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What's Your Fragrance?

" In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse. This is a terrific responsibility."

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 MSG

One of my favorite stores is Bath and Body Works. Even my girls are now becoming quite fond of that store as we shuffle around together smelling each new scent. Some of the fragrances are so accurate that you can picture yourself in the setting. I believe that's the point. When you breath in the sweet smell of Watermelon Lemonade you can picture yourself on your own front porch on a hot summer day eating watermelon and drinking lemonade. Then the scent fresh baked cookies sends you back in time to your grandmother's kitchen with a cold glass of milk and a plate of cookies sitting in front of you. 

We are all putting off our own fragrances with our lives, and as Christians we are called to put off the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ. Our fragrances should accurately depict the victory of Christ in our lives.  

The verse above starts out by stating that God leads us in a victory parade. The amplified version says He shows us off as trophies of the victory of Christ.  He invites the world in to smell the fragrances of His victory.

As the Message Translation sums it up, "This is a terrific responsibility."  It makes me sick to think that there have been times my fragrance was not representative of the knowledge of Christ that would bring those who inhaled it into the setting of His victory. How many times has my life put off the foul smell of bitterness, envy, pride, or selfishness? And I'm wearing God's brand!  He has called me to represent Him better than that!

So what's your fragrance? Is the aroma of your life an accurate representation of the victory of Christ?  If your life was wrapped up in a bottle of perfume, would your label say things like Unshakable Peace, Unspeakable Joy, or Selfless Love?

Everywhere we go, let's make sure people breathe in the exquisite fragrance of Christ's Victory! 

Remember Who He Is and What He Has Done

Last weekend I used my holiday weekend to conquer the tedious task of cleaning out my girls' closets and drawers. I always hate the task, not because it is a chore but because it makes my heart hurt a little bit to pack up clothes that they have so quickly outgrown.

As I folded up each item of clothing my mind would flash back to memories with them wearing the outfit.  Although remembering can be painful at times, there is greater purpose involved.

After all, the Bible commands us to remember at least 148 times. But what is it we should remember?

“But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.”

-Psalm 77:11 NLT

My oldest daughter, now nearly 4 years old, was an underweight infant, and as a new mom I was overly bothered by that. I would stress and stew over whether or not she was nursing enough.  Each time I would bring her to the doctor or the nursing center for a weight check I would pray, "Lord, please make her grow."  As I placed the lid on the box of 3t clothes she sprouted right out of I remembered how faithful God was to take care of my baby and calm the nerves of an anxious new mommy.

My youngest daughter had us praying for her life in ICU units on two separate occasions.  I recalled the day in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit that I was told that she would be delayed and would not likely develop as a normal child. When I folded up her mud stained clothes, the images of her splashing outside in the mud brought a smile to my face and a glow to my heart. "That's our God!" I thought to myself. 

You see, when we remember what God has done, we remember who He is. When we remember who He was in the past, our faith is strengthened for today. We can be certain that He is powerful, capable, loving and good because He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Might I challenge you today to stop and remember?  Take just a moment to look back over your shoulder at what God has done for you. Then, with the reminder of who He is in the forefront of your mind, you will have all you need to face the day in faith.

 

Father God, You have done so many wonderful things that the Bible says if we were to list them all, the world would be filled with books.  And that’s not even including all the details of your marvelous ways in my life.  My faith is strengthened when I think of all you have done.  Please help me to stop and remember who you are today so that I may walk forward with an unshakable faith that you are who you say you are.  Thank you, Lord, for your miracles and wondrous deeds.  I love you.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

3 Steps to Choosing Faith Instead of Fear

I came home from work the other day to a story from my three year old about how she was playing outside and fell and got a fat lip.  Then, when she smiled an adorable little smile I realized the fall caused much more than a fat lip.  Her two front teeth were damaged as well.  

In a panic, I called the dentist and he told me since it had happened earlier in the day it was too late to move the teeth back into place.  Instead, I would have to take her to see a pediatric dentist the next day and have them gas her and move the teeth back into place by force.  

My heart sank at the thought of how painful that would be for her.  All evening, my mind raced with endless worries regarding this situation…

She would be starting school in a few weeks.  What if they can’t fix her teeth and kids      make fun of her? 

            

 What if her permanent teeth are damaged? 

          

What kind of pain is she going to be in?

             

What if my husband forgot to add the kids to the dental plan and we have to pay for all   of this out of pocket? How much will it cost?

It didn’t take long for Skylar to see right through me.  Every time she smiled at me with her front tooth sticking out awkwardly between her lips, she would ask me, “Mommy, why are you looking at me like that?”  Oops, I guess I wasn’t hiding my fear at all.  At that moment I had a choice to make.  Was I going to be a model of faith or fear?

 

Heartfelt prayers for my daughters to develop an unshakable faith have been at the top of my prayer list lately, and at that moment, staring at the crossroads between faith and fear, I knew that choosing faith would lead Skylar down the road of developing faith.  

We are all faced with this choice daily.  There are scary things happening all around us, and the world is watching.  What will we model?  Faith or fear?  

That day, as I turned my back to fear and walked the path of faith, I learned that modeling faith is as easy as choosing to replace the what ifs with three simple steps.  

1.      Pray!

Once I had resolved to walk the path of faith, I started praying. We prayed as a family with Skylar and asked Jesus to go before her into the dentist and to take care of every detail.   We can run to Jesus with all the what ifs, fears, and concerns.  I believe that, and I want my kids to believe that as much as I do!

2.      Take God at His word and proclaim it.

The morning of Skylar’s appointment God led me to Deuteronomy 33:27 which says, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”  As we drove to the dentist office, I started proclaiming that verse out loud so that Skylar could hear me, and I believed that He would be holding her the whole time.  Picturing our loved ones in the arms of the Everlasting leaves no room for fear!

3.      Walk it out.

As we pulled into the dentist office I put on my brave smile, grabbed my girl by the hand and led her into the dentist office in full faith that Jesus had this all under control.  The coolest thing about it, aside from the fact that He did in fact have it all under control, was that I witnessed Skylar walking in strength, courage, and, most of all, faith.  Faith is contagious.

Are you at a crossroad between faith and fear today? If so, I challenge you to turn your back to fear, and take those three simple steps to modeling faith.  I can tell you the path to faith will take you a lot further than fear will.  Fear ends in a dead end.  Choose faith!

When What You Have Is Not Enough

But Lord, I don’t have enough.  

Have you ever found yourself saying that?  In 2 Kings 4 we find two stories about not having enough…

The first story in 2 Kings 4 is of the widow with the olive oil.  Her sons were about to be taken into slavery as a result of their late father’s debt.  This widowed mother had nothing to pay the debt but a small jar of olive oil.  And it was not enough.  

When she took the matter to Elisha, the man of God, he instructed her to go and gather empty jars from all her neighbors and fill them all with what she had in the small jar.  God miraculously multiplied that small jar of oil until every last jar was filled.  Because she gave God what she did have and trusted Him with the rest, she had enough to pay the debt to save her sons AND she had enough for her and her sons to live off of what was left!!!

Later in the chapter, Elisha fed 100 men with just 20 loaves of barley bread.  Again, it was obvious, there wasn’t enough, but Elisha assured his servant, “The Lord says they will eat and have some left over.”  And they did!  They gave what they had, and God took care of the rest. 

Are you feeling like what you have is not enough?  I know I do.  I actually just finished telling God, “I don’t have enough.” 

            I don’t have enough time to do what you are asking me to do.

            I don’t have enough energy to do it enthusiastically.

            I don’t have enough passion to do it well.

            I don’t have enough knowledge to do it right.

            I don’t have enough faith to see past these circumstances.

            Lord, I don’t have enough.

As I cried out to Him in complete honesty He replied, “Stacie, what do you have?”

“Well, Lord,” I prayed, “I have a little bit…”

            …a little bit of time.

            …a little bit of energy

            …a little bit of passion.

            …a little bit of enthusiasm.

            …a little bit of knowledge.

            …a little bit of faith.

“Good,” He said, “give me what you have and I will take care of the rest.” 

Wow! What if we take God at His word here?  Can you imagine what He can do with what little we give Him?  If He can make one jar of olive oil multiply into enough for a family of three to live off of, and feed 100 hungry men with 20 loaves of bread, what can He do with what we give Him?

Join me today in giving God our “little bit,” and let’s watch Him multiply it.  If we trust Him to do that, He is faithful to not only give us what we need but we will have some left over! 

Let’s trust Him with our little bit of time, energy, passion, knowledge, faith or whatever else you feel you don’t have enough of, and we will come through it with God-sized portions of all we need.  

Lord, my God, I don’t have much.  In fact, I only have a little bit, but I am going to give you what I have and trust you to multiply it.  That’s who you are, the God of multiplication! Thank you, Lord, thank you.  I love you, Amen.

How to Exercise Your Authority in Christ

^“ Elisha then traveled north to Bethel retracing his last steps with Elijah. On his way there, a large group of young boys came out of the city and began making fun of him: “Keep going, baldy! Keep going, baldy!” ²⁴ When Elisha looked back at them, he spoke against them by the authority of the Eternal. Almost immediately, 2 female bears walked out of the forest and ripped up 42 of the young boys.”

2 Kings 2:23-24

Today as I read 2 Kings 1 and 2, my soul found rest in a God who has our backs.  In 2 Kings 1 we see Elijah speaking fire from Heaven to demolish the troops who came to arrest them.  All he had to do was speak his God-given authority and bam! Problem solved. 

Here in 2 Kings 2, Elisha is being mocked and teased by a group of bullies.  He too speaks against them by the authority of the Eternal, and almost immediately two bears come and take care of it.  Again, bam! Problem solved. 

As I read this I found myself thinking, “Why doesn’t God work that way anymore?  I would love to be able to speak fire from Heaven against those who oppose me.  Wouldn’t that be awesome?!  And bears for bullies?  That would sure make sending Skylar to school for the first time a lot easier.  Kids these days can be so mean.”

Before I could even completely finish that thought I heard God whisper to my soul, “I am the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  What makes you think I don’t work that way anymore?” 

I responded, “Wow, God. You are right.  You are the same God who sent fire down from Heaven and bears out of the forest.  You had Elijah’s back, you had Elisha’s back, and I know you have my back.  I have seen it.”

Instantly examples of God having my back came to mind.  He reminded me of all the times He has answered my prayers and taken care of me and my family.  I had the feeling that He wasn’t done speaking yet, so I quieted my heart and leaned in a little closer. 

“You long to speak with the same God-given authority as Elijah and Elisha, to speak against the opposition in your life like they did.  Stacie, it is yours.  Proclaim my promises!  Instead of carrying around these fears of yours, speak the authority of my word against them.  When doubts rise up, speak in the authority of me, the Eternal God.  Cry out to me as Elijah did, and though you may or may not see fire from Heaven, you will see my hand at work on your behalf.  Stop fearing and speak my truth!”

What do you need to exercise your authority against today?  Are fears creeping into your heart? Doubts rising up and clouding your vision? 

Don’t spend another day being bullied by those doubts and fears.  

Take hold of the authority given to us through Christ Jesus—authority over the power of the enemy. 

Authority to speak His promises, take hold of faith and walk on in victory.   

Have a faith-filled, victorious day today!

Ressurected Dreams: Finding Hope When Dreams Die

 “When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed."

-1 Corinthians 15:36-38

Have you ever had a dream crumple and fall right before your very eyes? It’s heartbreaking when that happens because our dreams are birthed out of the deepest desires residing in our hearts. 

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about how we thought we saw some of our dreams die right before God raised them back to life.  I shared with her that when I had a miscarriage with my first baby I thought the dream of becoming a mother was lost too. 

We had been trying for months to get pregnant, and as the months went on and discouragement set in, I picked up some other negative attitudes and emotions along the way: envy, doubt, and stubbornness to name a few.  During the time of dealing with my loss God worked in my heart to purify my motives. It was as if He had to allow the dream to die to raise it back up in a pure and selfless form. 

My friend shared her story of waiting in the waiting room of her doctor's office where she would schedule her hysterectomy. Surrounded by a room full of pregnant women, she watched her dream of becoming a mother whither to the ground.  Soon after her hysterectomy, God took her by the hand and led her down the path to adoption.  She laid the dream to rest, and God resurrected it, bringing it back to life as His will.

When a seed is planted, it has to die in the ground before it can be raised to life as a fruitful plant.  If you are watching a dream fade away, take heart my friend, because I don't believe God is done with it yet. He may be letting it die just so He can resurrect it into the plan He has been writing for your life.  He's got big plans for you, and He is the Resurrection and the Life. Let's watch and see what He does!

Father, we come to you with the deepest desires of our hearts, our most treasured dreams.  As I come to you with my dreams, I don’t want you to have to pry my fingers off of them.  I want to bring them to you with open hands and a surrendered heart.  I know you can bring death back to life, so we ask you to do just that, Lord.  Take our dreams that seem so dead, and as we lay them down in surrender, resurrect them into whatever you want them to be.  We trust you, Lord.  We know the plans you have for us are good.  My dreams are yours.  My life is yours.  I love you, Amen.