The Evolution of Our Faith | Raw Grace

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.”
~ C.S. Lewis

At times I am tempted to build a wall around my heart. I feel safe behind my barrier of accomplishments and harden my heart towards past pains. I put on a facade and hide behind a fake smile. Over time, however, I have learned to break down this wall through letting God’s love, grace, mercy, peace and joy shine a light through the cracks and tear down my Jericho. 

Love and grace go hand in hand. I have found that to truly love someone, I must hold tightly to grace and humility. Christ is the supreme example of this. Philippians 2:8 describes how Jesus humbled Himself through laying down his life for all mankind. Somehow, through faith and His sacrifice of unconditional love, we may know the encouragement and comfort Christ brings. The consolation of love may fully be felt in the fellowship we experience with the Spirit. It is in this fellowship that our hope deepens, our joys are fulfilled, and His affection and compassion for us are experienced. This love prompts me to recall one of the Hebrew words for love, which is Hesed. This encapsulates His profound lovingkindness, steadfastness and loyalty towards humanity. His affections are bound to us through His covenant fulfilled in Christ. His display of faithfulness for us enables me to mirror this Hesed love towards those in my closest circles of relationship. It is there that I partake in a fathomable, real love and grasp the heights and depths of His and their love towards me. 

Over time I have learned to differentiate grace from mercy. Grace is His unmerited favor or blessings that we receive freely with no requirement of repayment. Mercy, on the other hand, is when He withholds the negative repercussions of our choices and spares us from the natural consequences of our mistakes. The promise in Romans 8:28 reminds us of how God, who deeply loves us and is concerned greatly for us, causes all things to work together as a plan for good according to His amazing purposes. 

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul writes of how the Lord has said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough, always available, regardless of any situation.” For my power is being perfected and completed through showing itself most effectively in weakness. Therefore let us rejoice in our weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may completely dwell in us. I have found much solace also in Hebrews 4:16, which describes how when we approach the throne of grace and God’s gracious favor, with confidence and without fear, we may receive mercy for our failures so that we may fully experience His amazing grace to help us in times of need. 

One of my life verses is Joshua 1:5b-9, which reminds me to approach life with a courage that only the LORD can bring and restore. In this strength I can boldly follow wherever He may lead and run this race He has set before me with endurance. He lifts me up on eagle’s wings and enables me to soar to new heights and discover all that He has in store for me.

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About the Author

Mollie is married to her wonderful husband Dustin. She is a Wound Care RN at McKenzie Willamette Hospital. She enjoys being creative, getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

Trusting our Mysterious God | Discerning Dreams

Though it was months ago, this dream has stuck with me like it was yesterday. Have you ever had a dream like that? A dream that seems so real and impacts you so deeply that you can’t shake it, can’t let it go?

My dream consisted of the LORD revealing to me something mysterious that made me ask questions and try to discern the meaning of the dream. It started off with me shutting my eyes and instead of utter darkness, I saw kaleidoscopes of color and pictures. I envisioned shifting symbols and stars and galaxies. The Lord reminded me of Abraham who was promised blessings beyond stars in the sky. Then, it seemed my mind awoke, but my body was still asleep. I was rising above my perilous circumstances, and the Lord was directing me and speaking purpose into my ear. He uttered to me words of courage that gave me strength and everlasting boldness. I listened to His design for His future glory and Christ’s return to Earth. 

It is still largely a mystery to me and I occasionally doubt my revelation, but I have faith the LORD appeared to me for a reason. In my dream, I felt the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon me and that the LORD bestowed favor on me. He wanted to empower me to help bring heaven to Earth. I know that Christ is waiting for the perfect, merciful, miraculous moment to return in glory and power; but in the meantime, He grants me wisdom and courage to fulfill his divine purposes in my everyday life. He guides my thoughts, words, and actions as I submit to him in obedience and humility. 

 God desires to speak to us and empower us. All we need to do is make room in our lives to listen and believe. He is always moving, always working. He opens doors and shuts windows. He gives powerful yeses and resounding nos. He desires to direct us and guide us down the road He has designed for us. Oftentimes, when I am at a loss of what to do or what decision to make, I clear out time in my life to sit with Him in silence, journal and reflect, discuss ideas with other godly individuals, and speak with the LORD in prayer. I find the LORD works in times of rest. He is the Prince of Peace. He rested on the seventh day, created the Sabbath and made it holy. It is in the calm quiet spaces that He speaks. In 1 Kings 19:12, the LORD spoke to Elijah in the still small voice instead of the earthquaking fire. If we are able to drown out the noises around us and within our minds and tune into his voice that rests in our souls, we can hear His echoes of encouragement, direction, trust, and design.

 Do you sometimes question whether it was really God speaking to you? The LORD wants to assist you in interpreting the dreams he gives you and how to apply them to your life. Scripture is here to guide us with our inquiries and clarify answers. If our dreams come from the LORD they will never contradict scripture, but be enhanced by it. Job 33:14 states, “For God speaks once, and even twice, yet no one notices it. In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice], when deep sleep falls on men while slumbering upon the bed, then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction.”

God may give us dreams to instill in us divine purpose and direction. Trials and hardships may come our way and try to dissuade us from following His path for our lives. It is in those times that we require supernatural courage and encouragement to take even just small steps towards Him. I pray that if you are experiencing doubt, that the Lord reveals himself to you soon in a very real way. I hope you carve out time to intentionally seek Him out and listen to how the Holy Spirit is moving in the depths of your soul. May He speak to you in ways that move your body, mind and spirit. May He speak to you like he spoke to the Israelites like it describes in Joel 2:28 “It shall come about after this that I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”

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About the Author

Mollie is recently married to her wonderful husband Dustin. She is a Wound Care RN at McKenzie Willamette Hospital. She enjoys being creative, getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

Resilient | Resilience, My New Friend

I have a new friend. His name is resilience. More than a Friday night burger and milkshake buddy, our friendship is deepening. A few months ago it felt like we just met, but now - I kind of like this guy. In my last blog post I wrote that resilience doesn't get much respect. Merely enduring pain and loss but not, in our popular Christian vocabulary - overcoming, seemed a bit of a hollow victory.

Absorbing all the losses of 2020 (clearly my hardest year ever) has been so tough. It started with a death in my family, some health issues, then the isolation and fear of an unknown pandemic sank in. Add in our national political corruption and disillusionment, social strife enabled by toxic technology, and far-reaching environmental fears.

And here in our state, devastating wildfires torched many wonderful Oregon places I’ve cherished all my life. It all knocked my legs out from under me. I felt crippled. I felt I should be better than this, but I wasn't. I just couldn't get back emotionally.

Then my good friend brought me two gifts - courage and time.

I realized I was being disabled by fear of change and frightening future unknowns. Fear robs us of our courage. And it shortens time for us. The immediacy of loss and panic can obscure the big picture of our future. And that results in a short-sighted, negative life narrative. It's our story, but through our own narrow lens.

I discovered I had to give up my romantic notions of the past and expectations of the present and the way things should be, and look to my real future. I am not long for this world. None of us are, but we seem to suspend coming to terms with death for most of our lives, while we are busy building our American Dream.

And the push towards a secure retirement. And for me, time for adventure.

I've always been a goer, an adventurer, and the natural world's beauty is my happy place. Gotta see what's around the bend, and up over that ridge. I've answered the call of the open road, sought misty waterfalls at the end of the trail, and melted into an evening kayak float towards that golden, fading sun, at the end of a perfect day.

And photographing it all is the capper for me. It aligns me with our world, calms me, inspires me, and brings me intense joy. When work and life gets too hard, I go there, always churning out new plans for the next big trip.

Yes, my happy place is both emotional and literal.

But this has also blurred the lines of my own reality a bit - because let's face it, life can be hard and running for the hills is certainly an escape. Difficult people and unfulfilled expectations along with the tedium of daily repetitive tasks can drag us all down. If my day to day is full of pain and shame, I go there. Somewhere. Anywhere. I escape.

And now all this present tumult seemed to be threatening my earthly dream - my escape hatch. A healthy diversion can be a good thing, but so can standing tall and trimming our sails against the wind. We can adjust, and chart a different course.

Our God will always, ALWAYS use bad for good if we let Him. We just have to let Him. In facing my future and my fears, I am slowly learning to stand. And to walk. I am learning what to focus on, and what not to. As time stretches out, the learning curve is flattening. People aren't so scary, because they are just like me at heart. I accept that, and them. My wonderful wife is my best friend, just like it should be. My friends have surrounded me as much as they are able to, and I am returning the favor.

And my amazing God, my Creator and Savior is busy in the background, restoring me, and preparing all the spectacular mountains, deserts, lush green valleys and rivers in preparation for our real future. Unspeakably bigger, bolder and more beautiful, complete with the sunlight of his intense love and presence.

So all this will work out well, don't you think? We just need to trust, and walk with resilience.

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About the Author

Terry is a man in constant motion to explore new horizons. He has a thirst for new places and faces, and a deep love for the natural world - with a weakness for waterfalls and sunsets. All of this venturing out helps to both ground and inspire him, because it opens him up to people, with their vast, collective array of experiences, outlooks and responses.

He finds all of this fascinating and sees that it has encouraged the growth of something crucial in his Christian development: empathy and compassion toward his brothers and sisters on this planet.