Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 47). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) And there is a so much to learn. Christine says, " And I’ve learned that when triggers happen and expose another tender place, we need to invite him in once more. God promises to heal us each and every time—whether it’s a wound that heals quickly or in stages—and he always keeps his promises: 'He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds' (Ps. 147:3)." She goes on, "For those moments that have surprised me, those triggers that just seemed to pop out of nowhere, I have learned to be thankful because when we aren’t healed of our invisible wounds, whether big or small, they invariably seep—and seeping is always a telltale sign that we are drifting. That we have quit going to the Healer for healing. That we have lost sight of pursuing Christ and anchoring ourselves in him the way he intended.&qu

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 34). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) So important to understand. Christine says, " It’s a gateway to deeper trust. It is a declaration, 'Yet I will trust you . . . yet I will praise you!' Have you ever been in church, worshipping with all your heart, and poured it all out on the altar and said that to God? I have so many times after I’ve suffered loss, betrayal, disappointment, failure, heartache, and even sickness. In those times, what has resulted has not been anti-faith or anti-hope—quite the opposite. It has led me to greater faith, greater hope, and greater trust. It’s been how I’ve rediscovered my joy in a time when I didn’t have any. "Still, I wonder if we have been led to believe that to be a good and nice Christian, we need to be in control of our emotions all the time, though the Psalms show us that God wants us to pour them all o

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 32). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) It's great when you have someone. Christine says, " I don’t know who you turn to when you need a listening ear, when you’re trying to make sense of something that’s happening, and you want to walk in even-if faith, but you are finding it difficult to do. When my mind is racing and I need to get something off my chest, I typically turn to Nick or to one of my dearest friends, as they are the ones who have helped me the most when I’ve needed to look to Jesus and set my anchor once more. Maybe for you that’s your mother, a favorite aunt, or your BFF. For me, what’s been especially hard, though, has been the times when what was weighing on me was so deep, so painful, or too hard to understand that I needed more than what Nick or my friends could give me—like when I wanted to ring the bell. In those times, I’ve needed

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 30). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) And that is what I want. Christine says, " Even if! That’s the kind of faith God wants us to have all the time. Even-if faith is what keeps us tethered when we are in the midst of a crisis, when we do not understand what is going on, when our situation is painful, confusing, demoralizing, disheartening, disappointing. Even-if faith keeps us from drifting. It anchors us. It’s now faith! It’s faith for the present moment and for whatever fiery trial we’re going through. Maybe you’ve learned you can’t graduate on time. Maybe you have been given a grim diagnosis. Maybe you’ve lost a dear friendship. Maybe you have lost your savings or your business. Maybe you’ve lost someone you loved deeply. And the pain you are feeling is something you’ve never known and something you never want to feel again. The only kind of faith th

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 26). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Many of us have the problem of control. Christine says, "I don’t purpose to be this way, but I’ve always been the kind of person who is more likely to take matters into my own hands than to trust God. It shows up in my life when I focus too much on people acting in predictable ways, on liking things done a certain way and everything being in its place. Without meaning to, I can get obsessed with schedules and plans. I guess you could say, without Jesus, I can be a bit of a control freak, but to be honest, it’s not entirely without reason. After years of doing the hard work of learning to trust God through every unknown—to embrace the pain of healing and recovery time and time again—I have come to understand that some of my control tendencies have their origin in coping mechanisms, ones I developed having come from a

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 23). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) This is so important for us to do. Christine says, " To keep ourselves from drifting, there are times we need to hit the reset button and make sure we are trusting God more than anything and anyone else, including ourselves. We need to be checking the links in our chain connecting us to Jesus, the anchor of our soul, on a regular basis so we don’t find ourselves drifting unaware. Then, when a crisis of any kind hits, be it a financial one, a relational one, an emotional one, a spiritual one, a career one, a health scare, or even a global pandemic, we aren’t trying to drop anchor in a storm, when all the waves are so high that they are about to overtake us. We aren’t scrambling and playing catch-up on trusting God with all our hearts." She goes on, "Think of it this way: on a typical bicycle chain, there is

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 19). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) But it is so important. Christine says, " Something that I know doesn’t come easy to a lot of us because trusting God takes intentionality and perpetual, repeated choosing. It isn’t passive but active—and our trust is tested with time and trials." She continues, "We tend to think that we are trusting in him and that trusting is easy until . . . until we start to lose control of the things we’ve worked so hard to control—whether it’s our children, our marriages, our homes, our schedules, our routines, our friendships, our education, our careers, our savings, or even our spiritual lives, as strange as that may sound. We think we’ve reached a certain level of maturity, but if we face a crisis bigger than or different from anything we’ve ever faced before, we realize we have more room to grow. More room to tru

  A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 13). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Yes it can. Earlier Christine said: If we neglect paying attention to God, then our hearts will drift.  If we neglect paying attention to our spouse, then we will find ourselves disconnected.  If we neglect paying attention to our children, then we will experience distance.  If we neglect paying attention to our friendships, then we will find them strained.  If we neglect paying attention to our finances, then we will find ourselves in debt.  If we neglect paying attention to our health, then we will find ourselves sick.  If we neglect paying attention to our learning and growth, then we will find ourselves stunted.  If we neglect paying attention to our thoughts, then we will be hostage to untruth.  If we neglect paying attention to our rest, then we will find ourselves exhausted." She then says, "I have hear

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 10). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) So true, so true. Christine continues, " Firmly established. Even in the strongest of currents and the worst of storms. Even when we can’t see our anchor in the depths below. 'Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?' (Rom. 8:24)." She says, "Hope does what it was meant to when we simply trust Jesus and leave our anchor to do his work. Even when we feel the current swirling around us, forcefully wanting to move us, we don’t have to give in. Yes, our hope will always be tested—it doesn’t change the condition of the sea—but to let go of Jesus, the anchor of our soul, to quit trusting, to become distracted, to lose sight of what’s holding us in place, will only set us adrift. "Maybe your spouse has walked away, a friend has cut you off,

  A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 6). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Christine has a list of questions in three areas she asks herself in keeping from drifting in her walk with God. She says, "About my relationship with God, I ask: Have I stopped pursuing God and started deprioritizing my time with him?  Have I stopped consuming God’s Word and started living off leftovers?  Have I stopped responding to the Spirit at once and started delaying?  Have I stopped caring and started growing callous about former convictions?  Have I stopped praying and started obsessing? Have I stopped seeking more of him?" She goes on, "And about my relationships with others, I ask:  Have I stopped forgiving and started harboring? Have I stopped sharing and started withholding?  Have I stopped committing and started shrinking back?  Have I stopped laughing and started growing more critical?  Have

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. 6). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) He does, He really does. Christine says, " He has been contending with it ever since the fall. He knows how effortless our drifting is. In our thoughts. In our actions. In our day-to-day lives. In the simplest of things. He knows how tempted we are to gradually shift from having our hope in him to having it in other people—a common error that usually works well until someone disappoints us." She goes on, "It’s all too easy to stand on alternate sources of security and significance while saying we are standing on our faith. To put trust in our education, our plans, or our careers. To fall back on what we know, on what we think has made us successful. To rely on our gifts, our talents, or our abilities—as though we possess them apart from God (2 Cor. 4:7). "And we may be doing all this without even

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book,  How Did I Get Here?   (p. xxiv). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Drifting can be a real problem when you are swimming where there is a strong undertow and also in our Christian lives. Christine says, " He also knew there was an even greater danger if we did." She goes on, "No matter how good a swimmer each of us kids was, no matter how confident, how strong, how knowledgeable we were of the sea and her currents, if we drifted too far, then drowning was the real threat. "As the old saying goes, 'It’s the strong swimmers who drown.' Dad understood the meaning of this saying all too well: those you think would never drown, could never drown, are the least likely to drown, are actually the ones who do. Those who think they are impervious to the power of the water and take the risky chances that a novice never would are more likely to perish. And once they star

A thought by Christine Cane, from her book, How Did I Get Here?   (p. xxi). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) And that would be a yes, wouldn't it?  Christine says, " Don’t we all lose loved ones? Don’t we all grow weary in our callings and careers? Don’t we all experience disappointments? And struggle with being disillusioned? Don’t we all want to walk away from time to time?" She goes on, "Truth be told, I’ve lost count of the number of times I thought of walking away from it all and opening a small café in Santorini, Greece. Just Nick and me and our girls tucked away in my favorite corner of the world. Can’t you picture me suggesting another cup of coffee to go with your baklava? I imagine we all run to our own little escape destinations in our minds. To the lives we thought we might have but never will. Because deep down we love Jesus and his plans more." She then says, "Instead of letting myself

A thought by Christine Caine from her book, Unstoppable: Running the Race You Were Born To Win (p. 155). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Here is another area where we can change our expectations and our perspective.   It is in the area of relationships. Christine says, “Internal conflict can shut things down and slay your passion far quicker than any external attack. As long as you are working with human beings, you will contend with grumblers or be in danger of becoming one. Misunderstandings will occur. Egos will flare. Selfish ambition will rear its head. (And it may be in you! It certainly has been in me at times.) “I have great news for you: Every time strife hits, you are being handed a beautiful opportunity to love like Jesus. People-loving is precisely the work of Christ in you, so count on growing in it. God’s Word spells out the guidelines. ‘Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy

A thought by Christine Caine from her book, Unstoppable: Running the Race You Were Born To Win (p. 153). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Failure, oh we hate failure, we hate to fail, and we hate to be known as a failure, don’t we? Christine says, “Let’s face the truth — we will falter, fumble, and fail, but failing at something does not make you a failure, nor is it final. The race does not end when you fail at something; the race ends for you when you stop getting back up and continuing to run. Proverbs 24:16 tells us, ‘For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.’ The key is refusing to quit. Do not stop. Never. Ever. “Our ideas of ‘failing’ and ‘succeeding’ in this race are often built on our false assumptions about the ultimate goal of our race. Remember, it is not so much about what we accomplish for God, but that we are becoming like him. Failure, when offered to him, builds our humility and