body is rampant…you can be sure there is trafficking nearby.

“Sexual exploitation makes up 79% of identified forms of human trafficking, including prostitution, forced stripping, massage services, and pornography.” (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, 2009)

The moon rose and the night grew darker and the crowd grew suffocatingly thick and intoxicated. The tasty smells were overtaken by the stench of alcohol, urine and trash. I simultaneously felt joy in my heart for the love I was there to release and the groaning cries within my spirit of the Father’s heart break for these His children. My heart was gripped with love, with compassion and with a holy discontent with how easily our culture accepts this violation of humanity and settles for such a cheap imitation of pleasure and love.

So much of what we were there to do felt almost like “secret agent” work in a way…keeping our eyes and ears open for signs of trafficking and people who might need our help. Blending in with the crowd but with a secret mission :-) . The secret agents whom we joined to fight this battle with were so phenomenal and restore my hope in so many ways. Each person on this team came from a different background and a variety of organizations but all there with one cause: To end sex trafficking and exploitation and to love people. It was an honor to be with them all and I was so moved by their huge and radical hearts. Together we faced some challenges and had to be flexible but everyone there was so amazing!

The first morning in worship before we went out I had a vision. I saw Jesus with his heart/chest ripped open
before me and I felt like he was inviting me into his heart and he was giving me his heart. Then he proceeded to cover and smear me with this gooey liquid stuff. The substance was like honey, thick and sticky. I felt like it represented His love and His heart for His people. Then I saw myself walking down the streets of New Orleans and everywhere I went I left some of this sticky substance, every person I touched I left a little bit of this sticky stuff on them. So from the beginning of the trip I felt as though my mission was to just let that sticky love of Jesus get everywhere. Love is my mission. I was reminded of Mother Teresa’s quote about how we can’t always do great things, but we can do small things with great love. This issue of sex trafficking feels so large and overwhelming and with all that was happening in New Orleans it seemed too large to take on. But we can do small things with great love and it will still have an impact. I had just finished reading Heidi Baker’s book Always Enough right before this trip and I was constantly reminded of her philosophy of “stop for the one” in front of you in that moment. So that was my mandate for the weekend: Wherever I found myself I would stop for the one in my path and release as much sticky love as possible! And that is exactly what I did! I know that each person I encountered also encountered the Father’s love.

The main activities of our trip included Awareness, Outreach, Strip Club Outreach and Call Center Outreach.

Awareness-
While there were various organizations there, for this event we all partnered with the End It Movement in our awareness efforts. During the day we walked around and handed out flyers and talked to as many people as we could to make them more aware of the issue of human sex trafficking. We shared cards with signs that someone is being trafficked and hotlines for people to call etc. A few neat things that happened regarding this was that we were able to meet Anna Faris, (a famous comedic actress) and we told her what we were doing she was so excited and interested and she took some of the End It materials we had. Someone from our group also had the chance to make an announcement at an outdoor show and we were able to hand out flyers there as well. Each time we went out and did awareness we were also doing prayer walks and I stopped and prayed for several people each day. As I think about it now I can see how much my boldness had grown over this last year, I had almost zero hesitation as I approached anyone I felt I should pray for or talk to. Each person was impacted by the prayers we prayed and they felt God’s love. One morning we did a specific prayer walk with multiple organizations in the city. I couldn’t help but smile as we walked and prayed, knowing how powerful our prayers were!

One neat story that happened one day was that Hollye and I were able to pray with a blind man to receive his sight. He was not completely healed but he said he did see more light, but that he saw more with the eyes of his heart now than he did before. He was so moved that we would stop and pray for him. He knew God and actually sat us down and preached to us some pretty amazing stuff! It was a really sweet encounter with this man as we just released love over him.

Outreach
At night we would walk the intensely crowded streets of the French Quarter. As I mentioned we would “stop for the one” so there were several instances of praying with people. I had a few neat encounters with women where I was able to pray with them and prophecy to them good things over their life. One woman I met kept hugging me and crying and saying that her meeting me was not a coincidence…I of course agreed with her! I said, “Oh no it’s not a coincidence! God wanted to love on you tonight!” I was also able to talk with and pray for a dancer who was on her break outside a club and that was also another divine appointment. I know I probably won’t know the impact these moments had but I know that these women were deeply moved and felt loved and accepted.

I heard that another group during the weekend encountered a woman who was being trafficked and wanted to go back home. The group immediately got her a bus ticket home! I wasn’t involved with that so I don’t know all the details but I think that is pretty awesome!!!!

Strip Club Outreach
One of the people involved with our trip was Kacey a woman who is a former stripper and now runs a ministry called 4 Sara that seeks to help women get out of the lifestyle. Through her organization we went into several strip clubs and talked to some of the women there and just loved on them. We were able to give them gift bags of goodies and also hand out her cards to girls in case they ever want to reach out and get out of the lifestyle. One neat testimony from that is that one of the girls on our trip met a girl in the club that is actually from Atlanta and just goes to New Orleans on the weekends for work. So she was able to make a connection with her for the future and we are praying that friendship deepens.

Call Center Outreach
Our group did an outreach where we would call ads listing sex for sale and then just try to get an opportunity to talk with the girl and see if she has any interest in trying to get out of that lifestyle or if she is doing ok etc.. There were a wide variety of responses to this, some of course hung up etc.. However there were several who made solid connections and a few said that yes they wanted out and we were able to connect them with 4 Sara for the next step in that process!

Something very neat that we did one night was that we did a prayer drive through the 9th Ward. (The 9th Ward was hardest hit by Katrina and is one of the poorest areas, there is known to be some trafficking there as well, but it is just a very dark and oppressed area). We split up into a few different cars and drove around and just prayed for the area, we went down the same streets over and over just praying and interceeding over the neighborhood and the people in it declaring God’s goodness and love and that heaven would come to the 9th Ward. As we were driving around I was just so struck by the beauty of what was going on and the great pleasure that the Father had with what was happening. What was so beautiful about this to me was the fact that no one knew we were doing it, there was no way to measure what we were doing, no credit given, no way to know if our prayers were answered or how effective it was. It was a group of people just pouring themselves out for the un-seen Kingdom. I really was very moved to be a part of something so special.

Something I wanted to do on this trip was to get a chance to pay for some time with a girl and just take her out to eat and minister love to her. I did not get a chance to do that for a variety of reasons but it’s ok.

We walked and walked and walked day and late into the night and I know with each step we left a lot of sticky love, hope and light on people and on the streets of New Orleans. I could honestly write more on this trip nad on this topic and I know I will. Stay tuned.

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.” ― William Wilberforce

If you are moved to learn more or do more or pray more regarding the issue of sex trafficking, I encourage you to start by watching the film Nefarious: Merchant of Souls http://nefariousdocumentary.com/

“If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.” —William Wilberforce

 

What The World Needs Now December 16, 2012

Filed under: Hope,Life,Parenting,Spirituality,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 10:56 pm
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Many people have been asking “why?” in regards to the tragic events that took the lives of innocent young children and some of their teachers in Connecticut.

 

Why?

 

I think one reason is that hurt people hurt people.

 

When I used to hear news like this I was all the more motivated to find the quickest way to the mountains and my dream hippy commune where we eat from the garden every day and enjoy group hugs around the campfire each night. I still do think that could be swell…

 

But that is not my response this time….

 

I am a parent. My daughter is the same age…6… of most of those 20 children brutally murdered. I am deeply saddened for these parents and their tremendous loss.

 

But my response is not to cower in fear and grab my children and huddle them up in my dream hippie commune away from all danger, anger, and fear.

 

My response is that I am more motivated to love the living evil right out of this earth.

 

I cannot fathom sitting around my blissful campfire growing more obese as a glutton of the goodness, the hope, the glory, freedom and LOVE I feed off of as a child of the King.  No I cannot keep all that to myself.  Rather I must share that with the hungry, starving world.

 

I serve as a volunteer in one of the roughest areas of Atlanta as we seek to end sex trafficking in one specific neighborhood. On that outreach recently some of my co-volunteers encountered  a man they were able to share God’s love with. For quite some time they spoke destiny and life to him, at one point he reached in and pulled out a gun. Then he emptied the bullets and placed them in the hand of my friend and said, “Here…I was planning to go and shoot everyone in my work tonight because I was just so angry. But now…I can’t do that anymore.”  Lives that would have been lost in a senseless tragedy were saved just by some strangers showing love and life to an angry, confused young man.  5 bullets were given to my friend that night. 5 bullets that would have been used to end lives are now a testimony of the power of Love.

 

Oh how my heart breaks that there was not someone to stop this Sandy Hook shooter in the same way. I know God’s heart breaks over that too. But can you imagine how many tragedies could be prevented just by simply going into the ugly places and bringing beauty? Going into the darkness and bringing light? Going into the hate and bringing love? Reaching out to the loners and loving them?  Love is the answer. I am the answer. You are the answer.  What if we lived like it?

 

People often say “where is God?” in times like this. Well, I say He is inside of me, He is inside of you and so is His Love.

 

So where are we?

 

What are we going to do about it?

 

God grieves with these families. He did not take these beautiful lives. But I know He welcomed them with open arms.

 

I know the issue is complicated. I know we need to care for the mentally ill and we need to have more security etc…But I think maybe I am naive enough to believe that the answer could be as simple as LOVE.

 

Love that suffocates murder and breathes life. Love that drowns despair and births hope. Love that comforts those who mourn. Love that binds the broken-hearted.  Broken people break others. Hurt people hurt others.  But people who are consumed by Love…well they love others.  Not just around the campfire at their safe community. But they love the dirty, the broken, the hurting, the weird, and the angry. Those consumed by Love…love. Love is the agenda of Heaven to heal the broken-hearted and to set captives free, to bring joy to those who mourn.

 

Love is the answer now more than ever.

 

The heart is where home is October 2, 2012

Filed under: Hope,Life,Marriage,Parenting,Supernatural Living,Uncategorized — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 3:48 pm

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One year ago yesterday we handed over the keys of the home we had lived in for eight years to its new tenants. It was the first and only house we ever purchased!  It was the house I lived in longer than any house in my entire life. I remember that day one year ago, as I finished the last bit of cleaning and the new tenants walked around the house, all the thoughts that flooded my mind….

I wondered if they knew all that this place was?

Did they know this was the beat up tiny little house we bought and loved on and built on and renovated on to create the larger, nicer, newer and more beautiful home it is today?

Did they know that it was in this house that our own character was loved on, built on and renovated on to make us greater and more beautiful than who we were when we moved in?

I remember that day one year ago I walked around the house wondering if they would know and appreciate that:

This house has seen battles that have ended in defeat and in victory.

This was the dining room that saw many feasts with family and friends.

It was in this living room that friends gathered in prayer and communion.

These walls held the moments where deep friendships and community was forged.

I wondered if they would know that it was in this house that our marriage fell apart….

and God put it back together again.

In this house our children were made, birthed and nurtured.

This is the hallway I paced through the night with a colicky baby.

These are the floors that held up my childrens’ first steps.

This was the corner my babies were rocked and rocked and rocked and rocked.

Inside this place dreams were dreamed and realized.

Things were both broken and restored here.

It was in this house that we learned to hope courageously and this house was the launching pad of faith taking flight.

Exactly one year ago yesterday we packed everything we owned into a moving truck and headed north, into the complete unknown. The unknown has proved both challenging and delightfully surprising. It has been a year of transition. It has been a year of seeing God’s faithfulness over and over. We spent 7 months in a temporary home and 3 months being “homeless” and living with various friends. Finally these last two months we have been in a long term house of our own.

What I have come to know more deeply in my heart is the truth that a house is not a home. That I am a home and my family is a home. That we are a home for love. For God’s love and for the love we share as a family. We are a home to the memories and life that is created within and around us. That a home is not necessarily a place to rest, but that I am a place for peace to rest, for joy to rest, for God to rest within me.

What I have realized over the last year without that house…is that I am that house. That each line on my face or scar on my skin is a testimony of the faithfulness of God. That I am the beauty that came from the ashes. That I have the authority over each valley and each mountain of my life. That I am a home to all these memories, these failures, these successes and victories.  That I am a home for love.  That I do not live in a house, I live in Christ and Christ lives in me. That my home is the presence of God and the presence of God finds a home in me.

They say home is where the heart is…but maybe our heart is where home is….

 

Hope Soars November 12, 2011

Filed under: Hope,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 3:51 pm

I have found the beauty that lies in losing all hope.
Losing all hope in things.
Losing all hope in people.
Losing all hope in plans.
And instead putting all hope in One place.

When we put all of our hope eggs in God’s basket He covers them with His wings.
Hidden under the shadow of His protection our hope develops, matures, deepens.
Then in the exact right time our hope breaks through the barrier.
Resting in the nourishment of One source.
Our hope stands on the edge of the nest.
Spreads its wings.
Dares to jump…
And the winds of His Spirit move our weak wings right into flight.
Soaring our hope to heights of heaven reigning on earth.

Hope hatched under the wings of the most high finds no limits.
Finds no disappointment.
Finds no shame.
Finds no regret.

Hope that is courageous enough to only hope in the One who is Hope finds the overwhelming beauty of a life beyond imagination. A life that goes beyond our own strength, our own wallet, our own limitation. A life that soars!

Put all your hope in God alone and watch it soar!

Hebrews 6:18
We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us.

Psalm 62:5
God, the one and only— I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.

Psalm 131:3
Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!

Psalm 146:3
Don’t put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life. Mere humans don’t have what it takes; when they die, their projects die with them. Instead, get help from the God of Jacob, put your hope in God and know real blessing! God made sky and soil, sea and all the fish in it. He always does what he says— he defends the wronged, he feeds the hungry. God frees prisoners— he gives sight to the blind, he lifts up the fallen. God loves good people, protects strangers, takes the side of orphans and widows, but makes short work of the wicked.

Romans 5:5
5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

 

Take Me October 18, 2011

Filed under: Gratitude,Hope,Poetry,Spirituality,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 11:49 pm
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When I can’t get there on my own

Take me to the hidden place, deep within You.

Where Your wing of love guards me, keeps me.

Take me to the place where Your power infuses my strength drained out and becomes Your never fatiguing, always outstretched, strong arm of love.

Take me to the place where my lack disappears in the face of Your abundance.

Take me to the place where You alone satisfy me so that the things of this earth release their strangling hold

Because You hold me.

In this world of dust and sweat,

Take me to the place of beauty and rest, where the price you paid covers all.

Give me Your eyes to see, Your heart to beat.

When blindness drowns my hope

Take me to the all-seeing place where You are my hope.

Because you are hope.

Take me to the place of fullness and completeness that swallows up all my brokenness.

Take me to the place where I am so saturated in You, soaked right through and spinning through this place releasing Your scent of life in a world that smells of death.

The grace you pour out like a drink quenches my unquenchable thirst.

Just take me.

Take all of me.

I choose You.

I will lose it all and

Gain everything

Because everything is found in You.

There is no loss when it is lost for You.

Take me.

 

 

What if? September 20, 2011

Filed under: Hope,Life,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 10:27 am
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What If?

 

What if we stopped living our lives in safe little boxes?

 

What if we stopped putting our hope in nest eggs?

and 401k’s

and stable jobs

and good real estate

and contingency plans

and people?

 

What if we stopped putting our God in safe little boxes?

 

What if we stopped living a life that was natural and replaced it with a supernatural life?

 

What if we stopped living with expectations that are within our own limitations and instead lived with expectations without limit?

 

What if we got to the edge of the cliff… and we jumped off…

not into a safety net,

just into God’s big capable hands?

 

What if we stopped doing “church” in a way that works whether there is a God or not?

 

What if we stopped living our life in such a way that works whether there is a God or not?

 

What if we stopped worshipping a God that looks like us,

that we can understand and figure out

and instead started worshipping a God that is full of mystery and power and incomprehensible love?

 

What if we started walking with God instead of asking Him to walk with us?

 

What if we were completely surrendered and totally abandoned to Jesus’ work and call in our life? With no regard to the cost?

 

What if the things of this earth really did grow dim…in the light of His Glory and Grace?

 

What if?

 

Wisdom? August 28, 2011

Filed under: musings,Spirituality,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 6:39 pm
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A week or so ago I saw this quote on Bill Johnson’s facebook status and I have been marinating in it ever since:

 

“Fear often looks like wisdom to those in unbelief”

 

So often we think we are operating in wisdom when perhaps it is merely fear that drives us.  We fear because we don’t believe. We don’t believe God.

 

I think of decisions regarding finances that can often be motivated by the fear that God won’t provide or come through. We depend so highly on our own work and our own plan and our own “wisdom” because we don’t believe He will be enough.

 

I think of decisions I make in parenting and begin to see often what I am calling wisdom is really just fear. Fear that God is not good. I believe it is in my hands. I do not believe it is in His hands.

 

Sometimes the “wisdom” that others offer us could be them imposing their own fears upon us. Maybe stepping out in faith scares them and they want us to be just as “wise” (or fearful) as they are.

 

I’m not implying we be foolish with such things and chalk it up to “faith”. (So don’t go max out your credit card because you believe God will pay it off! :-) )But that perhaps we allow God to search the motives of our heart. Allow His wisdom to guide us. We may be surprised at what his wisdom tells us to do. Often it will look quite different than our own.

 

So how do we know if our wisdom is fear?

 

As I have been dwelling on this I see that there is no fear in love.

 

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear

1 John 4:18

 

If I am operating in love I cannot be operating in fear. So wisdom from love is truly wise.

 

To operate in love-wisdom requires oneness with the One who is love itself. The more we are united with the Spirit of God the more we become love and operate out of that love. The more we understand His love for us, the more we believe. Believe His goodness, His provision. We trust.

 

There have been times I have been told I am a wise woman. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I have sometimes thought I was. But as I have been thinking on this lately I wonder if sometimes what I really have been is fearful?

 

If we are afraid it is because we have not fully experienced his perfect, complete love. Because that perfect love drives the fear away.

 

Oh how I long to experience more fully and completely that love. I do not want to be driven by fear. I want to be consumed by love, driven by love and operate in a wisdom that is birthed of pure love.

 

Just some stuff I’ve been thinking on lately….

 

I love reading different translations…here are some words to ponder…

 

1 John 4:17-19

The Message (MSG)

To Love, to Be Loved

 

 17-18God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

 19We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

 

 

1 John 4:18-19

Amplified Bible (AMP)

18There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love [a]turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear [b]brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection].

 

    19We love Him, because He first loved us.

 

Somewhere in between August 20, 2011

Filed under: Hope,Life,Supernatural Living — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 9:12 am
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I am in transition.

 

We are getting ready to move our little family of four out of state. Many unknowns still lie ahead as we step out in faith. We are confident, excited and full of hope. But there are occasional moments when all the unknowns, the tense pressures and the shifting of my life begin to bear down intense weight on my mind and I feel my head spin out of control and everything seems crazy….

 

I am not here.

 

But I am not there.

 

I am somewhere in between.

 

It’s a familiar feeling…when have I felt this before?

 

When have I felt as if I was splitting in two from the pressure and I could not even see straight and everything was blurry?

 

Oh I remember now…..when I was in…transition………….during…..childbirth!

 

When the baby was not quite in my womb

 

And not out into my arms

 

But somewhere in between.

 

God led us to choose natural, midwife assisted home births for the births of our children and so having experienced natural birth I can attest that transition in childbirth is the hardest part. In my Bradley (“Husband Coached”) Childbirth method class workbook it describes transition by saying things like –

 

Sensations change greatly often causing panic, disbelief, and fear. You may feel the baby shifting into alignment, a lot of pressure…may feel frantic, confused, self-doubt, unsure, scared, nervous, may give up, may yell.

 

So the women you see in the movies, screaming like wild banshees and going totally berserk? That is not labor, that is TRANSITION, which is the mountain peak of pain and intensity of the labor. Transition is the short, but head-spinning, body-splitting time right before the baby comes. Once you feel that crazy, once you feel like you just can’t do it…it’s almost over, your baby will soon be in your arms!

 

I believe that God teaches us spiritual things through the natural things, the natural reflects the supernatural.  As I navigate through this life transition I recall all that I learned through the physical experience of transition.

 

What we know for sure…transition is HARD!!

 

With my first child’s birth I remember when I was in transition, I began to doubt. Doubt my ability, doubt that everything would turn out ok. I thought to myself, “if this is not transition then I sure don’t want to experience what is” (thankfully it was).  In the birth of my second child I felt so completely out of control. I wanted it over! My son was barreling through transition, shifting my body at an intense rate and I could not even see straight. Then my husband whispered in my ear “just focus on the midwife”. She was right in front of me and I opened my eyes and I just fixed my eyes on hers and everything around her began to swirl into a blur and all I could see were her eyes. I just listened to what she and my husband said.

 

I love the idea of “husband-coached childbirth” as it applies to this analogy of comparing it to our life transitions. If Jesus is our “husband” we focus on his voice, on his direction. We look him in the eyes; keep our focus on him and all the rest grows strangely dim. We must set our face like flint on Jesus’ face to stabilize when everything feels out of control.

 

If we are to embrace transition and allow the shifting necessary to make room for the new life coming, we must rest. As a woman relaxes during labor her body can do the work. We can enter into God’s rest and peace in the midst of the pain and tension of transition as we surrender to the process. This is the hardest thing for me, I want to hurry my way through a transition to get to the other side, but rest makes me feel I am slowing it down, when in fact it is doing the opposite. Rest allows Holy Spirit to breathe his work into us as we are transitioning.

 

One of the best things for a woman in labor during transition is to have very little to no distractions; women often have need for quiet and deep concentration. Distraction can often cause more pain and prolong the transition process.  How much so can we apply this to our lives, to get rid of distractions during these times we are transitioning? Getting rid of distractions enables us to focus on the one thing that will get us through this transition…His face.

 

When a mother is in transition she doubts herself and her ability. She needs people around her to remind her of who she is, that she can do this, that she will do this. People who remind her of her identity, her strengths, remind her of the truth and promises of God.   Something I say to every mom who doubts is “You can do this! You were made for this!” During transitions we must surround ourselves with the truth and people of truth. People who speak our identity and call us into our destiny.

 

Another thing we can learn is that there is hope! The pain of transition is not in vain, but rather the expectation of the child to come, despite the pain, childbirth is full of hope. Transition is not for nothing! The other side of transition in labor is a beautiful baby! Childbirth is a beautiful, hopeful, life changing moment.  Likewise the other side of our life transitions will bring us new life, so there is hope now in the midst of this transition. Transition is beautiful.

 

Our current transition started over a year ago. We began to sense it coming, we felt the shift within our life group, we thought it was our families, or our group. And things did shift within those families and within that group. But then my husband and I began to travel and see that transition was everywhere. Transition is happening to so very many all over. Transition is happening in the body of Christ. This is so much bigger than all the individual transitions that are going on. Holy Spirit is moving and shifting people and places… as one body we are shifting, we are in transition…and what are we in transition to? On some level the people of God are in a lifestyle of transition, always transforming, as scripture says, from glory to glory. We live in the now and the not yet. We are not really on earth, nor are we in heaven…we are somewhere in between…we are on a ladder bringing heaven to earth. But beyond that, Holy Spirit is shifting people to new places and new roles and new levels to make ready His body for the move He will do. I believe ultimately what is going to be birthed out of this transition is the pure, spotless and beautiful bride of Christ.  As Romans 8 declares that all creation is groaning in eager expectation as in childbirth for the children of God to be revealed, for the bride to be unveiled. If all of creation has been groaning all of this time in labor, then perhaps now is the transition of that labor. (I also wrote a little about this in my Hope Groans post.)

 

In the beautiful place that is somewhere in between,
Surrendering to the process we find ourselves in,
Entering into the rest of God,
Eyes fixed like flint on Jesus’ face,
Clearing away the distractions,
Surrounding ourselves with truth and truth speakers who call out our true identity
And clinging to HOPE,
We will make it through this transition to the new life that awaits us.

 

overwhelmed June 27, 2011

Filed under: Hope,Relationships,Supernatural Living,Uncategorized — Shayla @ Courageous Hope @ 9:11 am
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I am overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed with pure Goodness…

with crazy Love….

with wild excitement….

with deep gratitude…

with the richness of my life…

with the way Holy Spirit is moving the people of God to change the world…

He is awakening us… awakening hearts to life!!!

 

Lately life has overwhelmed me… which is probably why you (the few committed “followers” of this blog) have noticed I have not posted a blog in so long. (I am sorry, I do however have about 400 blog posts in my head or half scribbled in journals that desperately want to find there way to this site.) But sometimes life can overwhelm us…. sigh…

 

But today… I am overwhelmed in a totally different way…..the love of Jesus has overtaken me. I am consumed. He is soooo GOOD.

 

I am overwhelmed with the fact that I am part of His kingdom. I am part of a kingdom that doesn’t make sense to the kingdom of this world. It’s an outta this world kingdom. An inside out, upside down kingdom.

A kingdom where when you give… you recieve.

Where you lose to gain…

and you die…to LIVE.

In this kingdom the weak are strong,

the humble are exalted,

the last become first,

the mourning is turned to dancing,

the weaping to laughter,

the captives are set free,

the ashes become beauty.

In this kingdom the lost are found,

the blind see and the lame walk.

In this kingdom my pockets could be empty but my heart so very full.

In this kingdom I am royalty and I am rich beyond measure. Rich in relationships, rich in ways that cannot be meausured by eathly standards.

I find myself so overwhelmed that I have been invited to be in this kingdom, and not just invited but I am royalty too! I get to help my King dispense the riches of his kingdom. I get to partner with my King and with the other royalty beside me to expand the reign of this inside-out, upside-down kingdom. I am blown away….I get to be a part of this???!!!!

I just have to declare God’s goodness today, the fiercness of his love,  the beauty of his kingdom advancing, the power of his awakening of hearts. May your heart be awakened today…may you be overwhelmed with God’s love, goodness and power!

Ephesians 3:14-21 The Message
My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

 

 
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