Tag: freedom

Leave Your Fear At The Door And Bring Facts To The Table

- dannalundstrom
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This is the truth.  We have to trade in our comfort for connection otherwise our relationships are superficial at best.  No one wins in a relationship that is not marked by transparency.
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We are all more alike than we are different.  Vulnerability sets captives free, us and the person or individuals sharing.
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Me too.  I understand.  I have been there.  I struggle with that too.  These are some of the most life-giving words, we can extend to others.
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And if we do not identify with their particular struggle, a clear understanding that we ourselves are flawed and in need of a Rescuer allows us to listen to the hurting with humility and lend compassion in the presence of another’s cross.
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I have many battles I face day to day, some old and others new.  Sometimes it is just as simple yet as difficult as staying in the present and managing my mind from straying off to toxic thoughts.  Every time I need to give my obstacles to The Lord, and at points, the sheer weight of their nature requires that I also enlist a trusted friend.
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Again and again, I have sat before a friend, fenced in by fear and stained with shame.  And you know what?  When I choose the right confidant, I always leave a little freer.
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An integral part of being free is leaving fear at the door and bringing facts clothed in faith to the table.
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Dr. Larry Crabb acknowledges that we never arrive in this life, but as followers of Christ, we are inching more and more, day by day towards Him.
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Photo credit to Life Church, Oklahoma.

A Paisley Kind Of Love

- dannalundstrom

Our little dog, Paisley, is such an example of so many things to me.  She is the essence of unconditional love.  To love like her, how sweet it must be!  She also freely receives love.  Paisley trusts with full abandon that we adore and accept her ALWAYS.  She is in someone’s lap at all times, and she never hesitates to jump into our arms and immediately flip over for a belly rub.  There is never a question in Paisley’s mind that she will not be fully and faithfully received.  Paisley reveres every single one of us, and there is nothing she loves more than being in our embrace.

I have been praying lately to know a kind of love for The Lord like Paisley embodies.  Oh, how I long to bask in the full acceptance, love, and satisfaction of His arms, unhindered by the seeds of condemnation that lurk within me.  I want to know complete contentment in God alone, free of the alluring distractions of the world.  I yearn to live freely from my identity as a well provided for daughter who is insufficient myself, but sufficient because of my inheritance secured by Jesus.

This side of Heaven, I will not fully understand the depths of The Lord’s love for me.  Freedom will continue to be a journey, not a destination until I see my Savior face to face.  There will always be days, hours and moments when I forget that in the words of Jesus, “It is finished.”  Because of that, re-remembering will also be a persistent pilgrimage, not a permanent place.

We are all just walking this life on a journey home, and I am mostly comfortable with all the pit stops, detours, diversions, and potholes along the way.  If I lived life as a straight line, it would perhaps be easy but not enriching.  Living, loving, lamenting and laughing all happen outside the walls of safe and structured.

I have never known how to color any way but outside the lines.  For years that was embarrassing to me.  These days, I am okay being
imperfect, because I know it is my brokenness that renders me eligible to be complete.

Cheers to Paisley who is gaining a little brother tonight.  You may want to remember her, and her brother, in your prayers.  Life gets a little rough when we get knocked off our throne, even for our furry friends.☺️

A Mixed Bag

- dannalundstrom

Dear friend, You may need to hear this today. It is perfectly reasonable that you are both a masterpiece and a mess at the same time. You may not feel like a masterpiece, but here is the evidence in Ephesians 2:10~ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus. Yes, it is true you are a mixed bag. So. Am. I. We live in a fallen world, of flawed people, with fluid laws, feeble morals and a fierce enemy who wants us believe to false ideas about ourselves. Not one of us is perfect, but freedom is not found in our perfection, but in the forgiveness of our failures.  You are loved!❤️

Idols of the Heart

- dannalundstrom

I grew up in a small peach colored house in Southeast Texas. We had a huge yard, roughly 1.5 acres I think. I spent most of my days as a younger child outside exploring the woods around my house, catching crawfish in the ditch that spiraled the side of our home and just enjoying the many possibilities that a big yard and an ambitious imagination afforded me.

In two particular areas of our yard where the landscape was lower and prone to hold water, you could hardly take more than a couple of steps without stepping on a “crawdad” mound. They were prolific! If you have never seen a crawdad mound, they are ugly. I would equate them to a tiny black or brown cone shaped igloo made of mud.

As a kid wanting to run, turn cartwheels, jump and roll in the green grass, particularly fresh cut, in wide open spaces, the crawdads and their homes were unwelcomed intruders. I can vividly remember ever day in the summer time I would kick those suckers over thinking I was reclaiming my territory. One by one, I would go through and clear my space for play. The frustrating thing about destroying the crawdad’s homes, however, was that it seemed that no sooner than I flattened them, I would return the next day to find them there again.

My attempts at creating a clean, green, grassy playground were endless. Day after day I would have to return to knock down the unsightly invaders to start with a clean slate for play.

This past week I was thinking about idols that set up home in my heart. Those thoughts are what rekindled my childhood memories of the crawdad mounds. I will think I have excavated an idol, feeling like I am ready to start anew, much like my play yard growing up. But the reality is, as soon as I rid myself of one, ten more crop up. Also, it is usually not very long before the “kicked out” idol resurfaces, and I have to deal with it yet again.

John Calvin said the human heart is a factory of idols. I will add to his observation that mine is no exception. Idols are the thieves of souls and confiscators of peace and joy. They are dressed up impostures that promise pleasure but ultimately never deliver the pacification they purport. They have an inferior half-life that leaves all partakers thirsty and still longing for more.

Tim Keller defines idols this way, “[An idol] is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”

Idols are insidious. They can be occupying my heart and monopolizing my mind long before I realize it if I am not guarded. My heart and mind are permeable, and I have to be a good steward of them because our world is in pursuance of them on all fronts.

If you, like me, regularly find yourself having to expunge the idols that wedge themselves into your heart, do not be discouraged, friend. A wise person once told me that seeing more gaps in my life, is a sign of spiritual maturity.

Only what is acknowledged can be abolished. There is freedom in recognizing our sins because only what is seen can be surrendered. You are loved!

Show Them Jesus

- dannalundstrom

bdabfd017d2f8a8ef9afe1cf73331e5bThe news is full of so much junk! I am determined to share light when I can because there are a lot of good people in this world.

Today wasn’t my best day.  After a series of events, I drove into the Summit parking lot and pulled into a parking stall only to hit and side swipe a beautiful Land Rover right next to me.  I have a newer car- so what.  It is a car; an earthly thing, not an eternal treasure.  I was an emotional mess, however, as I sat and waited for the owner of the other car to return.  She finally came and hopped in her car ready to drive away as I was tearfully knocking on her window.

 I was met with mercy!  I was met with kindness, a smile, a hug and I was met with a person manifesting the character of Jesus.  The relief I felt when I was excused from the guilt and shame of my offense was the essence of freedom.  

We have all been released should we chose to be.  We have all been acquitted if we only accept it.  

It is only when we feel the weight of our offense that the ransom is so sweet!  

Not knowing you will be received with love, not knowing you will be forgiven is a substantial weight to sustain as I did for a short time today.  Don’t live with that burden for a life time.  Let yourselves be freed, friends.

Lastly, it is where our treasures lie that determine our reactions when they are compromised.  I am thankful that today I stared into eyes that are not set on the things of this world!  

Be Jesus to someone today and tomorrow should it come. It is so much more about our walk than our talk!
Matthew 5:7 ~“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Where Are You

- dannalundstrom

We each are a micro part of a macro world; but even in our smallness, God calls to us like he did to Adam in the garden in Genesis 3:9~Then the Lord God called to the man, “where are you?” He is not asking about our coordinates but our condition. He loves us so much that even as we are one person in a sea of millions standing small against backdrops of majestic mountains, lush lakes, towering trees that seem to reach the Heavens and all His glorious creations, He still cares about the condition of our one broken heart. No matter how small you feel today, and how overwhelming that crushing circumstance you are facing appears, can you listen to your Father calling you today? Where are you, D’Anna (insert your name); and with a confident heart reply with raw honesty because He already knows, and He wants to be the soother of your searching, sleepy soul. Will you answer Him today? Will you let God be your rescuer instead of the things of this world? We do not have to be victims because we belong to the ultimate victor who calls us his beloved, his child, his chosen one. He has ransomed me and you from yesterday, today and tomorrow shall she come to be. Unlock the bars and walk out, friend. You are a His, and He delights in you! You are loved!

Just As We Are

- dannalundstrom

When we want to know and love someone, and in return gain their affection, too; we typically clean ourselves up and “put on our best performance” so as to win their approval. It can be exhausting. Ironically the exact opposite holds true in regards to a relationship with Jesus. He knows and loves us just as we are-sinners. We do not have to earn His affection; we only have to accept His approval. The way we begin to know and love Him more is also counterintuitive to the world’s usual relationship paradigm. The more we see the poverty of our hearts, the more we understand that it is not just our actions, but also our thoughts and motives that are sinful, the more we know the depth of God’s great sacrifice for us. It is only in the honest examination of ourselves that a true love of our Savior is born. It is also there where grace covers our grief and freedom is born. May we all find freedom in our authenticity, not our acts. You are loved.

Let Us Not Forget

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment


All over our country today, people will be celebrating with the customary Memorial Day traditions. Additionally, on this day of honor, there are moms, dads, wives, children, sisters, brothers and many more whose celebration will be spent clouded in heartache. The anguish of an empty chair, an absent smile or a missing laugh, because someone special never came home. In the midst of our celebrations, today let us not forget that all gave some, and some gave all. May The Lord Jesus bless our military heroes and their families who have fought for our liberty. No words adequately express my gratitude for your selfless service.    Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends. ~John 15:13

Not Your Faults but His Forgivness

- dannalundstrom


Psst! You do not have to be perfect today, tomorrow or ever. It isn’t even possible. The more you recognize your shortcomings, the more you are growing in the grace of your Savior. Your freedom has nothing to do with your faults, but everything to do with His forgiveness!! May you find rest in that today, friends.