House Divided

As March Madness ​wraps up​​, the remaining four teams will battle it out this Saturday for the opportunity to play once more for the championship trophy. There have been upsets, blowouts, and the heart-wrenching one point losses and wins that come each year, all while devoted fans talk smack to each other until their beloved team falls out of the competition.

We have followed teams throughout the season, ​predicting their placements, mourning their losses and celebrating their victories as if we're suiting up with the teams during practice each week. Now we find ourselves at the end, enjoying friendly banter over beer specials with new friends at the bar, or in my case, sitting in a booth and people-watching to avoid the sloppy drunk screaming some rambunctious fans enjoy to incite conflict.

These young men -- because I am completely sexist when it comes to watching College Basketball, #sorrynotsorry -- who have earned their place in the Final Four are preparing this week to handle their bidness on the court, each one of them with the goal of playing in the championship and walking away with the 1st place title.

Because the team I cheer for is no longer in the standings, I'm just looking forward to the last game and watching the faces of the players on the winning team as they take turns cutting the nets from the goals. That is one of my favorite parts. The excitement, the pride, the gratification, and so many other emotions are displayed on each of the players' faces according to their personalities.

There is another facet to this tournament that affects those involved and the journey on which they find themselves: the performance of these players during the tournament weighs heavily into the influence of those players' standings in the NBA draft, which follows in a few months.

Talk about pressure.

This year, though, there was a term I heard over and over that struck me much differently than any year prior.

Every time I heard the term "house divided," I found myself back in India, in the village of Kunduluru like I was watching myself in a movie.

Of course in sports, "house divided" refers to family members who cheer for opposing teams, often teams who share a rivalry.

But this time when I heard it, I felt like I was punched in the chest.

Here's what it looked like:

​Random fan talking to his buddy: "...yeah, man, I guess you'd call this a house divided."
A sip of my beer. 
Way to space out there, Brittany. What happened in that last play?
Another sip of beer.
Get yourself together, child. We don't cry in bars.
​A gulp of beer.
But maybe this is the perfect time to open up the conversation?
Back to reality as my friend screams, "HOW CAN THEY CALL THAT A FOUL?! Worst refs."
Maybe not.
Awareness sinks in.
"Can I get a refill please??"​

In the village of Kunduluru, we learned that there actually was a well present, giving the villagers access to clean water. It just was not available for Christians to use.

As I wrote about before, those who converted to Christianity from Hinduism are demoted to the lowest caste system in their society. Even if there is a well in that village, those who profess their belief in Jesus Christ are forbidden to use it. That is why we had the opportunity to serve that specific village because of their large (in comparison) Christian population by building a well there.

These villagers know that if they turn away from everything they have learned their entire lives it means giving up their basic human rights to clean water and becoming the pariah of their society. Even still, their hearts are so full, their hope so pure, that they choose to follow Jesus because they trust that He will provide their every need.

Overwhelming.

And that's not, by any means, the only powerful mark of missions that happened during that village visit.

Our team received the beautiful gift of meeting a man who formerly practiced witchcraft and through the sharing and living out of the Gospel from the local pastor in that village, this man and his two daughters accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Chills.

But there's one more thing....his wife still practices witchcraft. CHILLS.

House divided.

This man has found so much freedom in Christ that he literally did a complete 180 and chose to leave his old ways behind and step into the new life that Jesus provides, and his daughters chose to join him.

Unfortunately, there is still something holding this wife and mother back.

You can now imagine why when I heard "house divided" at the bar, I found myself rolling my eyes at the potential of a husband sleeping on his couch due to the outcome of a sporting competition when my heart was breaking for this husband who may be sleeping next to his wife who practices the unmitigated opposite of everything he believes.

During March Madness, brackets are at stake.

Not trying to throw a Jesus Juke at you, but I couldn't help thinking how much those brackets do not matter because lives are at stake.

Souls are at stake.

Households are divided, but praise God that Jesus is winning and the Lord gets the glory. 

Just like these players who train to compete at the top of their performance level, vying for a chance to impress recruiters who can change the course of their lives, we should be training, as well.

There is one person who can change the course of our lives and His name is Jesus.

As Christ-followers, we should be altering our daily regimens so that when God calls and says "I want you on my team" all we have to do is sign the papers of obedience. And oh, what a signing party that should be. 

But once we join the team, we should be so concerned with helping our brothers, sisters, neighbors and others train so that they can answer the call, as well.

As I pray specifically for that family in Kunduluru to come together and for the Holy Spirit to rest upon this woman in such an undeniable way that she has no other option but to accept Jesus Christ and join her family in worship, I pray for all of the houses divided.

I pray for those of you who are experiencing a divorce, or who are on the other side of that traumatic time. I pray that God would heal your heart and fill it so full of Himself that there is no possible way you can doubt you are whole.

I pray for those who are contemplating a divorce, that you will allow God to mend your relationship and make your divided home one again.

I pray for those who aren't even aware of the danger coming from your house slowly splitting. That blind eyes would be opened and deaf ears would hear God calling you to love your spouses as Christ loves His church.

I pray for those who are in unequally yoked relationships. I pray that your love for your significant other does not rest in selfishness in wanting to stay in the relationship for your own purposes, but that your love for God helps you to recognize that He should be the center of your life and your potential life with your mate.

I pray for those whose hearts are divided. You may want to step into the new life God has called you to, but you haven't broken the chains of your old life. Do it. Pray to God. Accept Jesus. Praise the Lord.

As I pray, I ask that all who are reading this join me.

I will no longer stand for houses divided.

Please tell me you won't either.

"One time Jesus entered a house,

and the crowds began to gather again.

Soon he and his disciples couldn't even find time to eat.

When his family heard what was happening,

they tried to take him away. 

'He's out of his mind,' they said.

But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said,

'He's possessed by Satan,

the prince of demons. 

That's where he gets the power to cast out demons.'

Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration.

'How can Satan cast out Satan?' he asked.

'A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.

Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

And if Satan is divided and fights against himself,

how can he stand?

He would never survive.

Let me illustrate this further. 

Who is powerful enough to enter the house

of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods?

Only someone even stronger -- 

someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.

I tell you the truth,

all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven,

but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.

This is a sin with eternal consequences.'"

Mark 3:20-29 (NLT)

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A Different Kind of Tithe Challenge

Right now my church is in a series called “All In.” It’s about taking all of the chips God has given us and “putting them on the table.” Taking the gifts and blessings and having enough faith in God to put everything we have — every fear, every concern, every doubt — and giving them over to our Father, watching Him honor our steps of obedience. It truly has been a wonderful series.

Just a couple of weeks ago, our pastors also introduced our annual tithe challenge. As a current tither, I’ll admit, I have found great joy in listening to the testimonies of people in our church family who have accepted the tithe challenge and are so excited to share what God is already doing in their lives, but I haven’t paid much attention past that.

Many years ago I made the decision to become a faithful tither after listening to some phenomenal teachings from my previous pastor and responding to the conviction placed in my heart. As he and my current pastor both agree, tithing is not just giving God ten percent of our paycheck. It is returning to the storehouse a small part of what already belongs to God. We are only stewards of the things of this earth, and frankly, rather than having a spirit of entitlement because we “worked hard for our money,” we should adopt a spirit of gratitude that He trusts us enough with what is His.

There is so much more to tithing that I will not get into in this post, but if you’re interesting in learning from some top notch teachers of the Word, I can certainly share some resources.

Anyway, I made the decision to tithe and I never turned back. Even during my time of unemployment, I would tithe from the little bit of money I made babysitting and eventually substitute teaching.

By no means was this without struggle. There have been plenty of days when I wrestled with God. But at the end of the day I always rested in the truth that even that little bit wasn’t mine to begin with and I tithed out of the gratefulness in my heart for all The Lord had done for me at that point, and what I was believing for in the future.

To share a small part of my own testimony, in addition to the many blessings God has bestowed upon me, in my current position I am able to give a monthly offering above and beyond my regular tithe that is the equivalent of what my tithes were for the past five years in my previous job roles.

It is not all about money, but there is no one on this Earth who can tell me God is not faithful.

However, there is one principle about tithing I have been neglecting. Tithing is about giving God our first and our best. I realized today, though I have been tithing faithfully with my money, I have not been giving God the first or the best of my time.

This afternoon, the Apprentice Team, of which I am apart under the leadership of our Children’s Ministry directors, had our monthly meeting and one of our discussion questions asked what part of the body we felt we were.

“The human body has many parts,

but the many parts make up one whole body.

So it is with the body of Christ…

…Yes, the body has many different parts,

not just one part...

And if the ear says, ‘I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,’

would that make it any less a part of the body?

If the whole body were an eye,

how would you hear?

Or if your whole body were an ear, 

how would you smell anything?"

1 Corinthians 12:12, 14, 16-17 (NLT)

We were instructed not to come up with an actual body part, because that’s creepy, but a characteristic or description of what body part we thought we were. I couldn’t think of one for myself, but the ladies at my table with whom I serve on a regular basis agreed that I am “The Joyful One.”

It was both humbling and encouraging to hear that from these women I value so much. There are many days in my current season where I am just plain weary. Traveling regionally for my job has me on the road a great deal, and leaving the house at 6:30am or earlier many days and not getting home until after 9pm due to babysitting or after-work meetings, I find myself tired a lot and shamefully, I find myself complaining a lot.

I am well aware that this is something working parents deal with every day, but as someone who has not yet been blessed with a husband or children, sometimes I just sigh and think “Well Father, if you have me walking this single life, can I at least get some of the benefits of it, like a quiet home and no Cheerios in my shoes or snot on my shirt?”

However, when I recognize that negative spirit of complaining, I remember that God is not giving me these opportunities to hurt me, but to stretch me. Whether it’s growing me in the participation of these activities, or in teaching me to exercise appropriate boundaries, complaint is not part of the lesson The Lord is teaching me.

(I do fully believe He is giving me plenty of examples to use with my future husband when it’s time to prove why I need to be a stay-at-home mother, though!)

As mentioned before, I volunteer on a regular basis at church, and like so many others I am also a part of different discipleship groups, Life Groups and simply enjoy attending special events opened up to the congregation and community.

I share this not to brag, but to be transparent. In this time when I am spending so much time in God’s house, preparing to lead His precious flock, I have crept dangerously close to neglecting to spend time with God Himself.

It happens so easily.

The early wake up calls lead to praying in the shower. The long drives lead to listening to podcasts in the car. Preparing for group discussions leads to opening my Bible to make sure I can answer the questions that will be asked. But then what?

Reading blogs about Jesus and devotions that come to my inbox on my lunch break is not a bad thing.

In fact, none of these things are.

However, replacing the intentional act of spending time meditating on the Word with these other avenues God uses to share His message with His children is a bad thing.

And that is why I have created a different kind of tithe challenge for myself in this season: tithing the first and the best of my time.

Often when we begin tithing, it is a financial sacrifice. The main reason we hear from people who do not tithe is that every time they crunch the numbers, they can’t see how they will possibly have enough money to tithe. Their budgets are already stretched to the maximum, and by earthly standards, it does not make sense to tithe.

That's how I feel about my schedule right now. No margin. 

Oh, but God.

I love how He shows us time after time that He delights in taking what doesn’t make sense to us and performing the miraculous with it.

So why can’t I…why shouldn’t I…consider this same principle with my time?

In the same way the tithe is giving God back a portion of the money He has gifted us, if He wakes me up each morning shall I not intentionally work to give Him back a portion of that time, as well?

I have been working to create margin in my life so that I can spend more time in God’s word, especially in the light of a huge life-changing call I am in the process of answering, but I have failed. And I feel like I have failed because I’ve been trying to do it all myself.

So I am going to move forward with this challenge, and just start by giving God back what is His and letting Him create the margin in my life.

I'm going to give God back the first and best of my time. It will be a sacrifice, no doubt. I can't imagine waking up earlier than my current 5:30am call, but the sacrifice will make the experience that much more precious.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,

teaching and admonishing one another

in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)

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When Your Thoughts and Your Faith Don't Match

I had an amazing dinner last night with two of the most special people in my life. Driving home I just savored the thought of the blessings I have experienced just by knowing them. Then this morning happened. And it was rough. Really rough. The enemy does not like us to be grateful.

In that delicate space between recalling a dream and being fully awake and alert, I realized I was having thoughts I'd rather not have and I could not shake them, and let's just say that does not make for a "Rise and Shine" attitude from this young lady here. In fact, frustration turned to anger then to self-pity.

I know I am blessed. I know I am loved. So why is this one thing bothering me? I have an amazing job, incredible friends I see every day, an outstanding family of faith and church where I can't wait until the next opportunity to attend or serve. Why, God, can't I just focus on the gifts you have given me and not this one stressful factor?

The same words went through my head with each emotion. Those words came out in a sigh of frustration, they came out in a shout of anger, and they came out in a cry of self-pity.

All before 6 am. I told y'all...it was rough.

Laying with my head under the covers, I went from trying to pray away those thoughts, to praying for a particular person, to moving the focus from myself by praying for other friends and family members, to begging God to fill this absence... because He's all I need, right? 

When nothing seemed to make me feel better, I just got out of bed and decided to have a good day.

That was that. I needed to make a decision and act on it.

Because sometimes we try to take control back from God, but sometimes we use Him as a crutch and we pray for things that we are fully capable, through the power He has given us, of handling ourselves.

Decision made.

Shower. Makeup. Throw a few bobby pins into this lion's mane called hair. Grab a dress from the closet, because Praise Jehovah, it's gonna be 77 today! Rummage through the clothes on my "laundry chair" to find a cardigan I've probably worn no less than 3 times since the last wash.

Keep busy. Keep talking to God. Keep busy. Keep talking to God. Eventually the thoughts will go away.

Right as I was walking into my training location for today, I read the following post on a friend, mentor, brother's Facebook wall:

God has released power in your life today. 

Everything you need is within you. 

God has placed the seeds of power, love, and peace in your heart, 

and you're about to see what He's been planning for you all along. 

Expect to be in the right place at the right time to meet the right people...TODAY!

Oh...thank...you...Jesus. Thank you for sending that reminder that even when we need to just move, you still remember the cries of our hearts and answer those prayers.

I start reciting...I will be in the right place at the right time. I will meet the right people. They will be in the right place at the right time. There is nothing I have to do except follow the steps You have prepared for me. You have released Your power in me, and because of that, I am going to be in the right place at the right time to meet the right people...TODAY!

I stop reciting...because I look bat[crap] crazy talking to myself and I don't have a Bluetooth or headset to blame it on. But I walk into my classroom believing that I am going to be in the right place at the right time to meet the right people and I set up my training environment with a fresh perspective ready to take on the day.

One of my favorite students -- oh, I mean this lady I like a lot, since we "don't have favorites" -- was on the roster this morning. She's one of those people you work with and you think "we could definitely be friends outside of work." The kind that for every day since her first class last week, we hug at the end of class one day and remember to ask about the kid's birthday parties and friend's wedding plans at the beginning of the next class.

One of my other students joined us and I remembered teaching her a few months ago, and greeted her asking about her experience in her clinic so far. We discussed challenges and triumphs and then jumped into the material.

Who knew, we were in the right place...this was the right time...and she was the right person? 

Well, Someone knew.

Somehow during one of the breaks, we started to talk about stress and it's effect on health and things of that nature.

And lo and behold, the student became the teacher.

Her passion for this topic that she is able to travel throughout our company and present to other departments, as well as travel throughout the nation to lecture on, just spilled over and you better believe I was right there wiping it all up.

Please understand that what I share next is extraordinarily paraphrased. I know nothing about the science behind this, so don't ask me any questions.

As she dove into her explanation about how thoughts are chemical and they are transmitted into energy, I was more than intrigued. I was enamored. It all made perfect sense, yet I had never learned it in this aspect before.

She asked if I felt if opposites attract?

I giggled, thinking of my experiences thus far, but she looked right at me and said, "No, I'm really asking you. What do you think?"

".....I don't even know," I stammered.

She then explained why the answer is {opposites do not attract.} She went into an illustration of placing a negative magnet and a positive magnet on a table and said "you call me when they come together, because you'll be sitting a long time."

"Thoughts are magnetic," she went on. "They only attract their likeness." The idea of opposites attract is null and void here. "So positive thoughts attract positivity, negative attracts negativity."

So you mean to tell me that my negative thoughts are not going to bring me positive energy?

Well, duh. I've heard this a million different ways, it just never clicked quite like this.

Just because I don't say my negative thoughts out loud doesn't mean they aren't festering inside, spreading to and taking over the positive thoughts like a cancer (really, like a cancer...we talked about the link between cancer and heart disease and thoughts and energies) causing decay.

If everything is energy, that includes thoughts and feelings. Thoughts and feelings are energy, too.

She went on to explain that if you have a negative thought, jealousy, worry, or fear, that neurotransmitter will be created in it's likeness and it will be a negative energy. That chemical messenger will transmit into the cells in the body, and that is what turns our cells into pathogens.

Fascinating. But again, don't ask me to expand on that explanation. 

So what do we do about these negative thoughts and feelings? 

What happens when we pray and pray and they don't seem to leave?

When we consciously tell ourselves, I know I am blessed and I have so much for which to be grateful, yet the thoughts still plague us?

Without me even asking the question out loud, she answered.

"The brain can't process no's and don't's, so when you have a negative thought, saying 'I don't want to think that' will not work. You just change it into a positive thought.

Her approach is not spiritual, but you can't dare tell me it doesn't apply.

"Set your mind on things above, 

not on earthly things." 

Colossians 3:2 (NLT)

Before you get all Holy Ghost on me, I am not opening up a theological debate. Nor am I suggesting a "Name It and Claim It" deal. 

I am simply sharing what God opened my eyes to today in the event that someone else reading this had a vulnerable moment (or a few), too, and needs to remember that science and faith are not mutually exclusive and that God created us in such a way that the intricate details of our very existence all point to the very things we believe. 

God's promises are in the Kingdom of Heaven. By His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53) may not be witnessed on this side of eternity, but it will happen. Does that mean we stop believing for it? Absolutely not!

Harping on negativity does not please God. No, God is pleased when we believe His word, when our faith in Him multiplies because of His faithfulness to us, because of His love for us.

We often refer to the following verse in regards to the fear and power portion, but we often (at least I'll admit, I often) pay no attention to the last two words.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear,

but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV, emphasis added)

Let us forget no longer.

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