Tag: serve

holding fast

Karla Lees

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
*Psalm 16:6-8 ESV

The path has been quite rocky over this most recent leg of this journey.

Changes left & right have caused me to recenter & stand firm on the unshakeable truth: God alone is my sure foundation.

I have had to take a step back & closely examine what matters most to me, and He has been reshaping me on the inside while the storms swirl around me on the outside.

By the way, a storm is anything that tries to knock you on your Foundation.  It can be a temptation, a spiritual attack, a crossing of a boundary, a sudden loss….any unexpected change, big or small.

God has been quietly prompting me to allow Him to set my boundary lines, and giving me the strength to hold fast to Him as I do.

Boundary #1: God time is in permanent marker in my schedule, wherever & whenever He wants. 

Allowing Him ownership blesses my time, makes me more confident He is with me & more productive at all I do.

Boundary #2: Self care under His direction is not selfish.

This includes enforcing my need for balance. Too much work at a time leaves me exhausted & drained. As part of my work is freelance, I now have boundaries on when I will/will not work which God is helping me reinforce.

Boundary #3: After God, my family is more important.

God didn’t just randomly refer to children as treasures or gifts we were never meant to unwrap. Your spouse is to be your best friend, the one you go to first after God with whatever is bugging you. God wants us to have daily family time, however that can look for your family. Meals, DVD, walking, laughing, worshipping together…. We miss the tight bonds God planned for us when we fail to put family ahead of all else after Him.

Boundary #4: Saying no is to be welcomed when it is enforcing a boundary, and/or following His leading.

I have a hard time with this one, as several people around me like to try and bypass my no. What is urgent to them is to become my urgent project to be immediate dealt with. If I am already working, or on a day off, I need to say no or not yet.  If they can’t accept it, that isn’t my problem. As the Polish saying goes, “Not my circus, not my monkeys!”

The reality is: I am not on call 24/7 to anyone but God or my family.

I suspect I am not the only one who needed to read that truth today. If your ‘no’ is not being respected, then quite honestly the requester is not respecting you. Stand up for yourself, and if you have to, take a stand. I have left a job I was very good at because my employer crossed the boundaries I had clearly set. As much as I hated doing so at the time, it was the best thing I could have done for myself to learn how to enforce my boundaries, knowing God was with me as I did so. No means no.  God will back you for standing firm on a boundary He has helped you set.

Boundary #5: God & I together are free to change, adapt or create new boundaries at any time. I don’t need anyone else’s permission to follow His lead.

Now, if I do something completely out of character or fall into sin, it will become obvious to those around me whether God is in it or not. We are known by our actions & their fruit, not only our words. We are to be considerate & honor one another, and at the same time we are not be someone else’s doormat to be walked all over at their convenience.

I speak from experience that I have learned the difference between serving & being a slave.

I will not head back into the chains God rescued me from.

I had spiritually cowered like Piglet for way too long, being timid and afraid to speak up for myself. Allowing God to direct me into healthier living has enabled me to see that where He wants me to step, in His Presence, will lead me towards becoming the ‘me’ He designed me to become.

Final Thoughts:

I don’t need to apologize when I improve for the better, when Holiness & Love grip me so tight I become broken to be rebuilt into something better & more precious: More His.

My boundaries all lead back to freeing myself to live more fully in the wide open spaces of His love, mercy, grace & Presence, where He is constantly with me.

So the winds will continue to try & sweep me off my feet. Let them come, I say:

Because if I am already on my knees, I will not be shaken.

God’s promise: When I stay close to Him & follow His lead, He’s got me solidly 100% on His grip.

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In His strength, I can stand firm and hold my ground when the storms circle about me.

Hold fast, dear ones.
God knows the way ahead, and the way through.
He’s got you.

motivation matters

Karla Lees

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We are the people of busyness, aren’t we?

Life has become faster paced with the addition of increased technology & connectedness in our world. You can now have 24/7 access to almost any topic of interest around the clock. With email & cell phones you can be reached world wide.

We need to unplug from the busy & ask ourselves the why behind what we are doing.

Busyness for the sake of being busy is draining, lonely & empty.
With the radical rise of depression (by 2020 it will overtake heart disease as the number one cause of death & disability) we need to take the time to know the reasons we have for our actions, and live out lives of purpose.

Before we do anything else, as His people, we need to come close to Him. Enter His Presence, soak up the Son, connect with His heart, listen for His voice, act on His guidance….before anything else.

A wise man I work for says, “Make the most important thing the most important thing.”

Does God know you have made Him #1?  Do you make spending time in worship, prayer & the Word the priority in your day?

Does He have your heart? Do you know His heart for you?

Does the clamor of demands overpower the desire to connect with Him?

The sobering reality? No one else is going to help you make Him number one in your life.  They can make suggestions, share tips & resources, but only you can put them into practice.

For several years, I had my 30 min of quiet time in the afternoon, when my kids were napping and/or in kindergarten.

When they got older, around eight pm after bedtime worked for a few years, when hubby worked evening shifts.

When I worked the opening shifts at the coffee shops, I woke myself up with worship music, and had my quiet time when I got home from my shift while everyone else was still out.

I now get up earlier to do my 30 min before my work days, so they don’t become a daze of pointless busyness.

The past year, I have determined to do so, and I am healthier overall for it.  I feel closer to God, know He is for me, and I can depend on Him, so when the next wave of demands crashes on me, I am able to keep my head above the water & hear His voice.

Join Remade Ministries {and me :)} for 30 days of 30 minutes of time investing in blessing our King.

He not only deserves it, He longs for one on one time with you too.

Relationship over task, every time.

We can best serve with our hands & feet when our hearts & minds are fixed on doing what He ask us to do.  When our whole hearts are invested in making Him first place in our lives.

Then, and only then, our ministry will have impact for His kingdom.

For 30 days, give Him your first 30 minutes.  Make getting to know Him your priority over all else, and see how your life will change for the better.

When God reminds you what to say yes to, you will have no problem saying no to busyness for busyness’ sake. Your priorities will start to shift and fall as you follow His lead.

We are not meant to do it all, but we are all meant to know Him.

voice

Karla Lees

The only way to find your voice is to use it.

Austin Kleon

Jeff Goins just confirmed in today’s daily post what I heard this weekend, first on Saturday at a women’s retreat, and then during prayer time this Sunday morning.

If you are hearing it three times in three days, its likely a lesson you are needing to hear.

In my case, being reminded i need to speak, to use my voice to its fullest.

I have hidden my voice for numerous years, in part from wounding, in part from lack of direction, the remainder because I stopped listening… I wasn’t comfortable what I was hearing.

Still part of the ‘why me’ I battle with, I confessed yesterday that I have struggled over being uncomfortable with being prophetically wired. And I no longer want to grapple with it. I want to be who I am called to be, despite not knowing how this will look.

So this week, I am taking the time to seek Him. Soak. Worship. Read the Word. Listen. Specifically about my purpose. The voice He had for me.

I had a word spoken over me about being a Proverbs 31 wife.
Being capable of much means you have more laid out for you to potentially do, and need to learn what to let go so for others to do.

As a result, I may be laying down some parts of my work life and letting them go to make room for what God may be wanting me to do now in preparation for what may be ahead.

I know deep within i need to do this, so I can find the voice He has for me to speak with, and begin to use it as He leads.

I don’t like saying no, but I would rather say no to people than to say no to God again, and risk disappointing Him.

Some things we do in this world have no significance in the next.

Our obedience does.

So as I come to grips with how He is calling me to step out and use the voice He has waiting for me to speak with… I am a little apprehensive.

How will this all look?
How will our finances cover the changes?
What will my hubby say?
What will people think?

Looking into the unknown up ahead is nerve wracking, but looking into Jesus’ face, I know He has plans to bless and prosper me as I place all my hope in Him.

I am willing to speak His words.
That’s my part.

How others respond is not my part, it’s God’s.

So there may be some more poems, songs, and or prophetic words popping up in the posts in the days ahead, as I seek hard to find the voice He is guiding me to.

But as we align up with His plans, grace, joy, mercy and oh such love abound.

I said to myself years ago that I never wanted to work in a church, nor travel much.  I married a man with the main gift of evangelism, and God is stirring in me to love up on people through my words, song, helps, offering hope and praying for them.

I have no idea how all this is going to work out, if I can be candid.

But I am not called to know all the answers, the future or accumulate wealth: I am called to follow the One who holds it all in His hands, knows it all, and still chooses me.

I am not called to build up my kingdom. but His.

I cannot be my full self until I use the voice He has given me, and begin to sing my heart’s song with all I am!

What a privilege we all have to serve in the individual ways He calls us to.

As we obey, we need to trust God will take care of the rest.  We are safe in His hands, and He will guide us each step of the way.

May you too be blessed as you find your voice, to share what God is stirring in you, and where it is for you to speak it out.

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when to speak up at pointing fingers

Karla Lees

There are not a lot of things that cause me to be enraged.

Disrespect is one of them.

As is the season, its time in my area for municipal elections.

And I would say that several of the almost 30 candidates running here are not causing negative waves. They are standing on their platforms, and letting the voters judge them on their merits.

But with any crowd, there are always a few who make the rest look back, and frustrate those who run with integrity and respect.

Hey, I get it that we are all entitled to our opinions.  I don’t like dogs stopping and pooping on my lawn, and their owners not picking up after their pet does their business.

I get that none of us are perfect. We all have flaws and weaknesses.

I get upset when instead of telling me what they have to offer, a candidate publicly uses their platform to bad mouth an opponent.

That reveals more to me about the character of the speaker than the opponent’s.

The Bible talks about this, in no small detail.

Its really judgment.

And pointing out the speck in someone else’s eye instead of taking the time to see the log in our own.

Its also a sign of insecurity.

If you can’t control yourself before you get into a position of authority, how can the voters trust you will once you have the power to make decisions at your fingertips?

As followers of Jesus, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.  By publicly speaking badly about your neighbor, you not only disrespect them, you show your lack of compassion and love.

Your weakness comes to the forefront, becoming more obvious than the complaint you have, when it is offered without respect.

Our local government, like yours, has a group of individuals running for council: 28 for 8 spots.

With odds like that, your campaign needs to be based on your ‘can do’s ‘, not your ‘look at their flaw(s)’.

When we fail to honor those around us, we essentially let the enemy run havoc in our neighborhood.

I am tired of unnecessary drama, local or otherwise. We all know that life has enough ups & downs without adding anything into the pile.

Take the time to get to know those running for office in your community.

Better yet, once you know what they stand for, line it up against the Word.

If it isn’t walking with the Word, that candidate likely isn’t either.

May the kindness God has showered on His children overflow onto those who serve in our communities. That His Words would soak deep into our hearts and honor & respect be the visible fruit to the world watching us.

Let’s avoid pointing fingers at others, and ask God to help us root out the log jams we may have, so we can become free and a blessing wherever we go.

No matter the quality of your local candidate, God may have a different plan for some of those running. May God lead us to select the best person(s) for the positions in our home towns, the one (s) whose character reminds us of Jesus.

Who gave His all to serve those He came to bless.

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start with me

Karla Lees

I want to comfort, offer hope, lift up and be a help to those in need.

Where do I start?

It has to start with me.

I can’t lead someone where I have not been willing to let You lead me.

I can’t express the joy of freedom when I don’t turn to You to be unbound.

I can’t offer what I am not willing to take from Your hand.

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I can’t let the music well up within me when I keep myself dry and closed off to Your love.

Changing the world begins with allow God to change me.

So where do I start?

On my knees.

Asking Him to meet with me.

Seeking His word.
Seeking His Presence.
Seeking Him.

Resting in His promises.
Trusting in His ways.
Knowing He is for me,
with me,
in me.

When i pour myself out before God, He pours Himself into the places that make way for Him to enter.

As I give my burdens to Him, He carries them, lightening my load.

As I offer my brokenness before Him, He strengthens me to hold it together in the storm.

As I place my desires in His hands, He breathes new life and hope in my heart.

As I leave my pain at His feet, He touches me with more than enough for the day.

Want to offer a helping hand to a hurting world?

Say it with me, “Lord, it starts with me. Here I am. Use me, mold me, break me, fill me, move in me, shape me.”

And with unswerving faith and trust in the One I follow, I know He will.

He reminds us, “Start with Me.”

Today, Lord, start with me.

START WITH ME:
Meredith Andrews
You are air for desperate lungs
Water falling on the sand
Silence to an angry storm
Sight to a blind man
You’re still the God, a miracle
So if You’re gonna move again
The would You move in me?
Move in me

You’re the beat to a broken heart
Bread for a hungry crowd
A warm word from Your voice rings out
And the dead throw the grave clothes down
Cause You’re still the God of the empty tomb
The one who came alive again
So come alive in me
Come alive in me
Come alive in me
Come alive in me

chorus: My life is an empty cup
Fill it up, fill it up!
I wanna hear
every rescued heart cry
You’re enough, You’re enough!
Break what needs breaking
‘Til You’re all we see
And start with me, start with me

Whose arms hold the fatherless?
Whose voice do they hear?
Who sits with the prisoner
And stands for the one who fear?
You’re still the God of what is just
And You’re still the God who loves
So would You love through me
Love through me yeah
Come and love through me
Would You love through me, yeah

chorus

Your kingdom come
Your will be done
Lord let it be
Let it start with me, start with me
Yes, Your kingdom come
And Your will be done
Oh Lord let it be
Let it start with me, start with me

chorus

Meredith Andrews – Start With Me: http://youtu.be/b4izl8DjGHQ

hands…

Karla Lees

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Hands speak of so much to us:

Words, in action.
Comfort as we offer a hand.
Provision, from the work of our hands.
Therapy, healing- with a touch of a hand, release can occur.

Whether your hands are small (like  Jewel’s hit song “Hands”.) or large, they have the potential to impact not only your life but the life of those around you.

My grandmothers had very different hands.

One used hers to serve in the hospital and auxiliary.

The other cleaned, and grew gardens of flowers & produce, offering the surplus to those in need.

Both created with yarn, and could be counted on for a hug if you felt blue.
One loved to talk on the phone, the one further away loved to talk with her hands and write letters in cards she designed with pressed flowers from her garden on the covers.

They impacted those who knew them with the work of their hands.

You too can do the same.

God has placed each of us in the right time and place to lend a hand, to serve someone in need.

He offered His hands willingly to serve all humanity, including outsiders, lepers, the social outcasts and oppressed peoples.

His hands have never stopped reaching for us, to this day, evening, moment in time.

He gives us a hand when we offer ours to Him, to use as He would lead, to touch all those He had for us to bless and serve with our willing hands.

The Newsboys have captured the image of hands beautifully in their song, “Hands & Feet”

An image flashed across my T.V. screen, another broken heart comes into view. I saw the pain and I turned my back.Why can’t I do the things I want to?

I am willing yet am so afraid
you give me strength when I say …

Chorus: I wanna be your hands, I wanna be your feet. I’ll go where you send me, go where you send me. I’ll be your hands, I’ll be your feet. I’ll go where you send me, go where you send me
And I’ll try, yeah I’ll try, to touch the world like you touched my life
And I’ll find my way
To be your hands

I’ll abandon every selfish thought
I surrender everything I’ve got
You can have everything I am
And perfect everything I’m not

I am willing, I’m not afraid
you give me strength when I say …

Repeat Chorus

This is the last time I turn my back on you. From now on I’ll go out, send me where you want me to. I finally have a mission, I promise I’ll complete.
I don’t need excuses
when I am your hands and feet
I am your hands and feet.

its time to bloom

Karla Lees

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Photo by @khjlees

Its time to bloom.

There is only so much watering, feeding, sun & deepening we are meant to experience before we are to show the inner qualities meant to be shared with those around us.

Some are meant to help in practical ways: fire, police, armed forces, EMR staff. Doctors, nurses, dentists, physios, chiropractors. Childcare workers, teachers. Taxi, bus & train drivers.

Some are meant to help support in sometimes less obvious ways: pastors, counselors, volunteers, receptionists, baristas & wait staff. The friend who brings a meal when you have lost a loved one. The person who pays a bill for you when you lost your job. The drive to the appointment when you don’t have a car. The loved one who let’s you cry on their shoulder, not saying a word but comforting you with their presence. When you forgot your wallet or your bank card, and they say don’t worry about it, the coffee’s on me.

Those who create beauty to bless us: in word, created images, photography, music, dance, craftsmanship, gardening, landscaping.

Those who inspire us to dream big and aim high:
The athletes, the inspirational speakers, the people who come to the aid of their neighbors in emergencies, those who seemingly start out with less who remarkably  end up with more despite their lack.

Whatever your gift may be, the world needs you to know three things about it:

1. You were intended.
God designed you to have exactly what you will need to offer in the right time.

2. You are needed.
Your part added to the mix can never be duplicated by any one else.

3. Your contribution will, and does, matter.
Whether you feel its small or not, somehow as you offer it, God grows your part to become exactly what is needed.

The Son is calling you. Its time to be the you God designed, and bloom wherever you are planted.

What will you leave behind?

Karla Lees

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What fingerprints will you will leave behind when your time is up?

I want to leave behind hearts that have been blessed by connecting with mine.

I want my kids to be the typical healthy & well paired with their future spouses, but also able to stand in the face of adversity, knowing God is for them.

I want my family and friends to be using their gifts and talents. If God can use my encouragement and mentoring to help them do so, it is a privilege. I try to model this by using mine daily, however God leads.

I smile at the strangers I encounter, because I don’t know who may need that glimpse of kindness in order to make it through another day.

I try to be a shoulder for those who are hurting and broken, and help them to find the freedom & new life waiting for them.

I try to model, some days better than others, that the next life is where our value is truly at.

We are all visitors here on earth.

Our true legacy is how much of heaven we bring down to earth and share with those around us.

I likely won’t be leaving a lot of money to those I will be leaving behind.

I hope my legacy will be that of:
Never swerving hope
Enduring faith
Unfailing love
Sharing one’s gifts
Being a blessing to and a help to those we love & are privileged to meet.
Unshakable trust- all things will work together for my good

My words, sung and written, may linger a little longer, but Gods love through me in action is the legacy that matters in the here and now. Hearing Him say one day, “Well done, faithful servant, My beloved” when we meet face to face.

What kind of legacy are you going to leave behind?

one song

Karla Lees

Today at church, we had a time of prayer for the communities where we live, as represented by those in attendance.

We made a stand, lifting our prayers and hands before God, offering all we have and all we are to Him.

During that prayer time, I started singing part of a new song over and over, and managed to jot down a few of the lyrics.

I haven’t been stirred to do so for a long long time.

It was like coming home.

Which is aptly so considering the lyrics I was singing!

We stand in the gap
For those He loves around us
Feeling God’s heart
For the ones He’s drawing in

Releasing freedom, freedom
to the captives crying
freedom is beckoning in.

We see freedom, freedom
For the sick and lonely
Freedom is calling them whole

We’re bringing freedom, freedom
For the hurt and broken
Freedom is loving them home

When we sense how God feels about one another, we begin to yearn for His plans to unfold.

Plans not to harm, but to bless.
Plans to heal.
Rebuild.
Grow.
Be made whole.
Plans that give us enduring hope.
Fulfilled promises.
Love everlasting.
A forever home.

May God awaken your gifts to bless those He has placed around you.

It takes one to love one.
One act of kindness.
One word of hope.
One hand of mercy.
One gesture of grace.
One listening to God’s voice.
One obeying their call.

Be the one you were designed to me.

There is only and ever will be only one of you.

Be the one you are to the fullest.