December | 2013 | Blessed to be Broken

The gift that keeps on giving

by Trish Cordell

I was afforded the amazing opportunity to be a part of my very first ever book launch. What an experience it has been to be a part of “Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe,” by renowned author Sharon Jaynes. Today’s society is lambasted with a different kind of “plague.” There are all kinds of sin that have been “socially accepted.” I don’t know about you, but I want to make sure I have every bit of Godly wisdom “standing at the ready,” so I can defeat the Enemy’s attacks. I believe Sharon Jaynes has given us just that…she created a wonderful tool for married women to pray for their husbands. Bonus!! As a single gal, I can totally use this same book to pray for my future husband.

That’s right, I’m not married (as some of you already know) but that shouldn’t stop me from praying for a godly man to enter my life. What better way to get on track with the type of man I seek than to start praying for him right now?

I’m sure some of you may be thinking…pray for my husband? Why would I pray for my husband when I could just “knock some sense into him?” (figuratively speaking of course) Praying for him, releases it all to God. You may know of Him. He is after all the one who created both you and your husband. So it’s safe to say, God is the expert here on knowing what’s best for your husband. So when you pray for your hubby, you’re speaking to the One who truly knows how to navigate your man through this sin-filled world.

As I read through this amazing book I found myself wrapped up in the words Sharon Jaynes masterfully weaved together with scripture to guide me as I prayed for my future husband. She states “While we don’t have authority over our husbands, we do have authority over the Enemy who seeks to harm him (Luke 10:19). Through prayer, the Enemy’s plans are intercepted; the principalities and authorities are defeated. Through prayer, the power and provision of God flow into the lives of His people.” It’s important also that we realize as Sharon states “Prayer is not for the purpose of getting your husband to do what you want him to do when you want him to do it.” That job belongs to God.

You will be praying very intentionally over your husband. You will be praying for his mind, eyes, ears, mouth, neck, shoulders, heart, back, arms, hands, his ring finger, side, his sexuality, legs, knees and feet. And I dare say, as you pray for you husband, you will start to see a change in you. I know God sure opened my eyes in areas I was over looking. This “book” is not just a “book.” It’s a tool to help you pray in areas you may have never considered before. If you’re like me, maybe you didn’t know how to incorporate scripture into your prayer. We all know Jesus defeated Satan with scripture. He knew how to overcome and annihilate the Enemy’s attacks with the Word of God. You have the same power to pray for your husband and this book will most surely get you on your way!!

Ladies, if you have ten minutes to play on Facebook, watch television, or the like, you have ten minutes to invest in your husband. I can’t think of a better way to love on my man than to partner with God for his well being. And hey, if it helps your man, it helps you too. How great is that?!!

Men, you can take charge here as well. Maybe you don’t know how to ask your wife to pray for you. There’s no shame in that, and if you can’t ask, then you can give your honey this gift on your behalf.

You know, none of us are mind readers when it comes knowing exactly what our spouses need. Only God knows that. But what we can do is help each other out and this gift can be used over and over again. Now, that’s something I know I can sure use!!

Still unsure if this book is for you? Then head on over to Sharon Jaynes site and check it out for yourself!!

http://sharonjaynes.com/praying-for-your-husband/#sthash.AIRVnbGc.dpbs

My sincere heartfelt thanks to Sharon Jaynes for this book and for allowing me to be part of the launch team. May God bless you and your families abundantly 🙂

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Danger–Do Not Enter

by Trish Cordell

Did you ever really notice just how many road signs there are? There are even some where I’m like, what does that one mean? Good grief I’m ever so thankful I already passed my driver’s test. But as I looked ahead today as I was driving, I saw a “do not enter,” sign. Pretty clear to me that if I were to enter where I’m directed not to go, I could potentially put myself and others in a disastrous situation.

There are all kinds of roads signs that are posted in an attempt to keep all drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, etc., safe from obvious dangers. There are signs like, “caution,” “stop,” “no entry,” “yield,” and “wrong way,” just to name a few. These signs come in all shapes and sizes. They are permanent, temporary, flashing and even reflective. They’re all meant to “get your attention.”

An obedient driver will pay heed to the signs that warn them of impending danger. Then it hit me. No pun intended. Why would we adapt and follow so easily to these types of directions, but not to the warnings and directions given to us by God to follow? Why do we choose to “walk” when the flashing red hand says “don’t walk?” Why do we speed up through the yellow caution traffic signal and chance getting caught going through the “red light?” Why do we “go” when He’s given clear instruction on when to “stop?” Why do we take our defenses down and wind up going the “wrong way?” It’s not like He gave us those Commandments to keep us from something good. He knows all too well if we drive on past the danger signs He’s given, inevitably we,His children, will get hurt.

So what does God have to do to “get our attention?” He’s given us a manual to follow…it’s called the Bible. Comes in all kinds of versions; soft cover, hard cover, electronically, and yea, they got lots of apps for that!! Plus, its chock full of stories that anyone can relate to…there’s history, drama, mystery, romance, horror, (just to name a few) and my favorite, self-help. I’ve even heard the Bible means “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.”

I know at some point in your day you “think” about Him. Maybe you don’t even realize it, but you do. It may not always be in a technically “positive” way. It may be in the way of curse words….the ones He tells us not to use as we take His name in vain. Yet, there it is, all over the place; bleeped out on television shows, said in all different kinds of movies and even in songs where we freely take His name in vain. And maybe you didn’t say it, but someone else did, so He just came up in “conversation.”

You “think” about Him when something bad unexpected happens and you ask “why, God?” and then you might even pray when you don’t normally pray.

You even “think” about Him in bed….you know, the times when in no way is your sexual partner God, but you exclaim “oh god.”

See, even when you don’t think He’s there….He’s there!! But, hey, at least you’re “thinking” about Him and that’s a good thing. So now that you’re aware, what else does He have to do to get your “attention?” Perform a few miracles perhaps? I could direct you back to the Bible, but let’s take a look at something a little in your face obvious…If you’re reading this, you’re alive…so, there’s the very first one…you’re the miracle. I’m sure if you look back over more of your life, you’ll see plenty more.

God’s manual, His direction for our lives is meant for our well-being, our safety and yet every day, we ignore or push past the obvious dangers and walk into the very fires He wants to keep us from. He says “don’t,” and we “do.” He says “stop,” and we “go.” He says “love,” and we “hate.” He says “peace,” and we “war.” He says “forgive,” and we “grudge.” Jesus Christ came so that we could “live,” yet each day when we don’t deny self, we “die.”

We can save ourselves a lot of heartache and hurt if we just wake-up and take direction from the Only One who wants the absolute best for us. We may not be able to walk the path perfectly, but we can rely and trust on the One who will perfectly direct our path. All we need do, is simply heed His very well thought out Commandments. Jesus is the Only Way!!

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The Blame Game

by Trish Cordell

It’s been happening ever since we heard about Adam and Eve. Eve blamed the serpent for eating the fruit she was forbidden to eat, Adam blamed Eve and the serpent and so it begins. But, did you notice what happened to Eve? How about Adam? Did Adam get away with what Eve “made” him do? Did he suffer a less consequence because Eve ate the forbidden fruit first, or did he suffer the consequence of his own actions? If you answered that he suffered the consequence of his own actions, then, ding, ding, ding….you win.

No one wins in the blame game. When I stand in front of my Father, will whoever I chose to blame for my actions be standing with me on judgment day? I think not. But, how funny would that be to glance over and see my accomplice or scapegoat and point and proclaim…”it was all their fault.” Do I really think I could stand in front of Him, He without sin and say… “that sin of adultery was soooo not my fault. No, no, no, I was drunk and soooo…..yea….the alcohol brought down my inhibitions and well, I wasn’t in my right frame of mind. And, hellooo, let me just add I didn’t commit adultery by myself….after all, I had a partner. You saw that, right? They took advantage of ME.” Insert Cheshire cat like grin here because I was just ever so clever justifying my sin away.

Better not get too comfortable patting myself on the back because I’m pretty sure the blame game might “work” here on earth, but I’m for certain it ain’t a gonna fly with the One who very specifically said…”Thou shalt not.” There’s a whole list of those pesky “Thou shalt nots.” They’re very specific and geared for our safety and well being. When was the last time you took a good look at His Commandments? Break one, break them all. Sin is sin, no matter how big or how small. You can’t ignore it, you can’t justify it, and you can’t blame anyone or anything else. You have to be able to stand on your own merit and claim it. Otherwise, how do you repent? How do get the forgiveness He wants to give you? How do you live the life He wants for you? Oh, that’s right, you don’t!!

What sin are you holding onto by blaming someone or something else? As you read that, did something “pop” into your head? It’s there because you can’t wish or will it away. It will always come back until you lay your claim to it, repent and seek forgiveness from the Only One who can wash away that which takes up negative space in your being. I say being, because sin doesn’t just affect your head. It affects your health, and it affects the person you can’t be because you’re too worried that someone may find out your “dirty little secret.” How exhausting is that?!! Trying to constantly hide behind your sin is no way to live. Oh, the enemy loves for you to live your life this way. In fact, he hopes you get totally reconciled with your sin so that you can do the next bad thing that will put you even more under his control. I don’t know about you, but I never want to be OK with my sin. I want it gone. Confession is good for the “soul.” If it’s good for the soul, it’s totally good for you and those around you!! May not be easy to stand on your sin, but it’s gonna be way easier than carrying it with you where ever you go. Time to get out from under that mess and get your life back on track. Let go, and let God!!

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His Grace Covers

by Trish Cordell

I love my mother, but I can’t say I always like my mother. Now I could go into the thousand little things that rub me the wrong way about her, but we’re taught as Christians for our words to uplift not tear down. On the flip side, I”m sure I have the propensity to rub her the wrong way as well. Although, I can’t imagine that (total sarcasm). Maybe that’s part of the reason when it was time to leave home, I went sprinting for the nearest way outta dodge, so to speak. For 20 of those years I was fortunate enough to live just about as far away from NY as I could get while still being in the US. Key words being “just about.”

Living in AK. I learned a thing or two about moose. I was intrigued by these lovable monstrosities. I loved the way they sauntered from yard to yard, neighborhood to neighborhood, and right out into traffic without a care in the world. The only time I ever really heard of a moose getting all riled up was if you got too close to the baby moose. Thankfully, I was never witness to such a scene. I knew if I saw a young ‘un, I’d better high tail it in another direction. I would cross the street, go through ditches, scale fences if need be and stay inside the safety of whatever building or vehicle I was in until the “danger” was over.

It was something I could see, something I knew I could avoid. It’s easy to avoid the danger when it’s out in plain view. But what about the times when the danger isn’t obvious and you don’t see the “attack” coming, or as you see the “attack” coming, instead of running in the other direction, you run head on, full steam ahead?

Before Christ, I always chose to head into the fray with my mom in full steam ahead mode. Oh, how that woman could push every single one of my “how dare she…who does she think she is” buttons. I’m a grown woman after all and I don’t have to live the life she thinks I need to live and then…… ”who is she….like she didn’t make a mess of her life,” and seriously, “what did she have to offer me?”

Sometimes I felt quite victorious when we both hung up in fits of anger. Better yet, now I wouldn’t have to speak with her for weeks, cause I sure wasn’t going to apologize for the argument she started. How awesome was I that I just put the smack down on my mom and used all the big words I know to put her in her place? Can anyone relate? If you can, then you know, the weeks afterward that you didn’t speak, weren’t peaceful, because the argument was replayed over and over inside your head. It was then that I would think of things I could’ve said to prove my points even better. In fact, I would think to myself, “when I speak to my mom again, I’m so working those points into the conversation.” Harrumph…I’ll show her!!

How unhealthy is that? Can you just feel the burden I placed on my “victorious” self? There’s a reason God says, “In your anger do not sin:” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,” Ephesians 4:26 (NIV) Anger is not from God, He is a God of peace. The enemy will have you replaying the hurtful event over and over. Why? It’s simple really…because your focus is now where the enemy wants it. Is it on the goodness of God? No!! You’re now playing all over the devil’s playground, and I don’t know about you, but my experiences there have taught me that playground straight up sucks!

Therein lies God’s amazing grace. Christ came in, plucked me out of the pit, I dug over the years and rescued me. Every day He lovingly shows/guides me with His Word on how to be the person He created me to be. Now, that’s a realm where I can flourish and grow and play to my heart’s content. By being obedient and submissive to His teachings, I can go to Him any time of the day or night and cry out to my Daddy for assurance of who I am in Him and receive all the love He has to give. In case you haven’t heard, God’s love doesn’t run out. Can I get an Amen!!

I would like to say I have it all figured out, that I know exactly how to deal with my mom and she can’t phase me at all with her words. But, that’s not true. To be honest, I sometimes feel even more vulnerable when an “attack” happens. She still has the “power” to make my heart hurt, and tears fall down my face. But, there’s a huge difference now. While I may want to feed into the unhealthy frenzy, I know I don’t have to defend myself and who I am to her. I am accepted and loved just how I am by the King and Creator of the Universe!!

When I feel offended or hurt by what my mom says, I have a solid Rock to stand on. I can go to the Word of my Father and receive what He tells me about who I am in Him. And if I “blow it,” I can go to my Father with a repentive heart and His Grace Covers me. Doesn’t give me the license to sin freely, just lets me know, when I make a mess, I don’t have to wallow in it. And neither do you!! Let the Grace of God cover you, then take that godly grace and share it abundantly. Oh, and don’t be surprised if you have to be the one to apologize first, the results may just surprise you!! And as I make my trek with God, I can see how He’s working in her life, and the small changes being made in her, but I more notice the changes He is doing in me. And while I still stumble, I’ve never been more at peace with my life. Thank you Lord, for calling my name!!

Have you made peace with our Savior? Do you feel that something is just not right, that there must be something more? That’s not a worldly “thing” calling out to you…that’s your Heavenly Father. No earthly “treasure” can fill that void. I know, I tried for far too many years to fill it with all the wrong things. Will you answer His call? I guarantee He won’t hang up and His treasure won’t fail and can’t be taken from you!!

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