Tag: calling

Sunday Psalm: Be Still, Seriously?

Karla Lees

Oh Lord
Inside I am racing
like a car engine revving up
for its heat in the big race,
go go go
get ‘er done
check it off the to do list
Peace is feeling farther & farther away with every new task I take on,
with the situation I face
causing me to spin in place
until
miraculously
i hear Your whisper
Your voice breaking through
the chaos of my bustle
the anxiety of my hustle
and You simply say
Rest.
Be still
I got this.
You are in My hands.
Nothing can take you
away from Me.
Nothing you can do
will make Me love you more
Nothing you can say
will change My love towards you
You had your chance
to do it your way,
now its time for the best
to be released
My way
My timing
My help
in My strength
with My purpose for you.

Had enough of spinning your wheels?
Come to Me
and rest.
Tired of a listless spirit?
Come to Me
and live.
Weary of what’s holding you back?
Come to Me
and be free.

Ready to make the change
to never be the same
to live fully in My Name
as i rearrange you
from the inside out?

Seriously,
its time to be still,
and let Me in the driver’s seat.

I know where you are headed.
I know the safest route.
I know how to guide you
through every turn, dip or stop.

Come,
be still.
Rest in me.
Lay your burden down.
I am here waiting for you.

Our next part of our adventure
together is waiting
for you.

Come,
just come.
I’ll take care of the rest.

You only need to be still.
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Sunday Psalm: How Long?

Karla Lees

Lord,
I come
to worship You
again this morning,
feeling increasingly
weary and heavy laden
as I draw close
to Your throne.
Its in Your presence
that I realize
all I have been dragging around
within and behind me.

Your love doesn’t just stop
at making me Yours,
You long for me
to continuously be set free
into the full newness
of all You have for me.

Your love keeps wooing,
pursing,
longing,
drawing me in
until my heart softens
from the overflow
and lets go
of the burden
weighing me down.

I cry “Freedom”
with no holds barred
as I look into
Your eyes
that burn with adoration
for me,
and within that split second
of time
You
move
& break the chains
once and for all.

All You have for me
is my heart’s desire.

I don’t fully grasp
what that looks like, God.

How long until I am fully free?

The better question,
how long until I accept & fully walk in the freedom I have?

I will never stop running
to You, Lord
as You never stop singing
Your love over me
and inviting me Home.

#SundayPsalm
#Freedomiscalling

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what would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

Karla Lees

What would you do if you knew that ultimately you could not fail?

How do you get strong enough to believe it?

Love.

Specifically the kind of love God offers all of us.

The love that loves us no matter what, always…

There is nothing I could do to make You love me more. Nothing I could to do
to make You love me less.

There is Grace by Lara Langdon

If you believe that…

How high would you soar?

How far would you jump?

How long would you push?

How deep would you dive?

Writing for me is based on the foundation of being His.
Offering the gift back to the Giver.

If the giver of the gift thinks you can do all things when they are with us, then why do we talk ourselves out of believing it, let alone living it?

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Image from: http://wildsister.com/2012/08/feel-the-fear-take-the-leap-declare-your-greatness/

Its time to take a step in the right direction.

If God is for you,
with you,
backing you,
equipping you,
cheering you on
& loving up on you
every moment of every day…
there is no good reason
not to leap.

Unless we are the problem.

We can stay rooted in our fears and what ifs too long, which slowly rots away our trust and faith, undermining the future He has for us.

Fear roots us on the spot, and limits our growth.

Its time to push through into the confidence He has waiting for you, for me. To stand on the foundation of who we are in Him (His) who we are to Him (beloved) as we tap into His strength (empowered).

His beloved empowered.

We could change not only our lives, but those we come across of we lived this every day.

Press in.

Ask Him to show you what you need to see on the other side of your fear.

Ask Him to speak what you near to hear to receive your freedom.

Ask Him to pour His love into your heart to overflow, washing out the doubt, fears & worries.

Ask Him to be your anchor, the core of strength you need to move ahead boldly.

Walk out your gifts, your calling & your purpose, without fear weighing you down!

Find hope anew in His Presence.

#betheyouGoddesigned
#morethanaconqueror

cry of the broken

Karla Lees

You hear the cry of the broken,
You hear the cry of the broken,
You hear the cry of the broken…

You answer the cry of the broken,
You answer the cry of the broken,
You answer the cry of the broken…

–Darlene Zschech,
Your Name/Cry of the Broken

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Feeling broken?
These past few days I have.
But not broken as in I feel like I am shattered beyond repair kind of broken.

Broken by Him, for Him.

I know God is close to the broken, for I was one puzzle pile of mess when He picked me up out of the pit I had dug myself into, cleaned me up & called me Beloved.

God is close to all those of us who desperately need Him to put us back together.

Jesus became God with us to show us all how broken we are without Him.

But there is another kind of broken I am referring to.

Being broken for His purposes.

I recently heard about a course being offered at my former university. Like many of you, I did not complete my degree. I began my family, hubby lost his job & we had to relocate all within a brief period of time.

Now I love learning, so it made sense to try and go back when I was able about 6 years ago. I took two courses and loved it.

Then hubby hurt his back, had the first of two surgeries, i switched jobs, and child number one started university.

Child number two has recently decided to work next year and take some time to figure out which of two paths to take ahead.

Back to the course I found…It is a dream course for me, and hubby gave me his blessing to audit it, and I got the days booked off to take it.

So off to the university I went yesterday to apply. I met with the admissions counselor, and because this course falls within course requirements for a different program than I was in when I was there before, I grew excited about the possibility of finishing my degree as we chatted.

Then I saw the program outline, and my heart sank. I would need to add another year to do so, and the cost when I already have one at university? A mild panic and huge disappointment simultaneously rose within me.

And then God whispered to me:
You don’t need to finish this degree. I have qualified you to do what I have called you to accomplish, and I am using you. You don’t have to look back with regret anymore. I am enough.

My heart broke at the kindness and love in those words….

And I realized that I had been disqualifying myself because I didn’t feel I had the right background or qualifications to do what I am already doing.

When He revealed that reality to me, my soul in its brokenness was set free from the lie I have been believing.

God broke it off in one sentence.

I feel broken but in a good way.
Moldable, use able, despite my flaws.

God is shining through the cracks of this vessel as I continue to become more aware of how He can use me when I am broken of myself and seeking to be used however He chooses.

Broken in God’s hands can become something beautiful.

called to go, do or be?

Karla Lees

We were, and are, all called for a purpose.

Typically, most of us (myself included) tend to think of this call only as an action.

We are to go out & make disciples in all nations.

Absolutely.

We miss the key point when it becomes about where we go and what we are doing.

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We are not primarily called to DO SOMETHING or GO SOMEWHERE, we are called TO SOMEONE.

-Os Guinness

When Jesus spoke about what we were to do, He reminded us Who was to be with us to the end of the age: God.

If it becomes all about the action, we miss the heart behind it all.

The heart that loved us, everyone ever on this earth, so much He put on flesh, took up His cross & died for our freedom.

The hands that made all of humanity, painstakingly handcrafting each of us, in His image.

The mind that knows what each person is feeling.

The eyes that see everything, everywhere all the time.

The ears that hear the cries of His people, and the those crying out for justice & freedom.

The Living Word who inspired the bible, recording our interactions with the God over all.

We need to be spending time with Him, the One who made it all, gave it all and loves us all in order to live out our call.

Drawing close to Him is the number one priority to finding our what it is He created you to do.

Getting to know Him will reveal who He is, how He can equip you to the task at hand, and help you reflect Him to the world around you.

Our number one purpose, our call?

To worship Him.
To know Him.
To be known by Him.
To press in close to Him.

Because God?

He isn’t stagnant.
He is constantly on the move.
Keeping watch over His flock, seen & yet unseen.

As we spend time in His Presence, we will see where He is wanting us to move, what He is wanting us to say, where He desires for us to go, how He wants us to help.

Staying close to the God over all will reveal more of His character and His loves.

The more time we spend with Him, the more we will become like Him.

Poured out for the purpose for which we were called, just like Jesus.

Jesus didn’t compromise time with His Father in getting all He was to do done.  When He died on the cross, up to that moment – everything He was to have completed was finished.

And God was with Him, as He sought hard after God in prayer and presence even though the crowds pressed in, even though He had a long hard road to travel.

Not sure what you were called for?

First and foremost, as a worshiper.

In His Presence, all the rest will fall into place.

You will fulfill your purpose when the One who called you speaks the way.

Tuning in to the right frequency is required.&n The closer you come, the clearer the reception.

We were not called primarily to action, but His Presence.

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hope for the disqualified

Karla Lees

I have a problem.

I am too hard on myself.

In a way that isn’t healthy.

I tend to talk myself out of where God wants me to be.

You see, I didn’t finish bible college. I have some, but not a lot of higher level musical or writing training. I have read a great deal of works that have helped shape me, but not had a close mentor for the past few years.

Despite all that, God is still calling me to move ahead with a purpose.

Me.

Like Moses, I wonder, “Why me? There are others more skilled, more gifted, brighter and more eloquent than me!”

If you can relate, coz you disqualify yourself from doing as He asks of you too, then I have some hope to offer you:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called;those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30 NIV

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things —and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

1Corinthians 1:26-29 NIV

When we live with ourselves, we can’t see what God sees in us…but we are seeing ourselves the way we were before coming into the Kingdom. Focusing our weaknesses and lack.

God sees us as His vessels to fill, so we can pour His love out into the lonely, broken hearts of those struggling around us.

Our weakness makes room for His strength.

Our lack makes space for His more than able.

He proves He is enough, when we know we aren’t enough without Him.

Stop putting yourself down, and trying to disqualify yourself from what He has called you to be.

If He called you to it, He will equip you for it.

That might seem trite, but the Bible is filled of the people He used, despite their earthly disqualifications.

Spend some time with Him, and ask Him to reveal if you need to break off any lie you have believed about not being good enough.

Because we aren’t.
He is.

If you believe He can’t use you until…..you have missed the point.

He can use those willing to be used.

Period.

Read through the following list of just a few of those God used…you may recognize yourself somewhere in these names.

In the Kingdom, its about His ability, not our inability.

Let Him remind you of the Hope you have in Him for all things, as you offer yourself to serve Him where He has called you.

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I

know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

Jeremiah 29:11 MSG

passion

Karla Lees

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Tonight I saw a movie that rekindled my passion.

(It was about cooking, before you gasp with disapproval!)

The Hundred Foot Journey.

The passion of three characters that cross paths is inspiring:

The young man whose passion is taste, exceptionally flavoring the food he cooks.

His father, passionate about family (and being thrifty).

The restaurant owner across the road, who is passionate about achieving the goal she has- another Michelin star.

The integration of these three passions, and a few others along the way, left me reminded how pale and drab life is without passion.

What are you passionate about?

What irks you when someone puts it down?

What makes you excited to do during the day?

I have a few main passions, and a few lesser ones.

I am passionate about God.
His love, mercy, grace.
The Hope He offers us all.

I love to create, with words.
I love to worship, in song.  I deeply appreciate other authors, song writers, worship leaders & singers who are passionate about what they do too.

I am passionate about people becoming free, who they were designed to be. Leaving their pasts behind them, and running full tilt towards a life they never dreamed possible.

I am passionate about family.
I am quieter about this one in words, out of respect for them, but what happens to them matters deeply to me.
My husband, children, parents, relatives.
My best friends.
My coworkers.
My church family.
I try to show each that I value, honor and respect them.

Hobbies i am passionate about? Tea, silver, Nordic Pole Walking, the color moss green, reading and watching good movies. All things vanilla, coconut, caramel, pecan, maple, bacon.

I know what I am passionate about, after many years of fighting how I was hard wired.

What God places in us desires to be birthed.

Passion unfulfilled is heartbreaking.

Not only the person who never let it out, but for the Giver of our gifts, God.

Take a few moments.
Close your eyes.

Ask yourself ‘What do I most want to do with this life I have been given? What brings me to life?’

The answers you get are likely a clue to your true passions.

Beyond romance, there is a world just waiting for each of us to live our lives to their fullest.

The scientist who may discover the cure for cancer, who might have been inspired by the ones who went before… who discovered insulin, the cure for leprosy.

The many artists who capture their world in picture, painting, clay, song or words…and remind us how much we have to be passionate about.

The builders- carpenters, electricians, contractors, roofers. Without their passion to tinker and connect things together, we wouldn’t enjoy the homes we do.

Take stock of your passions.

Write them down, pray over them and invite God to grow them in you.

One passionate person can inspire a nation, or leave a lasting impact on the world.

Jesus is one such person.

His passion for each of us lead Him to put on skin & bone, and live among us. He loved deeply. Showed His care towards the downtrodden, broken, homeless, hurting, mismatched, the young, the old. Those who needed to know how much God was thinking of them.

His passion for us held Him on the cross, and kept Him there as His life drained away, for you and for me.

His passion for us caused Him to come back to remind us He was fully God & man all rolled into one. How much He is passionate about His children closely knowing and walking with Him.

Its time to take the passion God gave you to help you do the task He has for you.

We need you to, not just leave it on your bucket list.

All of us are blessed when we all live the lives we were meant to live- following the Passionate one.

fences

Karla Lees

There are fences that are designed for your protection, and fences that keep you penned in.

What are your fences protecting?
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Fences as I am referring to them, for our protection, are also known as boundaries.

Boundaries are ‘do not cross’ lines. They don’t have to be visible to be enforced, kind of like invisible electric dog fences. When we are making sure our fences are fully operational, we can get a shock when there is an attempt to breach.

For me, I have a boundary around my work hours. I can flex to a certain degree, but when I am booked off, I am off. (obviously a major accident or loss of a loved one aside emergencies are not included in this category)

One job kept crossing that line, so I found a new job where this boundary would be respected.

The same goes for my phone. I keep my ringer off & notifications on low (visual only) 95% of the time so I get to choose when I answer the phone, versus the phone getting to make that decision. I had to make this boundary as I had a friend who likes to text me in the wee hours, which interfered with my sleep. So, now I get back to her after I wake up, in my timing.

I have a few other deeper ones, but suffice it to say, they are worth defending in my opinion, as they are usually ones I have had God’s help in designing, and need His help to protect and maintain. Keeping my marriage, my kids and family relationships strong takes time, effort and protection.

Like the knights of old, we need to be on guard to protect our castles (really big fences around what we want to protect- family, home) against attack.

The enemy doesn’t want us on guard, or looking to God as our defense.

Sometimes, he can take the back door approach.

We can be defending our outer fences so much, we forget to take care of the fences we may have constructed in our hearts.

You see, we can sometimes fence in things like unforgiveness, pain, anger, turmoil and let them fester & eat away within us.

We can fence in our healthy emotions behind the negative ones if we don’t let them out for God to help UA sort out what needs to be done, or forgiven, or both.

It’s time to build our fences in the pastures God has for us, instead of our past.

As God helps you tear down the fences within you built to protect yourself from your own pain , hurt, brokenness or sin, may He help you set up the boundaries of your life so you remain dependent on Him, and not the boundaries themselves.

brave?

Karla Lees

For the last 24 hours, I have been hearing the words ‘brave’.

Watching the Disney movie reminded me that we can be brave in hard circumstances when we know we are loved.

Hearing the song “Make Me Brave” by Bethel reminds me exactly who the real brave one is, and it isn’t me.

At least, not on my own.

On the outside, I may appear, as many of us do, to have it all together.

On the inside? A whole other story!

Usually I am trying to rely on my own strength and ability, and when I do so, I fail to make it anywhere close to bravery.

More like a chick who won’t leave her shell, content to hide where it is safe until trouble passes by.

The trouble is, trouble never passes us by for long.

On the flip side, God knew we would have trouble, and designed us to be brave.

He did, honest.

But it’s not brave the way the world defines it.

It is bravery despite the world.

The world says:

“Grin & bear it.”

“Be a real man”

 “That’s not something a women should do”.

” Take it or leave it.”

“You can go your own way.”

God replies:

“I am more than enough for whatever you are facing.”

“A real man or woman  follows My call & purpose for their life.”

“Listen for My voice.”

“I will never leave you or foresake you.”

There is a path that leads to life, and another leading to death.

Which road you choose determines where you end up.
The fork in the road between the two paths?

It’s shaped liked a cross on purpose.

It is time to make the decision.

Live brave.

God is calling us out beyond our comfort zones. The cliff ahead may seem daunting, the waves rushing to crash against the shore.

Knowing God is with me is enough to remind me it’s because of Him I can be brave.

Knowing how much her mother loved her was enough to make Mereda brave when it counted.

God loves us so much Jesus laid down His life for us.

Jesus was able to be brave when it counted, knowing it was part of the plan which brought Him to earth, with the purpose of showing us just how much He loves us.

God can do no less for you and I.

In fact, He is just waiting for us to come to Him, so He can love up on us.

It is that love, and knowing what He has for us to do, that together makes us brave.

Its up to me, to you, to choose…

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