Angela Parlin

So Much Beauty in All This Chaos

Are You Missing Rainbows? {Book Review & Giveaway~Choose Joy}

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choose joy ordinary beauty“I have been given so much and I have treasured so much and I have lost so much. And I am so grateful.” ~Choose Joy (page 114)

While dying from a terminal disease, Sara Frankl wrote these words on her blog. She was in her 30s, confined to her home with only her little dog Riley. She suffered immeasurable pain every day, pain that kept her awake at night.

For over a decade, Sara had been slowly losing her independence, losing her job and health and hobbies, losing the life she thought she’d have, losing her abilities one by one.

But she focused on all that she gained. The cry of her life was, “I am so blessed, people.”

Sara didn’t pretend she wasn’t dying. She didn’t fall into distractions to escape her real life.

Instead, she chose to see the ordinary beauty in her days. She made it one of her goals to fulfill God’s plan for her, by living the best life she could with what she’d been given.

She chose to look at her blessings more than her burdens.

She chose joy.

Whenever Sara started to feel unhappy with her circumstances, she purposely focused instead on things for which she was grateful–moments with people she held dear, nurses who came to the house to help her, blog readers who encouraged her. The birds singing outside her window, the breeze, the sunshine.

She decided to change her focus, and that made all the difference.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve struggled to choose gratefulness and joy when things are not going the “right” way.

Especially since becoming a Mom, and even more as a homeschooling Mom. I’ve noticed changes in my attitude when I purposely write out things I’m thankful for–but that’s the kind of practice I start and stop.

And the ugly truth is, some moments I don’t want to stop and think of things I’m thankful for. I feel entitled to being mad at someone instead. I feel entitled to complain.

Sara’s story brings me back to reality, reminding me of the bigger picture. It helps me get my focus off myself and what I want, which is often my problem.

Her words inspire me to greatness, but not the way I used to define greatness. She inspires me instead with a life submitted to God. She inspires me with surrender.

When life closed doors on her, she walked the difficult road of letting go. There, she found so much beauty in all the chaos. Day after day, she found beauty, right in the middle of her mess.

“It’s not about me; it’s about what He can do with me. My job is simply to pay attention and enjoy the rainbows.” (page 11)

There are always rainbows, friends. In your days, in my days, even in a life with a terminal diagnosis.

The question is–are you paying attention? If we focus on what’s going badly for us, we’ll miss the rainbows. Instead, let’s choose joy over despair. Let’s choose living over longing.

*I hope you want to read more on this topic, in Choose Joy: Finding Hope & Purpose When Life Hurts, by Sara Frankl & Mary Carver. Buy it here!

**Leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for a giveaway of this book. I will choose the lucky winner on Sunday, January 31 after 2 pm.

1/31 Update: Pat is the winner! Pat, I sent you a message and look forward to mailing the book to you this week! 🙂

choosejoy-cover

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The Fire Alive In You

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fire Word of GodI was just lying down to sleep, when out of the silence, I heard my little girl crying.

She had been asleep for a while, and woke up with a scary dream.

We laid there, talking about her dream, about how the enemy bothers her in the same way he often bothers me. I placed my hands on her beautiful head and prayed over her in the name of Jesus.

And then the best thing in all the world happened.

“Mommy, do you think you could read me some of my Bible now?”

My heart swelled. This is something I love about being with my kids day after day.

I have the privilege in this season of life, to lead these little people to the truth so many times–that they end up leading me to it.

What a joy to watch them accept God’s Word into their lives, into their questions, into their fears. This was just a little glimpse of that, but one for which I am grateful.

I had been studying Hebrews 4 for days, thinking about writing my next post in this series on the book of Hebrews.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The word FOR at the beginning of this verse tells us that it points backward to the previous verses. Because the Word is living, active, sharp, piercing, and discerning—we are to make every effort to enter God’s rest, {as I wrote in my last post on Hebrews 4}.

Just before this verse comes a warning–to NOT wander through life in restless unbelief.

Instead, we should trust God, persevere in faith, and fight unbelief by regularly putting the Word into our hearts and minds.

So let’s break down what this verse teaches us about the Word of God:

God’s Word is a Living Power.

The apostle John wrote this in one of his letters to the church~

I write to you young men, because you are strong and the Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 1 John 2:14b

The Word is not only alive and powerful, but it lives inside all of us who believe. That’s an incredible truth, isn’t it?

God’s Word is at work to accomplish His purposes.

So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

God’s Word is the sharpest sword.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17

God’s Word pierces down to our deepest parts.

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37, ESV

God’s Word exposes our true thoughts and motives.

“Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:29, NIV

Often, our motives are a mix of purely human and truly spiritual. We need God’s Word each day, to help us sort them out.

Is the Word of God like a burning fire within you, or has your flame died down?

May the living, powerful Word of God work in us today, like refining fire.

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From TGIF to DWTS

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assignment do for GodGrowing up, Friday nights meant Full House, and I was a huge fan.

Mom would make whole wheat pizzas and serve Sunkist orange soda. That was a big treat, with a health-nut-Mom. And we’d finish off the night with a big bowl of popcorn and T-G-I-F.

So I was thrilled a few years ago, to find out that DJ Tanner–I mean Candace Cameron Bure–loves Jesus, and had published a couple of books. Now I’ve been given the opportunity to review her 3rd book, which released in August, 2015.

Dancing Through Life

Dancing Through Life: Steps of Courage and Conviction is Candace’s personal reflection of her recent opportunity to compete on the hit show, Dancing With the Stars. I watched DWTS for the first time that season. Candace inspired me, week after week, with her grace and authenticity, both on and off the stage.

Throughout the show, Candace continually pointed fans to Jesus. It was obvious that her faith informed her decisions and actions. In Dancing Through Life, she gives us insight into her decision-making process as well as the input of wise people who surround her.

“Jesus has changed me from the inside out. I can’t help but to point others to Him.” ~Candace Cameron Bure

Maybe the most prominent theme of Dancing Through Life was Candace’s realization that she cares too much what people think of her. To put it biblically, she struggles with fear of man.

Don’t we all? My struggle looks a little different from hers, and yours will look different from mine. But to some extent, I think we all struggle with caring too much about other people’s opinions of us.

“Fear of man is the worry that we won’t measure up, that we will be criticized, that someone won’t approve of the choices we are making. The Bible calls this a trap. Why? Because fear of man works like a chain that binds us to public opinion.” (Candace Cameron Bure, Page 83)

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. Proverbs 29:25

Candace speaks about criticism from experience. If you follow her on social media, you know exactly what I mean. It’s heartbreaking sometimes, and the attacks come from all sides.

I admire her for continuing to step into the roles God gives her, even seeing her platform as part of God’s purpose for her life. I also appreciate her honesty and openness with readers, even though admitting these struggles invites additional attacks.

In the end, Candace connects her own story to that of her readers’. Our stories look different from hers, but she leaves us with this encouragement: Whatever our assignment in life, we have the opportunity to do it for the Lord.

“He wants your story to point to a bigger story of His great love for each of us.” ~Candace Cameron Bure

I highly recommend Dancing Through Life. Joy and encouragement jumped off the pages, and I walked away from the book, having grown along with the author. Grab a copy, and enjoy!

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Faith + Trust = Rest

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Rest Make Every EffortHow well are you resting these days?

That seems like a strange question to ask the first week of January, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t I focus on measurable goals and making something of 2016 instead?

Or does the quality of rest in our lives greatly affect the quality of our days?

Jesus desires to give each of us His rest, and in the gospels, He tells us how to enter into it. “Come to me,” He said, because He is the way. The transaction looks like this: When we come to Him, He gives us rest. Or we don’t come to Him, and then we miss out.

Make note of that–It’s possible for us to miss the rest He offers.

Hebrews 4 warns believers—don’t fall short of God’s rest.

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands–let us be careful–that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. Hebrews 4:1

So then, what is the rest God offers us?

In the fullest sense, God’s rest is a future promise–a heavenly resting place. We cannot enter into it by proving ourselves enough, or by hoping in our own skills and gifts and actions. It’s impossible. We are not that kind of righteous.

We only enter God’s rest through faith in the finished work of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we turn all the details of our lives over to Him, letting Jesus rule as our Lord, we enter His rest like never before.

But there’s more. While on earth, God’s offer of rest also involves a deep, settled peace that fills our hearts and minds, no matter what happens within our days.

How, then, do we be sure to enter His rest? Again, only by faith.

In the wilderness, the wandering Israelites lacked faith in God and His word. They doubted God’s plans and promises. They wanted to go back to what they knew, which was slavery. They didn’t trust God, so instead they lived in restless unbelief.

It doesn’t have to be like that for us!

Don’t fall short of God’s rest by failing to persevere in your faith.

Don’t become complacent with unbelief.

Don’t allow a sinful, unbelieving heart to move you away from God.

Instead, “Let us make every effort to enter that rest” (v. 11).

Let us fight unbelief with regular cleansing by the Word.

Let us strive diligently, to work out our faith, but never to hope in our works.

Do you struggle to trust everything in your life to Jesus? Do you have a hard time letting go of outcomes and relying on Him rather than on yourself?

Sometimes I do. But as I continue to work out my faith in God, I certainly find deeper rest.

Is your heart at rest in Jesus, friend?

It’s never too late to start there, whether 5 days into the new year or 50. Look to Him. Ask Him to help your unbelief. Be diligent to trust in and rely on Him. Enter His rest.

The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24, NLT

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To Be God’s Yes

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resolutionI have a love/hate relationship with New Year’s Resolutions. Mostly hate. Because I used to live striving to become a better version of me, and she was continually out of reach.

These days, it feels like everyone is always trying to improve themselves.

But it’s never enough. No one is content with where they are now. So many people seem to be striving to become something better rather than enjoying the journey.

I agree that growth is important. We’re here to learn and grow and love each other along the way.

I just think we have this idea that it’s all up to us. That WE can make things happen, so we work toward self-improvement and place our hope in all we could become or do, in how that might fix our lives.

But it doesn’t. It won’t.

Today’s guest post is from Pam Lenhart, otherwise known as MY MOM. She’s wise and deep and she loves Jesus and encouraging people. When I read her thoughts today, I knew they needed to be shared. Enjoy!

 

To Be God’s Yes

It seems every year there is a word or a thought that keeps coming back to me for the whole year.

TRUST was what the Lord reminded me to do for all of 2015, and 2014 was the reminder that I CAN trust God with everything.

That was the year my husband fell and had a brain injury that changed our lives. God wanted me to continue to trust Him through it all in 2015. He has walked us through so much.

As 2015 came to a close, (our pastor) Scott Lehr spoke on what is the faith step God wants you… to take as your Christmas gift to him?

The word that kept coming back to me was YES.

Do you remember the movie, Yes Man from a few years ago? I never did see it, but the previews showed that he had to say yes to everything anyone asked.

That could get you into a lot of trouble. Unless you are saying YES to whatever God wants of you.

I thought maybe He wanted me to be his “yes man”, er…woman.

I’ve been reading daily in Acts. The last couple days of 2015 I read about Peter in Acts chapter 10.

God took Peter down a notch. He gave him a new vision and changed his life. Then He told him some men were coming for him and to go without hesitation.

The next day Peter obeyed. He went with them. He became God’s yes man.

Ok, Lord, I see the pattern.

God sent Peter to a religious man who was good and respected, but not right with God–because he didn’t know he needed to surrender his life to Jesus Christ, the Savior. He needed to do things God’s way and follow him wholeheartedly.

Because Peter obeyed God, because he said YES and went without hesitation, God used him to introduce a good man to Jesus Christ for a total life change.

Yeah, I heard that, Lord. I get it.

So my resolution, goal, plan, prayer, however you want to say it, for 2016 is to be God’s YES.

To go without hesitation, without thinking it over, without wondering if that is really what God wants of me….. Just to say yes and go.

Now its out there and you can hold me accountable. And FYI, I’m not going to be perfect at it. Because, well, I’m a sinful, selfish, stubborn and weak person–saved by grace and loved unconditionally by my Savior and Lord.

What about you? What faith step does God have for you this year?

I’d love to hear about it.

 

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