Vibrant Relevance
Discover the Vibrant Relevance of God's Word in Your Daily Life
Northwestern Christian Writers Conference 2018: Confession. Repentance. Restoration. Blessing.
Disclaimer: This is a longer post and I didn’t edit it or anything. This is my raw accounting as I wrote it during the conference. I didn’t what to clean it up…I wanted it to be authentic. I wanted you to see how powerfully your prayers were answered.
Have you ever had one of those events that at the end of it you feel wrung out and exhausted? Exhilarated and Excited? Refined and refreshed? And when the adrenaline wears off you slip into a vegetative state for a few days? That’s about the best I can do to explain the aftermath of the Northwestern Christian Writer’s Conference 2018.
What a ride! Read More
It’s time!! Today is the day!!
After a year of hard work, it’s time to learn what the next step is.
I can’t wait to share it all with you
Thank you for your prayers and support. Keep them coming. (Read this to learn what I’m praying for.)
I’m excited to see what God has in store.
Blessings xoxo
IT’S TIME!! Would you commit to praying for and with me this week?
Hello, hello, hello!!
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th!
I had the privilege of being on vacation with family for the week. And I confess: I didn’t write anything new! However, I was busily editing my book proposal for this weekend’s Christian writer’s conference.
I feel like I’m back in school, and I have a term paper due!
However, I’m not ready to turn it in yet and my time is evaporating faster than raindrops on hot pavement. Don’t worry, I’ll have it done. And then, I’ll be back at it as soon as this weekend is over.
I have a stack of outlines for blog posts, pictures, and–squirrel…sorry. I was getting excited. Focus, Cheyenne.
This weekend.
The Writer’s Conference.
My 15 Minutes: Matthew 2:1-12: Out of Town Guests
Do you ever read Scripture and have more questions than answers?
Sometimes, ideally, the answers you seek are found in other parts of Scripture. Other times, if you’re lucky, a Biblical scholar may have spent months going through dusty old tomes of historical and cultural documents and written about what he’s/she’s learned.
Then there are the times like those found in Matthew 2:1-12. After the birth of Jesus, visitors from the East came to see Him. To meet Him. To worship Him. Read More
The Devil’s Roller Coaster??
Warning: I purposely didn’t edit this post. I wanted it to be my raw thoughts and feelings as I wrestled with God this morning. I have a feeling if I polished it and made it read perfectly it would lose some of its authenticity. This is me at my most real.
This morning while eating breakfast, I was scrolling through Instagram and saw a picture titled, “The Devil’s Rollercoaster.”
A terrifying contraption to be sure. Lots of peaks and valleys with little room on a peak to catch your breath before you plummet, head-first into the next depth. The valleys weren’t all that big either. But where the terror lies is in the laborious climb up and then the plunge straight down. And to keep things interesting there are plenty of jolting twists and turns to disorient you and make you forget which way you are going. Read More
My 15 Minutes: Matthew 1:18-19: Epitaphs, Legacy, and Joseph
Have you ever wondered what your epitaph would be?
I’m not being morbid. I’m honestly curious.
Up until a few months ago, I didn’t give it much thought either.
What changed?
One of my heroes crossed the finish line into Heaven.
Okay, so that you know, I have not become preoccupied with death.
I’ve become preoccupied with LIFE! With LIVING LIFE WELL!
Graduation, New Normals, and Helping Loved Ones When It Hurts
Hello! Man alive, it’s been a while. I have missed you!
For the last six weeks, I’ve been held captive by the vast and beautiful whirlwind that was our oldest son’s high school graduation.
For some, this may not seem like a big deal. It’s a “been-there-done-that” event. For you, it may not have been an all-consuming occasion. It was just another party—just bigger, with a lot more people and food and beverages, and, and, and.
For the rest of us—namely me—it’s a different story. Read More
My 15 Minutes: Matthew 1:1-17: Geneaologies, Our Heritage, and Women
Sometimes the Bible is hard to read—I don’t mean difficult, I mean boring.
Some sections are just not as exciting as others.
To be honest, some passages used to make me groan every time I came to them. Logically, I knew God included those sections for a reason, but I was hard-pressed to figure out their significance. So, when I came to them, I automatically reached for the coffee. You know what I mean? Read More
Gutted by Fire
We don’t have to stay charred, burned out, gutted shells void of purpose and vitality!
This photograph stopped me in my tracks.
I couldn’t look away.
Every detail seared into my brain.
I didn’t even realize the effect it was having on me until silent tears splashed onto the back of my hands. Read More
My 15 Minutes: Who Was Matthew and Why Did He Write?
Matthew was from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of priests. But he didn’t serve the Jews as a God-fearing priest; he stole for them as a self-serving tax collector.
My 15 Minutes
Not so long ago I gave you a challenge. Do you remember what it was?
Let me give you a hint: 15 Minutes.
I challenged you to nourish your soul before you nourished your body. I challenged you to read your Bible for 15 minutes every morning for a month. (read more about the challenge here)
Have you started?
How’s it going?
What obstacles are getting in your way?
Whenever we commit to reading God’s Word, Satan strives to derail our efforts. He sneaks in to snatch away the seeds of Truth before they can germinate and take root. He throws obstacles in our path and tries to convince us we don’t have the time. His goal is to make us stop before we start or rob us of our momentum once we begin. Don’t let him get away with it.
You’re not alone.
This past month, I’ve faced severe migraines and vertigo which make it impossible to read. (I’ve never had vertigo before now.) I also chaperoned my son’s action-packed orchestra trip to Seattle for several days. During my time there I didn’t get my 15 minutes in before breakfast. However, I determined not to beat myself up with this and let Satan make me feel guilty. I chose to pick it up again the next day or to take my 15 minutes before lunch, dinner, or bed.
Like you, I’ve also faced busyness, oversleeping, overloaded schedules, and life. However, I choose to stay consistent. 15 minutes isn’t that much time. But those 15 minutes have made a HUGE difference in my day, perspective, and outlook. Those 15 minutes have changed me and continue to change me.
My point:
- Don’t give up!
- Keep working at it!
- Stay consistent!
- Pray through your obstacles!
- Claim Ephesians 1:19-21!
- I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.
Use the power of the Holy Spirit which is IN you to stand up to Satan. This is THE SAME POWER THAT RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD! Tell the Devil to get behind you, to back off, to go to hell.
It’s worth it. I promise.
I shared with you that these 15 minutes have given me what I need to maneuver through my day.
But I have not shared how those 15 minutes have opened my eyes to how God is moving in my life and the lives of those around me. I have not shared how these 15 minutes are enhancing my ministry. I have not shared how these 15 minutes have made The Word become more Vibrantly Relevant than ever. But I will.
I will periodically be writing My 15 Minutes blog posts to share how Scripture is jumping off the page and into my life.
How the Spirit is taking the living and active Word of God and applying it to my circumstances, challenges, and victories. Please share your stories and testimonies too. I will be happy to post some on my blog. I’ve always believed we learn best from each other.
My purpose in doing this is to encourage you to engage with God’s Word. To actively interact with it so that it becomes real to you; so that it becomes your life-breath. I am jealous for you to experince God like never before in the Scriptures and to have an explosion of faith.
My 15 Minutes
I chose to begin my 15 Minute Challenge in Matthew because I wanted to reread the gospels with a fresh heart. God may have you do the same or take you someplace completely different. That’s ok.
Before I read each day, I pray some variation of this:
Precious Savior, please teach me. Help me read Your Word like I am reading it for the first time. Give me insight and wisdom to understand and apply what I’m reading. Unlock and open my mind. Search my heart; reveal and remove anything not pleasing to you. May Your Truth abide in me and may I be deeply rooted in it so I can bear fruit that glorifies You.
I don’t want to neglect or reject what the Spirit has taught me in the past, nor do I want familiarity to rob me of riches waiting to be gleaned.
I don’t want to miss anything with a ho-hum, here-we-go-again attitude. There’s still so much to absorb and apply!
I love God’s Word! I find everything about it to be thrilling! When I open His Holy Scriptures, I expect a new word from Him. A fresh word—even if it comes from well-known, much-loved passages. And you know what, sometimes those fresh words come from truths I’ve already learned and understood because Jesus reminds me they still apply to my daily life. They’re still Vibrantly Relevant.
I’m confident he will do the same for you.
But I Don’t Feel Forgiven…Part 4: Forgiving, Forgetting, and Doubt
Hello dear friend, This post was one of the most difficult to write. Rewrite. And write again. I wrestled with it for weeks! Maybe you can tell me why. Blessings.
“Excuse me; Ma’am, is this yours?”
What I’m reading now (I’m an amazon affiliate. Clicking on this link is FREE for you and provides a commission to support this blog)
What I’m reading now (I’m an amazon affiliate. Clicking on this link is FREE for you and provides a commission to support this blog)
