For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.’ Jeremiah 29:10-13 (NASB)

The theme for the weekend retreat was based on Jeremiah 29:13.

With the message of my book Twelve Inches as the backdrop, we spent the weekend talking about how to allow what we know about our God to rule over our emotions, thus developing and maintaining strong faith.

It was a revival-type of weekend, as several women recommitted their lives to following Jesus with all their heart, mind and soul.

The retreat organizers had planned for one of their church’s ministers to end the retreat on Sunday morning with the Lord’s Supper. After a service filled with testimonies of how God moved during the weekend, we were ready to partake of the Lord’s Table.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

She shared a short message about how the busyness and messiness of life can easily misplace our hearts from fully resting in God. At the end of the message, she shared an image that God gave her – a reminder of how He designed for His children to live. Pulling two colored paper hearts, one bigger than the other, she held them up and gently placed the small heart inside the larger one.

“This is how God wants us to live,” she said. “Allowing our hearts to be centered in His.”

She had a basket full of small and big hearts that she passed along, and each of us picked one of each to keep. I sat my two hearts on my lap and contemplated the visual.

While playing with the small heart inside the larger one, I started moving the smaller heart towards the center of the larger one. Because they were hand-cut, they looked quite asymmetric together.

That’s when my perfectionism kicked in.

I started moving the small heart upwards, so it rested better centered, and the edges became even on both sides. It looked better that way. It just did.

Or so I thought.

That’s when I heard God whisper in my heart:

“When you move your heart from the center of Mine, look at where your heart ends up.”

I looked again and realized what He meant.

I was wearing black pants, and, as I shifted my little heart from the center of His heart, the upper edges of the small heart touched the fabric of my black pants. As my heart left the center of His, even though it seemed to look better than it did before, it moved outside of His perfect heart… thus touching darkness.

The imagery was as clear as the message therein:

God knows His perfect plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11) …

And even when we were living in exile (Jeremiah 29:10) …

He called us to turn to Him, inviting us to live within His heart (Jeremiah 29:13) …

The boundaries of God’s heart are the safest place for His children to live. Everything outside of that is darkness.

The boundaries of God’s heart are the safest place for His children to live. Everything outside of that is darkness. #RechargeWednesday
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I don’t know about you – but I often find myself fiddling with my own plans, leaning on my inadequate wisdom, shifting to accommodate ideas that make sense.

Indeed, it appears to be so harmless to shift just a bit from the center of God’s will. And it certainly can happen so.very.subtly. But all it takes is one important decision without consulting Him, and we may be on the way to place our life outside of His protection and perfect plan.

All it takes is one important decision without consulting God, and we may be on the way to place our life outside of His protection and perfect plan. #RechargeWednesday
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Just a little compromise…

Or saying yes before praying…

Bringing our moral compass just a little off course to please someone…

Or justifying our sin or lackluster faith walk…

Spending little time listening to God… and too much time heeding worldly voices…

It’s subtly simple.

It’s one little shift at a time.

What an image! What a Truth!

May we remember that waiting upon God before moving is not only a matter of obedience but also a matter of trusting His loving hands. May we rest our hearts completely in His, even if, from our perspective, life would feel or look a bit better elsewhere.

May we remember that waiting upon God before moving is not only a matter of obedience but also a matter of trusting His loving hands.
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Friend, if today you are tempted to move forward before a divine Green Light leads you on, I pray you will make a deliberate decision to sit back down. Be still before your God.

Seek the peace that surpasses all understanding before moving forward, trusting that, even though it may look like your life would look better somewhere else, the only place where your heart will find balance, joy, peace and freedom…

Is in the Center of His perfect Will.

Nothing else will do.

LINKUP PARTY opens on Wednesdays at 6 am!

Christian Bloggers, come share your Blog with our audience below:

1. Add your Link.

2. Visit the blogger before or after and encourage them with a comment.

3. Share on social media. Click below to share on Twitter that you are joining us! We would love to have you follow the ministry on Twitter and Facebook as well: Soaring with Him FB Page

LINKUP is open! This week, a simple cut-out at the end of a restreat was used by God to show me the importance of remaining in the center of His will. Even when it does not make sense. Join us?
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The post Heart Shift – When Our Hearts Drift Away from God’s {Recharge Wednesday} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes    

The quote was scrolling across the TV screen while the leader talked. I immediately started thinking about the truth behind those words. It was one week before the beginning of the new school year and I knew it was time to start putting to practice some of the changes that I had committed to make during the summer.

Well, let me rephrase it: It was time to start implementing some of the changes that God instructed me to make.

Leave it to me, and I will keep on doing things as I’ve always done. An innate Martha, my fleshly tendency is to do… always a lot.

And I know I’m not alone.

A quick look around our society (and even our churches) and it’s easy to see that we are breeding more Martha’s than Mary’s these days.

…We often confuse love for God as service for the Kingdom.

…We mistakenly confuse great education with one more extra-curricular activities for our children.

…We often find our lips saying yes before praying about whether to add one more responsibility to our plate.

Unfortunately, this lack of pause invariably affects every area of one’s life.

In an age where simplicity is mistaken by lack of success, the world applauds when we step up and lead the charge. In the meantime, marriages suffer because spouses are so involved in working and serving others, that they don’t have time to nurture the most important relationship in their lives. Children are pressured to do more than their small bodies can handle, and we, their parents, often feed the trend and inadvertently whisper to their hearts that more is always better.

And there could not be anything farther from the truth.

Children do more than their small bodies can handle, and we, parents, often feed the trend and inadvertently whisper to their hearts that more is always better. Nothing is farther from the truth.
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The truth is this:

Busyness is often one of the devil’s modern tools to prevent us from truly flourishing.
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Because the busier we are, the less time we have to be still and consequently KNOW God (Psalm 46:10) and His perfect will for our lives.

A True Summer BREAK

In the beginning of that summer, I found myself tired of the mess, running around, unhealthy meals and overwhelming loss of joy in my life. My body, mind and spirit were hurting. My soul was malnourished and I knew it was time to renew my mind and reshape my agenda.

That’s when God started working in my heart, convicting me that it was time to review my habits and commitments, rethink and reshape my family’s schedule.

I started by reorganizing my days, and delegating more tasks to my children.

As I committed to take better care of myself, I found a new love for walking daily and eating fresher, healthier meals. I decided to stop using the excuse of not having 30 minutes to take care of ME.

Going against everything I’ve ever known, I even blocked an afternoon to rest. Now that was a new one!

And most importantly, I started telling myself that it was ok to miss an event or two.

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Nothing changes if nothing changes.
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The quote is not mine, but its simplicity rings in my soul as the truth behind my newfound direction and renewed sense of peace. It wasn’t easy, but I had to sit down and rethink my routines again and deliberately change my ways.

If you can relate to my story today, I invite you to start by accepting the truth behind Paul’s words to the Romans in the beginning of chapter 12.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 NASB

Stop accepting the ways of the world as your fashion plate. More is not necessarily better. Rather, ask God to show you what His will is for your days.
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And keep this in mind: His will does not involve chaos, senseless stress and fear. His will is Peace and Order.

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33a – NLT)

The biggest challenge of this day and age is to pull back from the rat race long enough to be able to hear God’s voice.  But unless we choose to be still, and reevaluate our routines with an open heart and mind, we will never be able to “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Hebrews 12:2)

Nothing will change, unless we change. We must dare to say NO to chaos and senseless busyness, and embrace God’s timing and direction for our lives.

LINKUP PARTY opens at 6 am EST!

Christian Bloggers, come share your Blog with our audience below:

1. Add your Link.

2. Visit the blogger before or after and encourage them with a comment.

3. Share on social media. Click below to share on Twitter that you are joining us! We would love to have you follow the ministry on Twitter and Facebook as well: Soaring with Him FB Page

Linkup party is open. Need a routine makeover? I did too, a couple of years ago. A sentence scrolling behind a speaker challenged me to rethink my agenda. Join us & share your blog!
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The post Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes {Recharge Wednesday Linkup} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

The theme for the weekend retreat was based on Jeremiah 29:13.

With the message of my book Twelve Inches as the backdrop, we spent the weekend talking about how to allow what we know about our God to rule over our emotions, thus developing and maintaining strong faith.

It was a revival-type of weekend, as several women recommitted their lives to following Jesus with all their heart, mind and soul.

The retreat organizers had planned for one of their church’s ministers to end the retreat on Sunday morning with the Lord’s Supper. After a service filled with testimonies of how God moved during the weekend, we were ready to partake of the Lord’s Table.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

She shared a short message about how the busyness and messiness of life can easily misplace our hearts from fully resting in God.

At the end of the message, she shared an image that God gave her – a reminder of how He designed for His children to live.

Pulling two colored paper hearts, one bigger than the other, she held them up and gently placed the small heart inside the larger one.

“This is how God wants us to live,” she said. “Allowing our hearts to be centered in His.”

She had a basket full of small and big hearts that she passed along, and each of us picked one of each to keep.

I sat my two hearts on my lap and contemplated the visual.

While playing with the small heart inside the larger one, I started moving the smaller heart towards the center of the larger one. Because they were hand cut, they looked quite asymmetric together.

That’s when my perfectionism kicked in.

I started moving the small heart upwards, so it rested better centered, and the edges became even on both sides.

It looked better that way. It just did.

Or so I thought.

That’s when I heard God whisper in my heart:

“When you move your heart from the center of Mine, look at where your heart ends up.”

I looked again and realized what He meant.

I was wearing black pants, and, as I shifted my little heart from the center of His heart, the upper edges of the small heart touched the fabric of my black pants.

As my heart left the center of His, and even thought it seemed to look better than it did before, it moved outside of His perfect heart… thus touching darkness.

The imagery was as clear as the message therein:

God knows His perfect plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11) …

And even when we were living in exile (Jeremiah 29:10) …

He called us to turn to Him, inviting us to live within His heart (Jeremiah 29:13) …

The boundaries of God’s heart is the safest place for His children to live. Everything outside of that… is darkness.

The boundaries of God's heart is the safest place to live. Everything outside of that is darkness.
Click To Tweet

I don’t know about you – but I often find myself fiddling with my own plans, leaning on my inadequate wisdom, shifting to accommodate ideas that makes sense.

Indeed, it appears to be so harmless to shift just a bit from the center of God’s will…

And it certainly can happen so.very.subtly.

But all it takes is one important decision without consulting Him, and we may be on the way to place our life outside of His protection and perfect plan.

Just a little compromise…

Or saying yes before praying…

Bringing our moral compass just a little off course to please someone…

Or justifying our sin or lackluster faith walk…

Spending little time listening to God… and too much time heeding worldly voices…

It’s subtly simple…

It’s one little shift at a time.

What an image! What a Truth!

May we remember that waiting upon God before moving is not only a matter of obedience, but also a matter of trusting His loving hands. May we rest our hearts completely in His, even if, from our perspective, life would feel or look a bit better elsewhere.

Friend, if today you are tempted to move forward before a divine Green Light leads you on, I pray you make a deliberate decision to sit back down…

Be still before your God.

Seek the peace that surpasses all understanding before moving forward, trusting that, even though it may look like your life would look better somewhere else, the only place where your heart will find balance, joy, peace and freedom…

Is in the Center of His perfect Will.

Nothing else will do.

The post Heart Shift: Could Your Heart be Moving Away From God’s? appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

Everyone portrays characteristics of manic defense at some point in time, but some people use it to such an extent that it becomes impossible for them to handle even short periods of free time. You find them reaching out to their cell phones every other minute while walking in the park. You find them volunteering to plan one more party, and adding one more activity to their already over-committed schedule. You find them filling even their vacation time with nonstop activities.

And because it’s almost impossible for them to be still, they often don’t make time to sit quietly before God and seek his will before acting.

It’s a huge paradox for those of us who wish to follow God’s plan for our lives. Because, more often than not, finding the answer to our prayers takes time and quietness before God. And he is never in a hurry to act. He is more concerned about molding and shaping our character than immediately answering our prayers.

God is never in a hurry to act. He is more concerned about molding and shaping our character than immediately answering our prayers.
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It takes courage and faith to wait. It’s much easier to settle for immediate satisfaction than to wait for the right job, the right person to marry, or for justice when someone wrongs us. But if we wish to receive God’s best, then we must commit to deny our impulse to act, and simply be still in his presence before moving forward.

I don’t like it at all. Much like many of you, I want to receive the task, plan my way to accomplish it, and get to work. It’s hard to sit still and wait for the answer. But as I look back, I realize that, were it not for the times God made me wait and do nothing, I would still be the same unwise, impatient and impulsive person I was 20 years ago. Worse yet, I would have missed out on so many blessings received after a period of quiet obedience and stillness.

Indeed, waiting has been the No. 1 tool God has used to strengthen my faith and testimony. It’s not an easy task, though. But it makes it a little easier when we realize that, while we have the option to deny every urge to act, God never stops working. In the quietness of our waiting, as we introspectively look within ourselves and deliberately choose to tame our impulsive nature and anxious hearts, we can take comfort in the certainty that he is going before us, preparing the circumstances in order to deliver his best, in his perfect time.

In my humble opinion, Wilde’s conclusion was only partially correct. Doing nothing is indeed one of the hardest thing to do, but it takes more than rationale to accomplish it. It takes faith. Faith that we are part of a bigger plan than our personal circumstances, and that there is a God, the master of it all, whose plans for us are perfect, even when the seeming hopelessness of our situations scream otherwise.

Patricia Holbrook is a Christian author and national conference speaker. Her book, “Twelve Inches: Bridging the Gap Between What You Know About God and How You Feel,” is available on Kindle, at Barnes and Nobles, Amazon and other retailers.

The post Sometimes the Hardest Thing to Do Is Do Nothing At All {AJC Column} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.