Mundane to Marvelous

The opportunity to combine an ever increasing passion for ministry with advertising and marketing was my dream job. I was already operating in this area on a small scale but, becoming the media director for the outreach arm of our church made it official. And to add a little icing on the cake, the position involved traveling. yes ma’am, I was doing the happy dance

A portion of the job consisted of making sure my pastor‘s preaching materials were packaged to be sold at ministry engagements. Figuring out the logistics was challenging yet exciting until the newest wore off. That’s when the routine and everyday tasks set in.

I became a coordinating, duplicating and shrink wrapping queen. At times the assembly line tasks left my creativity severely dehydrated. sigh

Thoughts like, “This isn’t really what I thought it would be.” took a seat in my mind.

It’s amazing how we ask and even beg God for things and then, once we get what we told God we wanted, start complaining. Lord help us

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After the first service, a lady came over to our ministry table. She began sharing some of the challenges she was facing as if we were old friends. What she needed was right in front of us. Her answer was lying inside one of those shrink wrapped packages, I reluctantly labored over weeks prior.

As she walked away, her countenance was different. She had a joy that wasn’t there before. I on the other hand felt a surge of conviction. For weeks I had inwardly complained and had more than a few moments of down right ungratefulness.

But, while I was privately throwing tantrums, God was answering my prayer. I wanted to be His vessel. He was using me. I wanted to encourage His people. He was positioning me to fulfill that desire.

The mundane methods I thought were taking me nowhere were actually converging to form something marvelous.

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Do you feel like you’re standing still? Are you pouring your efforts into something that doesn’t seem to yield results?

I’m sure it seemed a little odd for Joshua and the Israelites to march around the Wall of Jericho. I mean who would think that marching, blowing trumpets and shouting would cause a wall to collapse?

But their simple consistent acts of obedience made room for the miraculous. God had a plan for the children of Israel and he has a plan for you. - Jeremiah 33:3

Ecclesiastes 7:8 reminds us that, “The end of a thing is better than the beginning.”

So don’t quit because your circumstances aren’t the way you want them to be.

Sometimes greatness is birthed out of the ordinary.

Your Sister Friend,

Sandra

Overcoming Frustration

If you’ve been in church any length of time you’ve heard the story of Hannah.

I Samuel 1:5-6, doesn’t waste any time grabbing your attention with “ ...and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.”

Did you feel that? I mean you can’t help but empathize with Hannah.

However, Elkanah and Peninnah are a completely different story. Honestly, I wasn’t fond of either one. It was hard to get pass Elkanah having two wives and Peninnah...well, she was doing the most.

But recently, I took another look at I Samuel and the Lord revealed something that I hadn’t noticed.

The whole family had a common thread, other than marriage. They were all dealing with frustration. Webster describes it as a “feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something.”

We’ve all experienced it. Right? Frustration arises when you’re constantly passed over for a promotion. It takes a seat in your soul when you think you should be further along, have more money or live in a bigger house. And it presses in hard when your marriage and children are far from what you hoped or wanted.

Frustration has a way of finding us and Elkanah’s household was no exception.

Hannah was Elkanah’s first wife. And, after years of not being able to have a child, Elkanah married Peninnah to sort of help the process along.

Peninnah was frustrated because, even after having several children, she had not won Elkanah’s heart. - I Samuel 1:4-5

And, Elkanah was in the house with one woman that was angry and another one that was grieving. not the best situation

In the midst of all of this, Hannah displayed tremendous grace and gives us some insight on how to overcome frustration.

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Don’t React

Google says, “A reaction is typically quick, without much thought, tense and aggressive.”

On the other hand, “A response is thought out, calm and non-threatening.”

To be completely transparent, I’ve done a lot more reacting than responding. However, the scripture doesn't even hint to the fact that Hannah reacted to Peninnah's tauntings.

In spite of her circumstances, Hannah didn’t loose control or relinquish her peace.

Yeah, it's easy to fly off the handle when we’re frustrated. But that only feeds the situation. And you and I both know that once you've calmed down, you have a hot mess to try to clean up.

Proverbs 29:11 gives us the real deal on reacting, - "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back." just say amen or ouch

Reposition

Now you might not be able to physically change your position or separate yourself from the thing or person that is causing you to be frustrated. But, you can redirect your focus and set your attention on the Lord. - Isaiah 50: 7

Take a look at what Hannah did in I Samuel 1:9. "Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house."

Hannah got up, left the dinner table and went to the temple to pray. She put her miracle in motion by changing her position.

Thankfully, we don't have to wait until we get to church to meet with God. We are blessed to freely commune with him no matter where we are. Our closets, cars, bathrooms, or even the beach can become a sanctuary. God doesn’t just allow us to come to him. He invites us to come. And we can trust him to help in our time of need. - Psalm 46:1

Put It Where It Belongs

For some odd reason, we try to figure out our problems and bear the weight of every situation. Can I just tell you that God doesn't want us to live under that kind of pressure? It's too much.

Recently I was reading Morning Manna For Your Day and the question "What areas of your life do you need to bring under His authority?" stopped me in my tracks. I realized that I was frustrated and upset about things that were not even mine to carry.

My friend, God wants us to place every situation, every disappointment and every frustration underneath His authority. That's where it belongs.

I pray that your today and all of your tomorrows will be filled with countless blessings. But just in case frustration makes a surprise visit, remember that you don’t have to simply deal with it or endure it. You can overcome it like Hannah and walk in freedom and victory.

Your Sister Friend,

Sandra

Get Out of those Woods

“I want to be on the track team.” This statement didn’t come as a surprise. After all, as a toddler Bayley had already conducted several unofficial track meets in Walmart, on a cruise ship and the mall.

As it turned out, the prerequisite for running track was joining the cross country team. After the first practice, Bayley looked as if she had gone down a few times in a dunking booth. Resisting the urge to be too much of a helicopter Mom. I asked, “Is this something that you still want to do?” secretly hoping she would say no

Her response was “Yes, I’m just tired.”

And so, it started.

Practice after practice, early Saturday morning meets, traveling down backroads that had backroads before the sun crossed over the horizon was our routine.

The meets would start out with all of the runners in an open field as we cheered on the side lines. At the sound of the gun, they would take off and make a turn into the woods. Bayley told me, “there’s everything in the woods.....snakes, deer, we’re jumping over bottles...everything!” While she was talking, I appeared perfectly calm. But on the inside, a “come apart” was in full effect.

In spite of starting each meet strong and dashing towards the finish line, her time just wasn’t improving.

At one meet as we were waiting for Bayley, Frank suddenly disappeared. Not too long afterwards, I saw her sprinting towards the finish line.

When I finally saw Frank, I told him that he should have seen how fast Bayley was running. He said, “I know. I went up to those woods and saw her walking .... and yelled “Bayley! Get out of those woods!”

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It's Not Our Destination

You might not be on a cross country team but, we’re all running our own race. And whether we like it or not, circumstances, losses and tragedies can force us into the woods. The trees and untamed shrubs of depression and fear have a way of overwhelming us. They cause our once vibrant gait to slow down to barely placing one foot in front of the other.

It happens. But, God doesn’t want us to stay in this state. It’s not our destination. Instead, let your faith take the lead. Trust that "...He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it.” - Philippians 1:6 God is bigger than whatever tries to confine you to the woods.

Even though it seems like you’re alone in your situation, you are not. One of my favorite scriptures is Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT - “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

This scripture makes me feel happy all over. It reminds me that God is aware and has every step of our journey covered. Just keep reminding yourself that you are not alone.

They’re Waiting

Some of my time trying to catch a glimpse of the runners was spent watching the clock and chatting with Moms. But, mostly I prayed. And, no matter how long it took my girl to cross the finish line, I waited.

Did you know that there are people waiting and praying for you? They want you to win. They’re waiting for God to show himself strong in your life. Seeing you win is just the motivation they need to keep going. So my dear, pick up your pace and get out of those woods! Your destiny is waiting on you.

Your Sister Friend,

Sandra