When God Thinks You Can

Many years ago when my daughter was young, we would spend Wednesday evenings at church for mid-week Sunday school. I would stay to help with her rather large preschool class—not really because I wanted to, but because the church was a bit of a drive from home and it was easier to stay.

One Wednesday, I received a call from the children’s ministry director. She said the teacher for the preschool class was sick and asked if I would teach the class that night. She probably explained what the lesson was for that night, but I don’t remember that part of the conversation. What I do remember is the panic I felt as I agreed to fill in.

Let me tell you, this was far outside of my comfort zone. So far that I don’t think I could even see it from the edge of my comfort zone.

I barely had enough patience for my one child, much less a room full of children. Did I mention this was a preschool class? A large preschool class—ages 2-5? Attention spans were all over the place, including mine.

As I hung up the phone wondering why I couldn’t think of an excuse to say no quick enough, I remembered something. Just the previous night I’d had a dream—a dream that this director called me just hours before the class and asked me to teach that night.

I hadn’t thought about the dream until that moment of stunned silence. I knew there was no way this was a coincidence. This was God warning preparing me for this challenge.

I distinctly remember the thought that gave me confidence that night. The thought I spoke aloud as I surrendered to Him.

God, if You think I can do this…then I must be able to do it.

After all, God knows better than I do.

Was I nervous? Yes. Stressed out? Most likely. Looking forward to it? Probably not. And yet, it felt different.

I had a confidence that didn’t come from me. It was from Him.

God had the confidence I didn’t have, and when I chose to trust Him, His confidence covered me. {Tweet this}

All afternoon, I reminded myself that God knew I could do this. What I thought didn’t matter. I knew He would be there with me.

I don’t remember that night’s class at all, but I know I got through it. And I remember telling the director about the dream and seeing her look of awe.

As I look back, I realize now that it was the first time I can remember when I stepped forward in faith to do something I would never have volunteered to do. God wasn’t calling me to be a teacher.

He was teaching me to trust Him and walk in faith.

And when you follow Him once into the uncomfortable unknown, each time after that gets a little easier.

*****

If you are reading Fulfilled by Danise Jurado with us, we are in week 4 with Chapter 6—Identity and Chapter 7—Confidence. The pages of my book are filled with underlined parts I don’t want to forget, along with notes and little stars next to Scripture verses.

How are you doing with the reading? What specific parts have grabbed your attention, and maybe kept you thinking about it for days?

In Christ,

Laura  

Thank you Jenn!

Linking up with #TellHisStory, #RaRaLinkup, Thought Provoking Thursday, Everyday Jesus, Faith Filled Friday, Grace & Truth, Faith 'n Friends, Weekend Whispers

Fulfilled Study - Week 4

We are now half way though our study of Fulfilled by Danise Jurado. (Hard to believe, isn't it?) I'd love to hear how you're doing and what you think of Danise's book so far. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. 

Read Chapter 6—Identity and Chapter 7—Confidence

Consider these questions:

• Danise Jurado writes, “It’s safe to say that we aren’t perfect, and it is very likely that we won’t always do the right thing. For this reason, we can count on being disappointed by each other.” (pg. 69) Do you find this statement freeing or disturbing? Why?

• “God’s definition of our identity is found in who He says we are, not merely in what we do.” (pg. 71)

• It’s difficult not to be defined by what we do or our role in life. (ie. mom, student, executive, unemployed, etc.) How can we focus on finding our identity in Christ, regardless of what our daily life looks like?

• I love the description in these verses from Jeremiah 17…

This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. (Jeremiah 17:5-8 NLT)

• How do you feel when you read these verses? Do you find it empowering to know you have a source of strength and confidence that doesn’t depend on yourself? How can you rely on, and draw from, God’s confidence this week?

Have a great week!

In Christ,

Laura 

[Image credit: Danise Jurado]

If You Can’t Say Something Nice

Our words have the power to build up or tear down—whether we’re talking to someone else or to ourselves. {Tweet this}

We don’t like to hurt someone’s feelings, but what about our own feelings? Why are we often harder on ourselves, telling ourselves things we would never say to someone else?

Our words and thoughts work together, and they have power. Our thoughts fuel what we tell ourselves and our words embed negative thoughts in our minds. And we begin to believe them without question.

The enemy loves this because it makes his work easier. When we tear ourselves down we are more vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. His lies are harder to identify because the negative thought pattern is already there.

The words we speak set the tone of our attitudes and our environment. – Danise Jurado, Fulfilled

Do you know someone who is always putting herself down? Do you enjoy being around her or do you find it exhausting? When our negative thoughts and words become habit, that behavior will come out around others. They will be able to see what we think of ourselves and hear how we speak to ourselves.

Think about how you talk to yourself. Would you want others to hear you? And what would they think?

God knows everything and still He showers us with grace. As we receive His grace, we need to give ourselves some grace too. We can retrain our minds to think differently and replace the lies with God’s truth.

Remember the advice, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all? It applies to ourselves too. If you look in the mirror and can’t say something nice about yourself, walk away. When you look again, make an intentional effort to say one nice thing about yourself. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is. What matters is changing the way we think about, and speak to, ourselves. 

The first step doesn’t have to be a big one, there just needs to be a first step.

*****

If you are reading Fulfilled by Danise Jurado with us, we are in week 3 with Chapter 4—Breaking Free and Chapter 5—Change. Danise offers good practical steps for breaking free from the chains that keep us from spiritual freedom and for making change where we see change needs to be made.

Identifying the lies we’ve been told or believed for a long time can be difficult. They can be so engrained that they seem normal to us. But as we look to God’s Word for His Truth, we find these thoughts don’t line up with what God says. There have been times when I had to think back (sometimes way back) to discover when it became a “normal” thought. Maybe it was because it was said to me repeatedly or from a past mistake or failure. For me, finding the source of that thought helped to diffuse the power it held over me. And without that power, I could work on letting it go.

What has helped you identify and diffuse lies that seemed like “normal thoughts?” 

In Christ,

Laura 

Photo credit

Linking up with Everyday Jesus, Grace & Truth, Thought Provoking Thursday, Blessing Counters, Faith Filled Friday

Fulfilled Study - Week 3

Welcome! If you're joining us in reading Fulfilled by Danise Jurado, we are in week 3. If you are looking for past Fulfilled posts, click on the #Fulfilled label in the left side bar.

Read Chapter 4—Breaking Free and Chapter 5—Change

After reading, consider these questions:

• Danise Jurado writes, “We all deeply desire to believe that we are not bound by the mistakes of our past or limited by the success of yesterday.” (pg. 45)

• Whether it’s past mistakes or past successes, do you struggle with feeling like your past defines you? Do you find it difficult to move forward and not get stuck in the past, or the way things used to be?

• Last year, I wrote this post for 5 Minutes for Faith: We Are Not Defined By Our Mistakes. In it, I wrote: “Define means to describe, detail, or to state the meaning of. (dictionary.com) We can describe our mistakes, but our mistakes do not describe us.”

• It sounds different that way, doesn’t it? The way we used to be cannot describe, or give the details of, who we are today in Christ.

• Danise explains three steps to breaking free. Have you tried them? What was your experience?

• Change can be hard. It’s uncomfortable, and we like to be in control of what changes in our lives. How do you react to change?

 Have a great week!

In Christ,

Laura

[Image credit: Danise Jurado]