Wednesday SHINE....
Today's Reading: Romans 12
Good morning, SHINE girls! ( i always feel like Ty Pennington, the guy from Extreme Home Make-over, when I say this.)
Happy Wonderful Wednesday!
Listen, do not forget to go to the SHINE weekday give-away post. I will be drawing a name this Friday! Yay!
Didn't we just LOVE Marsha's testimony yesterday? I mean, seriously, she is inspiring. I cannot wait to hug her pretty little neck one day. While doing so, I hope some of her grace, wisdom, and courage rubs off on me. I could use a little! (or a lot!)
Speaking of hugging necks, I hope to have another SHINE party soon. As of today, we have over 550 SHINE girls!! Can you believe it? We have grown a whole lot since January 1st! Spring would be a good time to get together. Let's all pray corporately about this.We could all bring a dish, and have some fun eating and socializing. Yippee!
Ok, my friend, Rebekah, will be posting today. She has awesome insight on Romans and extensive wisdom. She's my friend, counselor, sister in Christ, mentor, role-model, all combined into one pretty little package.
Be blessed today, girls.
Romans 12
Y’all—
I love that Paul’s heart is so full. He
is overflowing with the love of Christ and the Christian walk – he could explain it a thousand different
ways. (Sometimes, I think I am scratching my head-oh the details!) What I love even more is that no matter how
much we explain the love of Christ, it is SO simple. We can feel it, know it and understand it, so
can a child— by one simple act of faith. Life changing.
Ok,
for all of the SHINE sisters who have been with us since JAN 1st,
you know that our writer/creator of SHINE girls is, Jill Hill. I love what she has done and as humble as she
is, I can say- and she will admit- she is an encourager by nature. This is her gift. She is so inspired to encourage, that she lovingly
encourages us every morning (don’t you just love that?!) . . . but does the
“buck stop here?”
Jill said something to me recently that
was incredible. She said, “when a person
is reading the word like we are and being faithful to pray and be with God, the
Holy Spirit can work like never before.”
But, the truth is, we have to let Him work. We
have to follow his lead—
During
my Sunday morning church service, just before communion, the pastor is leading
us in a prayerful confession of sin.
First, silently, to ourselves and then all together, we say:
. . . We have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have
not loved our neighbors as ourselves. . .
We say this particular phrase
every Sunday. I have it memorized. Yet, somehow, the LEFT UNDONE part had never
quite hit me like it had that Sunday. “Left Undone” sounded like thunder all of the
sudden. Now, this might mean different
things to different people, but this particular morning, it’s meaning for me
was crystal clear!
I want to be a child of God, a SHINE
girl, encouraged every day with all of you and by all of you, grounded in the
word, grounded in prayer and then I actually want to SHINE. But, not in the traditional shiny sense. Well, not exactly. You see, I want to SHINE, Holy Spirit
inspired.
When I heard the words “left
undone,” bullet points started appearing
in my mind, one by one, and along with them, faces, names and acts that I had been reminded of or people
who I felt led to reach out to, but had not.
Those are those “left undone” things… that stay undone. *insert sad face here* We intentionally turn the volume down on these
things down. Who has time? We do…!
I want to encourage you to make a
“left undone” list. A Holy Spirit
inspired outreach. Your list might be
one thing that you have been putting off.
It might be four things, like me.
I started writing them down, right there before communion in my journal;
the “left undones” were headed to my TO DO list. :o)
~Write a note.
~Make a call- just to check on your “left undone” person. (Who is your
person? That God reminds you of?)
~Mail a package.
~Go out of your way to pay a compliment.
~Bake a cake? Yep, I said it.
~Forgiving, maybe-just-maybe?
Whatever
it is, give your SHINE away. If we have all of these loving thoughts
inside… that we leave locked away, unrevealed.. oh my! I totally do this!!
If
“every good and perfect gift is from the Lord… James 1:17,” I don’t want to be leaving the Lord,
essentially, locked away, undone! ...Yikes!
Jill also talks about “red birds,” little events
or life moments that are gifts from God. So that when you see them, you know
where they came from because they are just so good. I hope we can help the Lord create a few red
bird moments that He has been wanting to make happen. Encouraging and uplifting those around us! Enriching lives— are you with me?!
If
not us, then who….
Dear Holy Spirit, meet us now.
Move through our hearts. Thank you for
all of the ways you have encouraged us to show Christ’s love. Forgive us for
ignoring Your call, Father. Help us to
pray now and remember all of the “left undone” things that we need to do in our
lives so that Your will can be accomplished.
Give us the courage to love with abandon. Extend us, Lord. Lead us now,
in Jesus name we pray, Amen.
P.S. Just writing this now, I have a new
list. One thing is, I need to call my
precious Aunt who cares for her sick husband. The Lord has been reminding me to
call her for a solid 4 weeks by now. Brushing
the embarrassment away, I am gonna get on board!
I am praying for your list; and ALL of those
who will feel the love of Christ from your obedience. Have you been reminded of something already?
Love you so!
Rebekah
Be inspired today in Romans 12
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing
honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute
to the needs of Christians and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 12:10-13
