Posts Tagged With: clean

Everyday Jesus: He is in the Water

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Sharita

Greetings once again, dearest readers, and welcome to another exciting and heart-motivating edition of “Everyday Jesus.” I am so blessed to introduce you to Amy, a fellow writer and sister in Christ. We are not only friends in the digital world, but real-life friends as well, since we traveled to SheSpeaks conference in North Carolina last year. (And created lots of inside jokes in the process.) I pray that you show Amy the love today both here at 7 Days Time and also over at her place via comments and encouragement. 

Are you ready? It’s time to jump in… 

SGK 

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Have you ever had a message or a theme seem to just jump on board your life for a period of time?  That happened to me recently as I prepared for my annual day apart with God.  The theme was water.

I prayed that God would give me a picture to begin this day.  He did.

In my picture I was standing on the edge of a high cliff with moving water below.  A ball of “stuff” was advancing toward me and I had to decide if I was going to try to keep the stuff from rolling off the edge or if I was going to heed God’s conversation bubble directive to “JUMP”.  Looking at the water, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were already in it and were waiting for me to just do that thing.

Photo from rgbstock.com

Photo from rgbstock.com

So, I jumped into the time with God and into cleansing water of confession, praying, listening, and Word soaking for the day.

I was bathed as the plunge freed me from all the surface trappings that call to me for rescue but are actually siren songs of distraction from focusing on Him.

At the conclusion, I had let go of some things I had been trying to finagle. I assumed He was through with getting my attention about some things but Sunday’s sermon on Jesus’ baptism kept the theme afloat.

My pastor incorporated a visual aide that day as he held a large sheet of butcher paper filled with loving words God says about and to His children.

Then he stated things we hear others say to us that erase His words.  He proceeded to crumple up the paper.  It was a moment earlier when I had allowed a man-word to wash away a God-word.  Why, even my own thoughts drown me!

Plop.  A tear fell to the opened pages of Luke 3 in my lap:

“As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 NRSV).

I let His Word and the pastor’s message wash over me.  God is pleased with His own.

What began as letting go for a day apart with God flowed into a culminating spring of tears letting go of hurts.

What about you?  Are you overwhelmed by the deluge of real life stuff?  Is your sweet little spirit crushed by the weight of unkindness toward you, intentional or not?  I so understand that.  So does Jesus.

Jesus is in the water that calls us to jump out from the stuff that wants to swallow us in our various seasons and circumstances.

Jesus is in the water that refreshes us as we pray with our mouths and hear with our ears as He speaks to us when we take the time to just be still and listen.

Jesus is in the water of his word that washes us and regenerates us to life as we erase words that don’t hold any water compared to God’s cisterns that hold living water of His truth.

Jesus is in the water of identity where we are cleansed from our sins.  Stains of past mistakes are washed cleaner than any of the latest stain lifters could possibly manage.

Encouragement for today:

Sweet reader, won’t you just jump in?  The water where Jesus floats is just fine.

Opportunity for response:

What keeps you from jumping?

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Amy Ward Headshot

Amy Dickson Ward lives in Columbus, GA with her husband of 26 years, Rob. They have two adult sons and a daughter-in-love. Amy is real about life’s ups and downs, including her battle with breast cancer in 2010.  Amy enjoys blogging at www.amydward.com when she’s not busy leading Bible study, knitting, and using her degree in Home Ec (yep, that’s right) and minor in journalism at home.  She has been published in Espresso.

Categories: Everyday Jesus | Tags: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

My Dirty Word

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Sharita

Confession: Getting your mouth washed out with soap tastes like…

Poo.

I know this for a fact thanks to my slight potty mouth when I was growing up. It wasn’t a rampant problem, but would often happen at the most inopportune times.

And by inopportune, I really mean the times that my Mom would hear it.

Then out came the bar of soap. (Or, if it was a REALLY bad word, enter sink left the liquid Dial soap. Ever try to get that off your tongue? Yeah, um yuck?)

Colorful bars of soap on white towel

Via Flickr: Horia Varlan

Fortunately over the last few years, I have been striving (via God’s grace) to dramatically reduce my tendency to use dirty words. For the words that I haven’t completely eliminated all together, I have toned down my outbursts. Now when I stub my toe in the dark, I holler out “Bologna Sandwiches!” or “Cheese and Crackers!” or sometimes just make some garbled noise that sounds something like “MaayyyyllaaablaaaOUCH!”

Precious, I know.

It’s been quite the process, not gonna lie. (A great journey worth taking, but challenging nonetheless.)

However, I have discovered a new “dirty word” in my life…

The word “NO.”

I don’t like to be told no. And I am not super awesome at saying “No” when I need to. Sometimes we convince ourselves that “No” is a dirty word and we should never say it when it comes to turning down commitments or requests that have been presented to us.

However, sometimes “No” is a very important word– and it’s not “dirty” at all. In fact, it can be much-needed.

Recently, I was presented with an opportunity that my flesh (and the world) screamed YES to… but my heart was fighting to say NO. My brain is so wired to jump on new experiences that I really had to wrestle with it for a while. Saying yes is good, saying no is bad, right? Wrong. After some prayer and time with God, He confirmed that while it was a GOOD opportunity, it wasn’t His best for me… So I had to say no.

And when I did– it didn’t feel like a “dirty word” at all. It was freeing.

In a world of  YES’s, saying NO can sometimes feel kinda yucky. HOWEVER…  As hard as the no’s seem sometimes, we must try remember that there are lots of GOOD things that might distract us from God’s best… so I pray I can say yes to His best– no more no less.

The key to living a life of obedience is balance– and communion with God. Sometimes He is going to want us to say yes, sometimes no. It just depends on the context and the situation. But we have to treat each situation individually, taking it to Him so we don’t miss out on His best for us.

Do you struggle with saying “No?” Is it programmed in your brain as a “dirty word?” In what areas of your life is saying “No”  the most challenging? What do you believe God’s best looks like for you?

I am so thankful that God is patient with us when it comes to our mindset of pleasing Him vs. pleasing the world. He is kind and gentle, and no matter what our answer (whether it was right, wrong or somewhere in between) His grace covers us. He washes us clean with the blood of Jesus– not with a bar of soap on our tongue. (WHEW!)

As long as we are seeking His will for our lives… We don’t have to worry about no being a “dirty” word.

For Him,
SGK

“Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims.” ~1 Corinthians 6:12 (MSG) 

PS: We currently have a giveaway in progress. Check out Monday’s post (A Solid Foundation) to enter!

Categories: obedience | Tags: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Unblock Your Heart

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Sharita

I will never forget that phone call. It was March, my senior year of high school. I was “supposed” to be in English class, but of course was spending my time ever-so-wisely in the library. The secretary tracked down my location and transferred the call to the library. It was announced: “Sharita… You have a phone call.”

The chorus of “Oooooooo, I wonder if she’s in trouble?” echoed in the room from my schoolmates as I rolled my eyes and made my way over to the phone.

“Hello?”

“Sharita.” My mom’s voice sounded… weird. “Um, your Daddy is sick.”

“What kind of sick?” I wondered why Dad having a stomach ache would warrant a phone called to school.

“I think he’s having a heart attack.”

BOOM. There it was. He was 45 years old. I was a senior. My sister a junior. And little brother just started kindergarten that year. How could my Dad be having a heart attack? Just 45 days before, he had been to the cardiologist for insurance check-up stuff… and they gave him a clean bill of health.

 I didn’t really understand the severity of his heart attack until they decided to LifeFlight him to the Kansas Heart Hospital in Wichita. The events over the next several hours could easily fill up a week’s worth of blog posts. I will never forget the details.

Turns out, an artery in his heart was 98% blocked. By the time Mom, my two siblings and I got rounded up and arrived in Wichita, he was already out of surgery from receiving a stint and resting in the ICU.

Scariest few hours of our lives. All I could think about was the fact that we might lose him that day. Not fair. Where did that blockage come from? They said he was HEALTHY less than two months ago.  He was supposed to see me graduate high school and college, walk me down the aisle at my wedding and give me away, hold his grandbaby in his arms.

All of that was threatened to be taken from us from a tiny blockage in his heart.

When was the last time you had a heart check-up from God?

I am happy to report that over 8 years have passed and Dad is still kicking. (Thank you, Jesus!) As I reflected on this event, I couldn’t help but think how our OWN heart blockages can threaten to take our lives…

I am not talking about the heart blockages from plaque and build up. I am talking about the “heart junk” that keeps us from being in an intimate relationship with Christ. If our heart is blocked, it becomes hard… we start to die from the inside out. We grow farther and farther from Christ.

All the while, we could convince ourselves that we have a “clean bill of health” from the outside. We are “doing” all the right things– going to church, half-heartedly praying, giving to the poor– but inside, we are slowly dying. Our heart for Christ is blocked. Clogged. Slowing down. Ceasing to beat.

Our blockages can come in many forms. Unconfessed sin. Unforgiveness. Desire to control our lives. Inability to trust God. Worry. Anxiety. Depression. Unhealed hurt from others.

Fortunately for us, God is the most talented cardiologist that ever existed. He doesn’t require medication, LifeFlight helicopters, or surgery. We must simply RECEIVE His grace and mercy into our hearts. If we share with Him openly our hurts, sins and grudges, He is the one who can heal them. Clean them out. Immediately.

Ask God if you are living your “clean bill of health” from the inside out or if you have some blocked areas of your heart. Ask Him to reveal any “blocked areas” to you and then help you to clean them out… He is The One who can make your heart beat, healthily, wildly and passionately. For Him.

Today, let’s allow Jesus to unblock our hearts so we can Live for Him.

Lovin’ His Lub-Dubbing,
SGK

“…Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having ourhearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” –Hebrews 10:22

How is your heart beating today? Is it healthy? Has God helped to unblock your heart? In what ways? I would love to hear about it. Comment here.

Categories: blessing, Christ, faith, Family, fear, God, healing, health, hope, Love | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ink Pen in the Dryer

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Sharita

You recognize it immediately.  You feel like you have been sucker punched. Your breath gets cut short. You gasp. Your heart leaps into your throat and your stomach drops. There it is…

The aftermath of… an ink pen in the dryer.

What might a laundry fail could be a faith victory... Your choice.

Ok, ok… So maybe I am being just a wee big melodramatic. But seriously, most folks who have done laundry (which I am hoping is a majority of the readers out there) know that feeling.

You open the door and there inside your once-pearly white dryer are smeared-in stains of an ink pen that met its melty fate. And don’t even get me started on the condition of the clothes that were in that load. Sigh.

Oh, and it doesn’t just have to be an ink pen– it could be gum, play-doh, lipstick… Regardless, its a mess. A frustrating mess at that.

As an army wife, I think there is some clause buried deep between our marriage certificate and enlistment papers that says this ink pen in the dryer experience is a right of passage. Army uniforms have A LOT of pockets. When we are in a hurry, sometimes that blessed pen gets overlooked.

The first time this happened to us was during our very first red phase as a drill sergeant here in Georgia. We had been married less than a year and in this state for less than a month. My adjustment to Georgia and the ridiculous absence of my husband/purpose in life was going a little less than smooth. (Can you say stressed out?)

Our washer/dryer set was less than a month old. It was the first set we had ever owned due to apartment living for all of our adult lives. That fateful night, my husband threw in a load of laundry. (Side note: Praise Jesus my husband even DOES his laundry.)

I heard that familiar buzz to signal the end of the dryer cycle and went into the kitchen to switch it out. I opened the dryer and… well, just insert the feelings from the first paragraph here.

I was already emotionally exhausted and that ink pen that had exploded/melted all over his uniform and our beautiful brand new dryer put me over the edge. I was so steamed. Frustrated. Angry. And my beloved was in the living room. Oblivious.

Slam! Stomp, stomp, stomp! <mumble, mumble, mumble>. For the next hour or so, I tried every method I could to remove the ink from the inside of my precious dryer. Ajax, SOS pads, steel wool, lysol, etc… Even hot, angry tears didn’t work.

It took the better part of the evening for me to recover. And forgive my husband. And relinquish my fantasy of a forever-white dryer.

Wouldn’t you know it– I encountered another ink pen in the dryer last week. This time, I was the one who did the laundry. It was first thing in the morning and I went to switch the load between rounding up breakfast and heading to the living room to sit at the feet of Jesus… In peace.

I opened that dryer door, saw the epic fail that was my laundry/dryer, and mumbled some combination of “Frick” and “Crap.” (I think it was Crick? Or Frap?) Suddenly, I stopped. I decided that this would NOT ruin my day, and I was going to turn it over to God.

That’s what I did. I cleaned out the dryer, sorted through the clothes to survey the damage… Then moved on to have Jesus time.

Guess what? My day went really well.

Here’s the thing. We are all gonna have “Ink pen in the dryer” kind of days. You know– The ones where it all seems to fall to pieces, sometimes before we get started. But God cares about our challenges– even if they seem trivial. Like an ink pen in the dryer. If it matters to you… it matters to God.

I had a choice. And so do you. Next time you are faced with an ink pen in the dryer kind of day, pause for just a second and consider what is at stake.

Give it over to God… Because He can wash us clean daily… even those tough stains remaining from an ink pen in the dryer.

Faithfully Inky,
SGK

“You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:3 (NIV)

Did you enjoy today’s post? When was the last time you had an “ink pen in the dryer” day? What did you do? I would love to hear all about it. Leave your comments here. :-)

Categories: attitude, calm, Clean, faith, frustration, God, husband, washed | Tags: , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

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