Feeling as though the world came to an end that day and I would never survive breaking up. The quirkiness of seventh grade. When did I decide boys didn’t have cooties? This should be re-evaluated (just kidding, happily married).

Still, sobering breakups thundered in my young life before I met my husband. I made it out alive. Yet, as with most hurting hearts, my heart lacked resilience.

Breakups are hard and heart-breaking. The larger the investment of time, the harder we fall.

But, although painful, some breakups are in my best interest. Therefore, I composed notes to send, specifying the exact reasons I wanted out. So, if you’re a neighboring heart who also needs the freedom these breakups bring, please forward these letters on your behalf.

• Dear Insecurity,

We’ve spent a lot of time together. I have grown comfortable with you these many years. You’re a loyal companion, but not a trustworthy one—always denying the truth and believing a lie. It’s been just the two of us in this love affair. But I’m tired of the on-again, off-again charade. It’s off. We’re done.

Sincerely, Secure in Christ.

• Dear Perfectionism,

I opened my heart to you and let you in. Masquerading as a heart-throb, yet you are a heart-rob, stealing my joy. This isn’t working out. We are breaking up and never making up again. I’m saying, “goodbye.” I don’t love you anymore.

From, My Heart Belongs to Christ.

• Dear Pride,

I know you’ve been seeing other people on the side and never wiped one tear I cried. You dazzle with false hope of greatness. You thought I was never leaving, but I’m giving up on us. Get it? Got it? Good!

Signed, Christ above all.

• Dear Acceptance,

Once a restless heart, I needed you. I’ve grown weary with what people think of me, needing their approval and acceptance of who I am. There’s a new guy in my life. One who will always be the Lover of my soul. I’m over you and moving on. No longer hopelessly devoted to you. The end.

Don’t call or write, Chosen by Christ.

• Dear Me,

You’ve changed since we first met. Like two strangers now, you’re someone I used to know. It’s time to walk away. I’m not living the same way. Spiritual death has parted us.

No longer at your service, Christ Lives in Me.

A fair warning. Exits out of these relationships will not happen overnight. We may find ourselves on a blind date with any one of them offering enough pampering to warrant weak moments.

But our standards must remain high. Breakups are usually heartbreaking because of the loss. In these five breakups, it’s about gain.

“Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8 NASB)

You see, another note has been passed on through the ages by neighboring students of the Word. A letter declaring unconditional love from a Loyal and Trustworthy Companion. A relationship with Jesus worth our greatest investment of time and highest devotion.

The intended recipient?

Me. And you.

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LINKUP PARTY is open! Today, I am thrilled to feature our new contributor @FridayKaren - And she starts w/ a bang! Breakup letters to feelings which should be nailed to the cross: Insecurity, Perfectionism, Pride, Acceptance and Self.…
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Happy Wednesday!

Today, our linkup features the winner of this month’s Guest Contributor contest, Lorraine Reep. Lorraine’s blog is a beautiful place of encouragement for so many of us, and it is a true blessing to feature her on our website! You will love this post about surrendering our fears and doubts to our loving Father.

Thank you all, for Recharging with us!

In His wonderful Love,

Patricia

I tend to view every glass half full and look for the bright side of most situations. If I can’t find a bright side, I will take a steel wool pad to it and try to scrub enough gunk off to find a shiny spot. I’m more prone to working it out than clutching my pearls.

Recently I’ve had my pearls in a death grip.

A situation popped up and in a matter of minutes we were reeling in shock and moving toward terror. It was the sort of thing that comes out of nowhere.

Life demands that we keep putting one foot in front of the other, and we have, but I am keenly aware that I have a death grip on those pearls. One hand reaching toward God and the other firmly attached to my fear.

Where do we find courage to move forward when the ground is shaking under our feet and the future is uncertain and in the hands of strangers?

For weeks, I have feared the worst and trembled at the thought of the potential damage. I’ve yelled at God and asked him how dare He allow it. And in case you’re wondering, He’s okay with that. He can handle my anger, frustration and grief. If you aren’t convinced, check out David’s rant:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Psalm 13: 1-2 ESV

He listened, I’m sure of it, but I wasn’t hearing much from Him. Crickets. There were accusations from a dark place: “He’s forgotten you and your loves. He’s turned away – you are on your own and this is hopeless. This will not end well. You’d better start working on Plan B.”

When you walk with Jesus, there is no Plan B. Faith is like that. It’s either all in or all out. You can’t just sprinkle a little faith over a situation. @lreep
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I have a great analogy that involves a litter box and a sick cat, but let’s just go with we either allow Him to replace our unbelief with absolute faith in Him or we wallow around in doubt while clinging to a skinny thread of faith. The latter stinks.

Around the same time, I began studying David’s life. One of my favorite stories is of David defeating Goliath, that giant who terrified and taunted the Israelite army. David, a mere boy, saw past the Philistine’s threats and insults against the power and promise of God. David didn’t have confidence in his abilities or in the armor his brothers tried to drape over his slight frame.

David’s confidence was in God and he put every bit of his trust in Him.

The massive Goliath taunted and threatened the young boy, but David stepped forward in confidence that God had prepared him for this. Those long nights protecting and defending the sheep were his classroom and he was ready for what could be his final exam.

David was fearless because he remembered God’s faithfulness.

I loosened the grip on my pearls. Really, God? You’ve got this? Because from here it doesn’t seem like You do and I’m terrified.

It’s okay, baby girl. I know you are afraid. When you gaze at the world that wants to destroy you or the ones you love, you will always be afraid. Look at My face. I’m right here.

Fear always has its roots in unbelief.

Only God, when we remember His faithfulness, can make us brave. And until we are brave, we can’t hold space for hope for others. We choose to believe Him.

I don’t know how this will work out, but I know this much for sure. God sees my family. He sees every one of us, from the oldest to the youngest. He is alive and pressing into this situation even when it feels like He’s looked away. He has not turned his head; He is right in the middle of all of it.

Let go of those pearls, He says. I’m going to show you a better way than steel wool and pearl clutching.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord; be strong,
and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14 ESV

Wait for the Lord; then you will have courage and hold space for hope, for yourself and for the battle-weary all around you. @lreep
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His promises are true, friends, even when all we can see is a loud-mouth giant; when the noise of his threats and taunts wants to discourage and defeat.

Wait for the Lord.

Lorraine lives in the growing yet quaint town of Winter Garden, Florida. She and her husband are celebrating forty-six years of marriage this summer.  She’s mom to two daughters and nine children call her Grandma. When she’s not working at her technical job in the banking software industry she loves spending time with friends, watching the sun set from her golf cart and writing grace stories. She and her husband serve in the local church, mentoring young couples and ministering to senior adults. Lorraine would love to connect with you on her blog: Gracengraffiti.com and her Grace and Graffiti community on Facebook.

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“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are those who wait on Him”

I know better. I’ve seen God’s faithfulness. Still, in a season of hard, where I don’t see his answers, it’s easy to let doubt creep in or rather barge in. It’s then, I want to say, “Where are you God? Are you there? Do you care?”

But you and I both know by now we can’t see what God sees and we can’t know what he knows. However, we can trust that when we pray, a plan gets laid. We may not know how and we may not know the when, but we know the will.

He will.

Because it’s in God’s character to answer, and redeem. We see it over and over in Scripture.

When I find myself in the hard place of wait, it’s comforting to read about someone else who has waited there. And that’s why I like the story of Hannah. No one fits the bill of being blessed for the waiting more than Hannah. Her name even means blessed. But at the time of her dilemma, around 1105 BC, she felt anything but.

During Hannah’s time, children were a woman’s legacy — her honor — particularly if she had a boy child. However, if she were barren, like Hannah (the Bible says specifically, in 1 Samuel 1:5 that God closed her womb), you were thought of as less than or even a sinner that God was punishing.

But Hannah was a God-fearing woman, who desperately wanted a child. She probably prayed day and night, wondering why God was making her wait especially when she got bullied for being barren.

Hannah was married to a man named Elkanah. Though Elkanah was a godly man, as was the custom of the time, he had two wives. His other wife was named Peninnah. Now, Peninnah was prolific. She had many sons and daughters. And she was jealous of Hannah because she thought Elkanah loved Hannah more. She viciously picked on Hannah, every chance she got.

Peninnah’s best opportunity to hound Hannah was a yearly trek they all made together to the temple some fourteen miles away. Every year they went there for a festival of rejoicing where sadness was prohibited. By the time a they got to Shiloh, Hannah had been ridiculed to the point of despair and couldn’t eat. One such time she was so hungry and despondent, she went to the temple and poured her heart out to the Lord. She had had enough. Crying out to the Lord for a child, she vowed this baby she prayed for to be dedicated back to God’s service for all the days of the his life.

God knew Hannah would make this costly vow. He also knew she’s make good on it.

Israel needed a righteous judge to rule and Hannah needed to be blessed. So at the right time, God’s time, He answered Hannah’s prayer. She became pregnant with the child, a son she would name Samuel.

And though Hannah gave up her son at the age of three years to the service of the Lord, just as promised, she was blessed.

Samuel would be the greatest judge in Israel’s history anointing Israel’s first king, Saul… and her greatest earthly king, David.

Hannah waited
God waited for Hannah to surrender the very thing she wanted most
God greatly blessed Hannah

In this hurry up, give it to me now world, it’s comforting to know God has a plan. Certain things have to happen for others to take place. There is a purpose for our pain, and God is working in the wait.
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Hannah’s story encourages us to know, God is forever in control.

“Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3b)

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Happy Wednesday!

Today, our linkup features the winner of this month’s Guest Contributor contest, Karen Woodall. Karen is one of the faithful participants of our weekly linkup and is a talented writer. Her beautiful post made me pause to think about the meaning of Easter all over again, and it will certainly bless you as well. You have probably read Karen’s work before, even if you did not realize it. Check her bio below and you will probably agree. Enjoy her post, visit her blog and encourage this sister in her ministry!

And, as always, thank you for Recharging with us!

Love,

Patricia

I just dropped one of my dogs off at the vet for unscheduled surgery to (hopefully) correct a condition we’ve been trying to overcome for almost two months. This comes after a night when I was up way too late making sure the projects due after spring break were completed. More end of the year homeschool assignments and finals are bearing down on my children, and at the same time, I’m desperately trying to help my son navigate the convoluted admissions and documentation process for the college he will attend in the fall. There are deadlines approaching at my job, and my husband is stretched thin across too many deadlines of his own, and in our “leisure” time, our garden needs to be planted, a mini-construction/renovation project demands to be finished, and some serious yard work must be attended to before one of any number of dead trees fall on our house.

As I was driving home, my stressed-out, frustrated, and over-tired mind was redirected by the radio host’s account of his family’s activities last week during Easter.

“Easter?  Why, yes. That was only a little over a week ago,” I reminded myself.

But in almost the same instance, another thought crowded into my mind… “But what difference does that make now?”

Sure, like most believers, we did a lot of commemorating and reflecting during Holy week … but are special family gatherings and once a year worship service the only way we should celebrate the resurrection of our Lord? If less than two weeks have passed since the official observance of Easter and we’re already angst-filled and smothered by the normal attitudes, responsibilities and routines of life, could it be that we’ve missed the point of His resurrection altogether?

Maybe what we really need to do is to keep reading the story…

If you flip over a few pages from the end of the Gospels and to Acts in your Bible, you’ll discover that by verse 9 of the first chapter, Jesus is not only resurrected, He’s ascended back into heaven where He (as Paul later tells us) is “seated at the right hand of God.” (Col 3:1) Sitting at the right hand of a king meant that the person acts with the authority of the ruler and is equal in power, honor and position. So this designation places the risen Christ as governing over all of creation. No longer the meek and mild suffering servant of the Gospels, He’s now exalted as the King of kings and Lord of lords!  (Rev. 17:14)

And that positional change for Jesus should change us as well.

If we know Jesus through faith as Savior, we should also boldly count on Him to also rule as Lord.
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That means when stress builds, emotions escalate, and obligations threaten to overwhelm us, we’re not helpless, nor do we have to default to using our own (limited) power to ‘do the best we can.’

Keep moving on in the New Testament and you’ll find Peter’s emphasis in chapter one of his first letter.  Verse 3 says “In his great mercy (God) has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”

This verse unmistakably links our confidence today to the certainty of Christ’s triumph over death and the grave.  But the kind of hope the New Testament writers emphasized goes beyond the desire to have circumstances turn out the way we plan. Even if our situations don’t change (or worsen), we can be confident that our living Lord dwells with us and in us so that through His Spirit, we can be changed… resurrected from our old and dead ways of living, and daily resting in a brand new hope that’s centered in who Jesus is – our victorious King!

While the calendar may say that Easter has passed, the impact of this pivotal event should never end for believers. He IS risen ... and He Reigns! And that’s a truth we should never stop celebrating! @Switchbaxx
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I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at his right hand in the heavenly realms
~ Ephesians 1:18-20

Karen is a writer and editor at InTouch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, has contributed over 50 articles and sidebars to The Jesus Bible (2016, Zondervan), and continues to help develop and write the discipleship materials for Flourish, the women’s mentoring program at Passion City Church (Louie Giglio). She contributes to Bayside Community Church devotional ministry (Florida), writes for an international teaching ministry directed toward impoverished Christians, and posts a weekly Christian discipleship article for her own website. She continues to lead in the study of God’s Word with the hope of helping others see how our great God is always at work in all situations to draw us more deeply into relationship with Him.

You can connect with Karen at www.switchbacks.org

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LINKUP Party is open! Today, Karen Woodall reminds us to keep the joy of Easter in our hearts every day. Join us? @Switchbaxx
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Hello, there!

Today, our linkup features the winner of this month’s Guest Contributor contest. I am excited to have Debbie W. Wilson  with a heartfelt post about doubting the goodness of our God. Debbie has a beautiful voice and ministry and is an accomplished writer. Enjoy her post below, visit her blog and encourage her!

Thank you for Recharging with us!

Love,

Patricia

“Do you give samples of your chicken salad?” my friend asked our server.

“No ma’am. We don’t,” he said and left us to our menus.

“I guess I’ll order something else,” she said.

As we enjoyed our meal, the manager dropped by our table to ask how our food was. We told her it was great. Then my friend repeated her question.

“We aren’t able to offer samples because we make each dish fresh when it’s ordered,” she said.

Her answer was more satisfying. There was a legitimate reason they wouldn’t offer a sample. But I still wasn’t convinced. I couldn’t imagine them making one serving of chicken salad at a time.

When I arrived home I received an email from my friend who frequents the restaurant we’d just left. She’d remembered that their chicken salad was not the prepared dish we were picturing. It’s a salad with grilled chicken on top. I laughed at our misunderstanding.

Chicken Salad and the Bible 

Some Bible passages seem offensive to me when I first read them. As I’ve been reading through the Old Testament, I’ve questioned God about some of His ways. I know His ways are perfect. But sometimes they don’t look that way. I wrestled through some of His laws and the book of Job. Add to this the suffering I see around me. I chose to trust Him, but I wasn’t satisfied.

I’ve asked:

• Why would God allow Job to suffer so much loss, pain, and misunderstanding when God Himself said no one was as righteous as Job?
  .
• Why did God treat slaves differently than free people and women differently than men?
  .
• Why does God allow unrighteous judges today to take away the rights of the innocent to protect the wicked?
  .
• Why does He allow a faithful believer to suffer on a deathbed of pain and the wicked to die peacefully in their sleep?

God used the chicken salad incident to quiet my lingering doubts. I realized that if a restaurant run by mere humans had good reasons for what first appeared to be arbitrary rules, then my perfect and loving Father also has good reasons for His laws and ways of running the world.

On the tail of the restaurant experience I watched a video of a butterfly struggling to escape his cocoon. Because the wrestling took so long, someone cut open the rest of the cocoon to free the butterfly.

I’m sure they thought they were being merciful. But interfering with God’s plan left the butterfly with an ugly bloated body and dwarfed wings. The long struggle produces the butterfly’s strength and beauty. Without it, he is condemned to only crawl and never fly.

God is like the ocean; I’m like a child trying to understand the mysteries of the deep from my small pail of water. I can’t understand someone so much higher and bigger than I am. But I can trust that He is wiser and more loving than I can imagine.

Job got the opportunity to bring his questions to God. Instead of explaining the background of Job’s circumstances and His good intentions for Job, God asked Job to explain the mysteries of the seen world.

If Job couldn’t explain the mysteries of creation, how could he hope to understand the mysteries of the Creator? Job’s questions evaporated in that tiny glimpse of God’s majesty.

I used to say that some questions won’t be answered until we get to heaven. Now, I think that when I see the Lord, my questions won’t matter any more @debbieWwilson
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“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11 ESV).

About Debbie:

Drawing from her personal walk with Christ, twenty-four years as a Christian counselor, and decades as a Bible teacher, Debbie W. Wilson speaks and writes to help people discover relevant faith. She is the author of Little Women, Big God and Give Yourself a Break. Share her journey to refreshing faith, and connect to her on social media by visiting her blog: DebbieWWilson.com

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One of the first posts I wrote, way back in the day, was a tongue in cheek article about anxiety. I can tease about myself but for most people struggling with anxiety it’s no laughing matter. It’s debilitating.

I gave a talk this summer in which I shared part of my story that had to do with panic and peace.

Two words as far from each other as the east is from the west.

For me, anxiety was just part of my life, my journey through this world. When I stepped off the stage I was taken aback at how many others were on a similar journey still seeking answers on how to daily win the battle with the beast.

As I read today’s lesson on mental health in Rick Warren’s  Transformed devotional, I was reminded of this familiar verse:

“Be anxious for nothing but in everything with prayer, petition, and thanksgiving, let your request be known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hears and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7

For the longest time I didn’t do this verse well.

Let me get you up to speed. In case you didn’t catch it earlier,

I have a panic disorder.

There – I said it. Actually it’s not hard to say. Gone are the days where people whispered such things. And yes, I’ve had it since I was a little girl. I’m not sure where it came from. Maybe it’s in my genes, or perhaps it was the loud atmosphere in my childhood home. We were yellers. Lot’s of tension. Let’s just leave it at that.

Anxiety manifests itself differently in children than adults and it wasn’t until I was in college that I had my first full-blown panic attack. Although I didn’t recognize it as such. I just thought I might have a little bit of “crazy” in me.

Special isn’t it?

I’d have seasons of attacks separated by as much as a year or more. I remember before I got married thinking about how I was going to explain my “crazy” attacks to my future husband. But I didn’t have to. The stress of a new marriage brought them in to full view. Thank you Jesus! I mean really, thank you Jesus, because  I was able to get a proper diagnosis and solutions on how to cope.

Though now I could control the attacks for the most part (they make drugs for that,) generalized anxiety continued to plague me well into my early 40’s.

I knew the all familiar verse in Philippians quoted above but I didn’t know why it didn’t work for me.

Early on I started naming it and claiming it. I prayed it. I memorized it. I repeated it. I beat myself over the head with it, as if it was some kind of incantation that would work like magic.

But nothing. Not. A. Thing. Changed for me.

These were empty words on a lifeless page. I didn’t know how to apply the Word to my life.

That is, until the importance of my thought life and focus was explained to me. Yes, peace comes with an attitude of gratitude. But hear me when I say, this is not just about please and thank you. It’s about thanking God for something you can’t see and don’t know exists yet. It’s one thing to speak the words thank you, it’s quite another to feel them. In order to feel them you have to trust the One to whom they’re being given. And that requires a relationship.

As I drawn closer to Jesus, now I don’t just thank Him for what I can see, but I thank Him and trust Him for what I can’t—the place of anxiousness, the space I can’t control—the chasm between “Dear God, help me” and my last Amen. It’s there where the Power is at work. When we pray, God sets a plan into motion.

And peace comes with the belief… it is done.

It is finished— taken care of.

My worry was nailed to the cross 2,000 years ago. I can walk away and trust His will is better than mine. I can let Him work out what I can’t do and turn my focus on what I can.
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And that’s better than an incantation. More powerful than magic. And way better than a little crazy.

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Ever had a panic attack? It's pretty amazing the number of people who suffer from anxiety these days. @christy_mobley opens up about the subject on this week's #RechargeWednesday LINKUP party. JOIN US?
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