Tag: trials

He is Soverign Over Us

- dannalundstrom 5 Comments

We all have circumstances in our lives that we wish were different, and this reality is one of the easiest places the enemy entangles us. You may be in an unstable marriage, parenting a prodigal child, facing addiction, disease or significant loss. Whatever the challenge you have been given may be, it may not have come from God’s hands, but it did go through His hands.  It is hard to live amidst our struggles and remain joyful when we traverse difficult paths. The great danger is that as we walk our routes, it is tempting to compare our journey to another’s. Comparison tricks us into thinking others have it easier or have been given favor. Comparison is a liar, and we believe her far too quickly. Observing others casts darkness into our lives, and it is easy to begin fantasizing about a more comfortable life.  We must recognize fantasy for what it is; a fraud who draws you into his web with unrealistic thoughts of “better things.” In the life of a believer, there ought to be nothing better than walking well in obedience the road our Master has assigned us. Perseverance is not possible if we are self-focused. It is impossible if we are contrasting our journey with someone else’s. It is when we fix our eyes on Jesus, insulate our hearts with His Word, and our desire to please our Savior overshadows that of pleasing our self, that we endure and our weeping is joined by worship, purpose enters our pain and joy joins our journey. Consider 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. God, not your marital status, defines your life. Don’t think I’m being harder on you than on the others. I give this same counsel in all the churches. (The Message). I pray today, friend, that you and I believe in the plan of our good and faithful Provider as hard as it may be. He is in the midst of every heartache. Fight to be still and know that He is God, and He is good. When we live as though He is sovereign over us, His strength and peace will equip us as we travel. You are loved!

Anyway

- dannalundstrom


Life will give us more than we can handle, but we were never meant to handle it alone anyway.

Life will give us more than we can understand, but we were never intended to understand everything anyway.

Life will take us places we don’t want to go, but we were never meant to travel alone anyway.

Life will cause us to question, forget, take for granted, disobey, offend and sometimes be angry at God, but Jesus died for us anyway.

Life will cause us to succumb to this world, but all God’s children are eternal survivors anyway.

You are never alone, and no matter what has happened or you have done, a repentant heart is loved anyway.

(1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 11:28)

(Deuteronomy 29:29, Proverbs 3:5)

(Matthew 11:28, Isaiah 42:16)

(Jeremiah 22:21, Romans 2:23)

Hope Survives Where Happiness Does Not

- dannalundstrom

It takes great courage, faith, and intentionality to feel the grief of our cross while anticipating the gifts of its resurrection.  To feel the burden without hope of the blessing is a victory for the opportunistic enemy who since the Garden of Eden wants us to believe that God is holding out on us.  We must resist feeding our minds on his lethal fruit, and feast on The Bread of Life.  It is one thing to believe, but an entirely different thing to LIVE as we profess to believe.  Our walk must be congruent with our talk.  Self-congruence does not mean we are happy all the time, (that is not the gospel), but hopeful, yes!  Hope survives where happiness does not.  You are loved.

Your Story

- dannalundstrom 2 Comments


I want to tell you this morning friend, that your life is an exquisite story.  I know, there are parts that are broken, messy and maybe even down right dark. You are not an anomaly!  That is a common denominator for all humanity. What you need to know is that your story, the broken parts, are what birth the beautiful parts; and someone desperately needs to know your journey.  Your life is a gift that was created to be shared because it was written by the Author of the universe, and He pens masterful stories about messy people who blossom into majestic professors of hope.  You, every part of you, is purposeful and of remarkable value in the kingdom of God. Believe in the power of the script He has written for you!

A Rare and Magnificent Rose

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

 

Recently I completed a life mapping activity as a part of an incredible, purpose driven study, pathFinder, offered by Beacon People. (beaconpeople.org). I knew when I began that the life mapping process would be difficult, and it was because the nature of life is messy. However, I found myself looking at my life map and the prominent emotion I felt when I finished was gratitude.

My map reminded me of something so powerful. I am always thankful for the “rosy” moments in life, but I miss out on so much when I limit my focus there. God’s glory is magnified the most through gifts grown in the fertile soil of suffering.

Abraham Lincoln once said: ~ We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.

It is easy to be thankful for the roses in our lives, but what about the thorns?

Our lives are like long stemmed roses filled with thorns. Some are bigger than others, some sharper and some cut deeper when they pierce us. No two look alike, and they cannot be compared.

What thorns are you bearing today? I encourage you to remember each one was designed for your protection, preparation, and purpose. You have already seen God’s faithfulness worked through some, and others you are still waiting. Me, too.

Father, sometimes I fail to appreciate the benefit of the thorns in my life. I often see them as a burden instead of a blessing. Give me the grace to remember it is the thorns, not the triumphs that yield the most fruit. Thank you God for my thorns, every single one! Help us all remember today that when we follow you; the state of our hearts is not dependent on the situations of our lives. Amen.

Be encouraged by the power of your thorns, friends. God is the great gardener, and He is pruning YOU into a rare and magnificent rose!

Walking The Trials of the Trails Home

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

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My heart is so heavy and my chest so tight tonight.  I do not know that the fires of our furnaces ever die.  I think they always simmer discretely somewhere deep within, only to be reignited by sharing in the pain of others.

I am grateful to have known suffering and, in turn, God’s mercy and love as He walks through it with us.  It is a beautiful thing to see God’s people rally around the hurting.  Prayer is a beautiful thing.  Tears are a beautiful thing because they shed the weight of our hearts so they will not implode just when it feels as if they may.  But God’s word, it is the most beautiful gift.  

When we believe the One who holds us in His hands was at the beginning and already knows the ending; it is a comfort that we cannot gain from any other source.  Having a Savior who lived a life of suffering so that He could identify with us in ours is a the balm for our bleeding hearts.  

No one can console others like travelers who have walked similar dirt roads.  Isn’t it a blessing that Jesus walked them all, and there is no path we travel that He does not understand.  

As my heart and mind keep churning, I opened my journal a minute ago to see immediately Psalm 46:10 ~ Be still and know that I am God, and that was it.  That was enough for today.  It was enough yesterday, and it will be enough forever.  

Keep praying with faith friends so that the hurting may be held up. God will bring great glory to His name through His work and His people.  All of you praying are part of God’s story.  Don’t you feel special?  What a privilege to go to the Lord on behalf of our brothers and sisters.  It is a beautiful thing, and you are all shining lights that contribute to this broken but beautiful life!  

May we all continue to walk with each other well on this journey home.  Home–that is where we are all traveling, because we are not there yet.

The Sweetest Fruit is Found In The Scariest Places

- dannalundstrom 2 Comments

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When I was a child, we had a ditch that ran alongside and behind our property. It was a ditch, but from the perspective of my childhood imagination, it was a rocky, dangerous ravine. The ditch, formidable as it was or was not, did have some steep, slippery spots. I would often fall and slide into the murky, water that sometimes housed water moccasins. Snakes terrified me, so I was hesitant to be too adventurous.

In the summertime, berries would grow on vines along that ditch. I distinctly remember that the biggest, most shiny and sweetest berries were in the most challenging spots to maneuver. I was a fearful child, so I didn’t venture to those places often, but when I did; oh to taste such sweet fruit! It could not compare to the berries growing in the flatter, less intimidating topography. Although I can remember being frightened to pursue those berries, I knew the reward that was waiting for me, so I would muster the courage from time to time. I can still hear how loud my heart would beat. I can feel how fast it would race as if it would break out of my chest. My breathing would be rapidly, and I would be sweating, but I would risk it all because I had experienced, and come to know the superior taste of the sweeter berries.

Life is a lot like the scary parts of that ditch, and the fruit experienced at its most precarious locations. We sometimes find ourselves in places where we risk falling, getting scraped and cut, and often that does happen. Life has a way of cutting us up, but God has a way of carving us from our slips and falls.

As I look back now, the sweetest and most nourishing fruit has been acquired in the most treacherous places. Sure, life is good when I am living on level land, but oh to taste the fruit of growth that only happens when we are in the ravenous ravines. It is here where we gain the sweetest rewards. Unlike capturing the berries, we may not immediately taste the sweetness of life’s valleys.

As I came to know the nature of those dangerous berries by taste, though, so I have come to know the character of God also through experience. If we are looking for God not just in the safe places but in the scary ones, too; if we know His faithfulness, we have confidence what joy awaits us. Experiencing God is what gives us the endurance and the strength to persevere through all the ditches we fall into throughout life. Also, knowing Him gives us the courage to get up and keep pursuing life, not from a position of safety but surrender. God enables us to walk victoriously through life’s intimidating places. Psalm 18:33 promises us this: He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

The fruit found in our most perilous places yields the greatest growth and the sweetest victories. If you are walking a rocky road right now, be encouraged. Dirt roads are paved with fertile soil.

 

Even If

- dannalundstrom

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I was sitting on my counselor’s couch Thursday, and we were talking.  She has several large picture windows in her office, and it is up high, so I often feel like I am sitting in the trees, so close to the big blue sky that I could reach out and stroke my hand through the white, puffy clouds. This day the sky was particularly beautiful. Like a sea of bright, unadulterated baby blue.  As I talked to her, my attention kept being drawn to the beauty of the sky.

I was explaining to her my need to stay in the moment every day as to prevent events on the horizon from sabotaging my peace.  Taking every thought captive to the obedience of The Lord is imperative for me. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

As I continued talking I told her,”I want to sit here and ask you, what if this happens; or what if this, what if, what if, what if.  At the very moment I finished those words, my mind was interrupted.  There was a pause in my spirit, and The Lord planted a crucial truth in my heart.  The words spilled out of my mouth before even realizing it.  In that moment God said, D’Anna, you are asking the wrong question.  Remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?  They never asked what if, they confidently and courageously stated, “Even If.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were the three pious, Jewish, youths thrown into a “fiery furnace” by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon because they refused to bow down to the king’s image according to chapter 3 of the book of Daniel.  The three replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us.  But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”  As the chapter goes on to relate, the three were bound up and thrown into the fiery furnace.  Much to Nebuchadnezzar’s amazement they were seen walking around unbound with a fourth person who looked like a God in the furnace.  The king ordered the men to come out.  Not a hair on their head had been harmed, and the king exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego!”  (Daniel 3)

How often are we letting our minds become battlefields; wandering around asking, “what if?”  When we enter the “furnaces of life”, what questions are we asking, and how are we viewing God; absolute or apathetic?  I am thankful the Lord reminded me of this valuable truth on Thursday.  I pray I never again forget not to ask what if; but with confidence and trust in my Savior to say, “even if.” Even if it does not work out as I see it, I will still stand with faith in my God who works all things for my good because I know He loves me! (Romans 8:28)

…And The Light Cannot Be Extinguisged

- dannalundstrom

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More and more the theme of my days seems to be an abundance of friends who are enduring hard times. Seasons that squeeze the wind out of the sails of souls, and disrupt the dance of beating hearts.  Last night I lit a fire, and as I sat praying and gazing at the fire I was drawn to the light.  It was as if I was being nudged to come closer and look with further scrutiny.  I went and sat on the hearth and was drawn into the sight of the fire.  I was so captivated by the bright light that I failed to notice until I got close, that surrounding the beautiful, brilliant flames was a lot of smoke.  The smoke, however, did not dim, disturb or diminish the multiple, flickering flames.  It occured to me that life is a lot like that fire.  Even though we do our best to build things just right and keep our light burning bright, there will always be smoke around.  It actually appears that the brighter we burn for Christ the heavier the smoke.  One fact for certain, if the fire is burning bright, the smoke cannot disturb its brilliance or perseverance without our permission that in times of chaos has to be guarded everyday.  Right to keep your lights burning, friends. You are loved!

Our Father Is Bigger

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

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The last month The LORD has been working a lot in my heart.   Specifically in two ways I am aware of and probably in others that I am unconsciously aware, too.   Life is hard!   Parenting is hard.   Marriage is hard.   Relationships are hard.   Life is hard!

Recently we have been dealing with a difficult issue that broke my heart for all parties involved that arose from gossip.   I think we all forget, gossip is a sin.   I know I have to be very mindful of it.   A very knowledgeable friend gave me the best advice I have ever received regarding gossip; ”If you are not part of the problem or the solution, then you should not be talking.”   That is very sound counsel that I try to use as a filter for my words before I speak. I am imperfect.   I am also vulnerable to the devastation of gossip, as is everyone breathing.  

As I have been reeling in pain lately, an older, wiser friend reminded me, “D’Anna, God your Father is much greater than you a mother, spouse, daughter, friend…”   At that moment, her words were the balm for my aching soul.   Although I was deeply affected by what happened, I was reminded I was not, and never am fully in charge of anyone’s well-being, even my children.   God is in charge, and His ways are always perfect, although sometimes very painful!  

The second way the Lord has been refining me is that I did not realize how much responsibility I was carrying for people’s actions around me.   I am quick to forget that I am only responsible for myself, and while I may play a role in how people act, I am not responsible.   They are!   Taking responsibility has been a tremendous amount of weight I have been bearing.  

Recently when I was sitting in quiet reflection, these words became audible in my head.   “No matter how someone acts, it should not affect how you are called to react.”   Does that mean I do not respond at all?   No. It simply means God originally designed me to react in a manner that is pleasing to Him, not me.   Also, I am not responsible for the actions of others–they are.   Friends, starting to understand that concept is the beginning of a large dose of freedom.   Practicing this has allowed me to love better and live bolder.   It is like getting a haircut, having a thorough house cleaning or getting all the laundry done. You just feel lighter!

Taking on the responsibility for the actions of others crushes us and allows the enemy to win.   He does not want us delivered; he wants us defeated.   Taking the liability for your prodigal child, your struggling spouse, your suffering friend or whomever in your life that you are enmeshed with creates insanity.   We definitely have a role in the lives and circumstances of the people we love, but NOT ultimate responsibility.   God The Father is much bigger than we the (fill in the blank.)   Who are you bearing responsibility for today?   Lay them at the feet of Jesus and pray for them because YOU cannot perfect them.   May you all be free to let your Father be in charge today and every day.