Blended to Perfection

We want to have a perfect flavor to our coffee. We know what it takes to make it just right to fit our taste. But what if something is off? What if something were to affect the flavor? Would you fix it? Of course you would!

We know what it takes to have good "flavor" as a Christian. But what if something is affecting our flavor?
If you find yourself struggling to get back to that good flavor, here are some helpful hints I learned in my
Blended to Perfection" breakout session.

Weak

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.:

2 Corinthians 13:9
"We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection."

When you feel weak, get grounded in the Word.  Start the day with God and prepare; don't try to shore up crumbling faith later.

Bitter

Ephesians 4:30-32
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Bitterness is underlying.  No matter how you try to sweeten the surface, the bitterness comes through.  We need to give the things that cause us bitterness to the Lord daily, or hourly, or minute by minute. Staying bitter is a choice.

Stale

Psalm 51:10-12

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Becoming stale is to become tasteless or bland. The glow of passion for Christ, our love, has faded.  There is no excitement for us and we weary of doing good. We don't seek to grow and we don't serve. Many times we don't realize we have become stale. We need to be open to the leading of the Spirit, the words of trusted friends, and our own knowledge of our spiritual walk. The key words in the above verse are renew, restore and willing. God can renew and restore us as long as we have a willing spirit.

Cold

Matthew 24:12-13

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

Hebrews 12:28-29
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."

We become cold when we are not in the Word daily, have a stagnant prayer life, pull away from the church and/or caught in sin.  The only way to rekindle the fire that keeps us burning is to go directly to the source. Jesus.

Sour

1 John 2:15-17

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?"

Sourness comes from something or someone affecting our relationships with others. We become less effective, or unable to move on. Refocus on whose opinion truly matters.

All of these things indicate that God is not in the first place of priority.  Most of the time, when we are struggling with these issues, it is because we have forgotten that we are blessed to be called to serve the Lord. In whatever way, shape or form He calls us. What affects our outlook is how we respond to the calling on our life.

Learn to have gratitude for the chance to glorify God. If we can get to that place, our flavor will always be savory and sweet.

Update Coming

My goal is to get my notes from my breakout sesson entered soon. I am so sorry if you have been waiting for them.

:)

Cindy Winters Interview

The question that got me and the statement that made me mad

Ok. so there was this one moment during the conference, and it was so impactful for me that I had to seperate it out.

Exodus 33:1-3 (NIV)

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.'  I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way."

Shelley had us consider this:

If we could have it all... perfect marriage, perfect children, no debt, great financial situation, great job, amazing ministry and all with no trials, no trouble, no heartache, and we could even have our salvation and place in heaven assured, would we take it?

Would we take it if it meant never having fellowship with God again?

Did you think, even for a second, maybe even in what you thought was a joking way..."well, maybe?"

wow.

Have we placed our comfort and our desire to have our own way, our need to "get out of the fire" over the joy of knowing that we have that intimate fellowship with God whenever we want it? Would we really trade that fellowship for a life free of strife?

My perspective has NOT been focused on the right thing.

Later she said...

Satan wants to kill as many birds with one stone as possible. How can he do this? He goes after the leaders. If he can take the leader down, he knows that he can take a lot of people with him.

This really made me angry. Satan is really good at what he does, and because we keep taking our focus off of God, and allowing worldly influences to lead us, we are playing right into his hand!

I have been guilty of it as well! Not necessarily following that leader, but in allowing my perceptions of what they do and how they act to allow me to get to places of bitterness, distrust and distance.

It was a real eye-opener for me, in the fact that I have been trying so hard to shore up my defenses, and I see a whole area of my life that I had left wide open!

I pray that you have not been to the places I have, and if you have, or still are there, that you would begin the process of giving that to God. I say process because I am still in the day-by-day, sometimes minute-by-minute phase. I allow people to hurt me way too easily.

Just wanted to share these things with you.

RefresHer Notes

First Session ~ Special Speaker Cindy Winters

Cindy shared her testimony of the day her husband was shot. Although it has only been 8 months since his death, she is amazingly passionate about glorifying God through this entire situation. Her main focus is to truly get us to understand that life can change in the blink of an eye, and it will be in a way that you could have never been prepared for.

She asked us to honestly look at our trust and faith in God.


We can learn all that the Bible holds, but the question we have to ask ourselves is, “Do we know Jesus?” learning and knowing are two different things.


We can not trust what we do not know.


When we passionately pursue knowing Jesus, then on the days that we have nothing left, when life had hit us with it’s best and all we have left is the strength for one word, calling the name of Jesus will be enough.

We didn’t do this song, but I wanted to share the reminder





First Session ~ Main Speaker Shelley Switzer ~ The Daily Grind

1 Kings 19:1-18


Daily Grind: Something routine or monotonous


Grind: to wear down, to oppress, to crush, to annoy or irk

What causes the daily grind?

1) People
2) Perspective

Elijah had just called the power of God into action before a large crowd of unbelievers. His faith was such that he could taunt them about the powerlessness of their gods because he was 100% sure of the power of his God.

When we meet him in the beginning of Chapter nineteen, he is basically whining to God that life is too hard and that no one loves him and that he wants to (the equivalent of) “just DIE!”

How could that faith become “the daily grind”?

•  Satan will use people in your life to drive you to the “enough” point. There is nothing you can do about it. You can’t control people, what they say, what they do. He can even use your relationships with those in your inner circle (i.e. spouse, kids, friends)

1 Kings 16:31, 18:21, 18:39

• Only God can change people. If our perspective is heavenward, we are prepared for the people.
  (When we are worn down *emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and/or physically, we easily get to the “enough” point)

How can we keep our perspective right?

Mark 12:28-31 Is God first?

The Greek word for first means priority. Is God the priority in every aspect of our lives, or are there areas that God doesn’t own? Loving God takes priority over all.

• Colossians 3:1-4 Christ is our life

It is much easier to start the day with God and get our hearts in the right place, to be prepared for what may come, then to try to play catch up later, after Satan has attacked.

• 1 Kings 19:11-14 Be still before God

Sometimes God brings the storms, to see if we will stand still and wait for him to lead us. Will we stand while the winds blow? Will we stand while the ground shakes? Will we stand in the fire and trust that we will not be burned?


Elijah did not move until God told him to. When God finally called him, it wasn’t with a shout. (vs.12) God moved Elijah with a “gentle whisper” (NIV)

God asked Elijah, “What are you doing here”? In essence, why are ya over here whining and feeling sorry for yourself?

God had Elijah go “back the way he came”. He took Elijah back past all the markers of His faithfulness to Elijah. Elijah had to go back the way he had come, because he was so stuck in the daily grind, that he needed the reminders of what all God had done for him.


We need to do the same. When was the last time I looked at all of the ways, big and small, that God has been so faithful, so good to me?


Like Elijah, we want to cut and run when things go wrong or we don’t get our way.


“That’s not fair!” really means, “I didn’t get my way”. God never, NEVER said that life would be fair. He literally tells us that following him will be HARD!


Isn’t it so worth it?


We are not allowed to quit. When the going gets hard, we can’t quit. We can’t leave. It’s not biblical.


We are called to raise up the next generation. That isn’t just about age. There is a generation of Christians coming behind me and they may be 5, 15 or 50. It is my calling from God to take them, mentor them, raise them up and prepare them to do the same for the generation behind them! God equips each of us with unique gifts, talents and abilities. It takes a whole church to raise up the next generation.


I CAN’T QUIT. Galatians 6:9


GOD doesn’t call me to quit. He calls me to trust Him and continue on fighting the good fight.


This wasn’t one of the songs we sang, but I thought it fit well here.






In case you ever wondered, this is one of my top three all time favorites. The fact that we sang it was such a blessing to me on a very personal, Holy Spirit level.

Session 2 ~ Main Speaker Shelley Switzer ~ Thermometer or Thermostat?


Thermometer ~ Tells the condition of it’s surroundings
Thermostat ~ Changes the environment


Philippians 4:4-7 (Paul was DEFINITELY a thermostat!) This was written while he was in prison, literally chained to the body of the enemy!

• Rejoice IN THE LORD, not the circumstances. God is always good. Always. Again, ALWAYS! The circumstances can be ripping your heart out, but God is still good, and God is still in control. He is ALWAYS worthy to be praised.

What does always mean? Always. There is never a time when he will not be worthy.

• When we get to heaven, the more we have known of God here will make that arrival that much sweeter. This life really is the dress rehearsal, but if we work really hard, and strive to know as much of God as we can cram into this life (and there will never be a time when we know it all, when we completely know HIM) How much greater the joy when we get to our true home! Keep the right perspective!

Thank God first! No matter what, our gratitude should be higher than anything. God wants to know our needs, our wants and our desires, but first we have to be thankful for what he has already provided.

Also…


If we are in a place of thankfulness, our heart is ready to receive whatever answer God is prepared to give us. Even if it is the one we would have given anything NOT to get. (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

• James 1:2-4 Be real in your responses to others. If something is going wrong, admit it! If you are struggling, admit it! But test yourself with this scripture, can you truly rejoice in any situation? (Do you have the proper perspective)

Quote given:

If you can identify the crosses in your life, and embrace them as blessings, then God’s work is being done in you.

 (she did not give a credit name)

• Philippians 1:6 God will not stop until we get the lessons he is teaching. He is infinitely patient.

Trials refine us as silver. He will continue to send us through the fire, bring the dross to the top and flick it away, until the day that he sees his perfect reflection in us. God knows just how hot to make the fire in our life. It will never be too hot if we are in him (do we have the proper perspective?) These trials are more evidence of his love for us. Trials are opportunities to cling tighter, grow closer, to our amazing Lord.

• Philippians 4:11-13

Contentment doesn’t come naturally. It is all a learning process.


Faith, hope, joy, love, patience, endurance, rejoicing… we must learn it all and learn that it is all through Christ.

• Philippians 1:12

  “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” (NIV)

Paul wanted them to know that even while in prison, there are opportunities to further the gospel. There is never a time when we can not glorify God and continue his work thru us.

• Philippians 4:22

We can influence those that would hold us back from God’s calling on our life. Through a changed perspective, a changed attitude, a changed heart, a growing faith.

Paul sent greetings from the Saints in Caesar’s household! He was bringing Christ to the enemy and they were receiving him!

Finally…


Matthew 6:8-11


Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"This, then, is how you should pray:  'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,  your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. (NIV)


We only need enough for today. Don’t worry about tomorrow. (6:34) God will have it covered then. We need what we need for today. The rest are wants. God supplies all our needs.


What do I need?

Strength? Passion? Dedication? Endurance? Hope? Belief?

What do I need to let go of?


She had us draw a cross on a piece of paper, and then over the cross we were to write something that we needed to give to God, to let go of. I encourage you to do that in your time of prayer as well, or perhaps while the last song plays.




Finally, because I love each of you so very much… I want to leave a final encouragement…The song is a little older, but it’s still 100% true.

Thank you for being my rock, my crutch, my boot in the butt, my crying shoulder, and just my place to land. God is so good to me to give me these friendships.

Intro to the Blog

This blog is for my friends who could not attend the RefresHer conference. I have done my best to relay the lessons and encouragement I received.

I am so sorry that you could not join me, and I know this will not compare to actually attending the conference, but I have done my best to give you a blogfrence.

I have chosen this format because I wanted  include "worship time", i.e.videos, and this was the only way I knew to embed them into the notes.

Also, I am comfortable in the bloggy world. :)

Enjoy!