50 Conclusionary Thoughts (from life experience)

On September 10, 2016December 10, 2016 By happyreignIn Heather, Reflections & Musings3 Comments

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Salvation is not earned, it is a gift.
God loves everyone more than we can fathom, not just a small group of religious people who earn special entitlement (still taught in the church today)
The practice of spiritual gifts is not more important than the practice of love.
Operating in power is not necessarily more powerful than operating in faithful love.
Expression (creativity in any form) can be an act of worship and is free from failure because the purpose is in the expression.
God can repair anything that appears unrestorable.
God can carry you through something you can’t carry yourself through.
God can make beauty from ugliness.
Many of the most precious things in life never draw attention to themselves.
Sometimes things that revolve around lots of attention are rooted in brokenness and unhealthiness.
God cares more about our inward peace than our outward performances.
Relationships based on expectation aren’t based on love.
Different seasons of our lives can feel like completely different lifetimes and aren’t always meant to be resurrected once they’ve passed.
God has the ability to keep me better than my ability to keep myself.
God only is ever acting out of love towards me.
I can always trust God completely, including with absolutely everything, right now.
Money has never been a good enough reason to direct the course of my life.
Risk on the side of courage, fearlessness, and failure rather than on the side of safety, self-protection, and the approval of others.
God has never asked us to worry and never will.
God lives extravagantly.
God doesn’t love the church because she’s earned it.
Lack of understanding is not cruel, it is freedom and a fertile land for growing trust.
Remembering our forgiveness really can make any cloudy day bright.
The most selfless people on the planet have the titles “Mom” and “Dad”.
Everyone is worthy of love. No matter their religion, location, looks, or titles. No one has earned it.
God really does know the intimate details of our lives.
Some christian movements that have drifted into maintenance of works or divisive theology began with the strong, simple message of God’s love.
Love listens.
You are meant to enjoy being alive.
God can take any negative influence in our life and make it a place of liberty and strength.
Belief in Jesus is coming into the realization of the truth that he loves us.
Being understood feels good but is largely inconsequential in life.
All things are heading towards the unveiling of God’s goodness.
Eliminating the desire and the need to control other’s words, actions, or choices is your first step towards loving them.
The root of control is ultimately fear, not love.
Nothing can replace the experience of God’s love in our lives.
Your value in God’s eyes never had its origins in your perceived productivity in his kingdom. He has already given you his love for free, not as a reward for works.
God does not love in gradients or degrees, it is who he is.
Feeling bad about something does not earn your forgiveness for it.
God’s gift to humanity is people. The people in our lives are a gift to us.
Love is not motivated by fear.
Your relationship with your family is more telling than the accolades of strangers.
God created people to fall in love. With him and with one another.
Let yourself be happy.
Let yourself change.
You are really forgiven, live as such.
Play is one of the secret weapons of living.
God is good company if we let ourselves simply enjoy him.
Yesterday and tomorrow have no right to steal from today.
God helps us become friends with ourselves and helps us stay that way.

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Frolicking with God in the Middle East

On January 24, 2015December 10, 2016 By happyreignIn Heather, Social Justice

Joel and I have written ‘off the grid’ about our adventures in the Middle East for three months followed by spending the holidays in Puerto Rico and now we’re writing again to announce “We’re heading back!”

GOING BACK That’s right, in the midst of our goodbyes with a plan to return in our hearts, the Lord orchestrated an open door for us. While spending our last day in the old city of Jerusalem on Thanksgiving, God had a date prepared for us with one of the most prevalent Christian influences in Iraq. Unplanned, we spent our morning with a man known as the Vicar of Baghdad or Canon Andrew White. After exchanging hearts, he extended an invitation to join him in his efforts towards peace and reconciliation in the Middle East. In tandem with this effort is relief towards the poor, the displaced, and the suffering. Andrew started an organization called Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East that focuses on providing food and medical care, while also meeting with leaders on all side of the divides that are alive in the Middle East, aimed at restoring the essence humanity in their midst; the compassion that enables peace.

Joel and I are possibly going to be involved in Israel, Jordan, and Kurdistan region in Iraq but we will see what God has planned for us as the time nears and as we arrive back on the ground there. All we know is that God is inviting us in the overflow of his heart towards a very hurt and defensive region that he loves so much. His glory and his image covers the land, and everyone is invited to participate in the heaven that Christ embodies toward all of humanity. God is not waiting for human dispute to end before continuing in his celebration of who he is and what he’s done; we get to participate in his rejoicing. God is not worried, intimidated, or uncertain of the path towards peace. His love is mature and patient without end towards a people who are hurting and have experienced much pain. Freedom is free and available to all. Hopefully we will get to be a part of highlighting the way to that peace.

OUR PLANS NOW Joel and I have another three months in America before our return. We will be traveling across the country in our sporty Montero with stops in Ohio, Paducah, Cairo, Missouri, and more, on our way to northern California for two months. We have a return trip scheduled towards May through Oregon, Minnesota, and back to South Carolina. We look forward to seeing friends and family, meeting new faces, and seeing some of God’s beautiful creation along the way.

OPPORTUNITIES We’re inviting you to come with and join us along the way! So many people have been so encouraging, supportive, and have believed in us! Our hearts are forever entwined with yours as you’ve sowed into our adventures with God, and this glorious journey continues! I’ve attached some more information to our happy giving page of how you can sow into God’s plans for our lives in this season if you like. One way we always need is prayer! Thank you so much for responding to the spirits leading in basking our journey in prayer. We couldn’t do this without the Christ in you and we love having your blessing and strength along for the ride. Prayer matters and changes reality, isn’t our partnership with God awesome!?

Here’s another opportunity we’re going to post on our announcement: Do you want to come join us for a week? A mutual friend of ours John Crowder is hosting a trip to come and help the Syrian refugees and minister to the church and the lost in that place. Never worry about finances. Ever. Only say yes to the desires God births within your heart and he will make a way. I only say this because when its him doing it, its worked for me every time he’s sent me. We’d love to have you. We’re going to be ministering in a town that Joel and I have visited and we’re super excited to partner with the church there as well. It will be the adventure of a life time to be a part of what God is doing on the ground in the Middle East. The deadline to sign up is March 1st. Here’s the link… see you there.

With love and blessings always from us to you, thank you!

Happy Grazing

On May 8, 2014May 8, 2014 By happyreignIn Heather

I have desire to throw consecutive notes out there for free range spiritual grazing. This first one is real chipper and is about death…or actually its end. 🙂

Romans 5:28 Sin reigned in death. Picture sin sitting on the throne in glum sneakiness. As far as the kingdom of sin touches, so too the reaches of death touch. The sign of this kingdom being at hand is death. Hmmmmmm sounds awesome (dry sarcasm – for those of you who have never met me. I’m not really impressed).

Romans 8:2 The law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. The wages of sin is death; death entered the world through sin. Christ, the lamb of God is the one who takes away the sin of the world. Sin and its power was crucified on the cross. We are (cheaky pun on Paul’s behalf) DEAD to sin. Therefore we are DEAD to sin’s wages–death…let me continue…

Hebrews 2:14 ….For only as a human being could he [Jesus] die [one king entering into the reign of sin to overthrow its kingdom], and only by dying [entering deaths kingdom] could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Good News flash: the power of death has been broken (-cue celebration and smiling…lots of smiling). This brings up the great and awesome question of ‘What has Jesus already done for us?’ Again…

2 Timothy 1:10 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated [showed us] the way to life and immortality through the Good News.

I have some really great friends and I can hear some of their wisdom as I write this, “It’s not really about right or wrong anymore, its about life or death.” Does your choice, your lifestyle, your habits, result in life to you or death. When sin bears fruit it gives life to death. That doesn’t mean its referring to ‘all that stuff that looks bad’ i.e cigarettes, stealing, tattoos, drinking beer, or rather things that don’t appear ‘godly’ to the ‘christian kingdom’ rather than having anything to do with Christ’s kingdom. Selling yourself out in religious circles to gain the desiring gaze of people wanting you or wanting to be you, sexual relations happening within church leadership across lines of wedlock, people controlling other people’s relationship with God and acting as the Holy Spirit, are all things who’s fruit is not life obviously. Does quitting your day job and doing things that you’ve always wanted to do result in life to you? Does helping the person behind you in line in the grocery story result in life for you? Does finishing that college degree through lots of studying result in life for you? The behavior isn’t the qualifier, the heart is.

The earth’s sin, that results in death (Jn 16:9), is unbelief in Christ.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT SIN AND ALL OF ITS INFLUENCES HAVE BEEN FOREVER OVERTHROWN FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY’S FREEDOM.

Galations 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. My husband was sharing what somebody told him the other day, “It’s what we do with the freedom that we’ve been given that matters.”

Romans 8:10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, …

The spirit that overcame death is WHERE?!? Living inside of you right now. All of death has been overcome; all it’s influences, shades, and effects. Death in realtionships–gone. Death in your relationship with yourself inside your head–gone. Death in your outlets for the way you’ve been created to live, your gifts, talents, desires, expression–gone. Death from bad experiences in your past that don’t have ANY power over you anymore–gone. Death in your choices–gone. And here’s where it gets real crazy in a good way. All those family members that you loved that are no longer with you right now, that you can’t hug, can’t talk to, can’t reconcile with?? I tell you the truth, your seperation from them was crucified on the cross and all of us, with our very own eyes will see the reign of death, and all its influences on humanity for all time, be cast into fire. And we will stand with no influences of death remaining standing.

1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

Jesus is life; all life, anywhere, in any form. All of life is contained in Jesus; through him all things live (and move and have their being). His life is reality. This is the tree from which humanity was meant to eat. Any opposing force has been revealed as powerless against it. He swallowed up death for all people.

2 Corinthians 5:14 …One having died for all, His death was their death.

The wages of sin have been eradicated from your life. You will not die, but live, and the fullness of that life is why Christ came, so that you may have life more abundantly. This is where you live. It’s your place of origin, this kingdom of life. It’s the power that resides inside you. You are alive and it is a wonderful thing. You have breath that is a gift right now inside of you that has been passed down through humanity from the one who first breathed life into Adam’s lungs.

There is no place for death, or any grade or shade of it in your thoughts, communication, decisions, hopes, relationships, health, provision, it’s not our family’s culture, it’s just not who we are, it’s not your place of origin, it’s not normal for us. You are an ambassador of life that overcomes every shade of the influence of sin and death. The increase of his government of life and peace is without end. Life wins and your life. Life wins in your heart. Life wins in your home and in your influence on the people around you. The Spirit that lives inside you is the one that has overcome death. Christ in you the hope of glory.

Oh, by the way, you didn’t earn this, it’s a free gift. It’s your effortless state of existence. It’s who you already are, and what you’ve already been given. Do you know who you are? Do you know how powerful you are? Do you know how free to be loved by God you are? You are not a victim in this life, even to death. Christ’s form and life that wins has been revealed through humanity.