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Entries in UPLIFT Stories (6)

Tuesday

Dec132016

Christmas Tradition, Anyone?

I know Kathi Macias from her books that help "set captives free," but she also writes to encourage believers to think intentionally about how they live for Christ. In this special Christmas UPLIFT, Kathi reminds us the holiday season is a perfect time to consider beautiful traditions and how they might bless our families.

“For some of us, the word ‘traditions’ has a negative connotation, as proclaimed in song in ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’” Kathi says.

“And though I loved the movie and am also cautious about the importance of some traditions, I’ve found they can be quite positive when practiced correctly."

"Tra-di-tion......"

Yes, I (Dawn) can hear that fiddler's song now. (Can't you?) Traditions can be cold and burdensome, but they can also be beautiful when they are laced with meaning that glorifies God and encourages others.

Kathi continues . . .

I’ve been working on my “brand” long enough to know that most readers associate me with two types of books: social-issues novels and Christmas stories. Whenever possible, I try to combine the two. But as they say, there are exceptions to every rule.

A Husband’s Christmas Prayer began as just such an exception.

It was, in fact, my publisher who suggested it—and God who confirmed it as I considered and prayed about taking it on.

The topic? A fictional “inside” look at a young pastor and his family, still finding their way through the ministry maze and learning to balance family and ministry commitments along the way.

This exception to my usual fare led to a story about a man who serves on a pastoral team in a large beach town, who excitedly accepts the offer to pastor a fledgling church in a small desert community two hours away.

His wife isn’t at all excited about the move, and though she tries to be supportive throughout the transition, her husband can’t help but notice the lack of joy in her responses.

As I wrote the book, I realized it isn’t only pastors and their families who can experience such a division in their lives.

I can remember more than one Christmas where I was less than enthusiastic about certain events in my life, and sadly, I allowed those feelings to dampen my usual holiday cheer.

But God is so faithful, isn’t He?

When we’re at our lowest, the Lord is right there to restore our joy, regardless of circumstances—if we’ll just let Him.

And that’s what I kept in mind as I wrote A Husband’s Christmas Prayer. I realized that most all families—pastors’ or otherwise—have special holiday traditions. Even if those traditions didn’t originate with Christmas, if they are steeped in the true meaning of Christmas, they can become tools God can use to draw us back into that place of joy.

For instance, albondigas (meatball) soup and birthday cakes.

As a German-Italian, I didn’t grow up eating albondigas soup—never even heard of it—but I was introduced to it when I was in high school and dating my Mexican-descent boyfriend (now husband).

A few years later, albondigas soup became a staple in our own family, and I enjoyed it so much that I wrote it into the story. (You can even find my sister-in-law’s recipe for it at the end of the book.)

The other tradition I included in the book started years ago when my youngest came home from his four- and five-year-old Sunday school class. Excitement lit up his face as he announced he wanted to make a birthday cake for Jesus. I assured him we could, then asked what made him want to do it.

He shrugged and said,

“Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, so He should get a cake.”

Out of the mouth of babes, right?

The Bible says Jesus was born according to the plan of God (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Galatians 4:4a; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-20; John 1:14).

Well, sure enough, we made a birthday cake for Jesus and continued to do so every year thereafter. It’s a tradition we’ve endeavored to pass on to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and each one has thought it was a wonderful idea.

As it turns out, the pastor and his family in the book thought so too.

And God used those traditions to help bring healing to my fictitious family, just as He has done for our very real family—and others too, I’m sure.

What are some of the traditions your family shares that are "steeped in the true meaning of Christmas"? Does your family know WHY you practice these special traditions?

Kathi Macias is the author of 40 books, including titles in the "Freedom Series" and "Extreme Devotion Series." The Moses Quilt deals with racial and generational divides and the impact of the Gospel. A Husband's Christmas Prayer, which is mentioned throughout this post, is available here. A popular speaker and Bible teacher, Kathi lives in Southern California with her husband, Al. Learn more about Kathi and her books at www.kathimacias.com.

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Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 2:09AM

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Thursday

Jul302015

Party Girl Finds Her True Identity

Dawn Wilson

I’ve watched Sharon Paavola grow in recent years. God has transformed her and made her spirit beautiful. In this UPGRADE Uplift, she shares what the Lord did in her life and how He can do the same for each of us.

The words “party girl” crept into my mind with a cloud of regret and depression,” Sharon said.

We all have regrets. I (Dawn) do. The enemy likes to beat us up with them. But God has a word for Christians … actually, two … and they make all the difference.

In Christ!

Sharon continues . . .

Party Girl. That's how I described most of my life to my psychiatrist. I told him how much I used to drink and date, even after my divorce and on into my forties. I caroused after I married my current husband.

Bad. That's what I thought about myself. Bad.

My coping mechanism, he said, during my immature stage. Where did that come from? Who did I model? I didn’t know anyone in my life that behaved that way. Christians surrounded me. Weren’t these bizarre actions from an innocent girl who knew God, who supposedly knew how to live rightly?

But I didn’t even bat an eye. It seemed natural to me … like I grew up in that environment. I lived a dual life. I acted as a Christian and then as the party girl wherever it suited me.

The chaos created in my mind and soul was so loud I had to keep partying to not hear it.

Then, 20 years ago as I sat in my closet, I finally surrendered all of my life to Christ. I wanted Him to be more than my Savior; I wanted Him to be my Lord. I realized my way had failed me. I wanted to walk His way.

Once I merged into one person, leaving the party girl behind, I found God loved me and wanted to have a relationship with me in spite of who I had been. I grew tired of my poor decisions and changed my life for the better.

Yet with my new surrender, I was surprised by the agonizing depression that came as I thought about the past and things I couldn't change.

I was so susceptible to spiraling down the trail of old baggage. I felt despair and regret about all the time wasted—the shameful things I did. There had been two of me.

I ached inside thinking about the party girl, completely adrift with no anchor to hold her in place.

I cried for her. I cried over my past.

Abruptly, my doctor said our time had to end. But I wasn’t ready. When I turned my car on, the radio announcer said,

“You are not defined by who you used to be.”

That was the message I needed to hear! Oh, thank you, God!

I felt light again. The burden was gone along with the weighty regret. No longer the Party Girl! I am a “New Creature” in Christ.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I could stop beating myself up. My spirit was free to listen to the transforming truth of God’s gospel and live His plan for my life.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

I am no longer defined by who I used to be. Now my identity is in Christ alone.

Are you the same person everywhere you go—the same at church and the same at home? How are you holding onto old concepts of yourself and not accepting the new you in Christ?

Sharon Paavola’s passion to speak, write and encourage women is to release them from their past—from depression and pain—so they can move on to hope, freedom and living in the present. Sharon writes a blog that includes book reviews, and she leads a Post Abortion Recovery Ministry. She and her husband, Eric, and two Bichons live in the San Diego, California, area and they have three grown children. Follow Sharon on herblog.

Graphic adapted, StockSnap, created by Luis Llerena.

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Thursday, July 30, 2015 at 9:00AM

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Saturday

May102014

A Mom's Extravagant Love

Dawn Wilson

Rebecca Barlow Jordan is an encouraging story-teller, and I wanted her to share this special Mother's Day UPLIFT as an example of a mom's extravagant, forgiving love.

Rebecca begins with a scripture about the greatest love of all.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 TNIV).

She continues ...

Much of my husband’s childhood years he spent on a lake in West Texas where his parents and grandparents owned a fishing camp. Like all boys, Larry loved to play “buried treasure.” The sand around the camp offered multiple opportunities for realistic pirating adventures.

But one fateful day, Larry learned a powerful lesson he never forgot. Here’s his story:

“At the fishing camp, people were always coming and going: stocking up on groceries, searching out the best fishing lures, and renting campsites nearby to set up tents. Mom kept a small file box in the house in which she saved silver dollars.

One day I spied that box and saw ‘Capt. Kidd’ and ‘Treasure’ written all over it. I opened it up and counted fifty shiny coins—not much in today’s economy, but a huge sum to my parents in those days—and definitely a realistic treasure for a pirate. I thought it would be cool to ‘bury’ that treasure box, so I took it out to an empty tent behind our house where I was playing with some other kids. We had great fun pretending we were burying our treasure inside that tent.

“But as boys often do, I got distracted and forgot about the box of silver dollars. Two or three days later, Mom asked about the box. Suddenly I remembered that I had left them in the tent. So I hurried out back, confident I would be the pirate hero and retrieve the buried treasure for the ‘damsel in distress.’

“But when I looked in the tent, there was no box. I pawed through every corner as sand flew in every direction. No box. No treasure. No silver dollars. And no pirate hero. I returned to face my fate from a mom who was now greatly ‘in distress.’

“I’ll never forget my mother’s words. She didn’t punish me. She didn’t chew me out. She didn’t take away my fishing or pirating privileges. She said two things that left a dramatic impression on me. With obvious disappointment, she said, ‘We could have fed our family for a month with that money.’ She let her words hang in the air for a moment, then reached out to hug me. Then she said, ‘But I forgive you.’

“An enemy pirate couldn’t have sliced me any deeper. Another ‘pirate’ had obviously stolen the treasure, but the responsibility lay directly in my hands.”

Through a mom’s forgiveness, she has the divine opportunity to model Christ’s own love to her children.

Badgering, abusing, screaming, berating—these are not God’s tools. They’re more like “enemy” pirate behavior. Certainly, appropriate discipline is needed when outright disobedience challenges parental authority.

But Larry’s mom wisely understood how to drive home the consequences of a boy’s foolish mistake and childish behavior without wounding his character. Her words stung, and made him realize the extreme carelessness of his actions. But it was his mom’s forgiveness that taught him the most about extravagant love.

Only God can teach that kind of love. He is extravagant love, personified.

Almost two thousand years ago, he saw the extreme “pirating” of his world. The ones he created didn’t understand their true purpose and instead chose their own way through sinful behavior. The cost to God was overwhelming. He knew the ultimate consequences of sin. He didn’t excuse it. But he took his most extravagant, expensive treasure—his own Son—and offered it as a gift to his world in distress. And with a holy whisper of grace, he said, “What you’ve done is not acceptable. But I forgive you.”

And those who still hear him and receive his extravagant love and forgiveness will never forget it. They will never be the same again.

In what ways did your mom show you extravagant love? How have you demonstrated forgiveness to your own children? How has God shown that kind of love and forgiveness to you?

Rebecca Barlow Jordan is the author of 11 books, including the Day-votions® women’s series, and 40 Days in God’s Presence. Her book, Day-votions® for Mothers, is a great gift choice for Mother's Day or any day! She has also written over 2000 articles, devotions, and greeting cards and writes an encouraging weekly blog. As a minister’s wife she lives in East Texas and has two grown children and four grandchildren. Find out more about Rebecca at rebeccabarlowjordan.com.

Graphic of Silver Dollars from RandPeckAntiques.blogspot.com, used with permission.

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Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 7:00AM

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Saturday

Dec142013

God's Not the Silent Type

Dawn Wilson

Cindi McMenamin wrote a number of books with titles starting with the word “when”—like When Women Walk Alone and When a Woman Overcomes Life's Hurts—but in this special UPGRADE Uplift post, she is asking another question: “Why?”

“Have you ever found yourself wondering,” Cindi says, “Why doesn't God speak to me?”

Be honest... have you ever wondered that? I certainly have. Especially when I was seeking His will concerning a choice I needed to make. It can be frustrating.

Cindi continues …

I once talked with a friend who wondered what she was doing wrong, because she had never “heard” God’s audible voice or “seen” bright lights indicating a clear direction from God.

But after I talked with her about the way God speaks to His loved ones, she began to recall that God had spoken to her—through the counsel she received in His Word, through circumstances that led her in a certain direction, through godly advice she received from a leader in her church. God had spoken to my friend. But she had never realized it was Him.

Many of us talk to the Lord and just want to hear Him talk back now and then. But sometimes we aren’t sure what to listen for.

In the more than 40 years since I’ve given my life to Jesus Christ, I have never experienced an encounter with Him in which there was an audible voice, a thundering from heaven, a burning bush or a rushing wind. It was usually a still, small voice that gave me an inner peace, a loving rebuke that changed my ways, the written Word of God that pierced my heart or a sense of calling and direction that wouldn’t let me be until I followed.

God speaks in various ways by the Holy Spirit to those in relationship with Him. And in my experience, I would have to say that He has spoken most clearly when I’ve been the most obedient, the most in need of comfort, and for the most part, taking the time to really listen.

Do you long to hear God speaking to you on a regular basis?

Then I recommend these three steps:

Look to His Word – God communicates through the Scriptures. Sometimes it’s a verse that pierces our hearts as we’re reading. Other times it might be a passage–or a few words from a verse–that comes to our mind in a particular situation. The more we know the Word of God, the more we’ll recognize God’s words of comfort, conviction, peace or guidance.
Look Around You – Sometimes it may seem like God isn’t there. But He often makes His presence known to us by what we experience on a daily basis. Look for His presence in the circumstances around you–the tender words from a friend that you needed to hear at just the right time, the “coincidence” that confirms what you’d been praying for, the situation at work that turned in your favor. The fact that nothing takes this all-knowing God by surprise affirms to me that He is already working in what you haven’t even handed to Him yet.
Listen for His Whispers – Sometimes we feel urged to do something and we can’t explain why. Through prayer and discernment, we can figure out if that is God’s whisper on our heart. Sometimes God speaks to us this way through prayer by nudging us to pray for something we wouldn’t otherwise have prayed for. God whispers encouragement. He whispers suggestions for acts of love toward someone in need. He whispers words to say at the proper time to heal another’s heart. When you hear these loving whispers, don't immediately dismiss them as distracting thoughts. Instead, thank Him for what He spoke to you.

There is no sure-fire formula for hearing God speak. He speaks in His own way and in His own time to the hearts that are prepared to hear Him. If we cultivate a heart to hear, we can be sure that His silence is not on account of our not listening.

When is the last time you knew God spoke to you? Is God whispering to your heart today?

BOOK GIVEAWAY! - Leave a comment here, or on theUpgrade Facebook page after the link to Cindi’s article, to be entered into the drawing for her new book, God’s Whispers to a Woman’s Heart.

Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker and the author of several books including When Women Walk Alone (more than 100,000 copies sold), When a Woman Overcomes Life's Hurts and her newest, God's Whispers to a Woman's Heart. For more on Cindi’s books or ministry or for free resources to help strengthen your soul or marriage, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

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Saturday, December 14, 2013 at 7:00AM

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Saturday

Aug312013

Our Comforting God

Dawn Wilson

Are you in need of comfort today? Harriet Bouchillon, who ministered alongside her husband for 40 years, discovered the precious presence of our comforting God in a great time of need. If you are hurting, I pray God will UPLIFT your spirit today.

“Since my husband Jim’s promotion to Heaven,” Harriet writes, “I have learned that unwelcomed and not always healthy thoughts often come during the grieving process.”

Anyone who has struggled through grief, even as a Christian, understands what Harriet is talking about. Confused thoughts and roller coaster emotions are normal.

Harriet continues …

During an especially melancholy day four months after Jim’s death, I was dwelling on what his unspoken thoughts might have been as he lay in his sick bed. What did he remember most about our life together? And what were his thoughts about me?

It so happened that was the day I chose to clean out Jim’s desk. In the process, I came across an unsigned “to my wife” birthday card.

My mind raced back to my birthday the previous year, when Jim was in remission from cancer. Frustration was in his voice as he gave me a lovely gift. He had also purchased a beautiful card, he said, and had put it in a safe place. But now he couldn’t find it!

Oh, my dear Jim—if he could only understand that just having him still with me was enough, with or without a card!

The timing of the card’s delivery was perfectly orchestrated by God.

Only He could know I would need it the exact moment of its discovery. Tears flowed as I read the beautiful, comforting words that I took as coming directly from Jim’s heart to mine.

“The man who finds a wife finds a good thing; she is a blessing to him from the Lord” (Proverbs 18:12, The Living Bible).

There are moments when I catch myself saying,

Wow, that’s my wife.

They seem to come in the most ordinary times—

When you’re laughing with our family,

When we’re having dinner with friends,

When you and I are together doing nothing at all.

I’m still just amazed that out of all the men in the world,

I’m the one who gets to share life with you.

After all this time, I still don’t know all the reasons why God trusted me

With one of His most amazing gifts . . .

But I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life that He did.

Happy Birthday. I Love You.

How true is God’s Word when He says, “I, even I, am He who comforts you” (Isaiah 51:12).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Can you remember a time when God comforted you in your hour of need? Are you in need right now of God’s comforting ministry in your life?

Harriet Bouchillon has served as a missionary with Camino Global since 1972, ministering alongside her husband, Jim, in Spain, Mexico and Hispanic USA. She blogs at "Blessed by the Grace of God" (English and Spanish versions). Harriet, recently widowed, disciples, teaches, and mentors women. This mother to three and grandmother to six makes her home in El Cajon, California. Read her story about overcoming the fear of death in the tract, "Confessions of a Mortician's Daughter" (also here in Spanish).

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Saturday, August 31, 2013 at 7:00AM

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