The Year I Learned to Fly

 It has been quite sometime since I have written a post.  I really miss writing and pouring my words out.  Life has been insanely busy and through all the "stuff" that happens as a part of having a family, raising kids, working, and being back in school, I have not had a time to just write.

I love the transitive verb definition that Webster has for the word fly "to journey over or through by flying" and "to flee or escape from".  I have always loved words and knowing what they mean and what they mean in other contexts.  I remember as a child reading the dictionary with my mom just for fun because I wanted to learn more words. Back to the word fly, a journey. I have always said that life is a journey and there are people, places, and things that will always be apart of our journey. BUT on the other hand, there are people, places, and things that are only a stepping stone in our journey.  This year has been just that for me.  My journey has taken lots of twists and turns, but through it all, I found my wings and I learned how to FLY!

How did I learn to fly? Well, that is where we begin. I don't talk about my dad much and I really have not talked about his death much, but we all process and grieve in our own ways.  My dad in January of this year.  I had a range of emotions: angry, happy, sad.  I truly didn't know how to feel.  I decided that I would write a eulogy for my dad.  I was very strategic about what and how I wrote my eulogy.  I wanted to be honest about my dad but I was not in the mode of slamming my dad: 

"...As I say my final goodbye, know that the anger you imparted will always be with me. But instead of a shriveled flower deprived of sunshine and love, I stand firm like an oak tree, my deep roots keep my family foundation strong, while my branches and leaves protect my daughter from life's thunderstorms..."

My life with my dad was no where perfect and I had to learn and grow and make sure that I did better.  My dad taught me a few things: 1. What not to do 2. How to be strong  3. How to fly.

After my dad's funeral, I was walking the hallways at work and I stopped at a bulletin board covered in butterflies and I saw me. I saw myself as a butterfly set free and LEARNING how to fly. 

During all of this, I was taking a Master's Class that was stretching me as a writer, teacher, and person.  I had to complete a Self-Portrait Anthology and through that I learned a lot about me.  I will share this project later.  Through this class, death of my dad, dealing with my own sickness, and realizing that I was worth more than I was getting as a classroom teacher, I FOUND MY WINGS AND I LEARNED TO FLY! I learned that I am a strong person, I was worth more than what I was doing, and that I can do anything that I put my mind to. 

I have learned that when given the chance I can achieve great things.  My wings are here and I can fly and I am no longer chained down in a cage. 

Self-Portrait Anthology

Here is to my Journey, and hopefully helping others fly too!

Britt

The Journey Not Yet Done

Life is a journey.

We are not promised today nor tomorrow.  Each day that we wake up is a gift.  Each day that we see the sunrise and the sunset is a gift.  We never know when we will take our last breathe or say one last I love you to the ones we love. 

In Psalm 139:14,16 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Our children are God's that he has given to us as gift,  for us to take care of on this earth.  

Silas Irvin Hatcher was God's gift to my brother.  Silas came into this world with many challenges to overcome.  His journey on this earth was never an easy one.  He has been to many doctors, been through many tests,  and faced many ups and downs.  He celebrated his first Thanksgiving and Christmas with his family and has always been surrounded by love and prayers.  

Silas never lacked people to pray for him and care about him.  In the desperate pleas of our prayers, we prayed that God provide healing to Silas.  

Never did we imagine the healing that he would receive.

This morning, Silas was fully healed.  Silas is now hearing, seeing, walking, and dancing with our Lord. His sweet little self is in the presence of our Lord.  How amazing is that?!?!

While we grieve the loss of a son, brother, nephew, grandson, and cousin, we rejoice that he is healed and no longer suffering.  

We don't understand why his time on this earth was so short or what God's purpose for his life was.  Silas' journey is not yet done.  We don't know what the impact of the loss of Silas will be. We know that his journey on earth is complete, but his journey in heaven has just begun.  

Silas is now in the presence of our Lord and we can rest in peace in that.  We are deeply saddened by the loss of Silas, but we rest in assurance that we will see him again.    

Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand."

I will in a Minute Mommy

"I will in a minute Mommy!"  That is what Reagan said to me as I was folding the laundry this morning.  I had folded some of her clothes and I had called to her to come get them and put them away.  Her response was, "I will in a minute Mommy."  She was not being rude or unkind when she said  that to me, she was just letting me know that she was going to but she didn't want to stop playing to do it. 

She didn't want to stop what she was doing, to do what she was told.  My mom told me as I got older, that she learned the most about God by being a parent.  And now as a mom, I get it.  (Thanks mom!) 

As I stood there waiting on Reagan to come get the laundry, it made me think....is this what God does to us? He calls us by name, asking us to listen to Him? 

God calls us by name to follow him, part of that is putting him first.  As a mom I find it difficult sometimes to put God first in the mornings.  I look at him and say, "I will in a minute God", "I need to do this first", "I have to have my coffee", "I don't have the time right now" and the list can go on.  Just like Reagan told me she would in a minute, how often do we tell God "in a minute"? I do this all too often.

God wants us to put Him first in the mornings and listen to him.  God does not want us to look at him and say God I will in a minute.   God wants us to say, "yes,  I will".   When we give God our first, we are blessed.  Proverbs 16:20 "Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD."  

Just like I gave Reagan a simple instruction, God gives us one...Put me first!  That's all he wants us to do!  Imagine the blessings that will come down upon our lives and our families when we listen and put God first and not last in our lives! 

Live Blessed! 

Britt

Mommy, It was About a Snake!

The other morning I was getting ready for work and Reagan came up to me because she had a bad dream.  "Mommy, I had a bad dream."  I responded, "Honey, what was your dream about?"  She proceeded to tell me that she had a bad dream about a snake.   

As my daughter was telling me about her dream, I caught myself kinda of chuckling (without her seeing).  In my mind it was so silly.  It is just a snake.  In my daughter's world, this was a big deal.

I didn't want her to think that I didn't care that she had a bad dream, I wanted her to know that I care.  I bent down and told her that it was just a dream and that she had nothing to worry about.  I gave her a hug and a kiss and we kept going with our day.  

Just as I comforted my daughter, that is what God does for us.   Proverbs 18:10 says "The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."  God is our strong tower, he is there when we need comforted.  How often do we run to him though?  

I would be lying if I said that I run to Him every time I needed comfort.  We tend to run to other people, food, drinking, social media, etc.  Where do you fall in those list of things?  God is the one that we need to be running to, but we don't.  Why don't we?   He is our Father, he is the one who cares the most about us.  Yet, we choose not to.  Why do we choose that?   

I have found that in my own life it is because I am embarrassed and I am worried about feeling like a failure in front of God.  But he knows everything, so why should I be?

Just like Reagan came to me with her bad dream to be comforted, we need to run to our Heavenly Father when we need to be comforted. Take a moment to think about what or whom that you run to when you need to be comforted.  Is it God or something/someone else? 

But God I Really Don't Want To...

"But Mom....I don't want to."   Oh, how I remember saying that as a child.  My mom would ask me to do something and I would complain about doing it.  Of course in the end, I did what I was told.

I find myself often complaining to God.  "But God I really don't want to do this" "God this is too difficult".  The list can go on and on.  When I was young my mom would often remind me of Philippians 2:14-15 "Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky."

Yes, I find myself still complaining about things to this day.  Learning not to complain about something is very difficult.

Just today, I had to withdraw from one of my college classes putting off my graduation another semester.  I have been wrestling with this for a few weeks now, the idea of not graduating this year and having to withdraw from this class.  I often found myself complaining to God about it.  "Why God, I've worked so hard" "But God, I really don't want to", you get the idea.  I really, really, really did not want to withdraw from this class, and I struggled and inwardly complained to God as I clicked the submit button this morning to withdraw.  As soon as it was done, this overwhelming flood of emotions came over me.

God hears us when we complain and he hates it.  Numbers 11:1 "Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when He heard them His anger was aroused. "  Yikes!! Here I was complaining about having to drop this class, asking God why me.  And here I read that God hates complaining and he his anger burns when we complain.  Well, it is safe to say that I was convicted when I read this.

When hardships arise in my life, like having to withdraw from my class, I fond myself complaining to God about it and I all too quickly forget that in this life I am to expect hardships and adversity.

God has a purpose for each of the hardships that we face in life.  His purpose is that in those moments we draw closer to him and that we will continue to let His light shine through us and that others will see that and we can lead by example.  By God's grace he will carry us through the adversity that we face in our lives.

So, as believers if we know that we are going to face hardships and adversity in life, why do we still complain about it?  We are human.  It is easy to complain about the hard things in life, but when we do complain about those things, we are forfeiting the grace of God that could be ours.

When we complain about our lives, we are clinging to the idol of a perfect life, and we are basically throwing God's grace out the door.  By choosing not to cling to God and His strength we are choosing not to live with true joy in our lives.

Is complaining easy to do? Yes!  Is NOT complaining easy to do? NO!  Do I wish that life was easy and I did not have to make all these big decisions? Yes.

The hardships and adversity that I face in life are there to draw me closer to my Maker, and honestly, why should I complain about that?

As I continue with life and I catch myself saying "But God I really don't want to..." I need to stop and remind myself that God has something BIG and amazing planned for my life, and this is just the path that He is choosing to take me there.

As I sit here thinking about not graduating this year, yes, it is still upsetting, but I know that I need not complain about it because God has a plan for me.

" 'For I know that plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Here I Go Forgiving....AGAIN

A few years ago I was contacted by a friend of mine from Middle School via Facebook.  I was shocked because I had not spoken to him in years.  In his message to me he apologized to me for not standing up for me when I was being picked on in Middle School.  You can imagine my shock when i received this message.  At first I didn't know what to say.  Of course I forgave him.

It is sometimes easy to forgive people when it has been so long since the offense had happened.  In this case for me, it was easier to forgive.  But, it is not always that easy to forgive.  

As a child when I brothers and I would fight my mom would make us say sorry and forgive each other.  I remember saying apologizing and forgiving and then under my breath say that I didn't mean it.  I know now why my mom made us do that.  She wanted us to not only learn how to forgive each other, but by forgiving each other we are being obedient to God. 

Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

The basis for believers forgiving each other is the fact that we ourselves have been forgiven by God.

When someone comes seeking your forgiveness, you have the obligation to grant forgiveness and extend mercy--even if the person has sinned against you repeatedly and regardless of the sin.  Your forgiveness of other is a prerequisite for your receiving God's forgiveness.   God DOES forgive us!

We forgive others if we don't want to disobey God and break our fellowship with Him. The Lord doesn't direct evil against us, though He may chose to allow us to go through a trial resulting from our own sinful choices or from the sinfulness of the world we live in.  

Another aspect of forgiving is forgiving ourselves.  We have to be willing to forgive ourselves.  Through forgiving ourselves, we open the door for God's glory and it provides a place for our own growth.  

Love it best ingredient for forgiveness.  Often the person wounded must forgive with an act of the will, giving time for working through feeling, and experiencing healing.  This is not always easy and it can take time.  

Forgiveness comes with the removal of past offenses from the mind, meditation on God's Word, giving our hurts over to God, praying for the offender (I know this is not always easy), and serving as a willing channel of God's grace.  Revenge is NOT an option because God has promised that He will take care of judgement. 

Meaningful forgiveness demands planning and thought.  Forgiveness is the willingness to search for new solutions.  We must be concerned with seeking forgiveness only for our wrong.  We have to remember that a forgiving attitude does not excuse self, defend self, or accuse others.  

Forgiveness is something that takes time.  It is not something that we can master over night, but with the help and the guidance of Christ, it is something that we can become better at doing. 

Seeking forgiveness frees you to receive God's mercy.  Showing mercy by a forgiving spirit brings blessings from God and gratitude from the one forgiven.  A forgiving spirit brings good to yourself and to others.

Britt Hatcher

Grace and Humility

As I began my Quiet Time (QT) this morning, God had impressed upon my heart grace.  Ah, I love talking about grace, it is one of my most favorite things.  I think that I enjoy it as much as I do because of the amount of grace that God has given me.

Over the past couple years, I have had circumstances that God has poured out His grace upon my life.  While being shown the amount of grace that I have been given, I sometimes stop and look at my life to see where I am showing grace to others.  Yikes!  I am embarrassed to say that sometimes I don't do that, but I am human and I make mistakes.

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast."  I love that God has chosen to give this to us as a gift.  What a sweet and precious gift we are given.

As we are given this gift of grace by Christ, how often are we giving grace to others?  I am not saying that we need to let people take advantage of us, I am saying that just as Christ has shown us grace, we need to show grace to others.  What a great example that we have to follow!

So, how does humility fit into all of this?  James 4:6 "But he gives us more grace.  That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."  Grace is given to us as a gift, but humility is something that takes work.  God gives us grace in our lives when we need it the most.  Being humble in those situations when he does pour out grace, is a good thing because God chose to give us grace.

Humility is a personal quality of dependence on God and respect for others.  And I will be the first to tell you that this is not always easy.  I have had situations in my life where God has absolutely humbled me, and I am so grateful for those times.

Humility does not comes easily, it can take time to achieve.   But, we have the greatest example of all, Christ!  

Philippians 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death--even death on a cross."  Wow, I have to stop and think, am I willing to humble myself like that?  .

Christ has given us the ultimate example of humility, grace, and sacrificial love for others.  His life provides so many examples of these.  As believers we need to take heed and humble ourselves.

James 4:10 "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."  We need to humble ourselves before God and man.  Humility does not come from ourselves, but instead from Christ.  As we practice being humble and showing grace, imagine the blessings that we will receive from Christ.



Britt Hatcher

"To Be or Not To Be"

"To be or not to be.." is the opening phrase of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.

As silly as it may sound, I sometimes ask myself this question, to be this or to be that.  Lately, I have had many friends and acquaintance's either getting engaged or married, and as much as I long for it to be my time for all of that, I know that God has a plan for me and I have to be content.

Over the the past couple years I have accepted where I am in life and I am content with where God has be right now.  So being content has been on my mind and heart lately and it is actually what was part of my quiet time this morning.

Contentment is the ultimate acceptance of yourself, your surroundings, your past, and your future.  For a believer finding contentment should be effortless, yet getting to the state of contentment is not an easy task.

Satisfaction hen you have very real unmet needs, freedom from worry when you have overwhelming concerns, patience in letting God work when pressures abound--these seem like impossible dreams.  God chose not to give us contentment as a gift.  He chose to rather teach us to be content as you allow Him to be ruler in your life.

Contentment is learned.  Philippians 4:11 says, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."  Paul is teaching the Philippians more about the providence and provision of God and the expectancy and contentment of the believer who would wait on the Lord.  Believers are to be "content" not WITH circumstances but IN circumstances.  This is something that is developed over time.

As you trust Gods gifts to be sufficient and His assignments to be appropriate, you can accept the way that you look, the means that you have been given, and so on.

Dissatisfaction with areas in your life that can be changed, within divine guidelines, may help you to see that something is missing.  I find myself craving God when I don't have my Quiet Time and I am not in His word on a daily basis, and for me that causes dissatisfaction and discontentment.

Instead of adopting a complaining spirit about where you are in your life, take your dissatisfaction's, worries, and concerns to the Lord.  Being willing in the meantime to be content as you walk the path that God has for you.

We must trust that God has given us everything that we need for this moment in time.

Did They Really Say That?

Have you ever been taunted by thoughts such as, "They don't like me.", "You aren't liked.", "Why did you just say that?", "No one cares, everyone thinks that you are annoying."

I have found myself tormented by destructive thoughts such as these.  These thoughts are dangerous and they are toxic to our souls.  I was having a conversation a while back and the other person said, "I know you think..."  I paused and thought to myself, how do you know what I am thinking?

All too often we assume what people are thinking and as women we do this way too often.  People are not assessing us and thinking about us as much we think they are.  As Christian women we need to hold our thoughts to a higher standard, but we fall to the ways of sin and we allow these toxic thoughts to manipulate us into feeling insecure and inadequate about ourselves.

Philippians 4:6,8 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God....Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."

We are instructed to think and to have our minds on constructive thoughts, not destructive.

I will be the first to tell you that changing from the toxic thoughts to constructive thoughts is not an easy task.  There are some ways that helped me to change my thought pattern.

The first is something that my mom told me growing up, Did someone actually say that, or am I assuming they are thinking it?  If they did not actually say it, and you are assuming it, that is destructive to you and unfair to the other person.  If they actually said it, then that needs to be handled with that person. The second is Being actively involved with truth.  When we spend more time filling our thoughts and our mind with God's truth, there is less room for those destructive and toxic thoughts to creep in.  Finally, are there people or situations that I am surrounding myself with that are encouraging the toxic thoughts?  Taking a step back from situations and/or people that are encouraging these thoughts can be difficult.  I have been in that situation and it is not easy, but having other people who are immersing themselves with God's truth makes this transition much easier.

Things that we encounter in our lives can be much more difficult than just doing the three things above, but this is a great place to start to keep our minds and thoughts pure and constructive rather than toxic and destructive.

BIG Decisions

Life is full of decisions, what am I going to eat, what am I going to wear, where am I going to go to college, am I going to go to college, who am I going to marry, the list goes on and on and on.  Each day we are faced with decisions, some are small simple decisions and other are much harder to decide.

I think back to when I would make decisions as a child, they were simple things like what color crayon do I use to color this flower but, as I have grown and become an adult my decisions have become much bigger and much more difficult to make.

A couple months ago I was presented with an opportunity for a Masters program at my college, and I had a decision to make whether or not I was going to jump at this opportunity.  For me at the point that I am at in my life this was a big decision to make.  If I said yes to this opportunity this would spring board me father into my teaching career and I would be done quicker with my Masters Degree but, at the same time how would I pay for the classes, would this take away time from my family, would I be able to balance my Undergraduate classes along with the new classes.  These and so many more questions were running through my mind. I became overwhelmed and anxious about making a decision.

As I was becoming anxious, I was reminded of Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Oh what a sweet reminder that was!!  Do NOT be anxious, present your requests to God.  Thank you Lord for that! That is just what I needed to be reminded of at that time.

I prayed about this decision that I had in front of me and the Lord directed my path and has blessed me the opportunity to be in the Masters program.

The Lord wants us to come to Him with anything and everything.  He is our rock and refuge.  When we have BIG decisions to make He wants us to come to him.  Sometimes I try to make and figure out BIG decisions on my own, and I find that all too often I crash and burn.

Before jumping into a BIG or small decisions and opportunities, we, as believers, have the opportunity to present those before God and pray about what we are supposed to do with those decisions.   God is with us and He will guide us with every decision both BIG and small in our lives.

Correction, Sometimes it hurts.

Correction!  I think that it is safe to say that we all dislike correction, but on the same note we all need correction.  Growing up my mom would correct me on things like sit up straight, don't put your elbows on the table, don't talk with your mouth full and so on.  At the time I was thinking "Aww..mom, I'm fine".  Well now that I am an adult, I know and understand why my mom was correcting me because one she didn't want me to look like an idiot and two because she knew that correcting me was the best thing for me.

Just like our parents correct us as we grow up, God gives us corrections and yes sometimes it does hurt and we don't want to hear it but in the end he knows that it is best for us.  Proverbs 3:12 says "For whom the Lord loves, He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights".  God corrects us because He knows we want to be people who Honor and love him.  To become the man or woman that God wants us to be there is going to be some discomfort and yes, even corrections.   Although in the verse it does say that He corrects and reproves us, there is hope in that verse because just like the verse reminds us the Lord loves us and He delights in us.  Wow, I am so thankful for that relief in the midst of the correction.

One of my favorite verses about correction is Proverbs 12:1 which says, "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid".  Well, isn't that blunt!  I know that in my life I have needed to hear things so bluntly like that.  God knows that we all need correction and help becoming the man or the woman that He wants us to be, but sometimes we need verses such as Proverbs 12:1 that just state it so bluntly and honestly.

Just like our parents correct us because they love us, God corrects us because He loves us too!

Follow The Leader

As a child one of the games that I really enjoyed playing was follow the leader.  For me I LOVED to lead, as I still do today, but often I found it really hard to follow sometimes.

I really enjoyed being the leader and I did not necessarily want to follow someone else. Often I have found that a lot of children more often than not would rather be the leader and not the follower.

Just like as a kid when I found it hard to play follow the leader when I was not the one leading, I find it hard to follow Christ where he leads me.

Many times in the New Testament Christ is saying "Come, follow me." Matthew 16: 24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.' "  That is just one place that Jesus is telling someone to follow him.

Christ calls us to follow him in many ways.  Some are called to be foreign missionaries, domestic missionaries, teachers, doctors, and many other places.  We are called to follow him and be his light.  Though many times it is hard to pick up our things and follow Christ where He leads, it will always be worth it in the end for our joy and His Glory.

When I think about all of this, there are two families that come to mind, the Dyar's and the Pestotnik's.  Both of these families were called to go over seas to the mission field.  Each of the families picked up and moved over seas. I can't even begin to imagine what kinds of thoughts each of these families had when God called them to go. But what an example they are of following Christ!!

When Christ is calling me to follow Him, I will admit that sometimes it is not where I want to be or what I want to be doing.  But it is in those times that I have to remember that is HE is my leader and I am the follower and I am to follow him where ever he leads me!

Are you leading? Or are you following the ultimate leader?

Cowboy Boots and Pink TuTu's

For the past few years, I have taught three and four year old choir on Wednesday nights at my Church. I got the utmost joy from teaching the little ones! I came home with some of the best stories every week!

One particular week as I was greeting the children as they came in the room, this one little girl caught my eye.  I did a double take and there was little miss Anna Caroline in cowboy boots and a pink tutu. I snickered just a little bit and grinned at her and told her I loved her outfit! I truly did love her outfit!

As I watched Anna throughout the class my mind began to wander.  As I watched Anna play with her friends and baby dolls, I thought to myself, what if we expressed our love for Christ and shared with others that love like Anna expressed her personality through what she was wearing?

Matthew 28:19-20 says "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surly I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This verse calls us to go out make disciples.  As believers in Christ that what we are supposed to do. But all too often don't we find ourselves not living out the great commission? I know for me I find it hard sometimes to express my love for Christ and live it out in every single task that I do during the day.  Sometimes I am afraid to take that step and share Christ with others.

I am gonna jump out on a limb here and say that I think there are many believers that are afraid to take that step and share their faith because they are afraid of what others will think and say about them.  Do you find yourself in that place? Afraid to share the word of God?

What a huge lesson I learned from Anna that night!  Just as Anna was not afraid to wear cowboy boots and a pink tutu, I want to not be afraid to tell others about Christ.

So why don't we all put on our cowboy boots and pink tutu and share Christ!

Missing Pieces Box

Growing up my brothers and I tended to loose pieces to games, puzzles, and other nic-nacs. So when we wanted to play a board game such as monopoly it never ceased to fail that one of the houses would be missing, the dice would be missing, or something else that you needed to play the game would not be there.  So my mom made what we called the "Missing Pieces Box" so that when we would find that lost piece we would have a place to put the pieces.

While cleaning out our game closet a while back, I happened upon that missing pieces box. I opened it up and rummaging through it I found a piece to the game trouble, a lego, a piece to a Dr. Seuss game, puzzle pieces to puzzles I forgot we even had, and there was an array of other things in the box.  As I was sifting through the box I was trying to figure out what pieces went to what game. There were so many pieces that it became overwhelming to figure out what was what! I had to close the lid and put the box back for a later date.

Sifting through all those missing pieces made me think of the story in Luke 15 where the woman lost her coin and she searched and searched and searched for that one lost coin and when she found it she rejoiced because she found her one lost coin.  Or the other story in Luke 15 about the lost son who wanted his inheritance now and then when it was gone he came back home and his father rejoiced when his son came home!

That is the same kind of joy that Christ has when one of his people come back to him.  Many times in life we go off the beaten path and we decide to go our own way and decide that our way is better than His way.   Just like the woman who searched and searched for her lost coin, Christ searches for us when we are lost too.  Sometimes we don't want to be want to be found because we are happy and content buried deep in our own missing pieces box.  But because Christ loves us so much, he won't quit sifting through that missing pieces box until he finds us.

Christ us wants us to be one with him and follow him, so when we go our own way he searches for us and when we come back to him, he celebrates just like the father did in Luke 15 when his son came home.

Just like I would have been excited about finding that one missing trouble piece or that puzzle piece, Christ gets excited when one of his sheep come back to him.

Luke 15:32 " But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and  is found."

Dented, Bruised, and Sometimes Busted

I love getting a good deal, especially on a high ticket item. But who doesn't?

Many times stores will discount an item when the packaging is damaged or you see a discount bin when you walk through a store that has items in there that are just missing a label, or the box may be just cut open on the side.

Sometimes life gives us the unexpected.  Lessons that knock us to our knees and bruise, dent, or even bust us open in some way.   When that happens sometimes we let it remove the label of who we are in Christ.  A mother looses her only child it takes away her role as a mother. A divorce can take away the role of a mother or father. When things like that happen in our lives we feel as though we are that discounted item just thrown into the discount bin. With all the dents and bruises that we receive in life, we tend to begin to believe the lie of the devil that we are not good enough and we are no longer worthy to stand before our God.

We all have been damaged in some sort of way.  As young children we all dream of what we want to be like as we grow up and when we fail to live up to our own expectations or someone else's expectations, we feel like that item tossed into the discount bin.  How often do we look at those items in the discount bin and judge them because of the type of damage it has or because of the missing label.  I know that I have done that all too often.  How often do we look at others and are quick to judge them and throw them into the "discount bin"? I dare say that we all have been quick to judge someone without really knowing the story.

Sometimes, we end up in that discount bin with all the other busted and damaged items.  But, we have hope! We have hope in Jesus who paid the price for our sins and for all of our dents, bruises, and damages.  Psalm 34:18 says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."  That verse provides hope for us that the Lord is always going to be close and near to us even when we feel as though we have been thrown into the discount bin.

Are there people in your life that think they are the damaged good that was thrown into the discount bin?  Take some time and pray for them and reach out to them and give them the chance to be taken out of the discount bin and show them the love of Jesus and that he is close to those who are broken and he will restore us and repair our brokenness and take us out of the discount bin and give us a new label.

Follow Me???

Follow me on Twitter. Follow me on Facebook. Follow me on Blogger. Follow me on Pinterest. All these things that we now have that we can follow people on. We follow people that we know and love, we follow people who are "celebrities", we even follow people on all these things that we may not even like but we follow them anyway.  All to often we find ourselves spending hours upon hours "following" all these things and wasting away our days.  If we don't like what someone says or posts, in just a matter of seconds we can  move on to the next best thing.  Thousands of years ago, someone else said "Follow Me".  But when He said this, he wasn't talking about Twitter or Facebook.

When Jesus asked people to follow him, he was not talking about clicking a button and checking out his latest tweet.  Jesus wanted them to drop and leave everything and literally follow him.  When Jesus invited Peter and Andrew to follow Him, they walked away from their jobs. Others left family, wealth and possessions. He gently turned one away because the young man wouldn't give up riches. But those that followed gave up their rights in exchange for a relationship with the Messiah.

"Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."" Mark 10:21

Jesus called the disciples to follow him, and He has called us as believers to follow him as well.  

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'" Mark 8:34

Following Jesus was an all or nothing invitation. There isn't one example in Scripture where Jesus made an exception. And yet too many times I find myself following Jesus with only part of me. In fact, at times I'd prefer the Twitter version of following Jesus. Quick and entertaining, and done from behind a screen. When all the spiritual decorations are removed, the truth is I've tried to follow Jesus with only part of me. I consider His invitation, and I'm happy to follow Him with my mind and hands. And yet I know Jesus wants more. He doesn't want a 140-character relationship with me. He doesn't want my obedience a few times a day when I think about it. He doesn't want my convenient offerings of service. Following Jesus means being His shadow...walking in His footsteps to the leper colony, being a friend of the outcast, facing scorn from the religious community, and standing firm for what is right in spite of the cost. It means following Him in the very essence of who I am: The deep place where I submit my rights to the One who gave them up for me. When I look at it in that light, I realize once again why I want to follow Jesus fully. He gave up everything for me. How can I do any less? My footsteps on this earthly journey following Jesus are not always steady and strong. I've stumbled many times. Yet I know that following anyone else offers only temporary peace and joy. Only Jesus leads me from darkness to light, and from death to life. I don't expect I'll find that on Twitter.

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"  John 8:12

What's been going on?!?!

It has been quite some time since I have posted on here....actually about five months, entirely way to long. So, what's been going on?!?!?

Well, there has been a lot that has gone on in the past  five months.  When I lasted posted on here, I talked about how the trip that I had planned to go on this past  summer had been cancelled.  Well, I was able to just switch teams from the Ethiopia team to the Sierra Leone team. I left for the summer June 15th.  I was gone for seven weeks. After those seven weeks I was so ready to be back home, but there was a part of me that was left in the country of Sierra Leone.  There will forever be a piece of me that is left there. I pray that some day, I am able to return to the country of Sierra Leone and continue to minister to the people of the country.  There were so many things that I learned this past summer. One of the things that I learned is to rely fully on God, because I can NOT  do it on my own at all. I have to rely on him for all my strength.  Those are just some of the things that I learned and things that God taught me when I was gone this summer.

When I returned home I struggled with health problems.  Part of it was from a virus that I caught when I got back to America.  I was so exhausted, both mentally and physically.  There were other things that followed me being sick, but two months after being home, I am feeling so much better.  You don't know when Christ is going to call you home, so you need to take advantage of every moment that you have here on earth and serve him.  Life is short and you never know when you will be called home.  It is a good thing to just slow down and appreciate the little things and appreciate the people in your life.

Since I have been back I have also started school back.  Mid-Terms are QUICKLY approaching.  Some even this week.  My school career is getting much more difficult as I progress in my work, but I am getting closer and closer to attaining my goal.  This May I will graduate MCC with my Associates Degree and I am so very excited that I am finishing this part of my goal!!!

There are so many things that I could write about, but time does not always allow for it unfortunately.  There is so much that is going on in the world today and there is also a lot that is going on politically. I am looking forward to my later blogs about some of the things that are going on politically in America as well as some other things. :)

Until then....God Bless.

Sometimes God Has Other Plans

As I have gotten older I have made plans for myself, like where I am going to school, what I want to major in, and so on. But, there are times in my life where God has other plans. In my first post, I said that I was headed to Ethiopia this summer, well, that has changed, I will no longer be going to Ethiopia. I am instead, headed to Sierra Leone, Africa. To better explain the reasoning, here is a copy of the email that I received a few days ago....

Dear Britt,

We have had a late developing situation that has forced me to make some changes in our teams. I am sorry to inform you that due to a serious health issue with another mission trip leader, I have to reassign Holly Duke and Margaret Fischer. Unfortunately, this means that we are going to have to cancel the Ethiopia mission trip.

Reign Ministries is committed to providing the highest quality leadership. Therefore, we only allow Reign Ministries staff to lead teams. Normally I would replace Holly and Margaret with other leaders, but with the additional loss of the original leader, Matt Halseth, we simply do not have anyone with enough training to send to Ethiopia in their place.

Therefore, I am going to ask you to consider switching to another team. We have enough spots open on Sierra Leone if everyone would want to stay in Africa. However, we also have openings on the India, China, EuroQuest, and London mission trips, which are also amazing!

You will receive a call within the next day from either Holly or Margaret. They will answer any questions you have and discuss the team options that are open.

One last word of encouragement: I have led teams for 30 years. As a leader, I grow attached to an area, a people group, and the missionaries/churches I work with. In my career I have had to give up where I was working five times to fill in the leadership on another mission trip...and hardly ever to a location I wanted to go to! And even though my heart was set to work in a specific country (especially my switch from Romania to China) I wouldn't trade the experience. Those switch years were some of the best and most transformational in all my years of leadership. I learned two (among many) things:
Lesson 1 - God is not always so interested in where I go, but that I go.
Lesson 2 - Learning trust and faith comes at a cost. God showed me He wants me to trust and praise Him even when I don't get what I want.

I can't promise you how God will work in your life. But based on what I have experienced of the faithfulness of the Father, if you can trust and praise Him in the midst of change, I believe God will bless you beyond what can expect or believe.

Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or concerns.

Blessings,
Tom Ives
Director of Royal Servants
Reign Ministries

I was contacted by one of the team leaders the same day that I got this email and we talked and I told her that I would email her within the next 24 hours and I would let her know what I would do. So, I spent a large portion of Thursday evening in prayer. I emailed Margaret and I told her that I would like to switch to the Sierra Leone team. My heart is still in Africa and it always has been, for years, it has been for years.

Sometimes God closes one door to open a better one. He has a plan for me this summer and his plan was not for me to go to Ethiopia it was for me to go to Sierra Leone. Sometimes, God has other plans for us, we just have to listen to his calling and his voice.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

The Little Things: Don't worry :)

I teach three and four year old's at my church on Wednesday Nights. I have been teaching them for almost two years now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Those kids are the sweetest things! Though, I will admit, it defiantly has it's challenges. I prepare a lesson each week to teach them, and there are some weeks were I just grow weary and I want to just not do anything and not go to class that week. That is where I have to rely on Christ to get me through. And after every class, I NEVER regret going. :)  As adults, we tend to over look the little things in life. We get so wrapped up with school, work, families, kids, and so on, and we don't ever take time to just stop and take a look at the little things in life. Watching these kids week to week has reminded me about the little things in life. Seeing them run around on the playground, watching them color, watching them sing, and watching them practice what they learned reminds me of the verse in the Bible that talks about how we are not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has its own worries. Those kids remind me of that. They don't worry about what there friends think when they walk into class wearing a Cinderella Dress and cowboy boots, they don't worry if they color outside of the lines on their coloring page, they are just enjoying life and enjoying who they are. We can learn so much from kids. One thing is, little things: don't worry!! Little things sometimes seem to make us either have a really bad day or a really good day. Don't worry if you don't get your hair just right in the mornings, God still loves you! So, just take sometime each day and be thankful for the little things that are in our lives. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

Helping When Others Are In Need

I read a devotion online this morning that I got in my email and It was about this lady who was purchasing an item at one of her local stores. She knew one of the young girls that worked there and the young girl was in need of a ride home and before the girl could ask, the woman said that she could take the girl home. After I read the story and all the other things that were attached to the email, I stopped and thought, how many times in a day do I just think about me? I think about me a lot and I think that it is safe to say that you think a lot about you too. We are only human, it is natural to do that. But as a Christian and being one of God's own, we have a higher calling than that. We are called to help others in need and help those who need our help. Everyone helps someone else in their own way, some are able to give money and others are able to give up of their time. We all help and give to others in need in our own way. Here is my challenge to you today, take a minute and do something for someone else in need. Let's change our focus from a "me" focus to one that is not so focused on ourselves.