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Feb 19
February 19, 2022
Outrageous & Contagious 10th Ladies Conference
Tifton, GA
With: Mary Southerland, Sharon Jaynes, and Gwen Smith
Apr 22
April 22-24, 2022
Girlfriends in God Women’s Conference
Asheville, NC
With: Mary Southerland, Sharon Jaynes and Gwen Smith
Apr 29
April 29, 2022
Youth Haven One-day Women’s Event
Rivers Junction, MI
With: Sharon Jaynes
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As I sat on my screened-in porch early one morning, I was taken aback with the beauty surrounding me. I held a steamy cup of coffee in my hand and placed my open, well-worn Bible in my lap. As if on cue, as had been our routine for the past several weeks, a visitor hopped from the shrubbery and onto the night-cooled patio. “Good morning, Peter,” I cooed to the little brown bunny. “How are you today?” I just love bunnies, I mused.![]()
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Just as I was enjoying watching my furry friend, he hopped over to a flowerpot, stood up on his hind legs, and yanked a rather large stem from a plant.![]()
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“Good grief,” I moaned. “Stop that!” Bounding down the steps, I came face-to-face with the wascally wabbit. “Stop eating my flowers,” I warned. “Get out of here. Shooo.”![]()
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Back on the porch, I grabbed my lukewarm coffee and placed my Bible back in my lap. It wasn’t long before a dainty hummingbird buzzed up to the hummingbird feeder just outside the screen. I watched in amazement as its wings fluttered and it hovered in mid-air. Iridescent colors of green and blue glistened in the sun. I just love hummingbirds, I whispered.![]()
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No sooner had the thought entered my head than a second hummingbird dive-bombed the first. Quickly a fight ensued. Beak to beak, they fought over the food. “Guys, stop it,” I pleaded as if they cared. “There are six perches and enough nectar for everybody! Good grief!” ![]()
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Taking a sip from my now cold coffee, I tried once again to concentrate on my open Bible. But in the corner of my mind, I saw our heron approaching. A beautiful heron lives on our lake and occasionally he passes our way. I marveled at his long legs pointing behind him and his slender beak leading the way. With exaggerated movements, he slowly flapped his magnificent blue-gray wings and glided before me. But then, like a Boeing 747 with a leak in the fuselage, a stream of poop fell from the bird and made a trail in the yard. ![]()
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“Good grief,” I moaned for the third time in one day.![]()
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Back to the Bible. As I tried to concentrate, God began speaking to my heart about what I had seen. Are you willing to take the good with the bad? He seemed to say.![]()
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You love bunnies and they eat your plants. You love hummingbirds but they constantly fight. You love the heron, but he makes a mess in your yard. Are you willing to take the good with the bad?![]()
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“Well, yes” I whispered to God. “I am willing to take the good with the bad. I love your creatures!”![]()
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What about people? He seemed to continue. If you are willing to take the good with the bad with mere animals, are you willing to take the good with the bad in people created in My image?![]()
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And then, as God so often does in my life, He left me to think about it. ![]()
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Paul’s words popped in my head: “And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:14 NIV).![]()
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I began to think about people in my life whom I have rejected or relationships that I have walked away from because of annoying behavior or emotional messiness. It seems I was willing to take the good with the bad with God’s creation—but when it came to people created in God’s image…not so much.![]()
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God always takes the good with the bad. ![]()
● Abraham believed God, but he also made some terrible mistakes, namely Hagar. ![]()
● David was a man after God’s own heart, but he committed murder and adultery. ![]()
● Jacob was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, but he was also a deceiver. ![]()
● Martha was hospitable, but she was also bossy. ![]()
● Andrew was loving, but he was also loud (he wasn’t called a son of thunder for nothing). ![]()
● Thomas was dutiful, but he was also doubtful. ![]()
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And then there’s the woman I look at in the mirror every morning. I’m not going to list my annoying qualities but let me tell you they are many. And yet, God takes the good with the bad. He loves me even when I make a mess. ![]()
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So, here’s the question for us today. Are we willing to take the good with the bad? Are we willing to overlook the annoying behavior of others and embrace their positive qualities instead? I’m going to leave you to think about it like God left me to think about it that morning. ![]()
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Heavenly Father, all I can say today is HELP! Help me be patient, loving, and kind. Help me to focus on the positives of others and shrug off the negatives. And Lord, help others do the same with me! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.![]()
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While I am not a big fan of television, I do enjoy watching home improvement shows. On a recent program, an interior decorator and homeowner discussed a list of changes that needed to be made to update the home. ![]()
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“First, we have to do something about those windows,” the decorator announced. I was surprised that she listed this task first – until I saw the house. ![]()
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The existing glass was not only an ugly shade of gold, but it was also thick and chunky. The windows let in no light and made it virtually impossible to see in or out. The result was a dark, isolated home. The distressed homeowner protested, “But I like my privacy. And if I thought anyone could see in, I would feel totally exposed.” Unfortunately, when it comes to dealing with depression, many people feel the same way. ![]()
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The holidays seem to tug at the masks we carefully hold in place. The arrival of certain family members can resurrect painful issues that have never really been resolved. Financial pressure opens up like a sinkhole, waiting to steal our joy. Schedules demand every ounce of energy, and false expectations leave us empty and hollow. The dark slimy pit waits for us to fall in. ![]()
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“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:29 NIV). ![]()
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When we are weak, He offers His strength. To deal with depression, we must first come to a place of total surrender to God and His plan of healing, even if we cannot see or understand that plan. We can count on the fact that the bottom line of God’s heart toward His children is always restoration.![]()
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Even the darkest moments hold treasures and truths that can bring us healing. ![]()
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“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name” (Isaiah 45:3 NIV).![]()
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But we sometimes construct walls over which no one can climb because the cost of friendship is too high. So, we fill the windows of our souls with emotional excuses to avoid dealing with pain. The result is darkness, loneliness, and missed opportunities for restoration. ![]()
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We don’t want to find the treasures our darkness holds; we simply want to get out of that pit. But there is power and strength in those treasures of darkness. Emotional health begins at the point of emotional integrity with a willingness to say, “I need help!” ![]()
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When clinical depression overwhelmed my life, my husband was the pastor of a large church in South Florida. We could choose to be transparent and real, or we could sweep my struggle under the rug. We concluded that to be right, we had to be real. ![]()
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Dan and I shared my battle with the staff, the deacons, and the entire church. Yes, we took a risk but learned an important lesson in doing so. A shared load is a lighter load. We were created to need each other. ![]()
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Until we are willing to risk being transparent, we can neither understand nor effectively deal with depression during the holidays or any other time of the year. ![]()
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The good news is that we can choose to make this Christmas different. Choose to give God praise. Choose to focus on the victories and joys you have experienced during the year, and then find ways to share that victory and joy with others. ![]()
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Christmas can be a true celebration of fresh starts and new beginnings if we choose to focus on a tiny baby born in a manger, come to save us, and give us true life. We can destroy the darkness if we choose to face and deal with whatever it holds. ![]()
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Right now, choose an attitude of joy by focusing your mind on the things of heaven – not earth, and by fixing your heart on Jesus Christ. Then, your Christmas chaos will turn into Christmas joy!![]()
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