Posts Tagged With: peace

The Power of Mind Control

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Sharita

I’ve always heard that mind is a terrible thing to waste.

I also believe that a mind is terribly hard to control.

Seriously. Maybe you have the ability to control your thoughts all mastered, but I sure don’t. One tiny event, action, news story or comment from someone can send my otherwise Christ-centered, balanced, content and peaceful mind spinning in the wrong direction faster than a merry-go-round on an elementary school playground.

And the enemy of my soul absolutely LOVES it. Gives him great material to work with. Jerkface.

Let me give you an example…

Let’s say I’m out for a run and I hear sirens. No big deal, right? As long as I have my everything focused on Christ, yeah, it’s no big deal. But sometimes my woman brain kicks into motion before I even realize what is happening. I hear the siren, and I think, “I wonder where it’s going” which turns into “I hope they are ok” which turns into “It sounds like it’s headed in the direction of where my husband works (which is a huge place)” which turns into “What if my husband is hurt/was in an accident/etc” and BOOM.

There I am. Worried about something that isn’t even legit. And worry is a sin because it shows that I am not trusting God with my day/life/plans.

BAH. It’s such a frustrating cycle to break.

Then of course the Enemy gets involved and tries to play up my fears/worries/insecurities/need to control/etc.

It’s precious. (Not.)

Scripture says A LOT about the power of mind control. (No, not controlling OTHER people’s minds… controlling our own thoughts.) Romans 8:6 says, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”

Pretty simple, huh? The mind of us as sinners equals death… But when we let God control our minds, we experience constant life and peace.

What consumes your mind, controls your life.

Via deeplifequotes @ Flickr

You all know that I am a sucker for analogies, so I liken this concept to the airport security system. Our thoughts are the carry-on bags going through the nifty little X-ray machine… and Jesus is the TSA agent. We need to let Him sort through our thoughts and decide if they pass the test of worthy, holy, and pure. The yucky ones that don’t make the cut? Yep, they are confiscated. Junked. Trashed. Deleted. Whatever you want to call it– they are GONE.

2 Corinthians 10:5 reminds us of this truth as well. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

So what do we do when our minds start to spin out of control? Well, we can run it through the Jesus filter. It has worked pretty well for me as of late… I often refer to Philippians 4:8~ “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  

If your thoughts that pop into your head don’t fit any of those descriptors, more than likely they are junk. Don’t give the enemy a foothold by thinking about the yuck that we have no control over. Instead, we can take every thought, run it through our nifty little Jesus filter and take it captive to Christ.

Now THAT is the power of mind control… Through Christ.

Minding Jesus,
SGK

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” ~Isaiah 55:9 NIV

Categories: trust | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

You just gotta ask yourself…

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Sharita

Sometimes you just gotta ask yourself: “How can I BEST represent Jesus in this situation?”

Kinda sounds like the old WWJD trend, right? (Who has a bracelet? You know what I’m talking about.)

But seriously– we sometimes find ourselves in super sticky situations that really seems to have no productive solution. I found myself in that very place a couple of weeks ago. I was genuinely stumped and my heart was torn.

Fortunately for me, it was prayer week at church.

See, three times a year, our Church Body puts the whoa on evening activities and invites everyone to come to church to pray. No, it isn’t a time for us to gather and pray for each other’s needs (although sometimes the Holy Spirit works that in.) But instead we worship for a little while, then we sit and listen to what the Lord is saying to us via a theme or prompt or Scripture set… then we come back together at the end and listen to whomever has something to share.

Sometimes God speaks very powerfully to me. Other times, He gives me answers I’ve been needing or leads me to some pretty cool Scripture. Or sometimes He just wants me to CHILL OUT and rest in His presence. (Yes, resting and napping is permitted if that is what your heart/spirit/body needs and the Holy Spirit  leads you to it!)

Anywho, I was wrapped up in a sticky, messy situation with no brilliant ideas on how to fix it. Our theme for the year at Christ Community is “His Work, Our Peace.” Honestly, peace was the LAST trait you could have used to describe me at that point. So I headed to church, hoping for answers– or at least a little sliver of His Peace.

The theme for the night was the first work of Christ– His incarnation. After I had a good (and much-needed!) cry by myself in the back row of chairs, I sat… and captured this message directly in my journal.

So today, I just wanted to share what God revealed to me in the midst of my yuck.

****

“Jesus became a man. He understands our struggles and has been slandered and persecuted. Yet even on the cross, He forgave those who hurt Him and He never stopped loving.  He didn’t care about people’s’ approval– He only cared about His Father’s heart and approval. 

So as I face this hurtful situation, I must be like Christ. It’s kind of like bringing back WWJD. He wasn’t just a man of theory, but of action. Sometimes you just gotta ask yourself “How can I best represent Christ in this situation?” Philippians 2:5 says “In your relationships, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus…” In the study section of my Bible, it says this about the verse: “Christians are to have His attitude of self-sacrificing humility and love for others.” 

It’s scary. It’s hard. But I must remember the words of the song we sang during worship… 

‘No power of hell, no scheme of man, could ever pluck me from His hand.’

I embrace the truth that My Beloved is Mine and I am His. 

I am safe and protected. He is the ONE I answer to. So as I reflect on the person in flesh of Jesus, He is… 

HOLY. FULLY LIGHT. UNCOMPROMISING. PURE. GOOD. MERCIFUL. COMPASSIONATE. AWARE. ATTENTIVE. RIGHTEOUS. SERVING. GIVING. POWERFUL. MIGHTY. GLORIOUS. AWESOME. AUTHORITATIVE. WARRIOR. JOYFUL. SENSE OF HUMOR. FORGIVING. LOVING. SACRIFICIAL. LOVE PERSONIFIED. PROVIDER. CARES FOR US. RESTORER. REDEEMER. VICTORIOUS. LIFE GIVER. 

So Jesus came to us in flesh. He understands. He lives in us. We CAN be all these things by clinging to the one truth that He loves us unconditionally. Always. This is done not in our power–but in His power and grace.” 

****

So yeah… Sometimes you just gotta ask yourself– how can you BEST represent Christ in your situation?

What’s YOUR answer?

Grateful for His Grace,
SGK

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.” ~Philippians 2:5-8 (MSG) 

jesus was journal

Categories: challenge | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Keep It Down In There! (Five Minute Friday)

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Sharita

Hey all.

Tis Friday. Specifically, tis Five Minute Friday.

Today, I link-up with Lisa-Jo Baker for a writing exercise of epic proportions. She gives us a prompt. Then we write. For five minutes flat. No over thinking. No nit-picking. Just write.
Five Minute Friday

So let’s get this par-tay started, shall we?

Today’s prompt: QUIET

Anddd GO!

******

Quiet used to be a dirty word for me.

“Sharita, BE QUIET!” This was quite the profanity to a little girl who, given the chance, would talk your ear off. I liked loud. I liked fun. I liked activity.

I despised quiet.

But over the years, especially now– I have come to appreciate the quiet.

It is in those serene quiet moments when I can hear God’s voice most clearly. It’s when my sweet drill sergeant husband has gone to work for 20+ hours at his job as a drill sergeant (like today) and it’s just me the pup left at home to our own devices.

The TV is off. I shut Pandora down. And just sit. In the quiet.

Sounds awesome, right? Well, it is… Most of the time.

However, there’s other issues of “loudness” that I have to combat when I’m trying to find my happy place in God’s presence.

There’s the voices. Specifically: My voice and the enemy’s voice. See, I’m a thinker. And sometimes my thinking is so blessed loud I can’t, well, hear myself think. (Does that even make sense?) God is not a yeller. He is loving and gentle, so He is willing to wait for me to tell my inner voice self-talk to “KEEP IT DOWN IN THERE!”

The same goes for The Enemy. He is out to kill, steal and destroy. He doesn’t want me sitting in the quiet, finding peace and communing with God. The voices, lies and distractions swirl. But I have to tell the enemy something similar: “Knock it off, jerkface. Keep it down in there!!”

No matter how many times I have to remind myself (or others) to keep it down… God is always waiting for me. And His peace abounds.

STOP!
*****

What distractions do you face when you try to seek the Lord in the peace and quiet? Do you get a chance to sit in the quiet with Him daily? If not, what steps can you take to try and make that happen?

I always love hearing from you… Holla at me by leaving a comment below.

Enjoy peace in His quiet,

SGK

“I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content.” ~Psalm 131:2 (MSG) 

Categories: Five Minute Friday | Tags: , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Peace is a Priority

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Sharita

When I was a little girl, Easter ranked in the top 4 of the most exciting and wonderful days of the year. It was just behind Christmas, my birthday and the last day of school. I loved hunting for eggs and that feeling of excitement as I came down the hall peered into the kitchen… and on top of the deep freeze, our Easter baskets would always be sitting, overflowing with candy and toys.

Ahhh. Those were the days.

But back then, I don’t recall having ANY idea what Easter was really about. Now as an adult, things are a wee bit different. Don’t get me wrong– if anyone is willing to sneak into my house and leave an Easter basket on our deep freeze filled with chocolate, please feel free. (But call first so I can kennel up the pup. I would hate for your ankle to have an encounter with our ferocious 12 pound beast.)

So yes, now Easter has a MUCH different and much more profound meaning to me… It of course signifies that Christ has Risen. How. Awesome. Is. That??

During my quiet time last week, God gave me a revelation of sorts… In all of our hustle and bustle of life, specifically for a minister preparing for Easter church services, PEACE is a priority.

We see this in John 20:19-21 when Jesus first appears to the disciples after He has risen from the dead.

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.””

Jesus makes peace a priority. “Peace be with you” was the first phrase He uttered to his group of best friends after this profound event of rising from the dead. It wasn’t “Hey y’all, I’m back!” or “I win, let’s party!” or even “Now let me tell you my plans…” It was simply “Peace be with you.” He didn’t just say it once– He said it twice. Pretty important, eh?

When have you experienced God’s peace most deeply in your life? Have you mastered it or do you still struggle with it? Please share your Jesus-peace experience by leaving a comment here.

As we approach Easter, let’s rejoice that He has risen and will soon be coming back. But let’s also remember  the promise of peace that comes from clinging to Jesus and spending time in His presence– daily, not just on Easter. Jesus made peace a priority– shouldn’t you?

Rejoicing in the Peace,
SGK

“The God of peace be with you all. Amen.” –Romans 15:33

Categories: believe, Bible, calm, celebrate, Christ, hope, Jesus, peace | Tags: , , , , , | 6 Comments

Peace by Piece

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Sharita

Sometimes you have to be knocked down to get your balance. Or perhaps you need to be broken into pieces before you experience real peace.

I love it when God reveals concepts in a new and fresh way… which is exactly what happened to me last week.

My emotions, fears, hopes, feelings have been all over the board in the last couple of weeks. But during my quiet time last Thursday, God gave me a revelation that literally changed my life.

The amount of peace in your life is directly proportionate to the extent in which you trust God.

Let me say it again: The amount of peace in your life is directly proportionate to the extent in which you trust God. 

This was a thwack in the nose for me. DUH. Why, oh, why, had I never understood this? I had been praying for peace with everything going on in my life and God answered with “Well then, trust me more, my daughter.”

OH SNAP.

As I processed this concept, I thought of those balance scales that we used in math and science class in elementary school. You remember, the ones that you would put a certain gram weight on one side, the have to figure out how to balance it out on the other side?

With this trust-peace concept, I imagine we are sitting near one side. We have little “grams” of Trust we put on the scale. God is sitting close to the opposite side and each time we place a trust gram on the scale, He IMMEDIATELY gives us a Peace gram on the other side to keep things balanced.

We have NO CONTROL over the things that are going to happen in our lives. Zippo. Nada. Which means we can’t directly control the level of peace and comfort in our heart.

HOWEVER… (don’t you just love the “however dot, dot, dots? I love God clauses.) However… we CAN control the amount to which we trust God. If we give Him all our trust, He in return gives us peace. In equal balance.

Is your trust-peace scale balanced? Or is it completely empty, flopping about in the wind, letting gravity do its own thing? In what ways can you lay down your worries, your troubles, your fears, your need for control and TRUST God more fully? I don’t know about you, but I have had to intentionally trust God multiple times a day to receive the Peace He has waiting for me.

Honestly, I still kinda stink at remembering to TRUST God 24/7. But I’m getting better. (I never was very good at math…)

Remember that with each piece of trust we give Him, He gives us Peace in return. That’s what I call a wonderful life balance… Gaining Peace by Piece.

One Peace at His Time,
SGK

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” –Romans 15:13

Categories: attitude, calm, fear, God, peace, trust | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Enjoy the Ride

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Sharita

The sun was bearing down on our necks. I tried to smoothly fan my armpits to make sure sweat didn’t show. I peered around the dude wearing huge flowered shirt in front of me, who was eating a corndog and funnel cake at the same time.

Was this line EVER going to move? HURRY. UP. 

Those were the days of theme park rides. I have to say that I have (sadly) grown out of that thrill, but for a teenager, “riding rides” was as good as it got. (Sidenote: unless you have a super strong stomach, don’t eat a corn dog and funnel cake right before you get on a ride that is name something along the lines of “Roller Coaster of Doom…” you will most likely embarrass yourself and gross out everyone around you. Just sayin.)

I have never been a thrill-seeker or fan of heights. When I was asked to climb on top of the grain bins while working on a pig farm one summer, I was so scared I thought I was going to have a stroke. But for some reason, theme park rides were a novelty that I sought out, regardless of the profuse sweat, long lines and uncertainty if I would live to see tomorrow.

Worlds of Fun, Six Flags, Disney World, take your pick. But the mother of all “Riding Rides” experience for the Lacey family was  The Missouri State Fair. (Specifically: the Tilt-A-Whirl and Scrambler. Two names that could easily insinuate what could happen if you ate a corn dog and funnel cake before boarding.) Those were the days.

Dad and my lil Bro Dal... at the Missouri State Fair in 2009.

But as of this writing, I can’t really remember the last time I went to a theme park or “rode rides” at a fair… Probably because I no longer need to seek that thrill. Why? Because most days, I feel like I am on one big roller coaster of adult life.

I don’t want to get all cliche-ish… but sometimes life really is one big theme park ride. And unlike the “rules” of my youth to avoid “upside down” and “leg dangling” rides, it seems that God really likes to make our lives exciting.

Up, down, twisting, turning, forward, backward, sideways, in the light, in the dark, through the water, out of a tunnel, plummeting to the bottom, creaking to the top… Theme park rides of life can be exhausting. Or awesome.

Yeah. This is how some of us feel daily about our ride of life...

Think about your life, right where you are today. Are you on a ride where you are squealing with joy? Or have you made it onto the ride, sat down and began to panic: “Let me out, let me off, I’VE CHANGED MY MIND!!” Or maybe you just wanna throw up. (It happens.)

God is our ride of life operator. He knows every twist and turn that we will experience. He understands when we are scared, excited, or simply sick with the thought of experiencing the ups, downs and all arounds. However, unlike that creepy carney from the fair rides of long ago, He doesn’t just stand around looking bored and checking his watch to see when he can close down.

Instead, God climbs into the seat next to us. He takes our hand. And changes our panic into peace.

God probably won’t give you permission to jump off the crazy upside-down, feet-dangling, million mile per hour ride and go sit on the bench, watching the action while you sip your Coke. But He will bring you such deep and overwhelming peace that you can sit back, relax, toss up your hands and enjoy the ride.

Embracing the ups, downs and all arounds,

SGK

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

OH… One more thing… Today is the LAST DAY for our Jesus Caffeine Giveaway… See Friday’s Post  for details, or simply comment and/or share here to enter!

Categories: adventure, challenge, God, peace | Tags: , , , , , , | 18 Comments

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