KEEP SHINING ANYWAY • Do you ever feel like your work is going unnoticed and unappreciated? I think we all do, at times—and we certainly aren't alone in feeling this. Think about it: Jesus COMPLETELY changed the lives of the ten lepers—but only one turned around to thank Him. He asked the one, “Where are the none?” And really, where were they?! Here were 10 men doomed to die a slow painful death, Jesus healed them, and yet the majority of them didn't even stop to give a simple “thank you” for this life-changing help He had graciously extended.
And here’s the thing we need to remember: Jesus' work was NOT meaningless, despite the lack of acknowledgement. Sometimes you may help people who never acknowledge that you were a help to them. They may not even ever thank you. They may even dislike you. And you know what? That’s totally okay. How can we expect any different, when Jesus Himself was unappreciated?
Just keep doing what you know is right. Ripple after ripple, change will happen. Whether your part in it is acknowledged or not, you still had a part.
You may have a great impact on people and never hear about it—but if absolutely no one acknowledges our work but Christ, then we have done well.
Keep shining, bright light. 💡⭐️
•
📖: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). "Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" (Luke 17:7).
I'm sure a few of you have noticed that I don't post on here all that much. That hasn't been entirely out of laziness I promise, it's mostly because I've been pretty sick for about five months now. I won't go into detail about it, but basically I had flair up of my panic disorder, a sinus infection, an ear infection, pneumonia, and a couple other infections I'd rather not mention. And even though my symptoms have subsided, I can't seem to get better
·
No, this isn't me trying to throw myself a pity party. I promise. But because of all this illness, I've fallen into what we are pretty sure is malnutrition. I'm underweight, my hair and skin are dry and brittle, moving around is difficult as I feel weak all the time, I have a consistent high fever, hot and cold flashes, I get upset far too easily, and I'm completely unable to work, go to school, or even go to church about 75% of the time.
·
It's really easy to think, "why aren't people checking up on me?" "Why don't people care?" "Why doesn't that person seem to be concerned?" It's easy to feel alone when you actually Are alone about 99% of the time. It's easy to think, "But I've been there for so many people. Why isn't anyone here for me?"
·
I don't seem to be the only one who struggles with this. I see things that express the same concerns posted all over social media. A lot of people seem to be "the kind of person who helps everyone but never gets any help themselves." It can be so easy to feel that way sometimes, can't it?
·
So I did something. I reached out to a couple people. And you know what happened? They were more than willing to give me encouragement. As it turns out, funnily enough, people don't usually know your needs until you tell them. And of course people are going to act like everything with you is fine, if you don't tell them that everything isn't fine. Why didn't I realize this before?
·
But on an even larger scale, God sees and knows our every need and He's waiting for us to go to Him. He's waiting for us to say, "Hey I'm going through this. Will you please help me?” So please. Reach out to your Christian family. Reach out to God. Ask for help. There's absolutely no shame in openness. -JM
He is always good—and He is always, always enough. More than enough. Exceedingly abundantly more. Even when we aren’t. Even when this life isn’t. When everything else in this broken world lets us down—He is always there. And He is everything we could ever possibly need. 📖: "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6). #herlifehisway
Self-reliance and pride say, “I can fix this problem myself by just being ‘good’ enough”—but faithfulness and trust say, “I know the one Who can fix this, and I’ll trust in Him and lean on Him—even if I never see the day He fixes my mind or body on this side of eternity.” We seriously miss the point when we think the point of the trial is to work harder on strengthening ourselves—because the true point of any storm is to let it bring us closer to Christ and to find our every strength and need supplied by His perfect power and provision. We don’t need to be stronger, we need to lean on Him harder. When we are weak, then we are strong. It is He who strengthens us, not we who strengthen ourselves.
When we work to “fix” ourselves, His light isn’t shining—it is we who get the glory. His light shines brightest when we fully acknowledge our weakness and full dependence on Him. That’s when HE gets the glory for our victories.
Maybe sometimes the reason we struggle and fall so much is because we haven’t fully grasped that yet. Maybe He’s trying to show you through your trials that you aren’t strong enough and that you desperately, desperately need to draw closer and cling to Him.
When the storm is crashing around you, and you find yourself fighting and flailing against the raging current—lift up your eyes and cling tightly to His outstretched hand. //2 Corinthians 12:9, 10; Ephesians 6:10; Philippians 4:13; Matthew 15:30, 31\\
You will have people tell you a lot of different ways to be godly with your body—eat this way, don't eat this other way, sniff this, take this supplement, vaccinate, don't vaccinate, move this way, don't move that way, be under or over this certain size—but in the midst of all the confusion, realise this: there is only one way to glorify God with your body and that is to give it over in service to God.
That's not to say He doesn't care about how we steward what we're given—but TOO OFTEN we confuse obsession and selfishness with s a n c t i f i c a t i o n. Our care of our bodies is only pure if it is fully dedicated to Him—and it must always, always be f a r at the bottom of our priority list.
Looking after our bodies doesn't mean obsession. This doesn't mean hours a day in the gym or on a treadmill. This doesn't mean becoming #swole or #fitspo-worthy. True stewardship simply means looking after our bodies like we do our vehicles or our houses—enough for them to be of service to us and less of a hindrance as possible.
Ask yourself: why are you looking after your body? ...to look good? ...to be skinny? ...to fit in with a certain crowd? ...because you hate yourself? ...because you need to burn the calories you have eaten? ...or because you want to give God all your strength—and you want to give Him as much of your strength as you can?
You know, anxiety over food and our bodies is e x a c t l y the anxiety that God condemns (Matthew 6:25-34) yet, ironically, it's exactly the anxiety we tend to encourage, perpetuate, and allow to grow in our hearts—all because of a false notion of what holiness means.
Cherish your body enough for it to be useful, but make sure that you cherish your soul and its Saviour SO MUCH MORE that your body becomes almost nothing to you—merely a vehicle for His service and one more reason to give Him praise.
#herlifehisway
If we want our kids to grow up knowing about God's will for them—we must teach them His will for their sexuality, both inside and outside of marriage. We must teach them how wonderful and beautiful their sexuality is, as well as how dangerous. We must teach them how to celebrate their sexuality while keeping it under control. We must teach them the God-given purpose and place for their sexuality. We must tell them of the freedom and joy that comes through honoring sexuality as God would have it be honored, rather than just teaching them the God-given restrictions and boundaries.
If all they know is what they can't do and they are never told HOW to love a spouse, WHY they should save themselves for marriage, and how much joy it will give them if they do—there will be problems. Our children will be infinitely more curious about sexuality, they will be tempted to explore and listen to what the world has to say about it, they will be an hundred times more likely to step outside the bounds, and in the end will be very ill-equipped to love a spouse or be loved by a spouse the way God intended.
Ignorance is not innocence. Raise children in innocence, but do not encourage ignorance—there’s no shame in embracing the way God made us, as long as we submit it all under His will. Let your children know about God's will for them and the way He created their sexuality— teach them how they need to learn self-control and the right place and way to achieve satisfaction (in marriage). When they are ready (BEFORE they date), teach them what romantic love inside and outside of marriage looks like from the Song of Solomon. There’s no shame in the way God made us.
Our sexuality is a beautiful and wonderful God-given gift—not a thing to be ashamed of.
Don’t create shame where there is none. Satan loves silence and shame—because that’s the best place for sin to grow.
Ignorance is n o t innocence.
Tell them of the dangers, yes—but also tell them of the beauty and joy.
#herlifehisway
What I choose to do has never made sense to those I work with in the world. Why on earth would you choose to give up a whole day's pay (or right now, half my annual income) to go to church? It doesn't make sense to them.
I'm very grateful to be in the position to where I honestly just don't even think about it. From a young age, I was very fortunate to have parents that led me to always putting God and worship times first. Because of this, as an adult I've never had a problem making the decision to choose to go to worship over other activities—even now when there's money involved. I honestly just don't even think about it anymore.
And through it all, I've always found God's promise to be true: "Seek the church first and I'll make sure that everything you need will be provided to you." For some, who perhaps haven't had the same upbringing as I, I'm sure this is an extremely difficult leap of faith. I understand that. While it's not a choice for me there have been many prayers this year, "Lord, please bless my efforts. You know I won't compromise my service to you—so please bless my work despite my neglect of my business in favor of Your service. Help me to have just enough.” It's a prayer that focuses me on Him as I conduct my business—but a prayer that I also KNOW He will answer. Hasn’t He promised that? Not prosperity, but PROVISION. That’s what Matthew 6 is all about. Lay aside the worry of trying to have MORE of the s t u f f of this world and instead focus on having MORE of God and His church—and you’ll never have to worry about the worldly things. You will have food and clothing. Maybe not nice food. Maybe not nice clothing. But enough. Enough not to worry.
And so I beg you to consider your heart as you make the decision whether to work, play, or worship. I know, there are jobs that HAVE to continue—life and death kind of jobs—but if you’re not involved in life-saving, then you have to ask yourself, what are you really seeking? What do you really have your trust in?
Just try Him. Taste and see how good He is. You may end up having less stuff, but the peace and provision He gives when we lay our everything at His feet is worth every sacrifice.
I'm probably not going to be popular for saying this, but... it needs to be said. You all don't want to know what this Aussie girl thinks about gun control—but in light of the shootings, the one thing I can tell you with all certainty is that it really does NOT matter what I think. Honestly.
Someone was overcome by evil.
People died.
People are grieving. ...and now we're making this about our political opinions? For shame.
I mean... have you ever taken a moment to think about what that looks like to the world when we as Christians use tragedies to talk about gun control?
Can you imagine how you would feel if your loved one dying spurred a worldwide cry about the murder weapon?
There are lives and precious souls effected by this tragedy—what you think about your rights to a gun does NOT matter in this instance.
Surely you can take a moment to reflect and think of something God would rather have you say and do in the light of tragedy? Something actually helpful to those suffering and wondering whether there is even a God?
How about using the situation to draw people to the light—to show them hope, love, light, and grace?
How about using it to praise God, rather than defend guns?
Surely we can at least agree on that.
Or not. It's your choice.
But I'm telling you, whatever you choose—guns or no guns—more of Him is the only thing that's going to make this world better.
Preach Christ in times of tragedy.
Preach Christ, not guns. (And no, they're not synonymous). #herlifehisway #prayfordayton #dayton #christculture #christoverculture
So often we’re tempted to think that it’s the big things that shape us—life-changing decisions, public shows of faith, long hours of study, and mission trips—but while these are wonderful, too often we miss the simple things in our pursuit of the spectacular. While we pursue purity and perfection, let us not forget to embrace the small acts of devotion—like choosing a moment of meditation over a scroll through Instagram, engaging in prayer rather than listening to the radio, or opening the Bible app instead of candy crush. Too often I opt for the mindless and easy option—but I’m resolving here and now to do better—because it’s these small things that, while they may not “wow” anyone or seen incredibly meaningful, will shape our souls. It’s these seemingly trivial choices that will show where or heart really lies—and that will prepare us for when opportunities to do those big, challenging acts of faith come our way.
Choose Him in the small things, every day—because it’s the small, consistent ways you choose to spend your time daily that show who and whose you really are.
#herlifehisway
If my husband left me, would I still love him? Absolutely. If he stopped talking to me every day, would I still love him? You betcha. If he cheated on me, would I be unwilling to forgive him if he truly repented? Certainly not. But does that make it okay? Does that mean that he has the right to do those things? NO!! I would still be upset and angry and sad. I would cry and yell and feel so alone. And I would have every reason to
.
It's an easy concept when we think of a marriage that way, but when we have an attitude of "I don't have to go to church for God to love me," "I don't need to pray or study for God to care about me," or, “I don't need to obey His Word for God to be good for me," we are doing exactly that. We are the spouse who takes advantage of their partner because they know that they'll just be forgiven and that their partner will still love them anyway. It's an abusive, one way relationship in which one person is putting forth all the effort, and the other is flippantly taking advantage. .
Of course God will always love us and be good to us, but if we truly love him and want a relationship with Him, we will show that love back to Him. “We love because He first loved us” -1 John 4:19 Being in a relationship with God is a wonderful, beautiful thing. His love is perfect and endless, and all He asks in return is that we try our hardest to love Him back. .
What are some ways that you can grow closer to the Lord and His love? What are some ways you can strengthen your relationship with the Lord?
Have you ever stopped and thought about how perfectly Jesus modelled the way us women are called to be?
While we scream that acts of submission, sacrifice, and service are unfair, we often forget that Jesus Himself was submissive to the Father—and in the ultimate sense. He gave up His God-likeness to come down and be a servant (Philippians 2). Through healing, helping, feeding, washing, teaching, and ultimately giving His life, He was all at once servant, sacrifice, and Saviour.
And while we can be tempted to complain about how unfair it is that we must submit or serve or sacrifice, He never did. He cried, He pleaded, but always with the willingness to let God's will be done before His.
•
It says in Hebrews that He l e a r n e d obedience. He was not obedient as God in Heaven. He had to humble Himself, and subject Himself to a human body in order to learn obedience and become our perfect sacrifice.
Let that sink in, and next time you feel like complaining about any sacrifices you may have to make for God or man, give thanks that there was one who gave up being God for man.
Incredible thing to think about, isn’t it?
•
“And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:34-36). “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:7-9). #herlifehisway --Chantelle Marie
Anxiety: let's talk about it
.
I went to the emergency room the other day because of a panic attack. What I had always thought was just my low blood sugar causing my body to react in a panic, turned out to be an anxiety disorder. But I'm a Christian. And Christians aren't supposed to have anxiety, right?
.
In Matthew 6:25 and following, Jesus tells us not to be anxious about what we're going to eat or whether or not we will be clothed, because He is the one in control, not us. This type of anxiousness is caused by our desire to control things, and a lack of faith that causes us to forget that God is in control. Having an anxiety disorder, however, is when your body doesn't make enough serotonin, which is the chemical that relives our bodies of stress. Even if we somehow convince our minds to stop continually bombarding us with intrusive thoughts, our bodies are still filled with high levels of stress, no matter how much faith we have.
.
The point of this is to say that it's okay to get help. Not only is it okay to get medical help for your anxiety disorder (which is not a sin), but if your anxiety disorder Has caused you to forget that God is in control, or if you have forgotten that God is in control Without having a disorder, it's okay to get help about that too. In fact, that's even MORE important to get help for. Talking with someone who's an experienced Christian or a Christian counselor from your congregation is okay and encouraged and So important when it’s needed. Going to your doctor and getting on medication is also okay, and important when it’s needed.
.
Just like we can’t always take care of our physical health by ourselves, we can’t always take care of our spiritual health without seeking outside help. We can never put our physical, and especially our spiritual, health to the side as something that we should “just be able to get over on our own.” Otherwise God wouldn’t have allowed us to use His church as a tool to uplift, help, and encourage one another.
..
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” -James 5:16
-JM
Do we get our comfort, joy, confidence, and hope from Christ, or other things? I mean, really, truly and honestly—think on this for a moment with me: • Have you ever had your entire day ruined by the number on the scale or the fact you ate cake?
• Do you find yourself emotionally upset if you can’t make it to the gym or angry if you go over your calorie count?
• Have you ever found yourself wishing you had the willpower of an anorexic or happy you got sick because you lost 5 lbs?
• Do you find yourself jealous of other women who look different to you—trying to bring them down or coveting what they have? • Have you ever found yourself reaching for food every time you feel emotionally upset?
• Is dieting or exercise or bingeing the first thing you think of when you feel unhappy with your situation?
No matter what it is we s a y we love,—no matter where it is we s a y we get our comfort and joy—if our emotions are so interweaved with the things of this earth, we've gotten our priorities our of whack. No matter how healthy or beneficial what we are focused on is—it has become completely unhealthy if it becomes more of a source of happiness and confidence than our walk with Christ.
Here's the thing: whether you’re finding your comfort in a pint of ice cream, your confidence in your pursuits of healthy living, your hope in the next 30 day challenge that promises to “change your body and your life”, or your joy in numbers dropping on the scale—there’s one common problem: You’re seeking the same things that the world is seeking. You’re seeking your hope, confidence, and comfort where they can never truly be found—the only place we can find hope, confidence, comfort, and joy is in Christ.
We have to be aware of this, because God himself said it was in our nature to focus on outward things first (1 Samuel 16:7). It’s just a fact.
As long as earthly, physical things are your focus, you will never have enough, you will never be enough, you will never be satisfied.
Yes, take care of what God has given you—but don’t let the care of your body overtake you. Don’t let it bring you more joy than a relentless pursuit of Christ.
Keep climbing. 🏔 📖: "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you" (Philippians 3:12-15). #herlifehisway
