Listening, Believing and a Kick in the Pants!

I have spent a great deal of time lately alternating between kicking myself and being my own cheerleader (aka encouraging myself in the Lord).

This morning I have taken some much needed time to review life and it's most recent lessons.  The conclusion I reached is this:  I need to believe God differently.

Have you ever had those times in life when you just know God has whispered to your heart and promised you a few things?  Perhaps you were reading a verse and something in it captured your attention.  Maybe you were sitting in a church service and as the pastor made a particular point, an inner response said, "Hey....I'm talking to you."

Me too! (I declare while wildly, waving my hand back and forth here at the kitchen table).  I am no different when it comes to acknowledging that I've heard.  My struggle is to keep believing when whatever I think God has told me, does not immediately happen.

Picture this.  God speaks a word and the slightest thing happens to bring confirmation of it.  Suddenly you are doing the happy dance around the kitchen table basking in your great faith.   Then, five minutes later, you're sharing it with someone and the person you've shared it with doesn't have, shall we say, your same level of exuberance.  Doubt, that nasty devil, lands on your back and the happy dance suddenly turns to a kick in the pants.   We are now silently berating ourselves, wondering what in the world we could have been thinking.  Head down, we take a second look at our "great faith" and wonder just how small it must be, since mustard seed size is supposed to move a mountain.  

Perhaps it's just me.  Maybe I am the only one who struggles not to doubt a word from God.  However, in case I am not alone, here are a few tips I have learned in the process of gaining mustard seed faith.

1. Spend time with the Lord daily so He can bring clarity to His word and so that your view matches His.  
2. Remember that satan "comes immediately to steal the word" so be choosey about who you share your heart with.  
3. Keep in mind that life is a process.  Just because something doesn't happen immediately doesn't mean you were wrong.  It is more than likely part of the "equipping" or character building process. 
4. Remember that those He "calls" he not only equips, but he qualifies and what He considers a qualification is usually pretty different from us.  
5. Never forget that you are not in it alone.  We are called "the body" for a reason so link arms with those God places in your life and enjoy the journey!
6. Finally, keep God as your primary focus.  Regardless of how wonderful and amazing God's plans for your life are (and they are wonderful and amazing!) IT IS NEVER ABOUT US.  It is quite simply about advancing the Kingdom of God and seeming HIM glorified.  

Keep Believing!!  

Julie

The Expression....

It is hard to believe that a busy summer has come to an end and a new season is beginning. As we are about to enjoy the beauty of autumn, it is also time for women to enjoy the beauty of God’s expression within.

The Expression is a two-day conference that empowers women to “Live True” to who God has created them to be.  So mark your calendars for Friday, November 12^th and Saturday, November 13^th 2010.  We are inviting women, 18-years of age or better, to join us for a time of worship and fresh impartation of worth, value and identity in Christ.

Session topics:

* Illuminating the Shadows             ~            Julie Gutierrez

* Finding Your Voice                        ~         Caroline Crawford

* Discovering the Treasure            ~             Kelli Plater

* Embracing the Present             ~                Tracee Wargo

* Be Still & Know                         ~             Kym Hibbard

* From Weakness to Strength            ~         Peggy Milam

                                                                                    

You won’t want to miss this fantastic conference where you will experience deep renewal and an opportunity to embrace your own unique expression.   For more information please contact us at 810-689-8362  We look forward to hearing from you. 

See you in November! 

The Expression 2010

As hard as it is for me to believe, the time for our first Expression conference is almost upon us.  Advertising has started, registration is open and most importantly hearts and lives are being prepared.

It has been an incredibly interesting year gearing up for this event.  As with any opportunity to share truths from God's word, this one has come with God's school of learning in order to live it before teaching it.  God has been faithful to release my own unique expression more fully within me this last year.  Truth has gone deeper, lessons have been learned and wounds have been healed.  In a nutshell... growth has happened.

My heart and prayer is that each woman who attends this conference will have the same experience...growth into the expression that God has designed for her.  Make no mistake about it; God has designed, knit into us, a unique, individual expression for us to live out of.  Removing the masks we so often wear, breaking off unrealistic expectations and embracing God more fully is a life changing experience.

Romans 8:19 "The whole earth groans for the manifestation (expression) of the people of God."  This verse is no joke.  If you don't think the earth is groaning, I challenge you to slow down and listen.  It is groaning and we must rise to meet the call to be the women God has declared us to be.  All other voices be silent.  There is no hidden agenda, no small print or red tape, just simple truth.   Allowing God to impart whatever is needed and LIVE an expressed life to the glory and grace of our great God.

Another generation......

My last time as a church camp camper was over twenty-five years ago.  Last night, walking into an overheated, humid, slightly odiferous, crowded room, it all rushing back.  I stood in silent awe, my throat closed, as I watched another generation of kids worshiping at summer camp.

I saw kids seeking with all they had, to be the best version of themselves.  I watched as boys and girls went forward, praying that they would take home, all that God was doing in them.  Young women supporting each other as they prayed through hurts and heartaches.  Young men hugging a friend's shoulder and whispering, "You can do it man.  I got your back."  

I watched as my fifteen-year-old son moved towards the front with his hands raised in praise.  I smiled as my eighteen-year-old daughter stood towards the back worshiping, while keeping a watchful eye, as a new team leader.

Another generation coming to know Jesus.  Another generation living to sing His praise.  Another generation that will rise up and bring the kingdom of God to the nations.  Another generation....each extraordinary, each unique, each irreplaceable.  I want to cheer them on, help them fly and have their back. Another generation.......

Stepping In Wet Paint!

The smell of fresh paint wafted towards me as I opened the front door.  My husband, splattered from head to toe, was busily painting the living room floor. Being the particular guy that he is, he decided to draw a red line down the center of the hallway so that we would know where the old paint stopped and the fresh paint started.

A short while later, not paying any attention to the red line, he stepped right into the middle of the wet paint!  His aggravation was evident.  He was angry that he missed the meticulously clear red line he had drawn.

A few moments after that, you guessed it, I did the exact same thing.  Hooting and hollering from down the hall, I could hear my husband laughing as I washed the paint from between my toes.  Stepping carefully from the bathroom, feet now clean, I glanced at my hubby.  Sitting with a huge grin on his face, I asked if he felt better that I had "followed in his footsteps" so to speak.  He did.

Later that evening, as I was getting ready for bed, I almost stepped right back into the wet paint.  What I found interesting was that it was not the red line, so carefully drawn, that stopped me.  It was the footprints.

As I thought about this, I was surprised to realize that what has affected and shaped my life are the footprints of others that have walked before me.  Many of those footprints have had paint, mud, muck and mire on them.  Some of the footprints have shown me where not to step. Some have lead to places I've longed to go. Interestingly enough, both sets of feet have had dirt on them.  But the ones that have been washed are the ones I want to follow.

Jesus was no different.  He ignored every red line that the Pharisees drew.   Jesus preferred to follow in the footprints of His father.  He stated that He does only what He sees the Father do.  Rules and regulations did not govern Jesus.  The footprints of His father did.

If you would like to see some amazing footprints, take some time and read through Matthew, Mark, Luke or John and look for the footprints of Jesus.  Not only will you find the footprints marked with red letters to be far more affective than red lines; you will see that Jesus is also an expert at washing feet.

Love Loud

This last Sunday my pastor started a message series called "Love Loud."  The challenge he gave was to love people as Jesus loves.  He challenged us to remove the labels of sinner and saint and simply be about the business of loving people.  The challenge has already had an impact in my life.

It is so easy to love the ones who have already woven themselves into our heart. But what about the people we come into contact with that tend to rub us the wrong way?

I love to look at the life of Jesus throughout scripture.  He clearly loved everyone he came into contact with, but he did so without compromising who he is.  He continued to walk out love with healthy boundaries.  Think about it.  Though he challenged the pharisees, he did so while loving them.  Some might have called this type of display "tough love."

No matter who Jesus met, he knew how to speak their very specific love language, as well as, the love language they needed in order to hear and grow.  Love wears many forms and faces but when given with the heart of Jesus, it carries a walloping impact!  Big, little, easy or hard, labels removed, I am committed to take the Love Loud challenge and watch what Jesus does with it. Wanna join me?

Sassy

I have sassy kids.  My kids aren't brats by any means, actually I'm crazy about them.  But sassy.....whew baby.................Especially my daughter Taylor.

Taylor is pretty unique. She is the kid that everyone loves and most everyone likes, but boy did she come out sassy! I always know when a zinger is coming. She looks at me with the same little face she had a three, and with a twinkle in her eye, she nails me. She then has the nerve to look me square in the face, as she confidently whispers under her breath, "I'm you."

The truth? I love it!!  After one of her love filled pokes, I often run to the phone to proudly tell a friend what fresh remark she made, just like when she was little.  I love that my daughter has inherited my sassy.  I love that she actually likes to claim that she is in some way like me.

Why spend time commenting on this? Well, besides noticing this about my daughter, I had a conversation with a friend the other day. While we were talking, she zeroed in on a comment that I made. "I may not be a lot of things" I said, "but I know I make God laugh. He likes that about me."

She stopped an entire table full of women and asked, "Why don't more of us think like that?"

Between these two things, it really made me wonder. Why is it we don't enjoy the same fun things with God that we do with our kids? What sassy, joyful, unique, fun thing has God put in us that we fail to recognize as something wonderful?  How can we fail to recognize that He has a really great sense of humor?  What gets in the way of how we see Him? What gets in the way of how we see us?

I have to ask, what trait do you secretly love about yourself?  Do you ever wonder where you get it?  Try thinking past your mom, dad or crazy Aunt Harriet and see what you come up with. You just might end up seeing yourself, as well as God, from a whole new perspective. You might even share a sassy laugh together!

FYI, as you can imagine, Taylor loved that I wrote this about her.  She even had some sassy remarks to make about it.......and I laughed.