being EXPECTANT

                 

“In the morning, Lord You hear my voice; In the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly." - Psalm 5:3

As the darkness makes way to dawn, before our busy days and world corrupt our thoughts, we speak our wants and needs to Him, and anxiously wait for Him to answer.

 

“Pray like you expect something to happen.” - James 5:1

 

Wants, needs, prayers requests, all at His Feet.  We wait for prayers to be answered,  families to be reunited, hearts and bodies to be healed, reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness, etc. How often we long for things that aren’t here yet.  

We spend so much time waiting, being expectant of what’s to come, for something to begin or end, that I wonder if we occasionally forget to live where we are, in this moment, in this season.  

So, let’s talk recovery and being expectant…

 

Ø  Are you expectant of what God can do for you through this season?  

Ø  Are you expectant of how He can grow you?

Ø  Are you expectant of how your life will improve or change?

 

Allow God to walk with you through this recovery, it’s too hard to go alone, and why would you anyway?  Recovering and Celebrate Recovery go hand in hand for a reason, a journey that’s been walked by many, and you my friend are capable of walking it out as well.  Easy?  Maybe not on some days, but you have a God that will walk with you every step.  We need people, and we need those who’ve walked through it to share their stories, provide hope and cover us with anticipation that God can do the same for us.  I hope each week you recover you’re able to embrace those with you in CR, and allow their stories and yours to mix.  One of the coolest things about CR is who God chooses for us to recover with.  He ordains this, so allow it.  You have those that sit amongst you that are sharing your breaths and they quite possibly may need you and your heartbeat to keep them going.  

 

As you embrace the uncertainty of what’s ahead, you can feel the weight of your burdens become less. Embracing, Instead of fighting the unknown, will allow a sense of trust that can cover you with peace.  

 

 What if we had NO expectations, not for ourselves, or for others, not even for God Himself?  What do you think might happen then?  We wouldn’t set ourselves up to fail because we hadn’t set a bar, and others wouldn’t disappoint us because there wasn’t an expectation set for them.  Maybe it would lesson some anxiety in our lives.

 

All that said, I believe It’s ok to have expectations, just don’t set them out of your reach.  Don’t expect too much from yourself, or from others.  Don’t expect more than you can give, and don’t expect others to be something they aren’t capable of being.  I’ve been there, waiting and hoping for others to change and it’s heartbreaking when they aren’t capable of the destination or the amount of pressure put upon them.  Let God mold you, and them.  God not only does a work in you when you recover, but He also works in lives of your families, friends, etc.

Expect God to use you, change you, better you, and redeem you through the breaths you breathe during this season, after all,  His Promises say He will.

“For I am doing somethings In your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even If someone told you about it.” - Habakkuk 1:5

 

 Victory is yours!

 Shelley Taylor 

(originally posted in Fellowship of the Parks NFW - Celebrate Recovery blog)

Stand in your WORTHINESS

 

 

 

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, 

clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, 

gentleness and patience.” – Colossians 3:12

 

 

Some days my weakness is a liability and other days, it’s my greatest strength.  I’m comparable to a chameleon and wear every word spoken to me, written, audible and silent.  You can tell me just how wonderful I am, and then 5 minutes later I hear from another voice, words that break me and I wear them all.  I can easily layer guilt, unworthiness, disappointment on top of worthy and loved.  I can eat at the table of shame, while dressed in righteousness.  I can sing a song with lyrics that move me from hope to heartache, and raise my hands both in confidence and defeat.  It’s a head game, it wrenches both my stomach and my heart.

 

This may be you today, or on some days, and if it is, I encourage you to know your worth, know it comes from above, not from anyone or anything on this earth.

 

 

Christ died for you and for me, even with all our sin, all our shortcomings, and even if we were the only ONE, He would’ve deemed us ENOUGH to be nailed to the cross, JUST. FOR. US.

 

Stand today in your worthiness.

 

 

Victory is yours!

 

Shelley Taylor

He's Still ROLLING STONES

 

 

 

I’d rather spend my days in the valley or ever-widening canyon WITH God, then be on the highest mountaintop WITHOUT Him, and I’m sure you would too.  

 

Your valley may be dark and lonely, or you may feel as if its more than you can take right now, but rest assured that you’re not alone, and He will never leave you.  

 

 

Our God is capable of handling whatever you’re struggling with today, He’s able to help you walk through whatever you’re battling, and the very thing that brought you to recovery.  He doesn’t send you through it alone, and He doesn’t send you around it either, but He walks with you, and can make your valley of trouble, a valley of hope.  There is hope for YOU, even if you don’t feel it right now.

 

“And surely, I am with you always, 

to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:20

 

You may feel as if this is too hard for you and you’d rather quit than endure another day, but let your strength come from Him, keep pressing on and into Him, and remember why you started.  Every day is one day closer to being able to share your victory story, because you made it through.  It’s through our struggles that we find out more about ourselves, and just who we are and what we’re capable of.  We, together with God, are able to conquer and defeat the enemy.  And our God, today my friend, IS STILL ROLLING STONES, and yours is none too large for Him.  

 

 

 

Victory is yours!

 

Shelley Taylor

Let's Talk PRAYER

 

 

 

“Because He bends down to listen, 

I will pray as long as I have breath.” - Psalm 116:2

 

 

 

I love to pray, and my prayer life totally changes me inside if I let it.  Prayer is like nutrition for the soul, and it’s the best medicine we need for most anything we face, before, during and after our battles and recovery. Prayer changes things, and mostly prayer changes us, so let it.  

I’ve been prayed for by so many wonderful peoplethrough the years, and I constantly try to pray forward, and if you’re reading this, consider yourself prayed for. 

I’ve seen so many prayers answered, and how do you get what you want if you don’t ask for it? Often, God is just waiting for us to ask, for us to seek Him, and need Him. We want Him to fix our problems, but we’re slow to hand them over, mostly because we think we know what’s best for us.  Believe me, I’ve been there, years of there, and while I’m not necessarily proud of these times, it’s these times that helped mold me into who I am now.  I tried to steer my boat, clear the path before me, plan how my life would look, for me and my family, and so on, and so on.  But, one thing you have to remember, our “yes” is sometimes His “no,” and His YES is perfect, but His NO is too.  Be willing to accept His answer, and you’ll realize that sometimes our biggest blessings are truly our unanswered prayers.

God hears the simplest of prayers, so don’t be afraid to pray like a child, after all, we are His children.  I pray some of the most childlike prayers and He knows that, and probably by now, expects it from me, and that’s ok.

Sometimes, during recovery, and maybe more often than not, we feel “alone” and I want you to know He never leaves you, and prayer is a way that you can connect with Him, you can know Him more intimately, and He can fill that emptiness, like nothing else can.  

“I call on the Lord in my distress, and He answers me.” - Psalm 120:1

If praying seems hard for you, which is totally normal, so don’t beat yourself up with words that are belittling, don’t think “praying”—think “talking,” it’s that easy. Don’t try to overcomplicate it by trying to make it too “religious,” just be yourself.  It’s like me writing this to you, I feel as if we’re just talking and I intend for it to feel that way.  God’s on your side, He’s your teammate, He’s in your recovery with you and for you.  You may feel “flawed” but you are worthy to seek His Throne, I promise.  Posture yourself to be in His presence and in a state of communion with Him. Pray without words, if needed, knees on floor, hips settled, head bowed into your hands, heart on your knees with the only sound being your heartbeat and breath.  Sometimes we don’t need to speak, we just need to pause and listen.  Practice pausing.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” - Romans 8:26 (emotional sighs, too deep for words)

 

God receives our tears as words, when words won’t come, and they’re the only offering we have to give.  Sometimes we’re so depleted by the depth of our problems, just drawing a breath takes energy and it’s totally exhausting.  The bridge between panic and peace truly is prayer, so let Him meet you just where you are, and let Him be that connection. God doesn’t ask us to change to approach Him, He does the changing when He approaches us.  

 

Our words pierce Him, and He receives what we pray, so…pray.  Pray early.  Let prayer direct your day before it directs you.  Pray and bring your worries to God, and have faith to leave them there. Even after recovery, talk to God, seek Him during, and thank Him after.  Make prayer a part of each day, from here on out.

He longs to speak to us but we have to make room to receive the word He’s giving us.  Sometimes we carry our broken pieces to God, and days or even weeks later, we find a shard that we left behind. Just like when a glass is broken and we think we have all the pieces picked up, and later find out we didn’t, and it results in hurt, both with the broken pieces, and the glass. What broken pieces do you still need to give to Him? Trust Him and lay them down; give them to Him in prayer.  He wants to provide for you, hear from you, and communicate with you; the Father longs to speak to His children. 

The secret places in your heart, He knows them, so don’t allow the noises of worry and fret to get so loud in your head that you can’t hear His voice. 

Lord, I pray You lead me to the pain and help me help You mend the broken. God, we can’t change what You put at our feet, but we can let it make us instead of break us. Hard will always come, and I pray You strengthen us by what You allow us to endure.

 

Pray. Wait. Trust. 

He knows your voice, so trust His. 

 

Victory is yours!

 

 

Shelley Taylor 

(originally posted in Fellowship of the Parks NFW - Celebrate Recovery blog)

 

 

What speaks the LOUDEST

 

 

“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.  He sent out His Word and healed them, He rescued them from the grave.  Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind.” – Psalm 107:19-21

 

How do you stack something that’s changed our world on top of weight that you already can’t lift? What do you do when your psyche already feels as if it’s a broken mirror and one more move, it will shatter?  What if your broken is broken?  Or, what if you’re holding on, trying not to break because you’re afraid you won’t be able to be put back together?  Now what?  Jesus came for the broken, the exhausted, the weak, the hopeless and helpless, and you, my friend, He came for you!

 

Times are hard right now, and mental issues are rising with all the stress that’s come from Covid-19and all its compounding issues.   Sometimes we just respond to what speaks the loudest, like a parent would do with their child, and this can prove to be exhausting. Our bodies, minds and souls react, negatively at best.  

 

 

 

“Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” – Isaiah 30:21

 

What if we “flip the narrative,” change our perspective?

 

Sometimes what we hear and see, strongly depends on where we are, where we’re sitting or standing.  God does truly interrupt our lives, and I’m sure you can think of countless times He has yours, and it may be directly related to your recovery, or not.  Sometimes He sees where we’re headed, what lies ahead and has no other choice than to disrupt us, change our trajectory, and it’s through this intervention that our lives change, our stories change, our period turns into a comma.  Hopefully what we go through and the times we fall down will be fewer, and the times we get up will increase, and it all will become a little easier.  Things that interrupt us are hard, but we grow stronger as we go through them.  Recovery is hard, but being recovered is something to stand firm on. Try today and let Him get in the boat with you. 

 

I’ve heard this said, and I’ve personally said this so many times during Covid, “We’re in the same storm, but not in the same boat,” what’s huge for you, isn’t for me and vice versa.  What is a huge battle to some of us, some never think twice about.  We’re all in the same storm, but we won’t all come out of it the same, and my hope and prayer is that you will come out better by what He’s allowed you to go through.

 

Can you trust Him with that?  

 

Try, and if you can’t, try again tomorrow.  Trust is similar to recovery, sometimes we have to start over every morning. Sometimes I wake up believing, and sometimes I need Him to turn water into wine right before my eyes.  Some days my faith is fierce and others fear conquers all.  I’ve been in sheer desperation before and with barely a whisper, uttered, “I’m Your girl” trying so hard to believe that I was, and if I was, that it truly mattered.  

 

It does.  

 

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” – Psalm 32:7-8

 

 

My prayer is that when He interrupts your life, your faith and trust in Him will overcome all, that the words He speaks to you will resound louder than anything else you are playing in your head, and you can find a way to trust Him.

 

Victory is yours!

 

Shelley Taylor

(originally posted in Fellowship of the Parks NFW Celebrate Recovery blog)

I Will Not Be SHAKEN

 

 

“I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With Him at my right hand, 

I will not be shaken.”  Psalm 16:8

 

We let the stress of this world consume us and sometimes destroy us, and more often than not, this has been me, I’ve walked in these shoes.  All the while, He’s waiting on us to believe that He can come through for us.  He might put a “giant” in front of you so you can see how strong you really are, even if, hear that again, even if you don’t feel it right now.  He may not move your “mountain” and He may even allow a larger one, but He’ll walk your journey with you if you let Him.

 

Sometimes He depletes us and we may even feel as if He defeats us so our only choice is to look to Him for our strength.  The weaker we are, the stronger we can become in Him, and through Him, and the weaker our enemies become.  Do you believe that He can and will defeat your enemy?  No matter what stands before you, and God, He will help you conquer it.  Where our strength ends, His begins.  

 

 

“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

 

Whatever’s in front of you right now, is not a surprise to Him, and whatever “giant or mountain” you’re recovering from is a part of His Plan and part of your victory story.  

 

“You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries 

before me.  You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, 

and I destroyed my foes.” Psalm 18:39-40

 

 

Lean in to Him, feel His right Hand, and take it.  He will not allow you to be shaken.

 

Victory is yours!

 

Shelley Taylor

(originally posted in Fellowship of the Parks NFW - Celebrate Recovery blog)