DON’T LET PERFECTIONISM RUIN YOUR HOLIDAY (OR ANYDAY)

With the holidays almost here, just a little encouragement to keep you from the trappings of perfectionism.  The definition of perfectionism is ‘refusal to accept any standard short of perfection”.   It can drive you mad!!  It is actually your own perception that drives how you view perfect.  It may come from upbringing, teaching, or your own ideas.  If we look at it, what drives it is ,I believe,  from the root of pride.  Or wanting to please or be perceived as perfect. Sometimes we don’t even see it at work in our lives and inner thoughts.  It can simply be ingrained in us by the world. 

It is a sad way to live because it is often in imperfections that something is made unique and beautiful.  We were never made to be cookie cutter humans.  Just look at our finger prints.  God gave us each one that is like no other.  Or like snowflakes or the grain of wood.  You get all that, so I will make another point.

Personally, it was my upbringing that imprinted this deep into my psyche .  It was sad as I watched my mother try to live up to her own self imposed image.  Perhaps it came from her upbringing too.  At any rate I promised myself I would try to live an authentic life and I am probably more vulnerable and open than most.  But I still have those lingering subconscious pressures I have to fight against.  

I have to work at it.  Catch myself tensing up and even more if  someone begins pointing things out.  I have to look within and regain my peace and commitment to be kind to myself and realistic about my limitations  Personally my health doesn’t permit me to do “all things”, maybe for you it is your job, energy level, finances.  These things are real and I think God wants us to have true mercy for ourselves.  A perfectionistic spirit is not realistic. It is subtly tormenting.  We can choose to be realistic and give ourselves a break.   

As a believer and follower of Christ, I also know that the enemy of our souls (the devil)  is an accuser and loves to get us to condemn ourselves.

Fortunately my family is mostly used to my imperfections and limitations.  My family is small though, yours may not be and you may have some pretty big criticizers in your midst this holiday.  I encourage you and remind you that God the Father knew we could not reach perfection or righteousness on our own so He sent His Son who was strong enough to never sin and destroyed sin on the cross for us!!  What a gift.  We are covered as we accept what He did and we try to walk in His ways – imperfectly.

So give yourself a break, determine now to reject any petty criticisms about your home, cooking, anything at all.  Protect your soul.  No criticisms allowed.  And know that you are okay and that this is a day to focus on more cherished things like….love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, patience/long suffering , faithfulness…  let these things be in your mind and heart.

Enjoy the many things about the holidays that are special to you.

You are loved. You are beautiful.  If someone else can’t see that…..it is their issue.  Let it fall off.  Protect your soul and know quietly inside that you are are a blessing.  Period.  

Much love and have a great day!

STUCK

When I was first saved, it was easy to worship God and bask in His forgiveness.  My life was such a contrast before and after being born again.  A transformation took place and I was very aware of my sins.  Then began the difficult but rewarding journey of sanctification as I began to resist and get rid of my sinful and worldly habits.  

I remember so distinctly the first time I “messed up”.  I had laid down smoking pot and alcohol, but when I traveled to my hometown and went to see my old friends – straight up – I fell.  I blew my witness and I was so angry at myself.  I knew Satan was laughing and mocking God as well.  

I drove to the parking lot of a church and sat there crying.  Beating myself up.  Others lives were at stake too.  My witness was important to God and the kingdom because many were watching me to see if this was real.  Nevertheless – I blew it.  I knew it.  I could not forgive myself.

It was raining and night time as I sat in the car.  Then I felt like the Lord was upset with me.  I had’t felt it before.  He was actually more upset that I was “flogging” myself than He was of the sin I had committed.  As I looked up through teary eyes – I saw what looked like three crosses.  I don’t know if it was a vision or glare from my tears – but then I heard the voice of the Lord inside my heart (John 10:27) – stern and a bit agitated at me.  He said, as I looked at the crosses, “I did this, so you don’t have to do that.”

I wanted to “beat” myself up for being so stupid and blowing my witness, but God only wanted me to repent, forgive myself and move forward.  I was only damaging myself with my “self hate”.   And He did not want that for me.

I have struggled with that during my life.  I hate to miss the mark or sin against God in disobedience and I KNOW how much I deserve punishment.  I hate the flippant way people just trample on God’s grace and I don’t want to be that kind of a person.  Neither does God want us to be.  But sometimes we just can’t fix things and that is how it is.  I could not go and undo my actions.  All I could do was keep walking with God and pray that my old friends would still see that Jesus was in my life and that He would be glorified.  

It is important that we feel remorse.  If we don’t feel remorse for sin there is something wrong with our relationship with God.  He feels our sin.  It hurts and grieves Him, which is why we need to deal with it.  It is not good to let anything come between you and another person or the relationship can be lost.  Same with God – we can slowly become lukewarm when we blow off feeling bad for sins and repenting.

The easiest way to do so is to remember that God doesn’t want us to be stuck in the “feeling bad” place, though it’s important to make sure we still “feel”!  He wants us to give it to Him, ask Him to help us not do it again, and keep walking with Him.  Sometimes we have to have faith that God will fix what we did too.  I have often missed opportunities to witness to someone and had to ask God to bring another person across their path to take care of what I missed.  

May God help us to stay “sensitized” to His Holy Spirit.  Awake to a vibrant and good relationship with Him.  Knowing that He is “for us and not against us”  (Rom. 8:31)

Our life with God is meant to be rich and fruitful, full of adventure.  I pray we are not robbed of that by getting stuck in one place or another!   God bless you abundantly and have a great day.  

Bible Tidbit – Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

END TIMES BIBLE TIDBIT

Do you know what the four horsemen of the apocalypse are? Hollywood has made them to be many things and actually clouded the true meaning in scripture.

In a nutshell in the Book of Revelation, Jesus begins to open the seven seals of the scroll that only He is worthy to open. The first four are horse and riders released on the earth.

1. White Horse – A conquerer
2. Red Horse – Takes peace from the earth
3. Black Horse – Scarcity, skyrocketing prices
4. Pale Horse – Death of 1/4 of the earth

Further Study From Revelation chapter 6…..

Revelation 6 (Angel to the Apostle John )“Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

WHITE HORSE- A CONQUERER

” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

2. RED HORSE- TAKES PEACE FROM THE EARTH

5 So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

3. BLACK HORSE-SCARCITY – SKYROCKETING PRICES

8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And [power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

4. PALE HORSE-DEATH OVER 1/4 OF THE EARTH

Now you know – good news is Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. If you do not know Him – call out. He has been waiting for you! We can dwell in the secret place of the most High (Psalm 91) These things come to purify. Jesus comes for a Bride without spot and wrinkle. Like Noah was kept safely in the Ark while judgement fell – we can believe for this too. We are not appointed unto wrath. When this short period of time ends – He returns and sets up His kingdom. No more Satan/ evil, no more tears, no more sorrow or pain, He is bringing His reward with Him as we lean on Him and stay faithful. We will be caught up if we are still here and changed in the twinkling of an eye. Our soul/who we are remains but we get new uncorruptable bodies. The Prince Of Peace will be reigning in His kingdom and we get to be a part of it!

Deep Waters – Poem

DEEP WATERS

Don’t be afraid of deep waters, my love

This journey’s been sent from heaven above

It is at Gethsemane you are purified

In ways you can’t see, so don’t try to hide

Lay it all bare, at the foot of the cross

Let His word cleanse you as you follow it’s path

Clinging to truth, let all else pass away

Let it burn up, it’s not meant to stay

Deep, deep into the waters you go

Let Him enter in to the depths of your soul

Stirring up places where pain still remains

Let Him expose them and pour healing rain

copyright  2017  Jean Chamblee

Sometimes those who have suffered the most, have the most to give.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5    “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR DREAM IS FROM GOD, YOUR OWN SOUL, OR THE DEVIL

A LITTLE LESSON ON SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR BIBLICAL DREAM INTERPRETATION

PROPHECY -A MICROBURST FROM HEAVEN

End Time Prophesy

Prophetic Dream  – Oct. 2019 

MICROBURST ARE COMING

Many of us are so focused on the signs of the times and really how could you not be, especially if you are a watchman!  But I wanted to share a dream the Lord gave me recently – and then made something similar happen in the natural.  This will encourage you – He will do this for all who seek to serve Him.

So in the dream-  I was in an ice cream store alone at a table.  The place was partially full.  Then across from where I was sitting, two girls (20’s)  were talking.  One said to the other “I had the weirdest dream.”  and began to tell her friend the dream.  All of a sudden this boldness hit me.  I turned to them and said,  “I can…

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A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – THE “DINKY” LITTLE PRAYER

Sometimes it’s those insignificant seeming prayers we say that can carry a lot more power than we think.  For example “Lord thank you for protecting the house” as you pull out of your driveway, or “Lord protect my kids at school today”, as you drop them off. Sometimes I pray over an important letter that it will arrive on time, or a package undamaged.

We don’t really notice it until we forget to pray and begin to see a difference.  For instance, I always prayed over my luggage when I used to fly.  “Lord keep the plane safe, no accidents, and that You would put angels to keep my luggage from getting lost or stolen. Amen

Pretty regular prayer.  Except the day I forgot to pray about the luggage!  Not only did my bags not arrive at my destination.  It didn’t even make it to the right country!  It went to Mexico!  Whaaat??  I think God must have chuckled and I certainly got the point.  Those “little” prayers WERE being answered.

They may not be said in fanfare, passion, or hardly with any thought at all, but God is listening and things are happening in the unseen realm even when we don’t know it.  That’s where faith comes in and we continue to pray, trusting that it’s making a difference.

Now this is a silly one, but you ladies can relate.  I had purchased some nice bras for myself when I was living in an apartment and had to do laundry in the community laundry room.  I tossed my clothes in the washer and as I walked out, under my breath, and almost without a thought I said,  “Satan I bind you from stealing any of my new bras in Jesus name.”   They weren’t cheap so I guess that’s why I singled them out.  But when I came back to get my clothes, someone had stolen every single pair of underwear – except the bras.  I had to laugh.  That “in Jesus name” carries weight.  And there are some spiritual rules even the devil must obey.

So I guess my point is that there really is no “dinky” prayer.  Even a little prayer to us is being answered by a great and mighty God.  His ways are higher than ours right, and He instructs us to “ask (and keep on asking) and you shall receive.”   I truly believe that He loves to answer the smallest of prayers because He loves us so much and is happy we are including Him in the everyday things of life. We are not bothering Him like the enemy and our own reasoning tries to convince us of.  He loves us and that our thoughts turn towards Him. He delights in you and the relationship that continues to grow for a lifetime if we let it!

Much love and have a great day!

WHEN GOD BUSTS OUT IN THE MOST UNUSUAL PLACES

Sometimes you just never know when God is gonna just break out somewhere.  You’ve been there – when you suddenly feel God is in the place.  

Well I was sitting in a small room with about 10 other people at the cardiologist office waiting for a stress test. (to see if the ticker is working right)

Not something I looked forward to and besides that why in the world did they say it would take four hours. And what’s with the “nuclear” part of the test?

I was  uneasy in the way that you are when there are a lot of unknowns.  I noticed that most everyone was looking at their phones or magazine with only minimal conversation between people and the ones that came with them.   Then I asked a lady what the test was like.  She was older, but I could tell she brightened up at the opportunity to share some wisdom.  She walked me through it and a few others chimed in with their additions to the knowledge I was getting.  It was sweet!  

All of the sudden, everyone in the room started talking to others.  At times the whole room was participating in one group conversation.  A far cry from the isolationist feel it had when I walked in.  I could feel the Holy Spirit moving.  I love it when He shows up outside of church and does a suddenly.

One of the ladies began to share her heart about having had several heart attacks and possibly cancer.  The weight and burden on her face made me want to cry.  I knew that God wanted to lift her burden, especially her.  

So most of the room cleared out and I began to tell her of my near death experience as a teenager.  I saw heaven and was describing what I saw.  I could see a familiar peace come on her.  I knew that she already knew the Lord, but she leaned in towards me as if to soak up the words of truth.  A reminder of what she already knew in part.  I pulled out a Closer cd that I had made a decade ago and gave it to her and she was excited.  Her countenance changed and her mother began to talk about a revival she had been to in her past.  It was an easy conversation, and you could almost see how much lighter the room was as well as these “family” members in the body of Christ.  I got called out for the test and wish I could have prayed with her – but she got something better I think. She remembered to Whom she belonged.

I don’t know.  I just love when that happens.  I know prayer helps them happen – but sometimes God just busts out!!!  I can’t wait till the next time and I think I will ask for more!  How about you!?

A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – Minimizing Frustration

So this morning I got up and life started very peacefully.  I finished listening to a teaching on youtube I had started the day before and planned to move into a quiet devotional time with the Lord.  

Then the hurricane (or Ed as I like to call him)  came in the room.  He had lost his wallet and was supposed to go fishing with a friend.  He had to cancel the trip which actually I was relishing the thought of a nice quiet house to get some things done and study , so I was bummed.  As we looked and looked with no luck finding the wallet – I began to worry.  I guess a better word is “fret”.  Thinking of all the things, like working tomorrow, that he would not be able to do.  Then remembering how my wallet got stolen last year my “fret” level rose again.  Canceling credit cards, getting a new license, waiting for a new debit card….  What a pain in the derrier!   So I started getting his stuff together he would need to get a new driver’s license today.  His birth certificate was not where it should be and my frustration was…..well ….let’s just say I’m sure my blood pressure went up.  Haha

So as my husband went out the door to attend to all this stuff, I felt a little bad and frustrated at myself for letting my emotions escalate like I did over something I should have trusted the Lord on and kept calm.  I returned to my “devotion” spot and picked up Streams in the Desert, looking for todays date for the reading.  I opened it and laughed out loud when I saw it and said, “Okay Lord, I get it!!”  The scripture for the day was simply:   “FRET NOT”  Psalm 37:1  In case I missed the gentle dealings of the Holy Spirit – here was the command.

Most of us do this if indeed you are human.  Some of us were raised around it and it has become the fabric of the background noise in our mind.  That’s hard to break, but recognizing it is half the battle.

What do we do?  You say?  The right question is “What does God tell us to do and how to handle it?”  First off – don’t feel condemned!  Jesus often told his disciples “fear not”.   So we are in good company.  God also tells us in  John 8:31-32:  “ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Hold to His teaching and know the truth.  Those are both statements that require something.  The action of getting into His word and knowing it.  But the reward?  FREEDOM   Especially from the lies the devil implants in us to keep us from the goodness of God. 

So what do I do instead of “fret”?   Here are a few scriptures that are good to commit to memory.     

1 Peter 5:6-8

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Humbly acknowledge that God is big enough to help you and cast your care on Him by praying and asking for that help.  Remember that one of the Holy Spirit’s name is “HELPER”  so I don’t think He minds and in light of the fact He is called that – I think He really wants to help us if we will just ask.

Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

So next time you (and I)  catch ourselves spinning around a problem – Remember that God doesn’t want us getting ulcers.  Give the problem to Him.  Invite Him in.  Let Him lift the load so you at least don’t feel alone!!!  Sure you may have to do some things to work through the issues.  But it doesn’t have to be with anxiety, fear and frustration.  Hey – I have not arrived – but God has put me on the right path – His ways.  Which I think are helpful to all of us.   Have a great day.  Shalom  (peace)