WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!

“O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”
2 Chronicles 20:12

Have you ever been there? At a place in life where the troubles and problems before you are so great and so numerous that you don’t know what to do?

In the Old Testament, good and godly King Jehoshaphat found himself in that uncomfortable place. The enemies of Judah had banded together to make a super army … and they were coming to wipe God’s people off the map. The circumstances were dire and destruction seemed certain.

Jehoshaphat did not know what to do except pray and get his eyes on the Lord. And that is exactly what God wanted him to do. When he took his eyes off his problems and put them on the Lord, God responded in mighty power.

IN YOUR PROBLEMS

Are you facing great and frightening problems today? Is it cancer? Is a layoff coming? Is the marriage ending? Is some destructive addiction taking you down? Is the devil coming at you with both barrels?

What do you do when life seems to be caving in all around you?

You join with Jehoshaphat and honestly say, “God, I am powerless in this problem I am facing, and I don’t know what to do. But I choose to take my eyes off my problems and put them squarely on You.”

You see, you and I are not able to handle the problems of life, but God is able. And God will arise in your trouble IF IF IF you will just look to Him and trust Him, no matter what.

THE POWER OF PRAISE

In the story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, it is interesting to note that God told him:

1. Do not be afraid because I am with you.
2. Do not be dismayed because I am able.
3. Do not think this is your battle because it is Mine!

How’s that for an answer to prayer! So, the people gathered the next day to face the enemy. Judah’s army was ready, but they did not have to fight. In fact, it was the choir who led the army out to the battlefield. And when the choir began to sing and praise the Lord, the Lord responded to their praise (their praise was proof of genuine faith) and routed the enemy before their very eyes. WOW!

What to do when you don’t know what to do? Get your eyes on the Lord and praise Him! There is great power in praise! Praise shows God you know He is in control, and you trust Him.

The wonderful old song says it best:

When you’re up against a struggle, that shatters all your dreams.
And your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan’s manifested schemes.
When you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fear,
Don’t let the faith you’re standing in seem to disappear.

Praise the Lord. He can work through those who praise Him.
Praise the Lord. For our God inhabits praise.
Praise the Lord. For the chains that seem to bind you,
serve only to remind you, that they drop powerless behind you,
when you praise Him.

Read 2 Chronicles Chapter 20 today and be blessed as you trust God to see you through.

(Pastor Jeff Schreve)

His Love, New York, & The WIE Symposium

Good Morning fellow 'Hip Girls.' As your guide down the road to a deeper spirituality I am moved by something in particular this morning.

First of all, I MC'd this years WIE Symposium in New York City this past weekend. WIE is for Women. Inspiration. Enterprise. As you can imagine there were plenty of powerful, famous, women present. There were even some powerful, famous, men; ala Ted Turner and Hugh Jackman....ahhh so easy on the eyes and what a lovely man and husband!

Anyway, beauty was everywhere, because in New York City everything must meet a certain criteria for excellence and beauty that surpasses anything else in the world. Truly, walking down Madison Avenue, strolling through Bergdorf Goodman, I was struck by just how BEAUTIFUL and elegant and luxurious the creative aesthetic of this city is. The best of the best in creative vision is all that emerges to the front. The best of the best in thought, service, fashion, and art is everywhere. The city is a collection of the world's finest. And, there will always be a turnout of gorgeous women, Supermodels even, young and younger. Iman, still eclipses them all!

This very complicated and amazing mix of all things beautiful was tremendously eclipsed by another complex, yet very simple, greater beauty. For me there is a deeper truth that is so much deeper, so much more creative, so much more alive than all that I saw on parade.

What I wanted to add to WIE 2011, however, in addition to keeping the business of the day rolling smoothly for my gorgeous and talented friend, June Sarpong, who co-founded the event, was an element of this greater beauty that eclipses all of the most beautiful finery this world has to offer; God's grace and love. I wanted the truth of Jesus Christ to emanate from my eyes and heart like a bright shining light, because after all, why else would the Lord even allow me to be there. I am long past doing things on my own initiative. I don't even care too. I pray first. I listen. I get a yes or a no from deep inside that comes from way up high...and I proceed or back out. Since I heard a yes, I proceeded to hop a flight to NYC for an enjoyable few days in which I was used again, in that gloriously satisfying way that occurs when it's God doing the using. You know like the old song says:

"If it feels this good gettin' used then just keep on usin' me...Until you use me up!"

So, I let His light shine in me and when asked, 100 times what are you working on, I got to explain what inner healing really is. The kind of inner healing that comes from the power of the Word, the mission of Jesus Christ, and the release of the spirit from it's own emotional captivity! Hallelujah!!!

Some women said, "No I mean in television." Laugh. To which I answered "only that which God would have me do." I know they were dissatisfied with that answer. Yet, truly, who cares?! I care that someone was dissatisfied by my answer, but I don't care what I am working on in television. I have a couple things I am actually Executive Producing right now. One very Big thing. But, who cares?! I even have things I am writing and finishing and deals I am brokering for a lot of money, which I like to refer to as a 'bigger tithe!' But, who cares?! Except about the fact that I can give a bigger tithe, anyway.

Really, who cares about exterior beauty, fashion, art, the best of the best in all things luxurious, whose famous, whose not, who wore what, who made what, who designed what, who said what, who was there, who was not there, which restaurant is the most 'in' right now, which car is the fastest, whose dating who, whose coming to the party?! WHO CARES?!

My point? My point is that all that we do, if not done for the glory of God, is worthless! It's idle talk and vanity, at best.

Inside God's will there is no failure. Outside God's will there is no success! No real success. There is just one failed attempt after the next, and a growing hole in the heart, because when getting more worldly success doesn't fix that inner hole, or alleviate those inner fears, or get rid of those inner demons, WHO CARES?!

So, what I am working on is the healing of His kingdom. The sharing of the good news. The binding up of broken hearts and the setting free of captives. I care about what God cares about. And, it's no coincidence that this was the announcement of what Jesus Christ's ministry was all about, because my work, as all of our work should be, is modeled after Him:

"The spirit of the Sovreign Lord is upon me, because the LORD has annointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up (heal) the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners." (Isaiah 61:1)

I firmly believe that if we are about HIS business, He will be about OURS. There is little we need to pursue, chase after, dress up for, or woo...except Him! This awareness has caused me to make Him the object of my affections in such a way that I am moved to the core by my passion and love for Him. This love places a burden on my heart that all would understand the Love that is theirs too in Christ Jesus.

I often share a wonderful song, written by John Mark McMillan, called He Love Us. If you lose yourself in the truth of the truth he is singing about you cannot help but understand...

He is jealous for me,

He Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain ANY regrets,
When I think about, the way…He Loves Us

If I can share, or shared, ANYTHING that reflects the power of His LOVE then I have succeeded. So, as the MC of an extremely successful event in worldly terms, my success in it was found in those who listened with curiosity in their eyes, and hugged me back with love and acceptance, and saw something in me that they couldn't explain.

Was it my Gucci leather slacks? No, who cares?! Was it the fierce Chanel over the knee boots and matching handbag I wore?! Doubtful, who cares?! Was it even the amazing Nina Runsdorf diamonds twinkling on my person? Nope, who cares?!

You see I am a child of the King. What it was, was the light of redemption, the ocean of grace, and the realization of how much He loves me that causes me to emanate love for others. That's what you'll see in me, as MC of a TV show, an event littered with the rich and famous, or walking across campus at my sons school in Kansas. Him in me is the magnet that I know attracts anyone to tell me what a great job I do when I am working or doing. It is all of Him that you see surfacing that touches people in an inexplicable way.

I don't take credit for anything except that He loves Us!!! How can I care about anything more than that?! His grace is an ocean, and I sank long ago!!!

Love to ALL Of you today and every day...May His peace and truth bless you...

Always,

Your resident Hip Girl guiding you to truth in your spirituality!

Your Thoughts Have Wheels!

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7a (KJV)

The day started off just fine, but ended with confusion and tears. As a timid middle-schooler, I climbed the steps of my school bus eager to get home after a long afternoon.

Sitting quietly in my seat, all of a sudden I got this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Although my surroundings appeared to be the same, something was not right.

The bus was the normal sunshine yellow. The seats were standard black vinyl, displaying rips and tears from years of students. The floor was littered with the usual misplaced pencils, erasers and wadded-up papers. Yet, I felt out of place.

That's when I realized I did not know any of the kids sitting around me. And I had never seen the bus driver before. Frantically, I searched for anything familiar. My cheeks grew hot and my heart raced with panic as I realized I was on the wrong bus.

Although I WAS headed somewhere, it was NOT where I wanted to go.

I'd been distracted by conversations with friends, thoughts of sleepovers, and how much homework I had. My thoughts were not focused on where I was going. The actions that followed caused me to end up somewhere I did not want to be.

Thinking back on that day, I've considered how our thoughts determine a lot about the direction of our lives. Like my school bus, our thoughts will always take us somewhere, but it may not be somewhere we want to end up.

If we spend time thinking about how our boss does not appreciate us, our thoughts will take us straight to a bad attitude at work and possibly poor performance.

If we focus on how much we do for others and how little we feel appreciated, our thoughts will take us to a place of resentment, with lack of patience and love.

If we spend an entire day fuming over something our husband or kids did, and mentally practice the harsh words we plan to say to them, those thoughts will lead us into a place of arguments, hurt feelings and damaged relationships.

If we dwell on why God has allowed certain problems in our lives, we will transport ourselves into a state of insecurity and unhappiness as we stop trusting God.

If we focus our thoughts on money, career, success and pleasure, we will find ourselves in the land of the lost—feeling frustrated and discontent.

Our thoughts are powerful and require great self control. If we allow them to run rampant, focusing on things that lead us away from God, then we will wind up at a destination we would never deliberately choose.

In today's key verse, God shows us why we should choose carefully what we think about, because our thoughts determine who we are and how we live.

My childhood memory reminds me to consistently ask God to help me keep my mind on Him and on the thoughts He has for me. That way I can live according to His plans and with His perspective, seeking to be acutely aware of where my thoughts may lead me.

Our thoughts really do have wheels. Where are your thoughts taking you today?

Dear Lord, please help me take my thoughts captive, and focus on things that are pleasing to You. Please give me the desire to honor You and abide by Your Word in any area of my thoughts I am struggling to do so. In Jesus' Name, Amen

Application Steps:
Make a list of all the negative or sinful thoughts you may have had lately. Ask God to help cleanse you of those emotions and start anew, with a fresh attitude and a positive, Godly perspective.

Reflections:
Have I been guarding and guiding my thoughts, or have my thoughts been leading me to a place I don't want to go?

Is there anything I need to remove from my thought life?

Power Verses:
Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (NIV)

Romans 12:2a, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (NIV)

Ephesians 4:23-24, "Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy." (NLT)

This was from an excerpt by, Tracie Miles, and it's an awesome reflection and exercise to help you with those negative thoughts that threaten to drive you into a wall instead of the positive thoughts you need to drive you into your joy filled destiny!