Disappointment is one of the hardest emotions to overcome. Here is why: Let the Children Fly – YouTube
We often know what our ‘wish list’ includes, but have we asked the birthday boy what He wants? This is a great way to make the true meaning of Christmas come alive for a child. Get a mirror at the craft store and glue a ribbon on the back as a ‘hook.’ Wrap it up in your best wrapping and set it on the tree with a tag that reads, “TO: Jesus!” Share that God told you what His Son wants most of all for His birthday and that you would open His favorite present on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, ask Him as a family, “Jesus, what do You want most for your birthday?” and share what you are hearing. Then open the gift and hold it up to each person closely. Share with them that what the birthday boy wants most for His birthday is the person in the mirror! Each year as we bring out our mirror ornament, we are reminded of the price God paid to give us the GIFT of Himself.
Christmas – Have you asked the Birthday Boy what He wants for His birthday? – YouTube
One mom messaged me after watching our video saying she sat in the parking lot of Target and wept as she heard God speaking to her for the first time in eight years after getting profoundly hurt in the church. Parents, it’s time to deal with the hurt and come home again!
P.S. Do you have friends who are nursing hurts? Send this link to them in a private message with a word of encouragement that God sees their pain and wants to help them heal.
Video – Hurt in the Church – YouTube
Podcast – Hurt in the Church by Lisa Max – Let the Children Fly! (anchor.fm)
Encounter as a family with fear: Resolving Fear – YouTube
God has been speaking to me a lot lately about Him being our help in our time of need. Psalm 46:1 – “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.”
He reminded me of a situation that happened when we first moved to Redding. I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow only to be woken suddenly a few minutes later by the sound of talking outside my window. I was annoyed that people would carry on a conversation so loud at midnight. I rose to look out and found what appeared to be a girl in an intoxicated state trying to refuse the advances of a male inside a car. My spirit was now wide awake as I watched. I didn’t know if I should call the police, run out there and bang on the window or what. Suddenly I realized I was to pray. I began to pray for her like she was my own child in danger. She went with him into this condo across the street. I could tell she was trying to resist but was too drunk to be firm. My prayers only increased, and this fire came over me to defend and cover her in the spirit. About five minutes later she ran out of the house and safely got into her car.
I have thought about this countless times over the years. That girl never knew I was praying for her, but God woke me to stand with her in the spirit realm and be her covering. I wonder just how many times God has awoken others to pray and cover me over the years. We will never know this side of heaven just how much God is at work in our lives through others.
What would this generation look like if they were taught (by you) to stand on Psalms 46:1 with great faith? Read the verse, talk about it, unpack it, act it out, role-play, talk about real life situations, remind them as they walk out the door… just make sure you DO IT so that they can grab a hold of it.
I feel a bit like a broken record, but when I wake up, God often tells me what to post and lays a theme or words on my heart to share. He has brought this up over and over and over. So, I share once again out of obedience to Him. I once talked about the black sheep of the family and how it is normally the child who resists the family’s operating system that God is using to bring generational things back into alignment with Him. I think the same goes for the church. God sends people – perhaps unrefined and immature – who carry something that the church needs to come into alignment with to reflect Him better. Leaders can embrace the mess and let God move in a new way, OR they can walk in power and control and reject the person in an effort to ‘protect’ the flock, missing the purpose altogether.
If you have been rejected as the BLACK SHEEP OF THE CHURCH, I encourage you to please watch this!!! Process your heart well and allow the wounds to heal BECAUSE YOU ARE NEEDED FOR THIS HOUR! You carry what the Body needs. While others may have misunderstood you, God has not. You might not be responsible for the actions of others, but you are responsible for how you respond. Do not let orphans in leadership roles rob you (or us) of what God wants to do through you. If you do not have time to watch this entire video, listen to it while driving or making dinner. I have also broken up the segments listed on our YouTube channel.
I encourage you to watch this short four-minute video first and then call a family meeting and show the children. Stop the video at different times and ask them questions about what they see. Help them to crawl into empathy for the boy by saying something like, “Could you imagine how hard that would be?” or “How would that make your heart feel to sit in front of your friends after the teacher did that?” Just create space for conversation and then watch the video until the end. Ask them how they would want others to respond to them or how Jesus would want us to respond to others around us. The moral of the story is that we truly do not know what is going on in someone else’s world.
This is going to be one of the simplest, yet most profound tools I give you.
The LIES we believe because of an event is what brings lasting pain and heartbreak, not the event itself.
Rape is a horrible, horrible event that deeply affects a person. But long after the actual event is over, the LIE they believe about the event is what triggers the event over and over and over again as if it is happening to them again and again. In that moment their system is shocked (reasonably so), and the enemy comes and whispers, “You are powerless”, “No one cares”, “You are all alone” and because the events serve as evidence that the lie FEELS true, we grab a hold of them and embrace them. It is the lie that is tormenting us, not the event.
So this very simple, yet profound exercise is to ask, “Jesus, what lies am I believing about my situation?” and allow Him to show you.
When you are ready and if you are willing pray this out loud:
Confess – “Jesus, I confess I have been partnering with the lie that _____. Will You please forgive me?”
Break Agreement – “I break agreement with the lie that _____.”
Declare the Truth – “Jesus, what is Your truth about this situation?”
Just watch and listen to whatever He wants to show you and then take a moment and RECEIVE it.
This exercise should be used anytime your heart is losing peace and you are feeling unsettled. There is one thing the enemy cannot counterfeit and that is PEACE, because peace is His presence, and the enemy isn’t God.
