Are You Sticking to Your Story?

I am humbled and blown away that I have been chosen by the Lord to walk with people during difficult seasons in their lives.  I am so unworthy.  I know that I am full of flaws and can in no way sit in a seat of wise counsel without the inexplicable grace of my Savior.

I listen to many stories and am in complete awe of how much grace is given to each of us. 

Over the years, I have learned that there is a story in us all.  There are stories of generational sins, abuse, broken homes and abandonment.  Many of these stories are of unspoken experiences that linger in the crevices of our minds.  Unfortunately some are stored only in the simulated safety of secrets.  Unbelievable experiences that fester and are transformed into behaviors that destroy marriages, hurt children, nurture depression and perpetuate cycles that never end.

What's your story?

Yes.  All of us have a story of how we have become who we are and why we have made the decisions we have made. Actually, I think at times we prefer these stories.  They nurse the victim in some or they feed the ego in others.  We like the feeling of how they embrace us and we relax in the comfort of their familiar voice. 

Of course we have episodes of happiness, success, deliverance and freedom.  We love them. We keep them. We nurture these as well. However, in times of stress and hardship due to the unpredictability of life, they are consumed and replaced with the repetitive play of our narratives that feed our feelings of helplessness, defeat, fear and discouragement.

What role in life have you taken as a result of your story? What role do you fight for and defend? How has this role influenced your life and relationships? 

I ask because I don’t think we realize that we are so entrenched by them that when we hear the truth of God’s word, we reject the freedom it offers.   We sing about deliverance in the safety of a jail cell with the door wide open!

But God!

The outcome of our stories was changed because of the outcome of the CROSS! 

Jesus lives and He has interrupted our story with a new role:

Free.

Redeemed. 

Conqueror. 

Blessed. 

Holy. 

Beloved. 

Friend.

Beautiful. 

Courageous.

Equipped.

HIS.

Let's take it! It completely changes our story!

And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you FREE! John 8:32

Blessings!

copyright 2015 www.shundriariddick.com All Rights Reserved

Trust by Elyana

I am extremely excited to have my sweet daughter's post this week!  She is such a sweet young lady and I am extremely blessed to be her Mommy.  This kid LOVES Jesus and has a heart for Him! 

Hope you enjoy!

When you sit in a chair, do you trust it to hold you? 

Do you trust your flashlight to turn on? 

But most of all, do you trust God?

God is an amazing person. He wants you to have the best life possible. God has big plans for you, so now and then he will throw twist and turns in your life. 

Trust will be extremely important through these twist and turns.

Many people had to trust in God throughout the Bible. They had to put faith in Him to get them through their twist and turns.

For example, thousands for years ago (you can find this story in Genesis 5:32 – 10:1) when Noah was about 400-500 years old, God gave Noah a REAL twist! He told Noah to build a boat to protect Him from the flood of Earth. Noah loved God and put A LOT of trust in him! 120 years later, the flood occurred and Noah was protected from it. Living proof of trusting God!

A lot of people have trouble trusting God. Why? Because they cannot see God. Yes, it is hard to trust someone you can’t see, but with God it’s worth the effort. God wants the best for you but you have to trust Him in order for God to fulfill His plan. He wants you to get through these twist and turns.

I trust Him. Do you?

Having a hard time with trust? 

Here are some verses to get your trust back on track!

1 Chronicles 16:11

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

Exodus 15:2

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Isaiah 41:10

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.

Trust the Lord with all your heart and soul and He will get you through your problems.

In all the complexities of our adult lives, sometimes it takes the simplicity of a child. 

Trust God.

Blessings!

You can find this and other articles by Elyana at For Girls Like You Magazine where she is a regular contributor. 

copyright 2015 www.shundriariddick.com All rights reserved.

These Days

These Days...

I can't even begin to tell you about the twists and turns life has taken me. I am grateful. At the time of the twist or turn, I can't say that my first thought was "I'm grateful." It was something like "Are you kidding me?!"

Older women often encourage me and say "enjoy these days because you will miss them!"

I try to remember that as I scrub stains from my carpet or clean toilet seats. There's a bunch of stuff happening during these magical days. It's easy to get lost in the madness of it all.

Raising our three children, my husband and I often find ourselves bending in the winds of their lives. Homework, chores, extracurricular activities, and their many personalities are enough to keep us busy at all times.

This weekend our family traveled to San Antonio, Texas where our oldest son participated in a State Mariachi Competition.  In one day, we sat through eight hours of mariachi music. Any music for eight hours straight is enough to cause babbling, extreme hallucinations and mild depression. Trust me on this one!

During this exercise of waterboarding, my husband looked at me with a sweet smile and said "We're making memories."

Then it hit me!

"enjoy these days because you will miss them!"

I sat there and looked around.  The room fell silent. I turned around and looked at the face of my son. He smiled. He and his friends had faces of anticipation and excitement. They listened. I noticed the eyes of their director that were filled with confidence and hope. She listened. I captured the faces of their administrators and teachers who traveled to offer encouragement and support. They were proud. They listened. My daughter held my hand and my youngest son offered me another kiss. My husband pulled me closer.

I inhaled to remember the smells. I closed my eyes to hear what my eyes missed.

I cried a few tears and whispered "Lord thank you."

Immediately, I changed my perspective. It was no longer an elongated grim experience. It was my children's childhood. It was my years with my husband and school aged children. It was the support of friends and family. It was the lesson of hard work. It was a memory of longing for children and this moment being an answer to prayer.

I was there. Fully. I felt every second of it.

So this week I only have this.

Nothing deep.

Simple.

These days are your memories. Your stories. Your testimonies. Your deliverance. Your victories. Your failures. Your lessons.

Your Life.

These days are your life.

Regardless of your situation, you can change your perspective and see the artistry of your days.

These days.

Enjoy them because one day you will miss them.


Blessings!




copyright 2015 www.shundriariddick.com  All rights reserved.

Feeding Chickens!

Freedom. 

That's what I've thought about all week. I ruminated about how I was set free because of the redemptive work of Christ. It was nothing of my own.

He just did it.

Set us Free.

We were imprisoned and he set us free.

Living as free is now our responsibility. THIS had me up most nights. I asked myself, "How am I not living free? What am I fighting? To what am I holding on?"

When I was a little girl, my sister and I were often dropped off at my Great Grandmother's home. We were there to help out in any way she needed. We loved being distracted by her things. They were treasures that we loved finding throughout her house like washboards, antique wall phones, old wigs, books, and old bibles. We were constantly excited to get lost in her possessions. There were many great stories of her life in the old days.

I remember one day our responsibilities were to clean the chicken coop, gather eggs, and feed the chickens. I was about 11 and my sister was 9. In our minds this request from her was a confirmation that she had lost her mind! We never had a desire to do anything with those chickens in her backyard and this day was no different. However, we knew she wasn't asking. She was telling!

So off we went!

We began to devise a plan. My sister would distract the chickens by feeding them and I would gather the eggs. She picked up the feed bag and began to scatter it across the feeding trays. The chickens began to follow the feed. Why did they do that?! My sister noticed that they were following her and she LOST HER MIND! Sheer panic! She began screaming and running in circles! I watched it all in disbelief. My great grandmother laughed so much she wasn't of any help. She chuckled so hard, tears were falling. 

Unbelievable! 

My poor sister. Notice that I just watched. I was not about to join in the mayhem and get plucked or eaten or whatever they do. As my sister ran away from the chickens, she continued to spill the seeds. As she spilled they were clucking, flapping their wings, and running behind her. 

Why didn't she just drop the bag?! 

Three circles later, she did. She let the feed bag go. She ran clean out of the backyard, around the house and back into the front door. My great grandmother was still laughing!

What does this have to do with freedom?  Everything!

Sometimes the very things that we are trying to get away from, we are feeding.  We live our days giving life to the things that we want to kill. 

We scream.

We cry.

We beg for help.

However, we have the feed bag under our arms and are still dropping seeds. Our thoughts, actions, and words are sustaining Fear, Doubt. Worry. Depression. Anxiety, Anger, Unforgiveness, etc.

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What are you trying to live free of? What's continuing to chase you? What are you feeding? How are your thoughts, your daily activities, or your words hindering your life of freedom?

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.-Galatians 5:1

I am challenging myself to drop the bag and run in FREEDOM! What about you?

When we catch ourselves feeding the chickens, we will say "DROP THE BAG!"

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." -Matthew 19:26

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. -Philippians 4:13

We can do this!

Let's  #JUMP!


Blessings!



copyright 2015 www.shundriariddick.com Pictures are for this blog only.