500 Words: Day 6

Some people distance themselves from God, because they believe that He doesn’t want them. They think that, because of everything they’ve done, He’s turned His back on them.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

We are, all of us, broken.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
–Rom. 3:23 ESV

Adam and Eve get a bad rap. As the first sinners, we often hang the Fall of Man around their necks, giving them all the blame.

But if you or I had been in their place, what would we have done?

Without a doubt, every one of us would have acted out the same story, given the same excuses, and told the same lies.

We do it every day.

All have fallen; all are in need of grace.

And there is grace! Enough to cover every one of our lies and bad intentions, our moments of impatience, lack of gratitude, and disrespect.

As soon as Man had fallen, God began his plan for Man’s redemption. He plotted a direct line from the exposed and broken parents of our race, to the Redeemer who would make us whole again.

That line wasn’t made up of perfect people. Not a one. Read through the genealogy of Christ, and you will find murderers, prostitutes, liars, thieves—altogether selfish, perfectly imperfect people.

The point here is that no one has escaped the brokenness that is the flipside of free will. Not you, not I.

But we are not lost for it.

Don’t think for a moment that God has turned his back on you because of what you’ve said, thought, or done. Don’t think you’re worthless, or that your past can’t be overcome.

Because, at the epicenter of all our sin—the evil darkness that resides within our hearts—there shines a light nothing can overshadow, and no ill intention can quench.

The Light of Christ shines, steady and eternal.

He has the power to blot out all of our sin and shame, to raise us from the darkness. To restore us to the relationship we would have with God, if not for Eden.

And it doesn’t matter what we’ve done; our past does not stand as a wall between us and our Creator.

Christ lived the perfect life, and became the perfect sacrifice to demolish all walls between us and God—to bridge every gap brought about by sin.

“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”
–Matt. 27:51 ESV

That curtain represented the spiritual separation between God and us. This was the same separation imposed on Mankind as a consequence of the Fall in Eden.

When Christ took all our sin upon His shoulders, that veil was torn in two, and the spiritual door was reopened so we could partake in direct relationship with our Heavenly Father.

The only qualifier is that we approach Him through Christ.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
–John 14:6 ESV

Let me repeat: that is the ONLY qualifier.

So no matter how hard, how often, or how low you have fallen, the grace of God through Jesus Christ can restore you.

The only wall between you and God, the only thing creating distance between yourself and your Creator—is you. Not the things you’ve done.

God has put out his hand. He is waiting for you. Will you let go of your past and take hold of all that He has planned for your life, or will you continue to hold fast to your wrongs, convinced that you can redeem them in His eyes?

Ultimately, the choice is yours. This is why everything went wrong in the Garden of Eden. But it’s also why everything can go right.

500 Words: Day 2

Have I mentioned that I have no idea what I’m doing? (Career-wise…any-wise)

Shouldn’t I have all of this figured out by now?

I’ll turn 30 near the end of this year…30!! Don’t most people have their career stuff figured out by 30?

Apparently, I’m not most people.

I spent the first half of my 20’s trying a bunch of different things, because I didn’t think I could do what I wanted to do, and because I was terrified of choosing the wrong direction for my life. I was paralyzed by the fear that I might not pick the career God intended for me.

What I didn’t realize (and what I so wish that I had figured out), was that I just needed to finish/commit to SOMETHING, and God would nudge me onto the right path if I was going in the wrong direction.

I started to understand this in the second half of my twenties, when I came to comprehend all the goodness and grace of God’s gift to us in Christ.

When I finally understood who I was to God.

If you’re reading this right now, and you don’t have the whole Jesus thing figured out yet…well, let me tell you: He makes ALL the difference!

Once I fully grasped who I am in Christ, I stopped beating myself up (most of the time) about not knowing what I should do as a career.

See, I always thought it was what I did that would get me into God’s kingdom. That’s why I was so afraid of making a mistake when it came to my career! The truth is, it’s Who we love—Who we draw closer to, cling to, and put above all else—that gets us into the Kingdom. Not the things we do! (Hint: God. The “Who” is God–through the grace of Jesus.)

What a relief!!

 

When all of this dawned on me, I was able to let go of who I thought I should be, and begin walking down the path to being myself. The path to being who God made me to be!

And all of that disappointing stuff—all of those moments of defeat, of quitting, of allowing fear to rule my life—all of those moments that lead up to the financial situation Chad and I are climbing out of…

All of that crap is being redeemed!!

Because it’s God who directs my paths. He who has given me the desires of my heart is leading me on a journey to their completion. The dreams he has planted in me are meant to come to fruition!

And when I put my trust in him instead of in myself—when I stop worrying about whether I’m good enough, talented enough, confident enough, etc—it’s then that I’m walking down the path I was meant to take, whether it be in my career or otherwise.

This all sounds fabulous and a little crazy, right? I mean, how can I know for certain that, no matter the mistakes I make, when I put my life in God’s hands and choose to follow him, he will redeem those wrong turns?

For two reasons:

1.) I know this because when I was nine years old, the Holy Spirit told me I would marry Chad. 18 years later, after falling and straying from the path time and again, then finally—fully—giving my life into the hands of my Savior…well, I DID marry Chad!

2.) The Bible tells me so. (That sort of trumps the first reason, but I like telling my Chad story.)

When we are seeking God whole-heartedly, he realigns all of our mistakes and missteps, weaving them into the story he wrote for us before we were born. There is nothing we can do to mess up his plans for us.

Which is why, even though I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, I’m not afraid. I know the dreams that I’ve been given are a future reality, because my hope rests in Him.

668 words. BOOM!

Easter Sunday: Death to Life

On Easter Sunday three years ago, I sat on a bed in a rented house in Florida, as the world I knew shattered.

Chad and I had been down there for a few days so he could photograph a wedding. It was my first trip to Florida, and I was in love with the heat, palm trees, and salty ocean air. Maybe with Chad a little, too. 😉

We spent that holiday morning watching kids hunt for eggs on a nearby island. It was an absolutely perfect day—sunny and quiet, with no clouds in sight. At least, none that I could see.

That afternoon, when we returned to the house we were sharing with some friends, Chad found out that my mom was trying to get hold of me. From the intel he gleaned from his parents, it sounded like someone from my family was in the hospital.

I called Mom back, dreading what I would learn, and she immediately told me to sit down.

“Your dad had a heart attack.” The words rang in my ears for hours afterward, as I attempted to navigate through the fog they created. Surely, I was dreaming. I can remember pinching myself, more than once, in an attempt to awaken.

But the nightmare continued. Dad was in a coma, and it wasn’t clear what would happen. So I boarded a plane early the next morning to fly home to Minnesota, leaving Chad and our friends behind in paradise.

It was my first time flying alone, but I don’t remember much except for the strange desire to spill my story to those around me, and the on-going debate in my head about whether or not Dad would die. I do recall feeling empty—wanting to cry to release my pain, but unable to summon the feelings that would bring forth tears.

My aunt, uncle and sister picked me up at the airport in Minneapolis, my adorable niece in tow. In her little voice, she informed me that Grandpa had a “big owie,” then told everyone to duck as we drove under a bridge.

Still, the tears refused to flow.

For the next three days, I sat with my family in hospital waiting rooms. We talked a lot, sharing some of our favorite stories about my dad—I learned quite a few things about him that I hadn’t known. There was also laughter (it wouldn’t be my family if there wasn’t laughter!) and prayer. So much prayer!

Though I hoped and prayed for an outcome in which Dad would stay with us here on earth, I felt God speaking softly to my heart during those hospital days, preparing me for what was to come.

On Wednesday evening, a little more than 72 hours after his heart gave out, Dad left this life, surrounded by a room full of family and friends. It was a beautiful good-bye, filled with prayers, tears, and music from my brother’s guitar. He played Dad to Heaven.

Whenever I talk about this experience with other people, I say that it was a bittersweet farewell. Bitter, because of the obvious (the gaping hole it left inside me), but sweet because…well, because of what Easter is all about.

When Christ sacrificed himself for our sins, a pathway was reopened that had been closed at the Fall in Eden: a way to relationship with God that brings us new life in Eternity. This is a promise and a hope that He has given us.

It’s this hope that mends the hole left behind by the loss of my dad, and instills in me the knowledge that the hospital room good-bye will not be forever.

There is a day that’s coming when all will be made new, and we’ll be reunited with the ones we’ve lost.

None of this would be possible without the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Without Him, death would be a permanent end. Now it’s a new beginning.

Thank God for that! It’s with this hope hidden in my heart, and engraved upon my mind, that I can greet each new Easter morning and rejoice. I thank God for the past—the sacrifice of His Son, the time I had with my earthly father—and also for the future: an eternity filled with endless joy, after all who died in Christ are reunited.

This is a hope that we all can share in, through surrender to Jesus Christ. My prayer is that all of you have a share in it on this glorious day!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead… 1 Peter 1:13 ESV

Happy Easter, friends. God bless!

Debt Free

Originally published October 8, 2014, on OurDebtFreeJourney.com.

Chad and I began this blog with the intention of it being a debt conversation. We wanted to use our place in life to help you on your financial journey, but there was one problem: writing about finances is boring! At least, it is for me.

 Ever since we started this blog, I’ve had a difficult time coming up with topics for posts, and then filling the page with words once I finally knew what I was going to write about. That’s when Chad and I began to focus more on the adventures we’re still able to have, instead of on the logistics of financial discipline.

 We have, and will continue to show you that planning and discipline are enabling rather than restrictive, making fun outings and vacations possible. While this subject of fun is much more, well, fun to write about, there’s been yet another topic knocking on this writer’s brain.

 I want to widen the focus to something bigger, to shift the microscope from our debt-free financial journey, to what it really means to travel through life debt free. Because if we didn’t have the latter as our foundation, Chad and I would still be floundering around, swiping the daylights out of credit cards that met the scissors long ago.

 The true meaning of living debt free starts with the cross, a place where all of our debts–every. single. one.–were laid to rest, long before any of us were born. It starts with a God who is so big that He had your entire life mapped out, knew every move you would make and how He could use it for your good, before the world was even created.

 Our Debt-Free Journey isn’t just about how Christ enables us to throw off our financial burdens. It’s about how He carries them for us, along with all of the other baggage we’ve accumulated.

 With this blog, I’ll tell the story of how Chad and I are learning to walk with our magnificent Creator, following the path He laid out for us in eons past. It will be about us learning and relearning to give our burdens up to Him, so we may accomplish the dreams, the wonder He has placed within our hearts for His glory. Writing about our journey through debt is only the beginning.

 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

 While all of this sounds exciting and completely epic, right now, as I stand before Debt Mountain, I can’t see the wonderful plans that have been promised. I feel like David facing Goliath–all I have in my hands is a sling and a few small stones. But David’s greatest weapon wasn’t his crazy slinging-stones-at-giants talent, it was his faith. I’m sure he was afraid as he walked out to face the giant, but he knew God had his back, and his aim proved true. Through David’s faith, God used the runt of Jesse’s litter to deliver Israel from the Philistine army.

 I know that I also have more than a few small stones. God has blessed me with a wonderful husband, who chose to marry me despite the fact that I was up to my neck in school loans. The Lord has provided for our every need, and continues to leave us with enough money at the end of each month to throw at that mountain of debt.

 Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. I used to take that to mean that mustard seed sized faith was hard to come by, and difficult to attain. I now know that this kind of faith belongs to every believer; we just have to harness it.

 Every day, we chip away at our mountain and it crumbles a bit more. We’re going to move it into the ground, then, like Clint Eastwood after he has resolved a pioneer town conflict, we’ll ride off into the sunset, until we meet our next mountain.

 As Christians, there is no part of our life that isn’t touched by Faith, including finances. That’s why it’s important to us to not only share our journey to financial freedom, but the larger story of complete freedom from the debt sin has burdened us with.

 This is Our Debt Free Journey.