The 5 Shoes: Pumps

We are going from steel toe boots to pumps! They are designed to elongate the legs, giving us height.  They make us shorties stand a little taller next to others. They are often worn to parties, special occasions, or work. Basically, they are worn in times we want to feel empowered or stand out.

                                                          

Have you heard the saying, “Heels are a girl’s best friend”? Well, in our spiritual walk this could not be more true! It’s not always just one friend either. It can be your tribe!

They are there to speak life and truth to you, and you do the same for them. You encourage, remind, hold accountable, love (even in the seeming impossible times), cry, laugh, and act completely silly with each other. All of which lift you up and empower you. You may even have crazy nicknames for each other like Soupy, or inside jokes about being mermaids that cause this uncontrollable smile and strength to swell up when you hear it. We desperately need these pumps in our lives! We also need to be these pumps for others.

                                                                                                                                                                                     

The Bible is so full of scripture on friendship. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” As Christians it is vital to have friends who help keep us sharpened and ready to take on life. These friends hold us to the truth of God’s Word, and constantly remind us that we are capable and equipped.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8. I’m beyond blessed to have pumps that love me deeply! They overlook my mistakes and failures no matter how bad they are. They love me in spite of them! They love me like Jesus does, and forgive me even when I may not deserve it, or may not have even asked. This pours Christ into me in such tangible ways.

Pumps always encourage and build you up. Often this is through sharing scripture, prayer, and words of affirmation. Sometimes it’s through a funny meme or gif sent via text message. It could also be a hot tea or Reese’s Cups delivered to your door. It can be done simply or extravagantly, but it’s done often. “Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

I could share many more, but we would be here all day!

Y’all, we need each other on this journey! We need the love of godly friends. We need to be that love to friends. The unselfish, wholehearted, deep love! So pack your pumps. Better yet, pack several. You need them and they need you!

The 5 Shoes: Steel Toe Boots

Steel toe boots are probably not the shoe you expect me to say you need on this journey. They are heavy and cumbersome. Not what you would want to walk in for any distance. However, they are vital on this journey.

These shoes come in many styles, yet they all have key components. Steel toe boots have extremely tough soles so nothing can puncture them from under foot. The toe has a reinforcement to protect from falling objects or compression. Some even offer protection from electrical shock or chemical hazards. They are designed to keep the wearer going and safe when something unexpected happens on the job. Even after being battered these shoes hold up and keep going.

Being a Christian does not exempt us from bad things happening in our lives. In fact, you can be certain bad things will come. Jesus himself said, “In this world you will have trouble. . .”  John 16:33. This is because we live in a fallen world. Since Adam and Eve took the first bite of that apple, sin has been here and will remain until Jesus returns. No one is immune to heartache and trials.

David was called a man after God’s own heat, yet lots of bad stuff happened to him. Some of these heartaches were the result of his own sins. Some of them were the result of other people’s sin. It didn’t matter whose fault they were, they still came and they still hurt.

The Lord said of Job, “There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Job 1:8. Satan took absolutely everything from him. He tried to break him and cause Job to turn away from God.

The Bible is full of godly men and women that had terrible things happen to them. Not because they didn’t love Jesus, they didn’t try hard enough, or they weren’t really Christians. It was because they were. It was because they lived in this world too. If they were not immune we should not except to be either.

All of these people became better and stronger because of the way they walked through these bad things. Look at Job. He put on his steel toe boots and kept his eye on God. He took the hits and compression, but kept going! In the end God restored all Job had lost and provided even more!

James also reminds us of the importance of wearing our steel toe boots. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4  He doesn’t say IF you face trails of many kinds. He says, “When you do!”

Then James tells us to consider it joy when these hard times hit. That’s crazy right?! Not really. Counting it joy doesn’t mean we have to be happy about it. It doesn’t mean we can’t cry or anything else. It simply means we shouldn’t doubt God in it. It means we can have joy, because we have hope in something greater to come! It means we must persevere in faith so that we may be made mature and complete. All because we know God has already won the war!

You may be in need of putting on your steel toe boots now, in order to keep going. If so, get them on and stand confident and brave! If not, you better have them packed for the journey and ready at a moment’s notice. You may not need them at this moment, but you will need them at some point. 

The 5 Shoes: Running Shoes

Today's shoe is everyone's favorite, I'm sure! Running shoes provide protection from the ground under foot. If fitted properly, they provide support to our arches and ankles. This makes us less likely to get shin splints or roll our ankle. They are also cushioned to relieve pressure on our muscles. All of this help us to run faster, longer, and harder.

That is our call as Christians! To run the race set before us with perseverance. To run for the prize while keeping our eyes on Christ! Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

What race is this talking about? The life we are called to live in Christ. How are we to run this race? With strict training, not aimlessly, but to win.

I ran cross country track in high school. We only had 3 or 4 girls on our team, but we competed against schools with 20+. Most of the girls on the big teams were not really runners. They ran slow and bunched up talking to each other. This blocked the path for the rest of us. They ran and got their picture in the yearbook, but they didn't run to win the race.

We can all run. We may not all want to, but we certainly can. However, we are not all fixed on the prize. Some of us just fill space or block the path. Their goal is not to win, but just to be there.

Then there are those who run to win! They train hard, eat healthy, sacrifice time for things that offer more immediate gratification. All to ensure success!

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that  will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

These athletes lace up their shoes and get ready to run. No matter what blocks their path, how bad they feel along the way, they muster up everything inside of them to finish the race and finish it well.

Our focus should be the same; to train hard, run vigorously, and finish well! This means constantly growing spiritually, serving tirelessly, and loving unconditionally. It looks like self-control and discipline, and dedication.

Now remember, this is not a race to earn salvation. That is a free gift from God! It is given to us by grace through faith in Christ, not by works. (Ephesians 2:8-10) We are saved to do good works for God, so that others may see Him through us.

Our prize in this race is to hear God say, "Well done my good and faithful servant." To know that when our race is finished, we ran hard after Christ. To make sure we shared His love with as many people as possible before we hit the finish line. To know we did not give up when things got hard, or ran aimlessly just to say we were on the team. Our goal is to finish well!

We must put on our running shoes and lace them up tight! This is not an option! When we are not wearing them, they must be with us; ready to put back on as soon as we finish the task at hand. So dust them off if you need to and get them on. Let's run!

The 5 Shoes: Flip Flops

Flip Flops

It's the official shoe of the South! We have them in every genre possible. We have flip flops for the beach, pool, house, ballpark, store, and church. We even have semi-formal ones. I think it's safe to say we are a bit obsessed! 

Let's take a closer look at the flip flop. There is no covering to protect the foot at all. The only protection is the sole. However, most have such soft soles that you can feel everything you step on. Unless you have mad skills, you better not try to run in them. That most certainly spells disaster! If you are late and need to sneak in the back, I hope you're not wearing flip flops. The sound, "FLIP FLOP, FLIP FLOP" will give you away every time.

Yet in spite of this, we still love them! Go figure. Just because they are easy, cooler, and everyone else is wearing them.

We wear flip flops in our faith, or lack thereof, too. We put them on and flip flop around serving God and serving the world or ourselves. In Isaiah 29:15 God says, "These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me."

We can be really good at going through the motions; pretending like we have it all together. Outwardly doing everything "right", all while our heart is not wholly serving God. We are like the church in Laodicea who was lukewarm and whose eyes were not open to what was missing. (Revelation 3:14-22) Most of the time this happens so gradually we don't even see it happening.

We let the world creep in and take up residency in our hearts, pushing God out. It comes in many forms. It can be what we watch on TV or listen to on the radio, unforgiveness, uncontrolled anger, compromising God's Word to make us feel better, and much more. 

We may be fooling ourselves when wearing these flip flops, but we are not fooling God! He can hear us coming. "Flip flop, flip flop!" Other Christians hear us coming too. There is no hiding that!

We may start by saying things like, "This isn't a big thing. I can handle it. No need to bother God with this." Or, "Times have changed! If God wrote the Bible now He would write that part different."

These two examples seem very extreme from each other, right? But they are not. First, they are both taking authority and power from God and giving it to mere humans. Second, when the 1st is said enough, you start hurting your relationship with God and reach the point of the 2nd, or maybe worse. 

I totally get it's a hard pill to swallow! I know, because I've been guilty of it too. We all have. That's where we have to remember what Paul tells us in Romans 12:2. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

We cannot conform to this world and it's standards. We must be transformed. This is not an overnight process. Our minds must be renewed daily because we are human and therefore imperfect. Our minds are part of us and easily swayed. It takes training to renew them. This is done through time with God and time spent in His Word. 

With all of this in mind, don't wear your spiritual flip flops! Let's go ahead now and make a pact to not even pack them for our spiritual journey. Actually, let's burn them! We don't want them to end up on anyone's feet!

The 5 Shoes Series

I had a phenomenal time a little over a week ago worshiping with 250 women at the W.O,W. conference! I was blessed to speak to them about shoes. Our spiritual shoes. I was looking forward to coming straight home and quickly starting a blog series on these shoes as well. As life goes, a few commas popped into my week and I was not able to start it. Now that those are defeated, I am back and ready to share!

The theme verse for the conference was Isaiah 52:7. " How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"

That is a great verse, isn't it?! I mean, anyone who is doing all the things in that verse has got to be the best! But beautiful feet? Really? It's hard for me to understand that wording sometimes. You see I suffer from podophobia. Otherwise known as fear of feet. This is not a clinical diagnosis. However, I assure you that it is true. I do NOT like feet. They are the form of torture my husband and kids choose to use against me whenever possible. They  make me cringe when brought up in conversation and can keep me off Facebook for days if I see them scrolling through. 

There is a solution: shoes! Shoes fix this problem. I love shoes! They are so beautiful! They cover up the feet. So when I think of this verse I think of the shoes they are are wearing as they bring good news, proclaim peace, bring good tidings, proclaim salvation, and say "Your God reigns!" 

This got me to thinking about the shoes I wear in my walk with God. My spiritual shoes. I quickly realized I need more than one pair.

Our entire life is a spiritual journey. We are either walking closer to God or further away everyday. Sometimes the terrain changes. So we must make sure we have the right ones when we need them. If we don't the ones we wear could get worn out, break, hurt our feet, and just make us stop and give up. This should not be an option for God's children. We must be prepared.

Our spiritual journey takes a lot of work because it is just that, a journey. When we become followers of Christ we must follow Him! We must follow His example and follow His call. That means we must know God's Word, study it, memorize it, and make it apart of our daily lives. Just as Jesus used scripture when tempted by Satan to overcome, we can and must too. (Luke 4: 1-13) We must share the gospel just as Jesus told us to in Mark 16:15-16. We must also love! Jesus loved big and He loved all! The New Testament is full of His examples of love. But the greatest example is His death on the cross as a final sacrifice for your sin. My sin. Everyone's sin. He loved us that much! (Matthew 26-28)

I came up with 4 shoes to always have with you and 1 to never take. I'm sure you could add many more, but these cover pretty much everything. Over the next week I will be introducing you to each shoe and how it is used. Tomorrow will be the first one. Want a hint? Everyone is starting to wear these everywhere! Of course there are a few of you who probably wear them all year. Come back tomorrow to see if you guessed right!

Commas

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

Let's talk about commas. Those that know me are probably laughing so hard they are about to fall out of their chairs! This is because I'm the last person you would expect to want to discuss grammar. I'm sure you will figure out why as you continue reading. :) However, commas are one of my things. Yours too, although you may not know it yet.

So what is a comma? It's a punctuation mark (,) indicating a pause between parts of a sentence. At least that is how we usually think of them. They mean more to me. Commas in my life are those things that cause me to fear, feel overwhelmed, doubt, or stress out. They can be big commas, small commas, or anywhere in between. Examples would be a flat tire, a health problem, a wandering child, traffic, abuse, a bad morning, or a loss. The list could go on and on really.

You want to know why I call them commas, right? It's because they are not periods. They are not stopping points in our lives or the end. They are just pauses! 

We can defeat these commas! In fact, God commands us to do just that. In Isaiah 41:10 there are two commas with a command right in front of each one. "So do not fear, ... do not be dismayed, ..." In other words, don't be afraid, distressed, or anxious. Does this mean you should never have those feeling? No! God gave us emotions. He also gave us self-control. So we should not let those emotions control us.

Why shouldn't we be controlled by these emotions? That's right after the commas in the same verse. "... for I am with you...for I am your God." If He is with us and truly our God we should give Him the control over our lives. Not the emotions.

Okay, but how do we defeat the commas? Of course, He tells us that too! "... I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Our powerful God will fight for us! He will help us! He will hold us up when we can't stand on our own! Should we need anymore than that?!

You see, God does not care about the size or cause of our commas. He just wants us to defeat them. He wants us to look at them as pauses, not ends.

If we let our commas become periods then they hold us back from all that God has for us. The good news is He tells us we are not alone in the commas and we do not defeat them alone. He was clear about that after the commas in Isaiah 41:10. We defeat them with God's help. 

Sharing our commas with others is huge too.They can pray for us, walk beside us, encourage us, and praise God with us when we defeat them. So what is your comma today? How can I pray for you? Are you allowing God to help you defeat your comma?