Pen-to-Rest

Posted on March 1, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw

Haha, You thought this was about Pinterest, didn’t you? Couldn’t resist a catchy pun! ;)

Now that I have your “interest”: after a great deal of prayer, searching the Word and bouncing my thoughts off of my hubby and others close to me, I’m laying down my blogging pen for awhile.

The plan right now is around six months.

I could go into a long dissertation about how I’ve arrived here, but I’ll spare you the long story. The bottom line is that I believe the Lord is leading me to rest from blogging, to write behind the scenes and to lay this ministry before Him with open hands.

I’ve been writing devotions and Christian Living articles on the world wide web for nine years now, and I’ve loved it. Each blessing, bump, high and low has had its effect on my spiritual life, and hopefully yours and others too. But I don’t want to keep doing it just because “it’s what I do,” you know? Sometimes the Lord intends our gifts and talents to be used in other ways, and so I’m open to Him showing me what that looks like.

Those of you who blog know what a considerable amount of time it takes to do it and to do it well. When you add the fact that my heart is to encourage and challenge others spiritually, well, it adds even more prayer and study to the mix, because it’s a huge responsibility.

So the plan is to take the time that I would normally spend researching, planning, praying, and corresponding with readers and give it to the Lord instead–with undivided heart, open Bible, along with blank calendar (well, it’s not blank but you know what I mean) and journal in front of me.

At this point in time, I still plan to be on my FaithColoredGlasses.com Facebook Page as well as in and around my favorite blogging communities, so I’ll look forward to seeing you there. I also have left my calendar prayerfully open to speaking engagements as time allows and requests come.

I want to be totally available to whatever and wherever He leads during these months of Pen-to-Rest.  I covet your prayers as the Holy Spirit leads you, and I appreciate your support, encouragement and understanding as I follow God’s lead. I pray to walk by faith, not by sight in this, by His grace and for His glory.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21, ESV

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in faith-filled living, ministry decisions, obedience, online, personal, prayer, priorities, surrender, time, whole-hearted devotion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Runnin’ on Empty?

Posted on February 24, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw

Remember the old Jackson Browne song “Runnin’ On Empty”? It could be the theme song for a good many of our lives.

“Running on – running on empty

Running on – running blind

Running on – running into the sun

But I’m running behind.” *

Even as Christians, we can be “runnin’ on empty” and “runnin’ blind.” Do you realize that? We have the race marked out for us, with Christ’s help to run it unwaveringly, but so often we train our own way and race with our own resources.

As I’ve grown in my faith over the past five years, this is a topic I’ve had to wrestle with and allow the Lord to win. It came to a point where, until I dealt with this issue specifically, I’d have to take a water break from the race God had designed for me.

My poor training started in my childhood. With no one to show me how to cope with the horrible realities I faced, I ran. Between choir and theatre and cheerleading and track and student council and color guard and friends’ houses and church events and softball and running blind into wherever I thought the sun was shining, you can bet I was empty. To fill up, I’d watch my regular television programs, all with families I wished were my own. I’d stuff my face with junk food at the same time, knowing that my taste palette would be satisfied eventually. It never was, but I kept swallowing anyway.

“But you were just a kid and weren’t taught any better,” you might say. “Besides, you coped the best you could.” This is true, but I was long into my adulthood before I realized I was still running the same way I had begun many years before. Only now I had my driver’s license.

“Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels,

I don’t know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels.

I look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through.

Looking into their eyes, I see them running too.” *

All of a sudden, it occurred to me that I wasn’t the only one wearing the tread down on my tires. Surprisingly enough, I was in a great deal of traffic, with people just like me. Probably all for different reasons, but pedals to the metal, just the same.

On the race the Lord has marked out for us, sometimes we have to sprint, and sometimes hurdles are a part of our endurance training. Some seasons are busier than others, and we have no control over it. But I’m not necessarily talking about being too busy. I’m talking about running with the wrong source of energy. About becoming distracted with the audience on the sidelines. About taking shortcuts when the path marked before us gets too rocky. About going just because we’ve always gone.

Featuring Browne’s album, Rolling Stone magazine** wrote, “The title track was actually written when Browne was driving back and forth to the studio each day to make The Pretender. ‘I was always driving around with no gas in the car,’ he said. ‘I just never bothered to fill up the tank because — how far was it anyway? Just a few blocks.’”

Wow. What a description of my life for so many years. Does this apply to you? Are you running on fumes, thinking that your fill-up is only a few blocks away?

The Lord desires that we run our races with a full tank of Him, my friends. How else can we glorify Him?

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

No matter if we are on a city road or a country one, a road under construction or one fully paved—God designed us to live with our eyes fixed on Him and our hearts full of Him. Otherwise, we’ll keep “running behind, running on empty—running blind.” With the joy of Heaven set before us, let’s allow the One who ran the race before us to retrain us, perfect us. Let’s keep running on—running on full.”

*Running On Empty—lyrics by Jackson Browne

**Rollingstone.com—Dec. 9th, 2004

***This is a repost from July 2009, revisited, reedited & sorely needed. :D

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in Christian walk, christian living article, faith-filled living, restoration, spiritual maturity, stress, struggles, surrender, whole-hearted devotion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Grow.

Posted on February 21, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw

I was humbled and ministered to by Spurgeon this morning from his Strengthen My Spirit devotional. Had to share and ask you to walk alongside me in this:

“Grow in grace, & in the knowledge of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18

“‘Grow in grace’–not in one grace only but in all grace. Grow in the starting place of grace: faith. Believe the promises more firmly than you have before. Let faith increase in fullness, constancy, simplicity.

Grow also in love. Ask that your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word & deed.

Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low and know more of your own nothingness.

As you grow downward in humility, seek also to grow upward–having nearer approaches to God in prayer and more intimate fellowship with Jesus. To know Him is ‘life eternal,’ and to advance in the knowledge of Him is to increase in happiness. Whoever has sipped this wine will thirst for more, for although Christ satisfies, yet it is such a satisfaction, that the appetite is not satisfied but whetted.

If you know the love of Jesus, so will you pant after deeper draughts of His love. If you do not desire to know Him better, then you love Him not, for love always cries, ‘Nearer, nearer.’ Seek to know more of Him in His divine nature, in His human relationship, in His finished work, in His death, in His resurrection, in His present glorious intercession, and in His future royal advent. Remain by the cross and search the mystery of His wounds.

An increase of love for Jesus, and a more perfect apprehension of His love for us, is one of the best tests of growth in grace.”

Amen. Let’s grab hands and grow in grace together, my friends, all for the sake of God’s glory.

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in Christian walk, faith, faith-filled living, grace, humility, spiritual maturity | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Puzzled?

Posted on February 17, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw
This I know, dear Father:

That problem or

PREOCCUPATION.

That predicament.

That stronghold or

SIN.

That struggle.

That attitude or

ANGST.

That aggravation.

That confusion or

CONFLICT.

That commitment.

Ah, Sovereign LORD, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You. Thank You, Lord, that we can give You all the stuff that doesn’t make sense in our lives. Whether it’s our own puzzles we fret over, or someone else’s, we submit them to You, Father. You are in control of anything and everything. You give and take away. Blessed me Your name. Order our days, strengthen us through life’s problems, and help us to obey Your counsel. All of this, dear Lord, is to give You glory and honor and praise.
You alone deserve it! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in God's faithfulness, anxiety, burdens, confession, confidence, doubt, faith-filled living, faithfulness of God, humility, power, praise, prayer, stress, struggles, surrender, weaknesses, worry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Not Your “Pink Pepto-Bismol Heart” Kind of Love

Posted on February 12, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw

Not that there’s anything wrong with the candy hearts at Valentine’s Day, (other than the fact that they taste like Pepto-Bismol). It just seemed like a good title while the talk of “love” is in the air. ;)

I was reading in Romans this weekend and 12:9 pierced like a cupid’s arrow right into my heart.

“Let love be without hypocrisy.”

I think sometimes that verse gets hidden in the long list of exhortations in Romans 12. But it’s oh so important.

My opinion is that no human on this earth loves people without hypocrisy, at least not all the time. I also believe that when we are walking in faith with Jesus front and center in our lives, we can begin the process of loving others like this more and more, that we will want to. And wanting to is part of the battle. The more we love Christ, the more we will love what He loves, as well as love in the way He loves. In this case, it’s sincerely, without hypocrisy.

Here’s the truth. I don’t want to love people out of feel-good sentiment. I don’t want to love people just because they think like me or look like me or live like me. Nor do I want to love blindly and falsely with an anything-goes mentality. Sometimes loving someone involves telling the truth or confronting something in them that may harm them or others. Love always protects, right?

I can’t practice genuine love in a vacuum. It is fleshed out in life with others, and often it is messy and painful and not at all what we expect in the end. Remember how on Valentine’s Day, a boy might ask a girl to “Be Mine”? With a flushed face and goose pimples she’d accept, only to hate his guts a week later. Another memory is of friends who have come and gone, once declaring to love or die for another, only to ditch them or possibly even attack or shame them when the friendship didn’t go their way.

That’s why love must be without hypocrisy. It’s the opposite of how we grow up thinking about love. It’s not “Be mine, mine and all mine.” It’s “Be His, His and all His” so that we can give Him glory by our sacrificial and sincere love for one another. I love the way John Piper lays this out in his message, “Let Love Be Genuine”:

Love doesn’t put up artificial fronts. Love does not dwell on the flaws of others. Love does not crave the praise of men. And love does not act religious to hide sin.

Love forgets itself and looks to Christ and overflows with joy in him to meet the needs of others. So let us look to Christ for everything we need.

Wow. “Love forgets itself and looks to Christ.” Wouldn’t it be cool to see that written on a candy heart? He has so much work to do in my “me, Me, ME” heart, friends. When I recollect all the times I’ve loved out of wrong and selfish motives, how many times I’ve said “I love you” to someone only to think judgmental thoughts of them or feel entitled to something from them, it grieves me. That’s why I must forget myself and look to Christ.

So I continue to lay those before my Father who loves perfectly and forgives completely while equipping me to love without hypocrisy each and every day. The One who calls us to love this way is faithful, and He will surely do it as we trust and obey, sanctifying us through and through along the way. (1 Thess. 5:23-24).

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Desperately Seeking Snackfood

Posted on February 7, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw

While enduring my workout this morning, (and enduring is a VERY weak word), I was tempted to give in. After two weeks of letting the Lord keep me strong, boom, in one minute I was ready to throw in the sweaty towel.

Dreams of curling up in my bed after hitting all the salty and sugary snacks in my pantry were running circles around me. The thought that tempted me most though, was this one: “You have freedom in Christ, Laura. Giving it all up for one day won’t hurt anything.” Ouch. That thought punched me into reality.

Now I want to make sure anyone stumbling upon this has the proper context. Yes, I have freedom in Christ to eat what I want. 1 Timothy 4:3-5 tells me so. But God in His goodness has made clear to me (numerous times in the past few years) that He wants me to take better care of myself. He has shown me that the freedom to eat what I want whenever I want is not beneficial for me (1 Cor. 10:23). I wrote about it here a few weeks ago. It’s a personal sanctifying work the Lord wants to do with a willing, obedient heart on my part. So using the brain He ‘s given me, I know that means I have to make radical changes in my diet and activity levels. I’ve chosen a program to help me do that called PrayFit. God led me to it, and it’s a good “fit” for the way I’m wired. (My hubby is participating as he can and cheering me on in encouragement and muscle rubs).

All that said, the freedom thought that lunged into my brain, during my lunges oddly enough, was not from the Lord. He was gracious, though, to give me just the word I needed at that moment. “No.” “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

He is so faithful to give me His Truth as an escape from my temptation to desperately sink my teeth into the snack bin. The One who called me to this action is faithful, and He will surely do it. Faithful indeed, and I just want to give Him glory.

Can you think of a time when the Lord specifically gave you a way out when you were tempted? I would love to hear your “Desperately Seeking __________” story.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in God's Word, God's faithfulness, completion, faith-filled living, health, obedience, personal, reader interaction, temptation | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Powerful Prayer

Posted on February 3, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw

Sometimes I can get in a rut when praying for my family and friends. Beyond their specific and requested needs, it encourages me to know that the Bible gives me the best words to pray of all. Besides Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, this is one of my favorite ways to pray for my husband, kids, other family members & close friends, as well as other brothers and sisters in Christ that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

Colossians 1:9-14 (NLT)

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit.  All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”

Some other time I’ll post another favorite prayer passage of mine from Ephesians. Until then, join me in lifting up and holding out these Truths for our families and other brothers and sisters in Christ. Alongside that, why don’t we pray the last portion of that passage for those we know who are unsaved, that they would see and know the One who can rescue them from the kingdom of darkness and transfer them into the Kingdom of His dear Son.

So thankful for the supernatural and the practical power of God’s Word. When it goes out, it won’t return to Him empty, but will accomplish His desired purposes (Isaiah 55:11). Hallelujah!

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in God's Word, Truth, faith, friendship, motherhood, parenting, power, prayer, relationships | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

But I Did What You Said!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw

When my kids were little, they fueled analogies for my spiritual growth. And I could actually write about them.

Now that they’re older I must be careful, because they actually care when I write about them, haha. But this time’s an exception. It’s a scenario moms with kids of all ages can relate to, especially me.

Last weekend my son threw a surprise 16th birthday party for one of his closest friends. It was lively, special and by the end they were wired. To add to the fun, the birthday friend got to spend the night. We told them they needed to go to bed by midnight, though, because otherwise the whole weekend would be a bust. They agreed, though a bit disappointed at the non-thrill of not pulling an all-nighter. I think that would’ve been the cherry on top of the birthday cheesecake, at least in the moment.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 2:45 in the morning and still heard their voices! Not happy. But they were in bed. I had assumed the friend would go to the guest bed and my son would go to his bed like normal, but instead my son had tossed a sleeping bag beside the guest bed.

But they were IN bed by midnight, just like I had asked. I knew that moment that they were taking a loophole. They knew I meant “go to bed in order to get to sleep,” but all I had said was “go to bed.”

It took me a few hours to get back to sleep, but in those long minutes God in His goodness turned the situation around on me. How many times do I know what God means and twist it to do what I want? How often do I joyfully obey some of His commands and not others? Even greater, it’s unmentionable how regularly I justify my behavior to my Father in heaven, knowing full well that He knows my motives fully. I often choose to take a loophole.

I’m thankful He is quick to forgive and that He allows me to call upon His mercies when my heart isn’t fully devoted to Him and His ways. Oh yes, I am! It’s not about legalism, it’s not about condemning myself to guilt so I end up curled in a ball on my hands and knees for days in disgrace…it’s about the motive and longing of my heart.

I understand why the boys did what they did, and we let them off the hook (just as they knew we would since it was a special occasion). Not without discussing the heart of the matter, though. That’s always fun for 16-year olds to listen to. ;)

The bottom line: Have we allowed our relationship with God to become partially in step, justifying to ourselves whether or not we technically obeyed or did what His Word says for the most part…”But God, I did what you said!” Or do we continue in our earnest desire to love Him fully with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, knowing He will train and equip us in how to live it out?

The more I know God, the more I love Him. And the more I love Him, the more I long to be like Him. There are times I don’t feel like loving Him. There are times I obey Him just because I don’t want to feel guilty tomorrow or to look good in others’ eyes, ugh. There are times I don’t obey Him and then beg for mercy later. There are times when my heart is not fully devoted to the only One deserving of it, no question.

But today, it’s my earnest desire to desire and know my Lord and Savior fully. And as far as I know, today is all I have. Spend it with me reflecting on these Truths from God’s Word:

Psalm 119:20
My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.

Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Psalm 119:4
You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.

1 Corinthians 7:35
I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

Mark 12:33
To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in Truth, faith-filled living, obedience, whole-hearted devotion | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Real Life Fiction

Posted on January 26, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw

I used to write short story fiction pieces, and one of my favorite things to do was to take an issue or scenario from my own life and put it into fiction form, adding some flair, changing the names and usually the ending too. Anyone who knows my family well knows that this one is exaggerated by far, but really close to home in its message. If you’re like me, and you need a dose of fiction in the midst of real life today, read on. Hope you enjoy!

Sock It To Me!

“DAD! This is so lame!” Our daughter Alyssa stomped into our room. Her sixteen-year-old mouth proved itself teen-worthy.

My husband responded. “Lame, huh?”

“You have no right to barricade my room, Dad,” she barked, “blocking off my closet and drawers with bright orange tape!”

I held back the giggle that was begging to come out and ducked out of the room as inconspicuously as possible.

“I should’ve done it a long time ago, Alyssa,” Steve argued back. “I’ve told you a hundred times that as long as you’re living in this house, you will keep your room picked up.”

Alyssa huffed as her heavy feet spoke on her behalf all the way back to her room. “It’s not FAIR!” she screamed while tearing down the barrier to her room.

Exasperated, Steve came into the living room where I was working a crossword puzzle. “I’m so tired of this, Elaine.” My side of the loveseat sprang me in the air as he sat down beside me. I put my hand on his lap and unraveled his tightly grasped knuckles.

“Okay, Dad,” Alyssa walked into the room in submission. “I get the point.”

He stood up and touched her shoulder tenderly, “Alyssa, I warned you that if you didn’t get your room clean by last weekend that you would be punished. The construction tape was supposed to make a dramatic statement in a fun way, one that I thought you’d respond to in obedience. You didn’t. I’ve given you grace all week, but now I’ve got to ground you until it’s finished.”

“WHAT?!? But that’s not fair!” Her mascara-stained cheeks were about to see a new jet-black trail of tears.

Alyssa’s younger brother wandered in the room with his usual perfect timing. “What’s goin’ on?” he spouted off cluelessly.

“None of your business, Caleb!” Alyssa stomped off a second time and slammed her door when she reached her construction zone.

Caleb looked dumbfounded. “What’s wrong with her?”

“The same thing that’s going to be wrong with you in a minute,” Steve warned.

“What did I do?”

“You promised me two weeks ago that you would pick up all the Play Station DVDs laying around in the game room,” he scolded. “Some of them have huge scratches now.”

“K, Dad. I’ll do it later.” He turned around and started to strut out of the room.

“No, son,” my husband corrected, “you’ll do it now.”

He made one last attempt. “Whatever. Mom, tell Dad he’s being lame…”

I looked at him with sympathy for what I was about to say. “No, Caleb. He’s right.”

“What a way to spend a weekend,” he sassed as he made his stormy exit.

Steve spent a good while pouring out his heart to me after that. “It’s like nobody wants to do their work, Lainey. That can’t be God’s best for our family.”

“You’re right, Steve,” I consented.

He turned his face to me and looked me straight in the eye. “Are you in a defensive mood today?”

“Uh,” I hesitated, “I’m okay—shoot!” I tried to belt out positively.

“Well, it’s like that pile of socks in our room. I know you don’t like me to help with the laundry, Hon, but honestly, I don’t think I can stand it anymore….”

He sat down again and shuffled through my almost-completed crossword magazine.

“What? You don’t like having them all in one place to choose from?” I winked at him.

I could tell he felt disgusted with himself for even mentioning it.

“Well, do you mind finishing my puzzle for me, sweetie? I’ve got a sock-ade to tackle!” I looked at him with a loving twinkle in my eye.

He stood up and gleamed, “I’d much rather help a beautiful lady with a horribly boring task, so…sock it to me!”

“How ‘bout you go pick us up some sushi instead?” I pleaded. “Looks like we’re all going to be working into the evening.”

“Deal!” He grabbed his keys and skipped out of the room. “And she still won’t let me help with the laundry,” he muttered under his breath.

As I began to separate the stockade pile of socks in our bedroom, I admitted to the Lord that I was having a difficult time completing the mundane tasks around me and asked for His help.

My prayer was interrupted by three loud honks outside the window. Alyssa, Caleb and I ran out the door only to see Steve’s car dead in the middle of the street.

“The car is out of gas!” He yelled. “I thought I could make it to a gas station before I ran out.”

Pushing the car back into the driveway, we all had a good laugh. Steve was a good sport, although…

…The kids really socked it to him.

2 Corinthians 8:11
“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.”

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A Good Cry

Posted on January 25, 2012 by LauraLeeShaw

Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.
Psalm 143:8, NASB

I had a good cry this morning. Not only was it a good cry, meaning lots of tears…it was also a good cry, meaning it was needed for my good. My daughter asked me to turn on our new Anthem Lights CD, on the way to school, and a song came on that punched me in the gut. Normally it’s the type of song that I’d classify as “light duty,” one I could’ve related to many years ago when my faith walk wavered more, but no, God used it to break my heart right then.

It’s a timing thing. My hubby and I started a new health and fitness plan together today. That sounds great in theory, but it’s hard because I’ve been here so many times before. I’m 30 pounds overweight, I feel sluggish much of the time, I don’t make exercise a priority in this season of life, and now I have back and knee issues that are affecting me in the everyday. What bothers me most is that this is an area of life I have gone round in circles over with the Lord. Each day as I ask Him to search me and reveal my sin to me, I haven’t obeyed consistently to honoring Him with the body He’s given me. I lie to myself and to Him, as if He didn’t already know. So when these lyrics started,

“Ready set go

This is take 37, let it roll

I’m gonna get it right this time

Gonna fight this time

This time I’m for real…”

the tears started flowing.

I remembered a post I wrote in June of 2010 about the same issue. I looked to the Lord, surrendered to Him, and He kept me going faithfully for several months. Not sure when the slow fade back to the present began…

“I always start so strong, (but)…

Before you even know it I’m right back at the start

Doing what I hate And breaking my own heart

I’m going back and forth

And then forth and then back

And then round in circles…”

See why the song hit me so hard?

How humbling. I spent the next few hours confessing every area I’d been hiding from God, every scenario He brought to my mind to surrender. Again, as if He didn’t already know. I read back through my notes in Hebrews, where my pastor has been teaching from the past few months. The warnings, the promises, the warnings, the encouragement…the desire of the author to warn Christians to stop “sinning willfully” while encouraging us to approach the throne of grace boldly, with confidence.

Then I opened the Day 1 devo for PrayFit, the program my husband and I are using to guide us toward our health and fitness goals. It directed me to read 2 Corinthians 5, which guess what verse is in there?

The verse on my header, 2 Corinthians 5:7, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Then I had another good cry, one that led me to my knees completely undone by my Father’s loving correction, thanking Him for His goodness and grace, protection and provision, forgiveness and faithfulness.

“No more insanity I’m letting go of me…

I need Your healing touch I’ve had enough

I’m tired of saying…

I’m going back and forth

And then forth and then back

And then round in circles…”

Have you been running in circles in any area of your life? Need a good cry? If so, I hope you’ll consider the character of our God and join me in trusting Him with all your heart to turn and walk in His direction.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6, NASB

Would love your support on my Facebook page. Click here: FaithColored Glasses on FB

© 2010-2012 LauraLeeShaw.com All Rights Reserved

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments