I Hate Hiccups

         I hate hiccups. Not figurative hiccups. Not hiccups like “unforeseen delays in progress.” Nope. Hiccups. Now the good news is that I know how to prevent them. Whenever I hiccup for the first time, I immediately stop whatever I am doing, however inconvenient it may be, and calmly go and get a glass of water. I then drink it and then breath slowly and deeply for a moment. That has worked to prevent further hiccupping without fail. As a result, I have gone seven years without ever getting the hiccups. That is, until a couple of days ago.

         I can’t remember exactly what I was doing. I think I was playing my guitar in my room when I felt the first hiccup. I was in the middle of something and really did not want to stop what I was doing just to deal with these hiccups. “It probably won’t turn into a serious case of hiccups (if there is such a thing as a serious case),” I thought. “I haven’t had hiccups in so long that surely I don’t need to take any precautionary measures.  Instead of following through with my plan to deal with hiccups, I ignored the warning signs. An hour later I found myself hiccupping every ten seconds. It was one of those really annoying cases where you can’t even talk. I tried too late to use my normal plan. Nothing was really working now. Eventually the case played itself out, but then they were back in about an hour. My strategy was only having moderate amounts of success. I had just a few more relapses; they got farther apart until they went away completely. But now I know, no matter how long it’s been since you’ve had an attack: never let your guard down.

         In our lives we all face battles. There is this little thing called sin that has a nasty habit of popping up unexpectedly. We need to have strategies in place when we are faced with temptation. What I feel like God showed me through my not-so-serious battle with hiccups is this:

1.            At the first sign of battle, don’t ignore it, stop and pray right then. It’s not going to just go away by ignoring it. Surrender control of yourself to God, because we all know that we have no power in ourselves alone. (1 John 4:4)

2.            Memorize scripture. It’s our best weapon against the enemy and our flesh. It’ll do you no good to wait till battle to try and memorize it. It’s like going to battle with a gun and no bullets. Load your gun before the battle starts. (Psalm 119:9-11)

3.            Ask for backup. No one is going to think less of you because you ask for help. If that’s stopping you from seeking the backup you need, then you’re bowing to an idol of man’s opinion. It’s also key to find the right person. God will always provide you with someone you can trust to hold you accountable.

4.            Don’t think the battle is won once you have a couple of victories. The battle will never be over until Jesus returns to set up his kingdom.

“Once we are in the kingdom that is yet to come, once the world has been restored to all it was meant to be, then we will be able to live without interruption, without assault. Then we can drop our guard. But not until then.”

-John Eldredge Walking with God

5.            If you loose a battle, watch out! The enemy will most certainly try to tackle you with shame. Repent, renounce and cleanse. Remember 2 Corinthians 7:10. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” Shame is focused on self. “I’m such an awful person!” No you’re not. You’re under grace. Your heart has been made new (Ezekiel 36:26). You are not your sin. Conviction from the Holy Spirit leads to deeper relationship with God. Shame leads to self-loathing and no lasting change. You shall know them by their fruit. (Matthew 7:16) If you don’t know if it’s shame you’re feeling or the Holy Spirit’s conviction, ask yourself, is this grief bringing me closer to God? Or am I more self-focused than before. If it’s the latter, rebuke and resist the spirit of condemnation in the name of Jesus Christ. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

I leave you with these words from Peter because they’re awesome and because I can’t think of a clever closing statement.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

         1 Peter 5:8-10

Some Great Advice

At the beginning of this year, I made the commitment to write at least one blog every month. Between the last blog and now, God has done some pretty crazy stuff in my life. This past month God has been completely changing my heart and breaking down my walls showing me. It's been tough but completely worth it, and I feel like we're only just getting started. Giving the circumstances, I don't feel as though I have anything to offer to this blog at this point. So I will let someone who has been speaking into my life have a say.

Periodically, my parents get a newsletter from Ransomed Heart Ministries. A few days ago, however, one of their newsletters arrived in the mail addressed to me instead of my parents. I've never received one before so I wasn't sure why it was addressed to me... that is, until I read the letter. I contained exactly what I needed and I knew immediately it was from God. John Eldredge was simply the messenger. I thought I would share it with you because it is amazing advice for all Christians. Please take a moment to read this. You won't regret it.

--------------------------------------

February 2013

Dear Friends,

One of the most beautiful stories in the Gospels is the restoration of Peter (recorded in John 21). It is a very human and tender story, full of redemption and hope.

Peter, as you recall, is the man who denied Christ at his moment of greatest need. The  rooster crowed and Peter went out to weep bitterly. As any of us would. Maybe a week and a half later, post resurrection, Jesus finds Peter and the boys out fishing and has them to breakfast on the beach. Then he takes Peter aside and restores him – three times, just as the betrayal was three times. Peter goes on to become a leader in the early church, and a contributor to the New Testament. That ought to give us all hope.

But the treasure I want to point out is named in Luke, when Jesus says to Peter, “And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). Strengthen your brothers. This is what Jesus longs for you – to be strengthened. The theme carries on through the New Testament…

Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers (Acts 15:32).

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being (Ephesians 3:16).

May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy (1 Thess 3:13)

It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace (Hebrews 13:9).

One of the major spirits of our age is a spirit of surrender. You see it in the world as “a soft acceptance of all things.” For the Christian it brings a kind of weariness of heart that causes us to drop our guard. Prayer seems like a hassle; going to our small group seems irritating; holding onto the truth seems unnecessary. It is, in fact, a spirit of Defeat, and its subtle approach is to get folks to surrender. Bit by bit, month by month, it wears away at our spiritual strength, the strength of our hearts. That is why we need to be strengthened.

So, here at the beginning of the year, I want to suggest some ideas that will help strengthen your heart…

Turn down the noise. We are bombarded every day – commercials in taxis, at gas pumps, in elevators, on our computers, our phones. Wherever you can, turn down the noise in your life. Use your drive time for quiet, for something that enriches you.

Turn off the news. Really – I mean it. The news is a product sold every day; evil sells. “Three children were told today they are loved” doesn’t make headlines; “Three children found dead” does. The evil one uses the news to celebrate darkness. Turn it off.

Forgive. Bitterness and resentment eat away at the heart like cancer. It’s time to let it go.

Name your fears, and turn them over to Christ. Fear is also a cancer (usually felt as “worry.”) Name it, and lay it at the feet of Jesus. Everyday if you have to.

Play worship as background music in your home, your car. For one thing, the demons hate it and don’t like to be around it. But more so, it enriches your spirit, mind and heart.

Stay with one truth at a time. Distraction doesn’t nourish. Pick one truth God brings you and spend a week with it before you rush on to the next thing. Marinate.

Sabbath. I don’t mean an hour at church and then grocery shopping, paying the bills and homework. I mean, where is the rest in your life? Weekly, what do you do for Sabbath?

One night a week. Most of you are running hard; the pace of life is in itself an assault. Give one night a week to quiet, to God, to joy, to whatever strengthens your heart. (It won’t be TV; television does not strengthen the heart.)

Recover what once brought you joy. What was it? Running? Playing an instrument? Reading? Taking walks? Go take it back; joy strengthens the heart.

Distance yourself from draining people. I don’t mean stop loving; I mean set some boundaries for heavens sake. This may be hard but the relief will be worth it.

Beauty. You need beauty in your life – nature, music, visual beauty. It’s life.

Pray Ephesians 3:14-19 for yourself, often. This is God’s will for you – that you be strengthened by his power deep within. My goodness – ask for it!!!

Tell Jesus you love him, several times a day. As we make a practice of loving Jesus, it strengthens our hearts because this above all else is what your heart is made for.

My friends, I hope you understand we are living in soul-draining times. The enemy very much wants to break the power of God’s people. And remember – an affair doesn’t happen in a day, nor does an addiction, or a suicide. All the woes of the human heart happen over time, subtly at first, as we yield to surrender, to the spirit of Defeat. You do not want to surrender your heart, not in these times, not when you need every bit of strength you can possibly find. Strengthen your heart. Seek those things out that Jesus is using to strengthen your heart.

It matters.

Offered in love,

John Eldredge

On Giving: My Personal Testimony

I went into my first semester living at Berry comfortably well off, mainly thanks to generous gifts from friends. However, even with an awesome job, I saw my bank account slowly empty as the semester went by. College living is expensive to say the least. By the time I got to Christmas I had just enough to buy each family member a decent present. However, seeing as I didn’t want to deplete my bank account completely, I was relieved to be offered a babysitting job from a friend. I was able to buy every one in my family a great gift and come away with twenty-five bucks. Not a whole lot. I resolved to put that money away and not touch it until school started back. Then I remembered to tithe. There went five dollars. “Alright,” I thought, “twenty bucks will get me by until work starts back.” It was then that my pastor told our church about “The Gift Offering.” A challenge to match the price of the most expensive present we purchased, and give it back to God. The most expensive present I bought was twenty dollars.

No one would blame me for not putting literally all of my money into the Gift Offering. “Thou shalt match the amount of thy most expensive gift…” is not in the Bible after all. Gas prices are up, and so are text book prices. Why in the world would I throw away all my money?

Giving in church is a touchy subject for quite a large amount of people. A lot of people tune out when they hear the pastor talk about giving. “There he goes again.” “When will he shut up about giving?” “If he only knew my situation, he wouldn’t say that.” I could give you scripture about tithing and giving. I could show you that it is Biblical to give ten percent (and over) from your income. But you could look all of that up yourself. What you can’t look up yourself is my testimony. So instead of trying to tell you what you should do, I will share with you what God has done in my life through giving.

Summer of 2006: I found myself, for the first time, with money to spare. That May, the church had hired me as a childcare worker for small groups. I had been saving all summer to buy my first iPod. Those of you who know me know that I am a music freak. I die if I don’t have music playing constantly. I’m listening to the Hobbit soundtrack as I type this. So an iPod was a pretty big deal for me. No more carrying around CDs once I got my iPod. Finally, I reached my goal: $250. I had the money in cash, in my wallet, when I went to youth group on Sunday night. I had plans to buy my iPod at Target the following day. As fate would have it, that was the night they were having a special offering for a mission trip to Africa. I sat in my seat and listened to all the great work that was to be done, listened to the great need of the African people, and listened to the students who needed financial support to go. There I was with $250 in my pocket and God tugging at my heart: “Give all of it away.”

“But, my iPod…” I thought desperately.

I heard God’s voice loud and clear, “Trust Me.”

So I did what I had trained myself to do. Block God’s voice when he told me to do something hard. When the time came for us to come forward and give, I stayed in my seat. I told my leader I didn’t have any money. The next day I went out and I got my iPod. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t make myself forget where the money was meant to go. I even tried to redeem myself by using my iPod for the church. I let kids play with it, I let the youth group use it… But God doesn’t take substitutes for obedience. The iPod in question is now sitting, old and useless, in a drawer in the desk where I am writing this and I will never know what impact that $250 would have made. That is far worse than not having an iPod.

In September of that year, a young couple in our small group gave birth to a baby girl. They named her Ava: my favorite baby name of all time. Ever since I heard that name for the first time when they announced her name, I’ve been saving it for my future child. I use that name in my fiction writing a lot. However, I digress. In baby Ava’s early years she was very sick. I cannot remember the details of her illness, but I do remember our small group taking up an offering to help them pay for the medical bills. Having used all of my money on an iPod, and with work slowing down in the fall, I had nothing to give. I then remember praying that I would be able to help them in some way. That Sunday at church, my pastor was teaching on generosity. He spoke about how God entrusts us with blessings so that we can be a blessing to others. He reminded us that it’s all God’s money to begin with and one day we would have to give an account for how we chose to use it. At that point, he asked for a young volunteer so I stepped forward. He then proceeded to hand me a fifty-dollar bill out of his own pocket. He told me that he was entrusting this money to me. In one month I would have to write an email and give an account of how I chose to use it. He urged me to pray about where to invest the money. Little did he know that I had already been praying. That very Tuesday night at small group I gave the money to the couple

To this day I don’t really know if that fifty dollars helped at all. Perhaps they got it just in the nick of time. Perhaps it barely made a dent in their expenses. But that was hardly the point of my experience that day. That day I learned that giving was as much about my heart as it was about that actual act of giving. Giving was something that I can be excited about. I thank God for the opportunity he gave me to invest in that family. Even though I haven't seen them in three and a half years, whenever I see a picture of their daughter, Ava, on facebook, I can't help but be reminded of the lessen God taught me through all those years ago.
Through tithing over the years, I’ve learned that God always blesses obedience. In the times when it doesn’t make sense to give (when the world, and even some Christians, would call it foolish) God always provides for me needs. Now, if I had given that $250 to missions instead of buying an iPod, would God have provided an iPod? Maybe. I tend to think that he would have; but focusing on that would be completely missing the point. The point to give with joy and excitement for what God is going to do through your giving, even if He chooses not to replace it.

Years of obedience and trusting in God is why this year on Christmas Eve, I could, without any hesitation, drop literally all of my money into the gift offering. The next day I saw God replace that $20. “I should have known.” I remember thinking. Then He doubled it. Then he added $100. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. It just goes to show: You will never out-give God, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.

I don’t write any of this to brag. I don’t write any of this to guilt you into tithing. I write this in the hope that my story may encourage you to take a step of faith and trust that God will provide for you. I write this so that you may be inspired to obey his words even when they are difficult. And most of all, I write this in hope that you will open yourself up to the joy of knowing that you are making an impact on the kingdom of God.