Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 5 Focus Day 6 Labels that last

Nobody Makes It Out Alive
Week 5 Focus
Day 6: Labels that last

“And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28-29‬ ‭AMP‬‬

What we believe about ourselves matters. People will try label you, parents will try, our significant others, family, friends, politics, media markets, so many forces outside of you try to define who you are by labels.

We can be defined by our role in others lives like mom, dad, sister, brother, auntie, uncle, daughter, son, there are tons of role labels. The majority of these types of labels are mostly positive and true.

But labels like ugly, useless, dumb, lazy, stupid, weak are used to keep us from knowing our value as God intended. If these kinds of labels have been spoken over you, they can blur the image and sometimes blind you from who and what God has labeled you. These labels can “stick” to the point that we come into agreement with them. This is exactly what the devil wants. Because if He can convince you that you are invaluable then you will willingly give up your place within God’s Kingdom. You will miss out on the abundant life God intended for you right now. Do you really want to trade that for lies?

How do we undo the verbal accusations that have been engraved in our mind? We have to start with what God says about us. Your homework today is to take the two verses in today’s reading, everywhere you see the words“those” and “us”, replace it with your name. We, you and I, are “those” and “us”. Do this by reading it every time one of those devil labels try to stick.

I take notecards, rewrite the verses with my name in them so that I can easily tape them to my bathroom mirror, put them in my car or tape them to my desk at work. Some of us need to be reminded more than others depending on how long we believed these lies about us. It’s okay. What matters is what you believe about what God says about you. You can remove the labels, from the devil, and replace them with labels from God’s word. Then the next time the devil uses someone to blur your vision about being the image bearer of God, you can choose not to accept the label in the first place by becoming a nonstick surface for anything but God’s truth about you.

Lord, give me the diligence to do this homework and learn who I am to You so that I know and believe the truth and will have an antidote ready to combat every lie about me. Help this become a holy habit in my life when I am believing the lies that blur or blind me from Your truth. Amen.

“And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity]. What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:30-31‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 5 Focus Day 5 Promises

God has an incredible track record of keeping His promises. Since, He is eternal, has no beginning (like birth or being created) or no end (like death), God is still holding at 100% of the promises He made, He has kept and fulfilled 100% of those promises. I realize that we are waiting on a few more, but given His track record of thousands of years since creation, I am trusting, believing and with great excitement, as well as reverence, preparing and waiting with confidence, that the rest of His promises will come through, too.

But the promise that changed my eternity is what Jesus did for me on the cross. He paid my debt for my sin, while I was a sinner, He conquered sin and death, just like He said He would, and while He is in heaven preparing a place for me, He’s telling our Father all about me but covering my sin with His righteousness so that our Father only sees, the me, that He created, not the me, that I made a mess of. They are discussing how madly in love they are with me and how they can not wait to share the home they made, just for me. My God is the perfect picture of promises made and promises kept.

My friend, the same is true for you, if you would just believe that God is who He says He is, that you are who He says you are and that it matters enough to you, to get in His word and define that, for you. Get in His presence and talk to Him. What a privilege it is to have access to God anywhere and anytime. You have VIP passes, with no restrictions to God’s ear, His heart, His chest to lean against, His lap to crawl up on and His embrace.

The only thing standing between you and God is your hard head and hardened heart. The world did that to you, not God. God is waiting on You, you are not waiting on God. God never left you. That’s a fact and a promise.

Lord, help us get a true vision of the promise keeper that You truly are and help us see ourselves as You see us. In this world, there is much confusion and false narratives about You but the Bible stands as a written witness to what a loving God You are. That You never change. You are ever constant in this world that is like shifting sand beneath our feet. I pray that we place our trust in the promise of who You are. That we stop looking to the world for heavenly answers. Amen.

“Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us. Who shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? Just as it is written and forever remains written,
“FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE REGARDED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.”
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us
[so much that He died for us].”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:34-37‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 5 Focus Day 4 Truth vs Lie

“Who are you?” they asked. Jesus replied, “ I’m exactly who I have claimed to be from the beginning. I have many things to say in judgment concerning you. The one who sent me is true, and what I have heard from him I tell the world. ” They didn’t know he was speaking about his Father. So Jesus said to them, “ When the Human One is lifted up, then you will know that I Am. Then you will know that I do nothing on my own, but I say just what the Father has taught me. He who sent me is with me. He doesn’t leave me by myself, because I always do what makes him happy. ””
‭‭John‬ ‭8:25-29‬ ‭CEB‬‬

We live in a time where information is at our fingertips at a click of a mouse or mouse pad. But that does not mean that the information that we have access to is true. So how do we know what or who to believe with so much information to sort through? Simply put, our Bible and the Holy Spirit that lives inside of every believer will guide us, if we read the Bible and give into the Holy Spirit.

Let me explain. There are many more owned Bibles than read Bibles. There are many more lip service believers than sold out believers, that depend on the Holy Spirit to decipher a truth from a lie. I know this to be true by mere observation of the world I live in today. The Bible is clear on what God created, who God created and why. Yet the world is confused about their identity. The world does not look to God for truth, it looks to what is trending on social media and popular for the moment.

We can’t really have an intelligent conversation about it if you have not read the Bible and what it says about it. When an unbeliever says the Bible is not true. I ask what part, point out to me what you’ve read that isn’t true. I do not recall, one answer, in my 33 years of being a Christian that the person in dialogue was able to point out a thing. So these conversations ended typically with, how about I give you a place to start reading in the Bible then we’ll talk. I also do not recall anyone that took me up on my offer that did not eventually become a believer. The others left indignantly as if I offended them somehow. Though, unfortunate, I always prayed that someone could reach them better than me. I am not everyone’s cup of tea but I am okay with that because I know who God is to me, Who I am to Him and why that matters. I’ll be me and let Jesus worry about saving the people.

Lord, I pray for any of us that me be in the middle of sorting out truth from lies. Whether it be biblical truths or just sorting out the crossroads we face in every day life as humans. That we would pray for the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to Your truth, wisdom and power as we dig into the Bible for answers. Help us find a mentor to guide us when we do not know where to start. Thank You Lord for who You Are and helping me become all that You created me to be. Amen.

“So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples. And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin].””
‭‭John‬ ‭8:31-32‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 5 Focus Day 3 Covered

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves…
The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:7, 21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

When we mess up, the first response is usually to hide just like Adam and Eve did in the garden. There’s something to be said about going to things first ever mentioned in the Bible. Every time I start at the first mention, of any topic I am studying, I learn not only how relevant the Bible is today but how cyclical humanity is.

In the beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned, disobeyed God and bought the lie, hook, line and sinker from the devil, the Bible says, “they hid… they sewed together fig leaves… and covered themselves.” We do the same thing or at the very least, want to do that when we mess up but maybe as a seasoned believer you’ve already learned it’s best to go straight to Father with your sin. After all, He is the only remedy to our sin. When we try to cover our sin, it looks just as awkward as sewn together fig leaves over our bodies and I bet if we were to be honest, our man-made coverings like guilt, condemnation, shame, denial, anger, fear, frustration, depression and more tangible coverings like addiction, promiscuity, over eating, workaholic…. (you get the idea) aren’t exactly a good fit, they completely makes us uncomfortable in our own skin. We find ourselves avoiding God all together and completely avoiding looking ourselves in the eye in the proverbial mirror. Can I just let you know that you or I are not hiding it from God any better than Adam and Eve did in their day?

Fast forward to after God has a conversation with Adam and Eve, explaining their consequences and banishment to the lovely place we call “the world as we know it” today. But before God banishes them, He covers them with His covering, made by Him, just for them. It does not specify in the text but there is a covering that I envision and that is the Armor of God.
I highly recommend reading the whole armor of God in the Amplified Version of the Bible. Here is a snippet: “Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:13‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Imagine if Adam and Eve had stood their ground and obeyed like this verse declares.

Read Ephesians 6:10-20 Amplified version.

God knew that Adam and Eve needed His supernatural covering and that nothing man-made was going to survive the battle for redemption ahead of them and us. God had a plan right from the beginning of the first mention of disobedience. He took the mess they tried covering themselves up with and covered them with a custom covering, for now. Until these earthly bodies fade away and we receive our perfect body that will last for all of eternity in heaven.

I believe God sent them out of the garden with His spiritual covering equivalent to the armor of God spoken of here in Ephesians 6, until He returned as Son of man and Son of God at the garden of Gethsemane. That blood of Salvation from Calvary covers our sin today until Jesus returns to take us home. We are covered by Him today as we battle through this fallen world together. You are covered by what you pray in agreement to like the blood of Jesus and the armor of God. You are covered by the Holy Spirit who is the guide God has given us until He returns.

My family’s Paraphrased Version of the Armor. We pray this every morning.
Lord, I pray that the helmet of salvation would cover my mind and filter out anything that is not of you from my eyes, my ears and my mouth, thank you for the breastplate of righteousness that covers my heart and everything that keeps me alive and productive, I choose to buckle the belt of truth around my waist that holds me and my armor together, I step into your shoes of peace, I choose to walk in peace with You, God, others and myself, I lock my shield of faith in place with yours and other believers, Lord, to extinguish every fiery dart from the enemy, not by faith in myself or others but my faith in you, Lord, I hold up my sword of the spirit which is the word of God, dividing good from evil, truth from lies and bone from marrow to defeat the enemy and fight for truth. I am covered by you, Lord. Amen.

“You forgave your people’s guilt; you covered all their sin. Selah”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭85:2‬ ‭CSB‬‬

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately. When great floodwaters come, they will not reach him.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭32:5-6‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 5 Focus Day 2 Identity

“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭139:13-16‬ ‭MSG‬‬

God, You, created us with such great joy and delight. You loaned us to our family for a season until we would be with You in paradise. What a concept. To fully identify with this verse and believe it is a huge milestone in our faith-walk level of maturity. Not to just see these verses as poetic masterpieces but to see ourselves as the Uncreated One’s living, breathing, reflection of His favorite design.

Maybe your parents encouraged you in believing that you are loved, purposed and valued. Maybe your parents made you feel like a mistake, a burden or unwanted. Either way, you and I were on loan to them.

You are not a mistake. You were made for a specific purpose by God before he began to shape your baby toe. The rest of the world may not understand your place in this world but it’s not their job to figure that out, it’s yours. Once you do, your whole view will go from darkness to light.

Lord, help us look to eternal You for our identity rather than this temporary world. This is not our final destination, You are. Help us identify, with Your guidance, who we are to you and why that matters. May we never accept the lie of being a mistake or unwanted, by people that were supposed to love us. May we be grateful for those that pointed us to You. Amen.

“See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children — and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:1‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 5 Focus Day 1 My God

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:1-4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Who is God to me? Have you ever really pondered the relationship you have with God or the depth of it? If someone were to ask you who God is and why do you believe in Him, do you have an answer? I pray you do, and if you don’t, I pray that you study His character, His integrity and His heart, until you sense His heart beat as you lean against His chest. I pray you feel the very breath in your lungs from Him as you sense His cheek against your cheek. I pray that He becomes the safe place that you run to instead of thinking He’s an angry God that you have to run from, every time you mess up.

My God, our God is the uncreated one who created every living thing with a few simple sentences. But for us, His beloved, He formed us with His very hands and breathed life into our lungs. We are His image bearers with His very fingerprints engraved in our skin as He shaped us ever so delicately before placing us in our mother’s womb. How precious the thought and care He took to design each of us. No one, no not one, will love me, like my God, my Creator and my Savior. My God created the light to consume the darkness before He would allow me to be here. My God has been providing an environment for me to thrive in long before I got here.

Lord, I pray that we do not miss the details in which you brought us to life to have a relationship with You. That every detail of the preparations You made to provide us everything we need for an abundant life here, while on this temporary journey. How much more do we have to look forward to, when we get to heaven? Heaven, where sin and death are defeated for all of eternity. Help us, Lord, keep our eyes on You and what you have created so that we have that hope, that light inside of us to share with others. Amen.

“All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.”
‭‭John‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 4 Nothing Wasted Day 7 Clocked into Purpose

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬ CSB

It all looks good in verses, sermons and devotionals, but how do we clock into purpose? We can not apply what we do not know and or if we do not understand the why behind the do, or the how behind the apply.

Be careful, as we grow in Christ, to not be condescending towards someone who is not where you are yet. Be in tuned and always remember the wretch you were before you point out others wretched behavior.

I’m going to break it down; the how to clock into purpose steps. This is simple but it is a process. Everyone’s process is different. The first goal is to commit to never stop taking these steps through the process. The second goal is to allow yourself to be shaped and molded by the process rather than try to reshape the process to make it more comfortable. It’s okay if it’s uncomfortable. This is where the learning takes place.

Clocking into purpose will be familiar because it aligns with how God designed you. Your sinful nature, also known as the flesh, will fight you every step of the way to fulfilling your purpose, so be ready for the fight. Just remind yourself to be on the right side of the fight for your purpose.

Here are the steps:

Know who God is to you.
Know who you are to God.
Know why that matters.

These 3 simple steps will take the entire span of your life, while you’re on loan here, to master, but it will give you the confidence for and about eternity.

Next week we will discuss 7 areas to focus on to help us define who God is to us, find our identity in who He says we are to Him and learn why that matters in the process.

Lord, we are a mess without You. Thank You for the process. Thank You for taking my messy self and making something beautiful out of my mess. Help me focus on getting to know You and me better so that I understand the quality of life that my relationship with You brings to me and those around me. Amen.

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 4 Nothing Wasted Day 6 Dare to dream

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:25‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Nothing crushes our dreams like traumatic experiences and basic adult responsibilities. As a child we dream big about what we will do when we grow up. Some kids have the joy and privilege of a home that encourages their dreams, some have parents who to try to control their dreams, some have parents that want you to pursue THEIR dreams instead of your own and some parents crush their kid’s dreams with abuse, negligence and abandonment. Regardless of what kind of childhood you had, you can still dare to dream.

We’ve covered so much in the past 4 weeks about distractions, giving our battle to God, grieving and facing what we have lost and now placing what belongs in the past, in the past, while learning from it, embracing our present, by living with the reality of our now, to looking forward to a hopeful future. None of this is possible without leaning consistently on God’s strength. If we lean on our own strength we will burn out.

I challenge you to dare to dream like you did as a child. Dare to live a life of passion and purpose. I dare you to ask God to break your heart for what breaks His. I dare you to start something you put off that you can’t stop thinking about. I dare you to dream.

Lord, the hints of what makes us who we are, because of who You are, started in our childhood. I understand that not everyone grew up in an environment that nurtured and developed their uniqueness. I pray that we remember our dreams of our youth, that the opportunity to develop that purpose and passion would be ignited inside of us once again so we could be walking out the journey made just for us. Help us, Lord, dare to dream, with that child like faith. Amen.

“It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose. Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus. So all of us who are spiritually mature should think this way, and if anyone thinks differently, God will reveal it to him or her. Only let’s live in a way that is consistent with whatever level we have reached.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:12-16‬ ‭CEB‬‬

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 4 Nothing Wasted Day 3 Look forward to the future

“Let God grant what is in your heart and fulfill all your plans. Then we will rejoice that you’ve been helped. We will fly our flags in the name of our God. Let the LORD fulfill all your requests!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭20:4-5‬ ‭CEB‬‬

I love planning. My favorite thing is to sit down and make lists to check off for the day and conquer the list. I also like having a full calendar to conquer. It makes me feel accomplished and maximizes my waking hours. Unless, of course, life throws a curve ball to the face and nothing or only part of the task lists get done. Then I beat myself up mentally and verbally until guilt takes over and I feel worthless. What I have to do is find balance in the planning, allow flexibility but, most importantly, I need God and His heart at the forefront of my planning. It took me years to apply this. I mean after all, I’m a fairly good planner, I want to succeed, I want everyone around me to succeed but the reality is that if God is not in on it, it can be a really good plan but that does not make it a God plan.

Does this mean we stop planning and just throw caution to the wind? Lord knows I would discombobulate at the thought of that (insert nervous giggle here). What it does mean is that when God is on our mind and pleasing Him matters more than our plans, our plans will align more and more with His plans. Over time we learn to adjust to the surprises along life’s journey so that we can prioritize properly according to God’s plans and recognize divine appointments over man made appointments.

The most important part of our plans is including God in them. The next most important part is making room for adjustments. Lastly, make time for rest. Us planners can pack a schedule full of good things but that doesn’t necessarily make them God things.

Lord, You are the uncreated one that created everyone. We are your greatest plan. It only makes sense that finding out what plan and purpose you have chosen for us will succeed. Help us align with that unique purpose You designed for us. Amen.

“Mortals make elaborate plans, but GOD has the last word. Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; GOD probes for what is good. Put GOD in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place.

When GOD approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand.

We plan the way we want to live, but only GOD makes us able to live it.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:1-3, 7, 9‬ ‭MSG‬‬

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week4 #nothingwasted #future

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 4: Nothing Wasted Day 2: Live in the present

“Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life?”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:27‬ ‭CEB‬‬

Living in the present is much more achievable if we can leave the past behind us and plan for the future without worrying about the future.

Whether you have a train wreck behind you or sweet little bunny path full of sweetness for a past, your past is done. All you can do is embrace what is in front of you because as we learned from our grief week, it is all temporary. If we dwell on and beat ourselves up about the past or stress about the future, we rob ourselves of what is in front of us.

We can learn a lot from the past by simply pulling out that “ugly journal” we discussed in prior weeks and write down every time we freaked out about something that ended up turning out better than we ever imagined. When you start to stress, read and remind yourself that everything is going to be okay. I also like to add that it may not be the okay I planned for but it will be okay.

When you find yourself uttering the words, “could’ve”, “should’ve” or “would’ve”, stop, say out loud “Not productive, not going to help me.” Rather than verbally bash yourself and put yourself in a position to not be able to change what’s done, give yourself advice on how you will do it differently. That’s all you can do is learn from it and do it differently next time. Then trust God in the process.

By removing the weight of your yesterdays and the heaviness of the uncertainties of tomorrow, from your today, you can live in the present. If you’re a professional worrier, make it a point to become a warrior of prayer. Turn every worry into a conversation with God. Tell Him exactly what you are concerned about and then stick to what is directly in front of you, right now.

Toby Mac once said something so profound that really helped me get the concept of living in the present moment:
“We worry about tomorrow like it’s promised”

Lord, we are a work in progress but we are also your vessel of spreading the good news. Help us be more aware of what we bring into our present moments that do not belong there. Help us focus on the gift of this day and show up for every divine appointment. Amen.

“Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:34‬ ‭CEB‬‬

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week4 #nothingwasted #live #present

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 4 Nothing Wasted Day 1 Learn from the past

“The Lord is the one who made a road through the sea for you to cross. You went on a dry path in the middle of the deep water. He led the enemy’s great army, with their chariots and their horses, to chase you. They all fell down and the water drowned them. Their lives finished, like the flame of a lamp that stops burning.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:16-17‬ ‭EASY‬‬

If there is but one thing that I can testify to is this: God does not waste one thing. God has the absolute most stunning track record. No matter what I have experienced, the comeback has always been better than the setback.

We can learn from the things in our past. Especially, if we consider our survival rate at this point is 100%. To clarify, if you are breathing, you have survived 100% of what is behind you. This week our goal is to go from surviving to thriving.

If I am to be honest, I forget that in the process of the issue, challenge, loss or whatever is causing me concern in the moment. I still worry myself over things that have not happened. I feel the weight of the decisions being made. In the face a moment, not knowing, what was about to crush me, in ways I had never imagined. Yet, every time I get out of the way and God has HIS way, He makes a way, out of no way.

What I considered a set back, at the time, I look back and see God setting me up for the next comeback. I can label certain seasons a victory now but when I was in the middle of it, it sure did not seem like a victory. What I have learned while being more mindful of God’s track record, than mine, is that He does not waste a hurt, a struggle or my emotional pain. Everything in my timeline is shaping me for my next.

We, as Christians, get blindsided when we think that once we believe in Jesus, that we somehow get a problem free life and a get out of hell card. We will face problems. (James 1:2-6) We might as well accept that. Let God in on it, if we want the best outcome from it.

We serve a God of passion and purpose. Once we align ourselves with that truth, we get an internal peace that surpasses all understanding. (Philippians 4:6) We experience the gift of peace, from God, in the storm, if our focus is on Him. But if we focused on avoiding or eliminating the storm our peace slips away. (Isaiah 26:3)

Lord, help us lean not on our own understanding when life throws us problems. Help us lean into Your presence and promises so that Your peace and strength can carry us through those storms in life. Help us turn it all over to you for our own good. Amen.

“The Lord did all that for you, but now he says, ‘Forget those things that happened a long time ago. Do not think about past events. Look! Now I will do something that is new! It is already beginning to happen. Surely, you can recognize it. Yes, I will make a road through the desert. I will make streams in the wilderness.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:18-19‬ ‭EASY‬‬

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week4 #nothingwasted #learn #past

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 3 Day 7 Grief: New normal

“King David longed to go to Absalom, for David had finished grieving over Amnon’s death.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭13:39‬ ‭CSB‬‬

When we lose someone we love or a season comes to an end that brought us much comfort and joy, we grieve. How we grieve matters. Avoiding grief will catch up with us eventually. If you are reading this and have not read Days 1-6 of week 3, I highly recommend doing so now. Do not avoid the process of grieving.

Before you go thinking that I do not understand loss, let me share a few of my most painful losses. At 4 years old, I watched our home burn to the ground with all of our belongings in it. Shortly after, my parents divorced. At 9 years old my father was murdered. At 10 years old my mother married my first of many abusers. I have lost people I loved to suicide, I thought that I could have saved. I have had 2 miscarriages. I lost my grandparents, my mom and my father figure within 5 years of of each other. I lost my best friend of 40 years unexpectedly to a heart condition (she was 50). I have lost relationships I thought would never end. Friendships with people and families had come to an abrupt end with no conversation as to why. I have known great success and great loss to the point that I feared being homeless.

In all of that pain that I experienced, of losing so much, I realized how temporary anything but God is. I have accepted that death is inevitable for anything or anyone that carries breath in their lungs. Death will take me by surprise but it does not have to take me down to the point of losing my life before my time is up. There is no way to escape death. We will experience it ourselves one day and will likely experience losing someone we know and or love to it. The most hopeful thing I’ve ever been offered is an eternity beyond this life; an eternity with the one who created me and loaned me to earth for a time; an eternity with no more tears, no more sadness, no more sickness, no more broken relationships and no more death. We are all on loan here from the moment of conception to death. Maybe that’s why the two greatest commandments are:

to love God with all of your heart, all of your mind and all of your soul. 2. To love your neighbor as yourself. With those two commandments the goal is to know our Maker’s voice when He calls us home. We want to treat everyone kindly while they’re on loan to us because we never know when their time is up.

In my opinion, birth is a sign of God’s gift of life while death is reminder of the timeline most of pay no attention to. As a believer in God, I can accept the timeline He gives me because I know it doesn’t end here. Therefore I must tell others that are still here about eternity and share this hope with them.

Lord, death is the most painful part of life, this side of eternity. Help us honor the living and the time our loved ones were on loan to us. Help us process grief in a way that brings honor to the ones we say goodbye to, for now. Amen.

“Then David got up and he washed himself. He put on clean clothes and special oil that had a good smell. He went into the Lord ‘s house to worship him. Then he returned to his own house and he asked for food. They gave it to him and he ate it.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭12:20‬ ‭EASY‬‬

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week3 #grief #acceptance #newnormal

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 3 Day 6 Grief: Acceptance

“There is a right time for everything that we do under the sun. There is a time to be born. And there is a time to die. There is a time to plant seeds. Then the seeds will grow and they will become plants. And there is a time to pick the plants.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:1-2‬ ‭EASY‬‬
“There is a time to weep. And there is a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad. And there is a time to dance.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:4‬ ‭EASY‬‬

When the fog begins to lift, reality sets in, and we’re squinting to find the light in the darkness, this is the beginning of acceptance. It is not stable at first but each day we take a step in the direction of our reality is a step closer to living with this loss. It does not mean that we won’t experience the other steps in the grieving process ever again. It just means they will reintroduce themselves with different levels of intensity at different lengths of time every time We are reminded that our loved one is not here.

What it does mean is that I loved this person while they were here and I will miss them deeply. My faith tells me, reminds me of the timeline they had, I have and others too. My faith also reminds me that I will see them again. I rest in this hope while I build up the strength to live life without them. I find ways to remember them well and share the impact that they had on my life. I choose to live and embrace the people I have around me and let them in on my pain. I choose to not isolate and choose to embrace the plan and purpose God has for me while I walk out my own timeline. None of us know when our time is up. Nobody makes it out alive, therefore, this loss should come as no surprise, it absolutely catches us off guard and it does come with pain and sorrow. While I work it all out through grieving what and who I have loved when it’s their time to go I will hope again and cherish the memories.

Lord, help me accept my loss in a way that shows my deep love for them while acknowledging the empty space they leave behind. Lord, fill that space with comfort, peace, love and joy. Help me carry on without them as I finish my own journey. Help me allow others permission to grieve how they need to. Help me walk in hope for the future here on earth and hope in eternity. Amen.

“Yes, you will have trouble like this for a short time. But after that, God will make everything right. He is completely kind and he will always help you. Because you belong to Christ, God has chosen you to live with him in heaven for ever. You will join him in that beautiful place. Then God will make you well again. He will make you strong in your spirits. You will be able to stand strongly. Yes, God rules with power for ever! Amen! This is true!”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:10-11‬ ‭EASY‬‬

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week3 #grief #acceptance #hope

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 3 Day 5 Grief: Depression

“I hear your waterfalls make a noise like thunder. It seems like all that water is pouring over me and it knocks me down to the ground.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭42:7‬ ‭EASY‬‬

Depression from loss is normal. It would be odd to not be sad when someone we love so much is no longer with us. It would be out of character to not be sad when a situation we found joy and contentment in has now ended abruptly or unexpectedly. To the same extent that we loved is the extent we will experience sorrow when that person or situation is gone. That sorrow is temporary but cyclical at times. We eventually learn to balance the sadness from our loss with the demands of living.

This becomes a problem when we stay in that sadness and not learn to find away to live without them or the situation. Though everyone grieves at different stages for different lengths of time, we must live, while we grieve. Ease ourselves back into the familiar routines that use up space and time that would be used to rehearse the pain. Part of our healing comes from living again as well as going from surviving our loss to coping with our loss. You might have doubts right now because it’s still fresh but it is possible. So, if you’re trapped in the process of depression, if you’re so immobilized by the pain of your loss that you can hardly get out of bed, make a sandwich or enjoy the many dishes of food brought to you by friends and family, it’s time to find a grief counselor. It’s time to think about asking for help. You are not as alone as you feel. God is with you, weeping with you and there are grief counseling groups, therapists and grief resources available to you. Friends mean well but they’re usually not equipped to help you out of depression. There are coping skills that a professional grief counselor can provide, if you’re willing.

The atmosphere of depression typically sets in the week after all of the arrangements have been made, the services are done, your autopilot has turned off, you do not have to be strong for anyone else, all of the company has gone home and you’re surrounded by food that will spoil before you can finish it, a card-box full of condolences and funeral arrangements. The tears flow and you fall asleep on a tear soaked pillow or worse you choke back the tears because you’re afraid once they start, you won’t be able to stop them.

This depression, this sadness will pass. And when it does, it does not mean that the person you love and lost is forgotten. It means, that you grieved and it’s time to learn how to honor their time here while you honor the time you have left with the ones still here.

Cry as much as your body tells you to. It will release toxins and help cleanse away the pain. Get into a grief group or at least meet with a grief counselor. But whatever you do do not try to battle this alone. Do not let the sadness convince you that you’re alone.

Lord, this stage of grief is so confusing and a blur when we look back on it. Help us reach out when the heaviness of our loss goes from normal, temporary depression to a clinical kind of depression. Trigger something in us to know when to ask for help. Lord, we thank you for never leaving us though we may feel like You’ve abandoned us. Feelings are not fact, they are like an indicator light on the dashboard of our car that help us navigate through our life journey. Help us respond accordingly in the best way, for the best outcome. Amen.

“God will take away all the tears from their eyes. Nobody will ever die again. Nobody will be sad again. Nobody will ever cry. Nobody will have pain again. Everything that made people sad has now gone. That old world has completely gone away.’”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21:4‬ ‭EASY‬‬

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week3 #grief #depression

Week 3 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 1: Grief

“When I have trouble, your promise gives me peace in my mind. It makes my life strong again.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:50‬ ‭EASY‬‬

Grief, just the word brings a sense of heaviness to our hearts. Grief represents many painful parts of our life. It is a part of life and is usually associated with death. Death of a loved one, death of a season, death of a relationship. Many things that we once thought would last forever, brought to an end. This is the heaviness of grief.

One will not live too long before they experience it. Yet, we avoid it, deny its existence and pretend it will go away if we ignore it. However, we learn at some point it needs to be faced, if we want peace.

Rehearsing the events leading up to the loss doesn’t help because something always triggers the pain associated with it. Pretending like it doesn’t hurt doesn’t work because we hurt alone. The only way to process grief is to face it.

I’m not an expert but I have practiced healthy processing of grieving and unhealthy processing of it. I can assure you that processing your grief in a healthy way will not only help you but will allow you to help others in their grieving process. Since grief is inevitable, it would be best to learn how to face it.

“In her original book, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross referenced five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. … There is, however, healthy and unhealthy (unresolved) grief, and being able to recognize if help is necessary is important.” (Better Help, March 18,2021, Buckly, medically reviewed by Deborah Horton)

Here is a link for you to learn where you are in the grieving process and when you should seek medical help: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/grief/understanding-the-stages-of-grief/

We are going to face the stages of grief together this week.

Lord, help us grieve in a healthy way so that we can be of support to one another in loss and pain. We look to You God for truth and real application to not try to live amongst the dead but embrace the living. Amen

“We thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is so good to us. As our Father, he is very kind to us. He is our God who comforts us in every way. Whenever we have trouble, he comforts us. Because of that, we ourselves can comfort other people. When they have any kind of trouble, we can comfort them, in the same way that God has comforted us. Christ himself received much pain, and God comforted him. As Christ’s servants, we also receive the same kind of pain. But, God also comforts us very much, because we belong to Christ.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭EASY‬‬

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week3 #grief

Beautifully Broken by K.Howard

Lenting along

Does anyone else feel like they’re just lenting along with the believer crowd, during this time of year? Though I’ve participated for many years, I didn’t want to mimic the catholic version but rather to truly consider the next 40 days in Jesus’s shoes. I did a little research, realized that the penance motivation of the believer is nothing compared to the penance of the one who never sinned, Jesus.

Christ fasted and prayed as he approached the cross on our behalf, because of our sin. And even if I chose to walk out these 40 days the exact same way that He did, I would never make the cut to hang on that cross and redeem all of mankind. Absolutely, profound.

We believers can lent around with somber faces over giving up modern day conveniences all we want but at the end of the day, I’m not going to call that a sacrifice compared to Jesus’s endurance of the cross.

I refuse to reduce the days of lenting around with fellow believers as my sacrifice to God’s redemptive plan for me. I won’t even call it gratitude for what He’s done for me. What I will do is allow the disruption to my normal routine and my full belly to remember what He did and still gave me the option to choose.

If you want to lent around with me, this is what I’m doing for the next 40 days. I’m disrupting my daily routine of coffee, read/write/study and ending my night with reading and ice cream with this:

1. Fast all coffee, ice cream and first two meals replaced with protein drink, but keep dinner with family. No devices at the table no matter what is going on with work.

2. Start the day with a shower and dressed for the day. (This is kind of big one though it may not seem like it, since I work from home)

3. Read the word and journal whatever comes to mind. Keeping a prayer journal for the things I’m fasting and praying for. I want to experience a move of God in my life and the people I’m praying for.

It’s simple but a completely different routine for me. I want to wake up each day with the mentality of, “I’m ready to do Your will today, Lord. Whether it’s here in my home, or prepared to walk out the door with no notice. I want to remember that the tomb is empty, you have risen, you are alive, you are preparing a place for me, you are coming back for me.”

I would love to hear how you are spending the next 40 days?

Week 2 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 3 Trust the Process

“My Christian friends, remember to be happy, even when many kinds of trouble happen to you. Troubles can help you. God wants to see if you really trust him. Your faith in God will become stronger as a result of these troubles. So you should continue to trust God all the way to the end. Then you will grow as a believer. You will become completely how you should be. You will not need anything more.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:2-4‬ ‭EASY‬‬

Jesus knows about trials, trouble and tests that have unexpected arrivals and outcomes. The difference between us and Jesus in these moments is that Jesus is not surprised like we are. Jesus takes our free will, the freedom of our choices and keeps working them out for our good.

For example, as we read the accounts of the days leading up to resurrection Sunday there was a lot going on behind the scenes. Jesus had a divine appointment with an excruciating process and no behind the scenes plan was going to divert his plan and purpose.

On one hand, the religious leaders were plotting to ambush Jesus and keep Him from getting more followers. The Bible says that basically Jesus diverted their plans because their plan didn’t line up with God’s divine appointment book.

On the other hand, Judas, one of the disciples, was negotiating his 30 pieces of silver to turn over Jesus to governing leaders. Jesus did not thwart this plan because this plan would be the set up for the divine appointed time for the excruciating process. Where heaven and earth would collide, where Jesus faces off our consequences from sin and defeats the grave, defeats the devil and rescues His beloved (that’s you and me) from the laws of sin.

While the excruciating process of the cross was part of Jesus’s purpose, He joyfully, knowingly walked out the process because He knows the full plans He has for us. He knows that while we, His beloved, may feel so far away from Him, or think that our captivity in our, what seem to be, impossible circumstances will never end… Our beloved Jesus has a plan and He will see it to its completion and it’s always with our best interest in mind.

Jesus has an incredible track record of following through with everything He said He would do. And though some will choose their own path, He will not stop working things out for their good. He will never stop fighting for us. As long as we have breath on this earth, there’s still a chance that He could win our heart. We need to trust the process and stop following the crowd.

Lord, help us trust the process. Help us get into your word and reveal to us not only the plan and purpose for our lives but give us wisdom and understanding to trust the divine appointment you went through to save us. Amen.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week2 #HolyWeek #trusttheprocess

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