DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

First a Big Southern Thanks Y'all

This blog started 14 months ago. I never knew it would grow like it has. That is in part thanks to you. Your faithfulness to read this blog and encourage me to keep going has grown my gifts and challenged me in ways I never thought I would be challenged.

You have been my critics, my cheerleaders, my prayer partners and my friends. Thank you for all you do.

Have I Scared You Yet? 

I am not quitting. I am growing and with growth sometimes change comes. So if you will indulge me, I want to share some BIG news- The blog is moving and going onto its own site.

daynabickham.com  is a work in progress but so was this site fourteen months ago. As a matter of fact when this blog started I had exactly three readers: my best friend, my husband, and my aunt. Now I have over 300 hits a day and that kind of growth is a blessing.

Here is my promise: I will continue to give you great content two to three times a week and I will continue to be as genuine as I am now. My warts and moles will all be there- on display for all to see. As a matter of fact, all the content that is here, is now there.

Easy as 1- 2-3-

Or at least I hope so.

I am sure there will be bugs to work out. I am learning a whole new layout that is much more involved than blogger ever was, so there are bound to be some mistakes. Just hang in there.

If I had my way, I would never launch daynabickham.com. It is a huge step, and intimidating. But I have to obey and this is where God is leading me.

So here is what you can do.

• Share this post on Facebook
• Follow the link daynabickham.com and say hi at the new "home" 
• Tweet about the new site launch 
• Pray for me as I take this next step

Join in the Conversation

Is change scary for you too?

Prayer: A Conversation With God

God waits for us to seek Him. Photo Credit: Unknown 

I am Forgetful

There are times when I forget. 

I get busy doing all the things I think I should be doing and for hours, sometimes days I do not talk to my Lord. 

This is no way to have a relationship, not a good one anyway. 

If I were to treat my husband or kids like that, giving the silent treatment for hours or days on end then my relationships would begin to suffer. I know this. I pay attention to the people in my life, but why is it I fail to pay attention to my Father? Instead of acting like a beloved daughter, I wander around like a homeless orphan. 

I am Not Alone

The children of Israel had been brought out of Egypt. They were free of the tyranny of enslavement. Led by a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by night, they followed the Lord's leading. They saw the spirit of God descend Mt. Sinai like a fire and a billow of smoke. They heard God's voice like thunder. They were in awe. 

Then Moses ascended the mountain and left the people below. For forty days and forty nights Moses dwelt in the presence of God at the top of the mountain. Below, the children of Israel heard only the sound of thunder. They began to forget it was God's voice and soon ignored it all together. They approached Aaron and asked for an idol to worship. Why? 

In the absence of fellowship we revert to spiritual enslavement and false idols. TWEET THAT

The Before and After

Before Jesus, we were lost in darkness. We wander around like blind men, groping for some stability. We look for salvation but only see darkness. We wait for a sudden illumination, but there is nothing.(Isaiah 59:9-10)  Then salvation comes. 

God saw our need for a Savior. He saw our desperation. His heart was moved with passion and zeal to show His great love for us. So He sent Jesus - His right arm. 

"He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor;

Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him." Isaiah 59:16 

The word "wondered" in Hebrew means to be made desolate, appalled, stunned, ravaged, stupefied, or deflowered. God saw there was no champion (ish in Hebrew - Strongs 0376) and it raped His heart. (yes- I said raped) He was made desolate at the thought His creation would never be able to have full fellowship with Him because of their sin.  Mankind needed an intercessor. 

That word "intercessor" can be translated in the Hebrew (Strongs 06293) to mean "to cause light to shine on" or "to reach the mark". God's right arm (Jesus) was sent to save us. To make a way where there was no way before. A sacrifice for all mankind, to take away the sins of the world. The word "Salvation" in this passage is pronounced "yaw-shah" which reminds me of the name "Yeshua" (ye-shew-ah) or Jesus. 

By providing a way for us to come to Him freely, God revived himself after feeling such loss. That is what it means when it says "it sustained Him". (Strongs 05564) 

Before Jesus we were lost, in the dark, groping like blind men. After Jesus we have a way to approach our Father boldly, with confidence that He loves us and has made us His righteousness through Christ. Now we have relationship. Now we can have fellowship. 

Fellowship is Key

God dwelt among us in the flesh. He walked in the midst of people. Jesus, fully God and fully man, laid down His life so that we could have fellowship with God. Then, Jesus returned to heaven, so He could give us the Spirit of God. The kingdom of God, alive and living in our very hearts. This is the mystery Paul spoke of. The God of the Universe dwelling in the hearts of man. 

God would not have gone through so much trouble if the reward was not great. Fellowship with us is that reward. His heart longs for our heart. Like a long lost lover longs for his beloved, God longs for us to be in fellowship with Him. 

So when I forget to talk to Him, I hurt the very heart of God. 

Prayer

Prayer is simply talking with God. A conversation. Fellowship. It is not a magical formula: if you mix equal parts thanksgiving with equal parts supplication then you get double parts blessing. (Blah)  We do not serve God for what we can get from God. 

We serve God because He is Holy and deserves our service. The paradox of God is this: as we make it more about HIM, He makes it more about us. He shows His love to us over and over and begins to shower us with blessings, not because we hit the magic formula, but out of His love and outpouring of relationship with us He gives to us. 

Prayer is talking. Prayer is asking. Prayer is worship. Prayer is fellowship. We have access to God by what He provided in Jesus, but we must approach the Father and talk with Him to begin to know Him, and like any conversation, prayer is a two way street. 

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" John 10:27

You would not know your best friend or your spouse if you had never talked to them. God demands the same and more in order to know Him and to walk in fellowship with Him. It all starts with a conversation. 

He deserves more than my hard heart and cold shoulder. 

Forgive me Lord. Forgive my hard heart and my weak mind. Help me set my eyes on you and not be distracted by the things of this world that threaten to consume me. Instead, let me be consumed by You, like Mount Sinai was consumed. Like a fire and a billow of smoke, let me rest and dwell in Your presence. 

Join the Conversation

Do you find praying difficult? Why or why not? 

"Follow Your Heart" is a LIE

Photo Credit: Unknown 

ZZZzzzz...

The alarm went off for twenty minutes this morning before I heard it. I hit snooze. For an hour, every nine minutes that alarm went off. Ever nine minutes I hit snooze once more. 

I was tired. Still am, but I have lots to do. I have spent the last two hours catching up on morning chores and now, I am at least three hours behind my day. 

This morning I was a serial snoozer. This is a dangerous thing to be. 

But isn't that just human nature? To put off all the things we know we need to do, just for a few more minutes of something else? A few more minutes of fun, of sleep. or of peace? 

But we don't just apply this habit to our sleeping patterns, or at least I don't. No, I run the risk of applying it to my spiritual life too. All too often I hear God telling me to do something about an attitude or a habit. My response is too often a lazy one. I hit the spiritual snooze button. 

I know I have to eventually get to it, but I do not want to deal with the pain of doing it right now. And sometimes there is pain when we obey. 

Me versus God

The truth is no one likes the process of self-discipline, but the concept is even more strenuous when you add in God's discipline. I want to get up at eight, which is hard enough for me at times. God wants me up at five. I want to have a second portion of dinner (hey, I am a great cook!) and God wants me to cut the first portion in half. These may seem like self-discipline issues, but they are really heart issues.

"Heart Issues" is a phrase I used to hate to hear. It sounded so judgmental coming from pastors and teachers, but in reality, if we are ill in our physical body, don't we want to know what the root problem is? Wouldn't we want to fix that? 

So I have to apply the same logic to my spiritual life. I have to go to the "heart" of my issues. I have to deal with my disobedience and rebellion. 

That is what it is and it isn't easy or pretty to say. Like an alcoholic in an AA meeting I feel like I should stand up and say, "Hi, my name is Dayna, and I have a rebellion problem." 

The battle of self-will versus God's will has been going on since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, but I somehow isolate myself and think it is just a "Dayna" thing. This rebellion may manifest itself in small ways, but with big and sometimes dire consequences. 

After all, I did not just wake up one day overweight battling health problems because I hit a snooze once or had a second helping a few times. No, I ended up this way because I served myself for years instead of serving God. 

I am in Recovery (TWEET THAT)

The remedy is not easy. When I perfect it, I will let you know. Until then, I will stay on my face repenting, trying again, and choosing to let God lead me. Recovering the life He means me to have, not the one I buildt for myself. 

I want the stuff that will last: treasure that remains. Burn off the dross and let my life be made to be a perfect reflection of You Lord. 

"A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things." Matthew 12:35 KJV

Father, hear my cry. My heart is wicked and it always chooses itself. "Follow your heart" is a lie I have believed for too long, and I know that there is no one and nothing I should follow more than you. Forgive me for being stiff necked and insisting on doing things my way. Help me to be obedient the first time you tell me something. Help me to abandon myself and lean into you with all I am. I choose you over my own desires. You are worth it all. In Jesus name. Let it be. 

Join the Conversation

Do you have a bad habit God is leading you to break?