Have you missed me? Remember
that verse in the Bible that says, "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
..." (Deut 28:2)? Well, I've been overtaken!
Gloriously and wondrously overtaken! And, pardon me
for saying so, but I've been having a blast! Please
allow me to explain my absence.
Let me begin at the beginning.
Remember this verse? John 10:10
...
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
NKJV
Now, I don't know about you, but for as long as
I've been a Christian, I've seen and experienced
nothing but poverty, exhaustion, hopelessness and
frustration. Hang on there...no need to pick up stones
for target practice - I'm just speaking realistically
here. We all know more Christians than we want
to know who struggle with their health, their
relationships and their wallets - amen?
So, where is this abundant life that Jesus is
referring to? What does the church at large have
that the world would consider worthy of possessing as
well? I don't know about you, but I think there is a thief
amongst us! And you may not believe this...but I met
this thief in person!
It happened one evening when my husband and I
grieved over some puzzling church issues that didn't
seem to make sense. The typical way of response
for us in the past was to turn on one another and take
our frustrations out on the other party. If that
didn't work, then we blamed the 'sheep.' But God
wanted me to know what I was REALLY dealing with, and
began to take me on a fascinating and lengthy
journey. I'm far from the end of my journey now,
but at least I know how to pack these days!
Abundant life...prosperity ....health...these were
things we taught in Sunday morning services but we did
not possess them Monday through Saturday. We
tried to convince ourselves that we did...but we
knew. Our health was shot. We were
overweight, stressed to the max, had itchy skin,
irritable bowels ( I mean boys) ahem, and our
relationship with one another as husband and wife was
slipping down the drain. Our children suffered
because they heard over and over that our God supplied
our needs - yet from us they heard, "I'm sorry
honey, but we can't afford it." We worked
ourselves to the 'bones' doing everything in the
church - and counseled others late into the evening
when we should have been resting. We were
faithful! We were loyal! We kept our hearts
pure...well, we tried to.
Looking back on it all, I'm not sure what we were
expecting. Was it a large sealed envelope
delivered to our mailbox bursting with million dollar
bills? Was it to wake up one morning and see
slim healthy bodies? Was it to have a marriage rich
with romance and mad passionate love - without the
effort? It's silly when you say it, but think about
it....just what DO you think we were expecting? Then
the day (or rather days) came when God introduced me
to the thief, and it wasn't who I thought it
was. The reflection of this thief was in my
bathroom mirror! I and only I had made the
choices I had - and it was those choices that gave
permission to Satan to wreck havoc on my life and that
of my family.
As I personally began to heal, God graciously
birthed Sarah's Tent. I'm really not sure who
that was for - me, or you! Because my life has never
been the same since! As I shared the things I learned
daily with others who were struggling with the same
issues, I found that my heart was healing and
re-birth. As I sowed thousands of hours into the lives
of women and their husbands and families, my own
family drew closer - and we started to see what tricks
the enemy had been up to. Finally, we took
action to stop the loss.
We set boundaries and eliminated programs and
'things' that robbed us of our joy and sucked the life
out of us and our congregation. No program was worth
burning out the few faithful saints we had remaining!
Since the extras were pruned, and money was sorely
lacking in our bank account, I took an outside job
with a temporary employment agency. I told the Lord
what type of job it was that I would be really happy
doing - which was working for a company that
encouraged and educated people ... and that's just
what He gave me! My first job assignment was
with CareerTrack - an 80 million dollar company
working with professional speakers from around the
world!
When that company was sold, and we were all laid
off, I took a couple of other fill-in temp jobs,
knowing that God had not given me my hearts desire
just to take it away - so He must be in the process of
doing something even greater ... all the while
pastoring and loving the women in Sarah's Tent. My big
break came when I was hired by two professional
speakers who shared me as a full time employee.
This exposed me to the behind the scenes workings of
motivated entrepreneurs - and multi-tasking (with a
purpose.) <tongue in cheek>
About six months before that particular job ended,
God began showing me places in our home where office
supplies were located and reminding me of the talents
He had given me. I thought it interesting that
these thoughts kept surfacing, but really didn't pause
long enough to ask why! The day my job ended, my
life as I knew it, ended too. I was set free!
You can't work with people who are actually living
scripture - and not be affected. They spoke of
the law of giving and receiving - of encouraging one
another while there was daylight, and mentoring
...things that I should have learned (and seen
practiced) in church! (and they did not profess
a personal relationship with Christ Jesus!)
A year ago this month, I began my virtual office
business (http://www.creativevirtualoffice.com
.) God has surrounded me with such favor
too with not only professional speakers, but writers,
authors and small businesses. Why?
Today I'm 32 pounds less and 5 inches smaller as
well as healthier than I have been in years. Why?
My husband is not the same either. He looks
twenty years younger, is fifty pounds lighter and for
the first time in his life is doing what he enjoys -
and knows his destiny. Why?
No, it wasn't some multi-level marketing plan, a
specialized diet, or a magic wand that had been waved
over us. We chose to take responsibility for
ourselves.
Maybe I should say that again. We chose to
take responsibility for ourselves. We looked
inward when we reviewed the church issues that had
plagued our church. No, it was not all our fault, but
we were vulnerable for it, and we had to look at the
reasons why. Unresolved issues, un-confessed and
unrecognized sin hindered us from seeing God's
movements in our midst. Poor eating habits and a
lack of knowledge of what our bodies needed to
properly function had opened the door for an accelerated
aging and death in our members to take its
course. This alone affected our family, our
marriage, our relationships and our ability to pastor
effectively. You just don't do any of the above
well, when you don't feel good or have no energy to
carry out your every day life.
I can't say that a light went on in an instant and
we recovered all in a moments time. But I can
tell you that no matter what you are facing in life,
God always begins with your heart - and the issues
that flow out of it.
Jesus reacted rather dramatically in the temple
when he took a whip and chased out the money changers
and overturned their tables. What makes us think
that He doesn't react just as strongly to our
compromises and reasoning(s) when it comes to our
food, our stewardship and character?
I know now that the only thing that was holding me
back was me. Those dreams and desires that I
have had since I was a child were put there by God
himself - to carry out His will in the only way I
could - with my flavor. Just like your flavor is
what He needs to work His love and redemption on this
Earth. (Can you imagine what it would be like if
we all used what we had within us - our passions, our
gifting, our skills and talents - without reserve -
and with rejoicing? Each one connecting with the
next one, sharing and enjoying one another - accepting
one another for who we are - and praising God with the
greatest of gifts - those that He gave to us in the
first place?) Wow.
I have a destiny. I draw cartoons, I write, I
encourage and illustrate, I am funny, and I am
giving. I have a passion for women and for
pastors' wives and ministers. I do not play the
piano, or have an abundant ability to organize and
administrate, or teach with great depth and big words.
I finally know who I am and my heart's passion is to
help you see who you are and help you be all that you
can be. My husband has discovered his passion
and even though he is not the senior pastor of a
church, but an associate now, he is pastoring more
effectively than ever before. Together we are
speaking and sharing our journey with other churches
and groups of people - helping them to become
Completed People. (Completed People is a name
which, before I began my business, came to me as I
prayed for direction and took as the only name I could
relate to, to begin 'my' business.) First, I
thought it was because I myself, was becoming
completed - then I thought it was to bring together
and network with others to provide an answer for many
needs. Now I know that it is our destiny. To set
the captives free and to bring healing to the wounded
and broken hearted - in body, soul and spirit.
Last week I finished illustrating my first humorous
book and was paid a nice little sum for it.
Tomorrow I begin five more books! Drawing
cartoons! (And I thought that my talent was
useless!) I am writing several books on my journey,
and I'm enjoying just being myself when I teach.
God amazes me.
Please hear me! What is it that you have
inside of you that you want to do so badly that you
dare not speak of it? What talent is it that you
have that you are hiding under the tent floor?
Where is your cruse of oil? The widow had to
take it out and do something with it - even when she
didn't understand why, before the miracle could
happen.
Could it be that we don't see miracles today
because we are violating other laws? Laws of reaping
and sowing? Laws of sin and death? Do we fear
man and man's criticisms more than we fear or love
God? What have you got to loose? Give God the glory by
accepting what He has given you - and do what they do
in the Army ... Be all that you can be!
Be a human being...not a human doing.
(Uh... now, where was I going with this? LOL Oh
yeah! I apologize for the delay in sending out
this issue of Joy in the Kitchen. I was busy
dancing around in my own kitchen shouting praises to
my wonderful Abba Father! If you have a
desire to sow into the most fertile of soils there is,
with your time and talents, there are many
opportunities to do so in Sarah's Tent. It's
great fun - and guaranteed to cause you to grow! Why
should I hog all the blessing myself?)
Due
to the length of this issue, we will forgo the rest of
our usual articles and features for this week.
Please check out http://www.sarahstent.com/Home.htm
where we've posted questions that have been asked -
and where you are invited to respond.
Visit our LINKS page for a wide variety
of resources.
Trade
permanent links with us
Joy in The Kitchen Volume
5 Issue 6
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