Tag: God

Contentment

- dannalundstrom

Growing in grace is finding joy at the juncture of what is and what we desire to be. Contentment builds her home there.

Friend, what person, plan or situation do you need to surrender to God’s sovereignty today? We are all Picassos, painting pictures in our minds of the way it should be, our way, our dreams. When we cling to our perfectly polished plans, we leave no room for God’s purpose to define our lives.

Perhaps we spend so much time longing for our coveted desires that we cannot enjoy our current destinations.

Our desires are not wrong, but our demands are. May we lay down our brushes and clear our canvases so that we can hang our hope on faith rather than fiction.

1 Corinthians 7:17~ And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. (The Message)

You are loved!❤️

When The Pledges Become The Peace

- dannalundstrom

When we know the character of God and have experienced His faithfulness, it gives us the strength to continue standing in times of great fear and pain.

But sometimes the reality of brokenness penetrates the resolve of belief, and we feel the weight of our residency in a fallen world. 

It is in these times that the word of God is more crucial than ever.  It is only when we place our pain into the context of the promises that we can persevere.  Saints never rejoice for one another’s suffering but we can rejoice amidst it when the pledges of the Savior become the peace of His soldiers.

The World Says Run, Wisdom Says Rest

- dannalundstrom

Being a whole person can feel like being an overwhelmed person.

Time is two sided. It can be sluggish, and it can be swift. On days when our to-do list, responsibilities, and commitments weigh heavy; time is more elusive than enjoyable.  Remembering and desiring to rest is not indigenous to our culture or our conscience.

Busyness is often our temporary escape, and so we run, and we run until we have nothing left to guide us.

The world does not call us to consider that which we are running from but The Father does.  Pausing long enough to respect the discomfort that dwells within our souls is not considered modern popularity.  It forces us to face the foes that threaten our comfort, but we have a God who offers promises that will turn those scary places into sacred spaces if we will just lean in.

The world says run but wisdom rest.  

May we relax our hustling hands and slow our hasty hearts so that amidst the chaos of our calendars we may find a stillness within ourselves that comes from the peace granted by the Author, not the pace gained from the activity.

ONE

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

For life travelers longing for an analgesic to satiate the ache that feels as if it were born and branded into every beating heart, we search and scurry for a cure as if that longing is something to be erased and replaced with happiness when all along it is an immutable hunger for Home.
Friend, I know it is tempting to numb. The food, the television, the drink, the romance novel, the internet, the busy schedule, they all eventually fail us. There is not one possession or person under the sun that will complete us.

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 my soul, robbing me of peace and joy. They are dressed up impostures that pursue me, promising pleasure but ultimately never delivering the pacification they purport. They have an inferior half-life that leaves all partakers thirsty and longing for more.

I was sitting on my counselor’s couch Tuesday and as I was talking to her, staring out her big window in the sky, my words were interrupted. As it sometimes happens a memo from semmingly no where comes as if it is being spoken in my head. That day the message was, when you are only concerned with One none of the other stuff matters.

Too often that one I am concerned about is me instead of Jesus. When my eyes, ears, and mind are fixed on Him, I do not need to numb. I do not need to find satisfaction in secular things. But surrounded by my desirous heart for God is a deceptive flesh for gratification; and this is why I need Jesus every moment of every day.

Jesus secures me when I am splintered. He welcomes me when I am weak. He “feeds” me when I am famished. He lifts me when I am low; and Jesus desires me when I am disappointing.
If you have received the gift of God’s only son, you can replace every me in the sentences above with your name. Isn’t that a breath of fresh air! If you have not received His gift, right now is always the right time to make the right decision.

You are loved, friend!

Temporarily Stalled Stories

- dannalundstrom

Seemingly open doors that fold on seasons of prayer are difficult. Sometimes it feels like we are marching to the beat of a stagnant song forever in waiting.

I am so grateful to be at a place in my life where I can confidently rejoice in the folding of opportunities because I know that each canceled plan is leading me closer to the perfect time and place engraved in the palm of my Savior’s hand.

What are you waiting for today, friend? Pauses hold great purpose in The Painter’s picture.

Futility and faith do not dance in The Teacher’s plan. 

Hold on to the hope that you are being honed for a time that is perfect and predestined by a Soverign God who wants your temporarily stalled story to be used for His glory.

The Best Is Yet To Come

- dannalundstrom

Last week I had the great honor to speak at my grandmother’s funeral service. I wanted to share a short piece of that with you. As I was preparing yesterday, God led me to 2 Corinthians 5:1-5. After reading that verse I felt prompted to read the message version. This is a portion from my message today. I hope you find encouragement here.

2 Corinthians 5:5-1: The message version says~ For we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.

Family, friends, I know some of your tents are worn and weary. Life has been hard, but if you are a follower of Christ, we have this great hope that is not an earthly aspiration born of this world but an eternal assurance brokered by The Savior of the world.

Be encouraged today that the best is yet to come. Because of this great inheritance we have been given, we can leave here today knowing that we are not saying goodbye, but see you soon in paradise.

Whatever you are facing tonight friend, God is in the midst. He is going before you and working in ways you cannot begin to imagine. You never walk dirt roads alone. Ask Him, seek Him and find Him. He is waiting to give you rest. You are loved.

The Emphasis is Not I, But I Am

- dannalundstrom

When I am in a state of spiritual amnesia, which can happen all too quickly, I can get myself wound up over making pending decisions or managing looming outcomes. God has impressed upon me lately to take notes on myself; notes about how I talk to myself and about myself. What is my “self-talk?” Journaling my thoughts and talk has been a VERY helpful thing to do for a vast variety of reasons. Themes emerge that bear paying attention. One line I catch myself saying is some variation of, “What am I going to do; or, I just do not know what to do?” The first red flag in these functionally atheistic statements is the emphasis of I. I am just not that powerful, and that is easy to forget. Making decisions can be hard, especially when they are quilted closely to the treasures of our hearts. I often have to remember that I am not in this alone. I have a Savior who is sovereign and does not get it wrong–EVER. In the midst of our hard predicaments, however, this chart below is the perfect depiction of how to go about making spiritual sound decisions. I know many of you are facing difficult choices in your life. If you aren’t now, you will be soon. I pray you find this helpful, friend! This is the day The Lord has made, and you are loved this day, and all days.

 

Be a Self-Hugger Not Hater

- dannalundstrom

Good morning,friend! How you think today will dictate how you feel! Don’t feed on the lies of shame, feats on the love of your Savior. Reject the deceit of guilt and rest in the donation of grace. Train your thoughts to be huggers not haters. You are loved!

Open Hands, Designed Hearts

- dannalundstrom

fe3beed03d166e8c0267c2d1efcd2a07Good morning friend.  Never lose your hope but lighten your hold.  We were never meant to cling so tightly to our people, our ideas, our dreams, or our desires.  God has been teaching me this lesson over many years.  It has not been easy learning, and at times it is completely painful.  I will never master remembrance of this under the sun, but while excellence is not possible, evolution is.  Our desires are not wrong, but when they morph into demands, they become problematic.  Lay that which is monopolizing your thoughts, managing your mind and forestalling your freedom at the feet of Jesus.  He longs to give you rest, but until we get out of the way, He cannot work.  Psalm 37:4 says~ Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Do not misunderstand as I did for so long; those desires will be His desires chosen for us that he will knit into our hearts so sweetly and softly until we realize them as ours.  Father, may we all open our hands today, letting go of our “perfectly” painted portraits so we may walk guided by your ethereal authority, not our erroneous aspirations.

I Will Try Again Tomorrow

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

Yea, it is the end of one of those hard days when you feel beaten, battered and bruised, sometimes literally. Your heart has been spun up and wrung out.  Emotions have swirled through your body like a tidal wave leaving you feeling washed out, weak and worn.  You have been fighting all day for this person, praying like the persistent widow for that situation, enduring physical pain necessary for healing, and filtering waves of grief and gratitude that amidst it all, curiously still co-mingle.

There is finally a lull of silence with the parting of the sun; your soul settles slightly, and you know you must choose to either concede or conquer the day’s chaos.  Then comes a gentle reminder that you aren’t in this alone.  He’s in the midst of your pain.  He is present with your people, and he is bigger than that situation.

At the end of days like this, I am so grateful that the Psalms are in the Bible.  Many days I am living them as sure as I am breathing; crying out for relief, reassurance, direction, strength and forgiveness.  Then, when the commotion begins to settle slightly I reach deep within to find despite it all gratitude, thanksgiving, worship, and redemption slowly start marching along to the beat of my broken heart.  I take a breath, and each one becomes a little deeper, a little deeper, and finally I enter a state of ailing rest, remembering that tomorrow, should she come, holds new mercies, strength, grace and fuel for the road ahead.

Today must be released to the past, and it is then when I hear the soft but resolute roar;

I will try again tomorrow!

And you friend must courageously commit also to engage again tomorrow with a fresh mind and hopeful heart!  You are loved.