LizChatter

These three little words are HUGE .   "T rust without borders" is such a challenging statement, at least for me.  It seems from the earliest memories in my experiences of interaction with 99.99% of humanity I've believed that borders are super necessary  and  trust is dangerous.  Trying to trace that issue backward, it seems that there are a number of things  that this could be attributed to: 1. Early childhood molestation by a family friend. 2. Controlling, angry authority figures.  3. Blah, blah, blah Like, everyone has a story. Right? Our stories include loss, betrayal, fear, and pain. The specifics may change but the trespasses are much the same.  Our stories are similar, so perhaps our need to increase in areas of trust is also similar. Or is this just is a major area of growth needed in my life? No, I think not.  I believe this easily applies to you as well.  There are three things...

Gaining wisdom is a long and sometimes difficult journey. I know that's shocking to some who believe that they can list it as a need in their prayers and it'll be downloaded to them like an e-book.  Sorry to burst that sweet, pink, fuzzy bubble but that's not the way it usually works.  Gaining wisdom is often more like a treacherous voyage that takes us into seasons of life where we become intimately acquainted with loss, rejection,  and heartbreak.  I can tell you that never on this side of Heaven will we be filled with all wisdom. It seems as if we can only hold a certain amount in this temporal state; I believe that as we seek the Lord for wisdom, He determines the areas that we need to gain wisdom to function well in the destiny set before us, and then He sets us along the path.  The outcomes of gaining wisdom lead to deeper relationships with those around you, it leads to living life with the eternal always in mind. Wisdom leads us t...

Enough said. Have you ever been in the Word when suddenly it felt as if a chill from another dimension crept into your bones? I've experienced this a few times as the realization that I have fallen short of the mark settles in. It's not pleasant, yet not altogether unpleasant for behind this experience is the direction of Yahweh to correct my course and work in my spirit.  Just this morning it happened again as the Lord showed me that I have a pattern of loving at varying degrees based on my perception of whether or not it was safe to "love deeply" in this temporal state of being.  As I sat quietly this morning before the Lord, willing for Him to continue His work in my heart, He revealed in my current mindset I was leaning on my own strength (in handling not being loved well) and my own understanding (of how depleting it is to love with no love returned).  A new wave of conviction hit my soul, for these are both areas that I long to be fully surrendered...

This week there have been multiple conversations with dear ones who have found patterns in their life of giving in to temptation and giving in to the demands of the uncrucified flesh. After a while, we began to discuss how it seems like some folks just don't struggle with transgression to the degree that other people do and these thoughts came out of those conversations.  You are not a victim, you are a victor! Quit the blame game. Jesus quite literally provided us with the victory. You do not need to be enslaved to patterns that wound your spirit.  Freedom is available to you! Your choices are reflective of the things you feed your spirit/soul/mind.   Just like physical food manifests itself in your physical body - spiritual food manifests itself in your conversations and your decisions.  You're obsessing over whether or not God loves you, that's a waste of energy.  He's already proven to all of humanity that He does. Thi...

You probably already know the history of the word "Noel"  but just in case,  here you go :) English speakers borrowed the word  noel  from the French. The word can be traced further back to the Latin word  natalis,  which is used like "birthday" as a noun or "of or relating to birth" as an adjective. (The English adjective  natal  has the same meaning and is also an offspring of  natalis. ). I recently learned that Noels are also musical announcements/greetings.  Noels were being sung in Latin or French for centuries before the word found its way into our language in the 1800s. The earliest known musical use of  noel  occurred in the text of a Christmas  motet  called "Nova vobis gaudia," which was written in the 1400s.  Wow!  For me, this connects nicely to the use of music & poetry that invites us all to celebrate the birth of our Messiah.  Happy Christmas and Merry Noels! ...

Happy Thanksgiving 2018