YIELD: Pause. Assess. Proceed. Produce.

First of all, I must let all readers know that my relationship with God is the loudest voice in my life.  It’s the anchoring influence over all that I do and all that I am.  Furthermore, it began through Jesus Christ.  Although this is a blog about trauma it’s also a blog about a relationship with the Lord.  I intentionally want each of you to know exactly what you’re getting into as you decide to read on.   Even with Christ, my story does not diminish the constriction and the grip of trauma on one’s life.  I didn’t receive a one swipe miracle followed by complete freedom.  There has been a step by step “trucking” process, which I’ll explain.  The process is still underway, therefore it’s brave of me to share a part of my story that is still unfinished.  I risk repeated failure and I risk mockery, but it’s a risk worth taking if even one person decides to commit to the trucking process. Even better, I’d consider it worth it if just one o...

When you intentionally show the love of Christ and it gets thrown back in your face, it hurts, but how should you react?  The bible has encouragement which we can choose to obey when we become discouraged while trying to minister to others.  1) Remember that ultimately God is our "boss" and it is him whom we work for.  Our reward is in him.  When people don't accept your labor of love God still does. (Colossians 3:23-24) 2) Keep loving!  Don't let rejection harden your heart and cause you to freeze up.  Continuing to love is challenging and it's natural to mistakenly put your guard up in order to protect your own heart.  Resist.  God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (Hebrews 6:10 NIV) 3) Don't forget that the love you give in his name has eternal value.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we ...

I can be a good steward, but my faith is not in stewardship. We should tithe, but our faith is not in the act of tithing. Our faith rests in God.  I can put forth tremendous effort, but my faith is not in my effort.  My faith is in the God who established these practices for our benefit.  Our trust must remain in him solely, for His blessings toward us greatly exceed our investments of stewardship, tithing, and effort.  How can we then elevate works as the reason we may prosper?  We cannot.  God is the one who both propels and anchors us.  What do some of our forefathers say about how God sustains?  I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread (Psalm 37:25).  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phillipians 4:19).

How have you been approaching God lately? With OBEDIENCE or with SACRIFICE? “God required animal sacrifices as a way for His people to temporarily atone for their sins and draw nearer to Him.” ~ christianity.com -Obedience is better than sacrifice. -Obedience is faith-based. Sacrifice is works-based. -Both can be necessary in some ways, however, one is greater. -Obedience is based on an intimate and mutually loving relationship between you and God. -Sacrifice can be given in a distant or non-existent relationship between you and God. -Obedience is proactive. Sacrifice is reactive. -Obedience points to Jesus Christ. Sacrifice points to the law. -Obedience is our response to the gospel. Sacrifice was a response to sin before the gospel. -Some have only engaged with God using the method of sacrifice and NOT obedience. -Obedience is God saying, “Join me in this. Walk with me.” Then we respond with, “Okay, let’s go!” Sacrifice is us pleading, “Let me make it up to you. Let me pay you back. ...

On April 15th, 2013 our family made our final  debt payment which happened to be my  undergraduate student loan. On that day we  began a beautiful journey living debt free.   Listen to me share my excitement in My Video Blog 12 Hours Before We Became Debt Free .   Click here to see Our Family Debt Free Scream video created a few months after we paid all of  our debt. We’ve enjoyed moving forward financially and building wealth for our family rather than paying financial tribute to the past.  For us it started in college. We stumbled upon Dave Ramsey’s radio program on our local Christian radio station and heard call after call from people who were trapped and restrained by their debt and their financial decisions.  As two single college kids who happened to be friends we were individually sold on following Dave’s principles before we ever earned a dime. We realized that starting off our marriage with a conservative risk averse finan...