Hidden Joy - Chapter Seven

What an incredible journey we are on together. Little did I know when I began praying about whether to launch this study a few months ago that I would gain such an amazing circle of friends from all over the world! Your stories have made me laugh and they have made me cry. To see you love and care for each other despite the miles between you is something I will forever treasure.

This week we read my most favorite chapter in the book...the one where I truly experienced what it means to have FREEDOM in Christ. Freedom from fear, freedom from all that bound me up. If you sit today in a place of bondage, in a stronghold that imprisons you, I pray that this chapter gives you HOPE!!!

Whatever battle you are in right now, God is right there with you. Greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world, my sweet friend. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. You are equipped and protected by the Armor of God - the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shoes of Gospel of Peace, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit (The Word of God). You have the very presence of the Living God indwelling you. There is nothing too big for your God!! He will never leave you or forsake you.

I wish I had been taught these Truths as a child. If I had, I believe I would have walked my journey so much differently. Every night since my children were old enough to pray with me, we have prayed the Armor of God over them. Bo had it memorized before he could say many other words. If I leave my children with nothing else I want them to know there is NOTHING that will ever touch their lives that cannot be restored and made beautiful because of their relationship with their heavenly Father.

I can't wait to read your stories this week! Maybe the Lord has freed you from a prison this week. Maybe He has opened your eyes to power of His Living Word. Maybe you have invited Him into your heart for the first time. Maybe you are celebrating a past victory like me. Or maybe you are still in your prison and need our prayers. Share your stories!!!

Each week my heart is that you will hear GOD'S VOICE not mine. Tell me what you heard from the Lord this week. Share Truths the Lord has taught you through this journey.

I will be at She Speaks the remainder of this week and will try to check my blog as time permits. Would appreciate your prayers as I teach on Friday at 10:00 and meet with publishers later in the week (Friday and Saturday) on a new project.

This Week's Assignment: Read Chapter Eight, Quiet Time, and complete the corresponding questions in the study guide located in the back of the book. I invite you to spend a small amount of time in the Word each day in addition to reading Chapter Eight. Maybe read one Psalm each day. Invite the Lord into your time and ask Him to speak to you and make Himself so very real. I can't wait to hear what God does. See you next Wednesday.

Blessings to you,

Delicious Cinnamon Cake

Hey girlfriends,

This is the week I head to Concord for the Proverbs 31 2009 She Speaks Writer's and Speaker's Conference. Thankfully, it is only a 45 minute drive for me. So excited for all that God is going to do this week. All of us at Proverbs covet your prayers for the Lord to do great and marvelous works in the lives of all the women attending. In fact, some of our Hidden Joy on-line study girls will be attending, and I can't wait to meet them in person.

I have been busily preparing the message I will share on Friday as well as preparing for appointments I have scheduled with publishers on a new project. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated for both and for my sweet husband and kids as I leave them for 5 days.

If you like to bake...or even if you don't cuz this is an EASY recipe...thought I would share this recipe with you. It is GREAT for brunches/luncheons. My family, especially Lauren, absolutely LOVES it!! I made it at the beach for lots of teenagers, and it was gone in less than a day. All you health nuts will freak when I tell you we eat it for breakfast...all that sugar...DELICIOUS!!!

Mrs. Anne's Cinnamon Cake

1 package yellow cake mix
1 package vanilla pudding (instant)
2 eggs
1/8 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar w/cinnamon (I use about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp.) mixed to taste

Preheat oven to 360 degrees (that is not a typo...360 is correct). Grease 9 x 13 pan.

1. Mix cake mix, oil, pudding, water, eggs, and vanilla on high for 5 minutes.
2. Pour 1/2 cake batter into pan evenly spreading it out.
3. Sprinkle 1/2 of cinnamon/sugar mixture on top.
4. Pour remainder of cake batter, spread evenly over first layer, and sprinkle remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture on top.
5. Swirl entire batter mixture with knife.

Bake for 50 minutes (check earlier because mine is often done early...depends on your oven).

ENJOY with a cup of coffee or orange juice and your favorite devotional book.

Much Love,

Hidden Joy - Chapter Six

Forgiveness...a word we so desperately want to receive but give so reluctantly. Forgiveness holds great power. Forgiveness mends and restores. Unforgiveness shatters and destroys. Forgiveness IS A CHOICE.

Hurts can be large and they can be small. Hurts can be fresh and they can be decades old. Hurts are real. They create a wound. The wound may be raw and bleeding or it may be dried and scabbed...ready to break open at any moment.

One thing I know is that in our flesh, we will always choose unforgiveness. We will harbor bitterness and a desire to punish. While the Spirit calls us to forgive, the flesh cries out, "hold on!!" I have been there...I know. Does anyone hear me????

We have to make the choice to relinquish the right to hold on to our hurt. The choice is made easier only when we experience the very grace we are fighting to give. When we truly KNOW the glorious forgiveness which we have received, the incredible gift given us at the cross on Calvary, how can we choose anything but the path of forgiveness? What a grievous offense it is for us not to choose forgiveness.

What is God's standard for forgiveness? Is it just letting go? Is it pressing the delete key so it's as if it never happened? I believe not. My rape is very real. It caused a profound change in my life. It will never be as if it never happened...ever. I cannot delete it like a misspelled word.

God's standard of forgiving is relinquishing the right to revenge, the right for justice, the right to make things right. His Word says,

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. Romans 12:17

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Romans 12:19

His Word is unequivocal.

But, that is not the end of the story.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21.

This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. Matthew 18:35.

Hear these powerful words very carefully...overcome evil with good. Forgiveness must be full and complete and from your heart.

We are made in the image of God. God has forgiven us fully and completely of all our sin. God calls us to forgive others just as He has forgiven us. God did not just say to us, "You are forgiven" and it was done. God gave His One and only Son's life for ours. He did that when we were still sinners, enemies of God, filthy rags, desperately wicked!! We were not even seeking Him...He pursued us; He desired relationship with us. He forgave us, restored us, and made us holy in His sight. Our filthy rags became brilliant garments, white as snow!!

Please hear me when I say forgiveness is not the equivalent of acting as if your hurt never happened. Rather it is taking all your hurt and giving it to the only One who can heal, restore, and rebuild what was taken from you. It is freeing up your heart so that God can invade it with His healing love and grace.

Granting forgiveness is for you. One step to move you toward full and complete forgiveness is found in Luke 6: 28 where Jesus says,

But I tell you who hear me:... bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

In your flesh, this is impossible. But with Christ it is possible. Remember His promise to you,

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

What this looks like will be different for everyone. For me, since I had no way to meet face to face with my attacker, I had to speak the words out loud to the Lord and to myself. Here is an excerpt from Hidden Joy, page 89

If I refused to forgive, I would never receive the full and complete healing God had in store for me. I will never forget the day. I sat alone on the sofa in my living room, speaking to a man who was not there. I could not see, feel, or touch him, yet I forgave him. I had no idea the depth of seething hatred and bitterness that entangled my heart until I spoke the words. Cleansing tears flowed down my cheeks like a never-ending fountain. As I cried, my chest heaved up and down, almost to the point of my being unable to breathe. I forgave my attacker not only for everything hid did to me, but also for everything he had stolen from me. In that moment, God lifted a huge weight from my shoulders. A precious peace fell upon me.

For you it may be writing a note, sending a gift, lifting a prayer, or initiating a conversation. Baby steps. See what happens...not only in their life but yours. Watch and see what God does in your heart...even if nothing ever happens in theirs. God will be faithful!!!

I want to end this post with an invitation. First, pray with me...

Heavenly Father, thank You for sacrificing Your one and only Son for my sin that day on Calvary. Jesus, my Savior, thank You for carrying my cross, for receiving my beatings, for enduring my pain, for shedding Your blood for my sin that day on Calvary. My heart is bound up with unforgiveness. You know the bitterness, the anger, the pain that this hurt has caused. I am so tired and weary of living with this pain. I know my unforgiving heart grieves You so. Father, I ask Your forgiveness for not forgiving _______ the way You have forgiven me. Father, make my heart tender to forgive ________. I leave my pain and my memories at the foot of the cross. Begin Your healing work in my heart and mind. Thank You that I can do all things through Christ who lives in and who strengthens me. AMEN

Now, name your hurt. Identify your offender...the one who caused this great wound in your life. Ask your Father in heaven to help you see them with His eyes and with His heart. Lift a prayer on their behalf...baby steps. As you struggle with this, remember Joseph and how he forgave his brothers who nearly killed him and sold him into slavery. He did not return evil for evil. He reached out to them, forgave them, and extended grace, mercy, and love.

Yes, it will be hard. Yes, it will take time. Be persistent. Your reward will be great!!!

If you would like a GREAT book on forgiveness, read Nancy Leigh DeMoss's book, Choosing Forgiveness: Your Journey to Freedom. You will find many of the truths I shared today explained in more detail in her book. I had the privilege of spending an afternoon with her for a radio interview last month. She has such a beautiful and authentic heart and is an AMAZING Bible teacher.

This Week's Assignment: Read Chapter Seven, Surrendering Your Strongholds, and complete the corresponding questions in the Study Guide located in the back of the book. If you do not have the book, you can download this chapter via the sidebar on my blog. Be prepared to share your answers next week. See you next Wednesday!!

Wendy

Hidden Joy - Chapter Five

As we continue together on this journey, I do not claim to be counselor, a psychologist, or an expert on healing and wholeness. I am simply a woman just like you that God has given a story to share. As I read your stories and comments each week, it is so clear why the Lord has knit our lives together in this bloggy world. Your words of encouragement show me in very real ways how God is answering the prayers I prayed so many years ago as I penned each page.

Each week we have comments from about 20-30 of the 300+ women participating. I would love to hear from more of you. Please leave comments this week and share how God is working in your life through this study. We miss you and want to hear from you!

In this chapter I share with you the very first time God's Word came alive to me...the first time I heard God speak specifically and directly to my circumstances. Years had passed since my rape, yet I still lived in my prison of fear. Fear continued to control my every move and consume my every thought. It was truly exhausting. I knew something had to give.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says

demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God...take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Satan wants to keep us bound up in places of fear, bitterness, anger, shame, guilt, and/or unforgiveness and accomplishes this by filling our thoughts with doubts, worries, irrational fears, and accusations. BUT GOD has other plans. He desires to give us peace and to fill our minds with Truth, assurance, wisdom, encouragement, and hope. However, it is a choice...our choice.

God will use any and all means to speak to us. For me, it was a meeting with a pastor, a man I barely knew. In a one hour "God appointment" God taught me another powerful Truth from His Word. What seemed a simple Bible story came alive that day.

Scripture says that God sent His Word to guide, teach, rebuke, and discipline. That day, I received God's rebuke. It was a hard truth to hear, but it was time for me to choose. Would I listen and obey? Would I get up from my mat of despair, take God's hand, and walk with Him?
Hidden Joy, p. 76.

God used the story of the man on the mat in John Chapter 5. Pastor Craig told me that I was like the invalid on the mat. I lived in a prison of fear that I had created. How I wanted to run out of his office and never come back. Who did he think he was? He did not even know me! Yet, as I sat there and allowed his words to sink in, I realized that I had lived in my place of pain, sorrow, unforgiveness and fear for years. In fact, I had settled in those emotions and become comfortable there.

Friends, God has incredible plans for your life. An abundant and full life, one where He desires to use you to draw others to Him. You will not know that plan if you remain on your mat. These words are hard to write, but I want to challenge you...

Are you on a mat today? Do you justify staying on your mat because you have been wronged or are the victim of unfortunate circumstances? Were you abused as a child? Are you abused by your boyfriend or husband? Do you suffer from a chronic sickness? Have you lost a loved one? Do you suffer from an addiction? Have you done something for which you cannot forgive yourself? As you read these questions, what comes to mind? Capture that thought right now! Know that Satan has that thought in his mind as well. He has been using that thought to control you...your thoughts, your actions, and your heart.

YOU have the opportunity to make a choice today! What keeps you from making the choice? Are you afraid it means you might have to forgive someone you don't want to forgive? Are you afraid it means you have to face memories you don't want to face? Are you afraid it means accepting circumstances you don't want to accept? Are you afraid it means trusting God with where you are and you don't want to be there?

Psalm 56:3 says,

When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

Friends, I know what it is like to not want to take that first step, but if you take it I promise it will CHANGE your life!!!! God will be there to take your hand and walk you every step of the way.

Isaiah 50:10b

Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on His God.

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

The choice is yours. Like the invalid in God's story, you can choose to remain paralyzed. Or you can respond to the call of Christ, get up off your mat, and walk. I encourage you to say, "Yes, Lord, I want to get well", and allow Him to take your fears and anxieties and replace them with His peace...the peace that passes all understanding. He is waiting, ready to hold your hand and walk with you. Trust Him to take that first step. Hidden Joy, p. 77.

Heavenly Father, I am so weary, so tired of sitting in this place of sorrow and despair. Lord, I have no idea why you have me here. It seems so unfair. I call out to You, and I hear nothing. I faithfully pray and see no answers to my prayer. Why do You leave me in this place? Why do bad things continue to happen? Lord, I want to trust You with my circumstances. I want to believe You are here in my midst, but I feel so alone. Help me with my unbelief, Father. SPEAK TO ME!! SHOW ME!! MAKE YOURSELF REAL TO ME FATHER!! I promise to incline my ear to hear Your voice...just speak to me, LORD!!! Show me the way, and I will walk in it. And, LORD, through the power of Your Holy Spirit enable me to take the first step off my mat...wherever it leads...even if only a baby step away from where I am now. Help me to accept where I am and TRUST You with the next step!! Father, thank You that You promise You will NEVER leave me; You will never forget me. Remind me of this every time my thoughts go to returning to my mat. Thank You that in Your I will have victory. I ask all this in the powerful Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, my Lord. AMEN

Your Participation: If you took the challenge in Q. 4 and gave something over to the Lord this week, claiming His Word over your situation, share how you saw the Lord work. If you answered Q. 5, share what you answered for 5a, b, and/or c. Did this help with taking your thoughts captive? If you took the challenge in Q. 6, share how the Lord worked in your situation.

This Week's Assignment: Read Chapter 6, Learning Forgiveness, and complete the corresponding questions in the study guide located in the back of the book. Be prepared to share your answers. See you on July 22nd!!

Why Free Will?

Does it seem strange to you that a good, pure and holy God, one with absolute power over our world, would allow evil to not only to exist but also to be at work in His world?

For many years, this question plagued my mind.

As a mom, I know that I have complete authority over my children (at least for now since they are 15 and 11). My will is that they would love and obey me and my rules. Much to their dismay, one of the rules is that they keep their rooms clean and make their beds. Yet there are days when I enter their rooms to find clothes strewn about, beds unmade, and wet towels littering the floor. That behavior is against my will. I prefer they keep their rooms clean. BUT they have the choice.

It is the same with us. God is our authority. God created us with free will. Free will means that we can choose to love and obey God or not.

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity writes,

A world of automata - of creatures that worked like machines - would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free.

God knows abundant life...true joy and happiness... is found only in a surrendered love relationship with Him. Surrender requires yielding, yielding to the power of another. God knew when He created human beings they would fight surrender...that they would choose to find happiness outside of Him. It began with Adam and Eve and has continued ever since. God's creatures search for find happiness in the things of this world, in following the will of this world rather than the will of God.

C.S. Lewis goes on to write,

God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other.

God became a man. That man, Jesus, surrendered His will; He suffered and died and set an example for us. Upon His death, God resurrected Him with a resurrection power that is now available to us. That power if found in God's Holy Spirit. His Spirit fuels our will and our choices.

Yes, watching the news and reading the paper reveals a plethora of evil in this world...story after story of people who choose evil, who harm the very world and creatures God created.

But what we must not forget is that all around us is a leaving, breathing organism fueled by God's love and His Holy Spirit. It is the body of Christ. It is made up of men and women who choose to say "yes" to God. Who choose good over evil. Who choose right instead of wrong. Our God, through His Holy Spirit, actually operates in and through this body to do His Will on this earth...to reach the least and the lost...to feed the hungry...to love the unlovable...to encourage the depressed...to shine light into dark.

As we live side by side with evil, never forget:

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Blessings,

Hidden Joy - Chapter Four

I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. Isaiah 45:3

How can those two words go side by side...treasures....darkness?

When I learned investigators in my case had lost the evidence (knife, mask, and gloves), my hope for healing and closure vanished. The investigator's words crushed my dreams for prosecution and retribution. For you see, in my mind, DNA testing was going to make everything right. They would test the semen, identify the rapist, punish him, and I would be free! I would go back to living my life the way it used to be.

Without the evidence, I knew we would never find the man who raped me...who stole all I knew to be good and true in life. How could this be God's plan? I cried out to Him...why are you doing this to me? What have I done to deserve this?

Friend, can you identify? Are you asking God these questions today? It is not an accident He brought you here this summer. He has a fresh word for you. Pray for ears to hear and a heart to receive!!

My circumstances plunged me into a pit, deeper than the one before. I truly did not know how I could go on knowing my rapist would never be punished, never have to pay for what He had done.

Decades have passed since I fell into that pit. What I know now that I wish I had known then is this:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

My understanding was that my rapist's conviction and jail time is what I needed to be made whole...to live again.

God's way of thinking is TOTALLY DIFFERENT. God dwells in our hearts through the Presence of His Holy Spirit. The gift of that presence is PEACE, a PEACE that passes all understanding. A PEACE that guards our hearts and minds.

God desires for our hearts to be at peace no matter our circumstances. He wants the dwelling place of His Spirit to remain undisturbed... at REST in the midst of any and all circumstances. peace. In the Old Testament, one of the Hebrew words for rest is nuwach. I love this definition I found...a rest that "indicates a complete envelopment and thus permeation." No matter our circumstances, we can rest in confident assurance because of the permeating presence of the Holy Spirit. We REST...we can be still...we can quiet our hearts due to the reality of the Living God Who indwells us.

This Truth invites many questions:

If my company terminates me after 20 years of faithful service, will I be at rest?

If the stock market crashes and my children's college fund loses nearly all its value, will I be at rest?

If my toddler is diagnosed with diabetes, will I be at rest?

If my husband walks out on me tomorrow, will I be at rest?

If my mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, will I be at rest?

The hard truth is that our unrest, our worry, our anxiety is a symptom of unbelief...unbelief that God is good. Unbelief that He is Sovereign. Unbelief that God has plans to give us a hope and a future. Unbelief that He is the Author and perfecter of our faith. Really, it is unbelief that He is Who He says He is and that He will do what He says. Unbelief that His Word is Truth.

Floundering in unbelief, keeping our eyes on our circumstances rather than on our God keeps us from finding the promised treasures in our darkness. We need FAITH to find those treasures. FAITH to believe God for those treasures.

Hebrews 11:1 says,

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Where do we get this faith? Romans 10:17 says,

Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.

According to this verse, faith comes not from circumstances, feelings, or emotions, but from hearing God's Word. In fact, faith has nothing to do with circumstances. Martin Luther wrote, "We must not judge by what we feel or by what we see before us. The Word must be followed and we must firmly hold that these truths are to be believed, not experienced...For the Word must be believed even when we feel and experience what differs entirely from the Word. Hidden Joy, p. 52.

Second Corinthians 5:7 says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." Beth Moore writes, "Christ is not asking us to believe in our ability to exercise unwavering faith. He is asking us to believe He is able."

According to our main verse, Isaiah 45:3 quoted above, sometimes we must walk through darkness to KNOW GOD IS LORD OVER ALL...to know HE IS THE GREAT I AM. It is in our journey to healing that we will receive rich blessings and treasures.

The choice is ours. We can remain in our pit with a victim mentality. Or we can CHOOSE to accept our circumstances. We can believe God at His Word, that He is Able to bring us through and along the journey give us His treasures stored in secret places...places that we could never find them but for our circumstances.

Please hear me sometimes the journey is long and arduous. As I wrote on page 62...At times, my darkness seemed to suffocate me. Other times I experienced God in powerful and obvious ways. The journey to healing has steps forward and steps backward...but no matter which direction your steps take, GOD IS WITH YOU!! Look for Him to reveal Himself. It may be in a verse, in a conversation with a friend, in the lyrics of a song, in a sermon at church, or even a commercial on t.v. ONE TRUTH IS CERTAIN, GOD WILL SPEAK. HE WILL SHOW UP!!

Your participation: Choose from among the following: share the truths you learned about trials from the Scriptures in Question 2. From Question 4, share your thoughts on the "Refiners Fire." From Question 5, if you have found treasures in your darkness, please share them with us and how God revealed them to you. Finally, if you have ways that you have used to find "REST," share them with us.

This Week's Assignment: Read Chapter 5, "On the Mat," and complete the corresponding questions in the Study Guide located in the back of the book. Be prepared to share your answers. See you on July 15th!