Category Archives: Spiritual Journey

August 2, 2010 · 5:00 am

I Need You.

I love YouVersion.  I love that I have access to the bible and dang near any translation at the sweep of my little finger.  And, when I read Galatians 6:4-5 in The Message translation, well, I was convicted.

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others.  Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

Is this translation not the awesomest?  Yes.  Awesomest.  Look it up.  It’s a word.

I’m just kiddin’.  It’s not really.

I love this.  I love that it made me take my eyes off of other people and what they are doing, or not doing, for the Kingdom.  Puh-retty judgmental of me, don’t ya think?  Yeppers.  Grrr you, Dusty Takle.  There were times I would look at others and wonder why they weren’t as passionate about something as I was.  Never mind that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made….that we were each created for a unique purpose. 

I am responsible for my own life.  And, you are responsible for yours.  I know.  My life revelations are astounding, eh?  Eh?

Here’s the deal, in case you don’t know or may have forgotten:

God created you.

You are not an accident.

He has a plan for you. 

You have a purpose in life.

You matter.

And, we all need you.

Y’all come back tomorrow.  I’ll be here.

For real.

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May 18, 2010 · 6:00 pm

Because They Need A Savior.

I worry about my oldest.  I carefully watch over his heart.  I try to guard him from anything that may bring him discomfort on any level. 

He’s my sensitive one.  He’s the one who will forgo something he wants so someone else can have the something he or she wants.    

So, I can worry.  And, I guard him intensely. 

Which pretty much means I don’t trust my Heavenly Father with him. 

My sweet friend, Kim Heinecke, reminded me that if I could protect my children from everything, they wouldn’t need a Savior.

Whoa. 

I recognize my need for a Savior.  So, I seek Him with everything that is within me.  I want John Henry to seek Him that way, too.  I know He loves Jesus.  But, it is also my job to make sure he sees his need for Him.

So, our latest conversation went something like this:

“John Henry, you are going to have to trust God with this.  Let’s pray about it.”

This might be his first lesson in really seeing the faithfulness of God.  And, I pray it’s the beginning of John Henry recognizing how much he needs the Savior.

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April 15, 2010 · 7:14 am

Little Splinters Hurt.

Anna loves to climb our wooden fence.  Unfortunately, splinters are likely when she grabs the fence with her small, tender hands.  She knows this.  But sometimes, the reward outweighs the risk, so she climbs away.  When she came inside from our backyard yesterday with tears streaming down her face, I knew.  She climbed the fence.  And, she had the splinters in her hand to prove it.

“Get them out, Mom!” she wailed.  “They hurt so badly!”

Isn’t it funny how something so tiny can cause so much pain and discomfort?  We want it out right then, don’t we?  We are always quick to respond to our physical well-being. 

Yet, when something seemingly small and painful enters our spirit, we don’t always work to get it out right away.  We think we can continue to function and pretend it’s not there.  It might be jealousy.  Discontentment.  Bitterness.  Pride. 

Our Words.

Our Thoughts.

To name a few.

But these seemingly small things can cause great damage to our spirits.  They can even cause damage to those around us.  The Song of Solomon tells us that it’s “the little foxes that spoil the vine.”  So, why do we think we can compartmentalize those little things and shove them in a drawer as though they will not affect us?

We really can’t.  Because, those splinters will show themselves whether we want them to or not. 

Instead, we have to get out the tweezers and prod it, poke it, and pull at it until it’s no longer infecting us.  We have to get it out. 

It might hurt a little when we pull the splinter out.  But, oh the relief once we do. 

I tend to ask God, “What in me is not of You?”  Then?  God and I deal with it.  Together. 

Annnndddd, we do this often.  Just the same, I know I haven’t relieved Anna Takle of her last splinter.  And, when she runs to me crying, “Get it out,” I will.  Then, I will hold her and let her rest in my arms.  Don’t you think our heavenly Father does the same?

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March 13, 2010 · 8:14 am

Sweetly Broken.

Pregnancy means waking up to pee every hour on the hour.  When I woke up at 4:00 am, I just couldn’t drift back off into sleepy town.  It happens often these days.  It’s usually because of my athlete in training or my mind running ramped of things I need to accomplish.  Then, there are times I just wake up and pray.  I pray for my children.  I pray for Kris.  I pray for people in need of healing.  I just pray.

It’s easy, especially in this stage of my journey carrying a child, to become self-focused.  I still read scriptures.  I’m still very aware of God’s presence in my life.  But, I can still focus much too much on wanting this baby-carrying journey to end.  So, when God centers me again, I want to fall down at the cross and thank Him for it.  He does it for me often.  He did it again at 4:00 am.

I made a little delivery room playlist on my iPod.  The first song on that playlist is Jeremy Riddle’s “Sweetly Broken.”  I haven’t been able to get these lyrics out of my head since my little wake-up call:

At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

I’m so thankful for a Father who continues to beckon me, even when I become self-consumed.  I’m so thankful that He allows me to surrender my stuff to Him – sometimes the same stuff more than once or ten times.  I’m so thankful I’m in love with Him. 

And, that He first loved me.

Sweetly broken.  That’s me today.

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March 10, 2010 · 6:00 am

Three Things.

I ran across this scripture yesterday.  It’s a popular one.  You probably know it.

The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

Three things, huh?

Do what’s right.

Love mercy.

Walk humbly with God. 

To always do what’s right?  To love mercy?  Even when we think that person doesn’t deserve it?  Be kind anyway.  To walk humbly with God?  Total submission.  Where He is everything, and we are nothing. 

Where He increases, and we decrease.

What if we were all intentional to do those three things daily? 

Would my day look any different? 

Would yours?

I think we’d find ourselves much better off, and our lives bringing God much more glory.

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February 3, 2010 · 6:00 am

Oh, But For the Grace

What is God’s grace?  A shortened version:  It’s God’s unmerited favor.  Often times God’s grace is confused with God’s mercy.  It’s by God’s mercy that I don’t really get all that I deserve.  But, it’s God’s grace that we can draw from when we go through difficult times.

Oswald Chambers writes:

The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. “. . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses”— that is where our patience is tested ( 2 Corinthians 6:4 ). Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself, “Oh well, I won’t count this time”? It is not a question of praying and asking God to help you— it is taking the grace of God now. We tend to make prayer the preparation for our service, yet it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don’t say, “I will endure this until I can get away and pray.” Pray now — draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God’s grace through prayer.

“To draw upon as needed….”  The measure of grace God gives someone who just lost their child is much greater than the measure of grace I might need for a financial struggle.  But, His grace is always sufficient.  No matter what situation we are in.  We just have to draw on it.

Kris and I were talking about how our life is going to change when Jett arrives.  How am I going to deal with the stresses of a newborn, two kids in school, and being so far away from my momma?  Then, I remembered when John Henry was born.

I was a single mother.  I was the only one getting up in the middle of the night with him.  I was the only one clothing him, bathing him, and feeding him.  By the time he was six weeks old, I was back at work.  I would get him up in the mornings, get him dressed and fed, and put him in his little bouncy seat.  I’d put that bouncy seat in my bathroom while I showered and got ready for work.   Then, off we’d go.

I don’t remember any moments where I was ready to pull my hair out.  I do remember an overwhelming peace in our little home.  I remember a sweet baby boy who began sleeping through the night early.  I remember not wanting to go out for New Year’s Eve, because I just wanted to spend the evening with him. 

What was it that made our first few months alone together so peaceful?  So wonderful?

I’m pretty sure it was God’s grace on my life.  I never stopped crying out to Him.  I never stopped praying that God would make something great of my disappointment in life – my divorce. 

He did.  He was faithful.  And, in the meantime of going through it all, His grace was sufficient. 

Sometimes, I forget to draw on that grace today.  That unmerited favor of God.  So, He reminds me of how His grace was sufficient when…..

And when……

And when…..

And, then?  I count my stones.

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January 12, 2010 · 6:00 am

When Deep Secrets Are Revealed.

It’s one of the moments where I sit down to type my thoughts, and I can think of a gazillion things to write about.  I have so many thoughts, feelings, emotions, and spiritual things going on inside me that I hardly know where to begin.  I attempted to share a little of what I’m feeling with Kris last night.  I ended up just saying, “If I could take my spirit out and place it on a table for you to look at, then that would really help me right now.”  I don’t even have words for the look on his face after that comment.  But, he was encouraging still.  Whew.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”  10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit.  For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.” 

The only way for us to understand God’s will for our lives is through His Spirit.  The chapter continues, “11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit…..”  This totally explains why it’s so hard to communicate with others some of the things God’s Spirit reveals to you.  And, how beautiful it is when I am tuned into His Spirit.  And, how frustrating it can be when I am not.

God’s up to somethin’ good.  I just know He is.

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January 11, 2010 · 6:00 am

What’s In the Bucket?

The other day, I heard my friend, Kim Heinecke, say, “What’s in the well comes up in the bucket.”  This rings true in probably every area of our life. 

Kris can fly an airplane, because he invested into learning how to fly.  He achieved all of his ratings, surrounded himself with other pilots, and flew as often as he could to become good at what he does.  He invested a lot into his aviation well. 

If I want to learn how to knit, I’ll probably read a book on knitting, spend some time with my skilled mother-in-law, and practice the hobby until I become proficient. 

Whatever we invest ourselves into and how we invest ourselves will come up in the bucket.  If I invest into gossip, criticism, and negativity….my bucket will come up looking pretty dirty.

But.

If I want to be prepared for any spiritual attack (or spear)….

If I want to respond to people in a way that is pleasing to God….

If people come to me and need spiritual guidance or counsel in their relationships….

If I want to live a life without fear and a real understanding of what it means to place my hope in Him….

If I want to comprehend that the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is in me….

If I want to be happy….

If I want to be content….

Then I have to invest into His word.  I have to spend time with Christ daily.  I have to seek Him above all else.  I have to love Him with all my heart, soul, and mind – a love so deep and so invested that it is obvious to every person around me.

So, when the enemy comes rushing at me like a flood, he will not move me.

Because, what’s in the well will come up in the bucket.

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January 6, 2010 · 6:00 am

What Do I Do With This Spear?

I struggle with injustice.  I find myself wanting to make wrongs right.  I want to defend.  I want to set the record straight.  I want to pick up the spear thrown at me and throw it right back.

And, I have done just that before. 

But, if we look at the life of David, we see a man who trusted God enough to not return the spears. 

I’m not speaking of those times we feel righteous anger.  A righteous anger can be a desire to defend helpless children being abused or to stop human trafficking.  This is very different from what I’m talking about.  This post is also not a means of addressing bullying as so many of you expressed to me personally yesterday.  Perhaps, the issue of bullying is one I can write on soon with the help of many whose children have experienced it.  I just don’t feel equipped to speak on that issue as effectively as it should be addressed.  And, my heart breaks for those dealing with it on a daily basis. 

This post is meant to address when people speak against our character.  When we are criticized.  When we are persecuted.  When our actions are questioned. 

It’s very hard for me to not want to return the spears.  But, after reading Gene Edwards’ A Tale of Three Kings, I see a heart in David that I want.  Although he was hunted down and tortured by King Saul, he never retaliated.  Oh, he certainly had opportunity to.  But, he didn’t.  Had he returned Saul’s spears, he would have become like him. 

I don’t want the heart of Saul.  I want the heart of David.  What I do with those spears will determine exactly what kind of heart I will have. 

David’s torture by Saul occurred in his pre-king days.  But, he didn’t know he would be king one day.  Not at this time.  Edwards writes, “These were David’s darkest hours. We know them as his pre-king days, but he didn’t.  He may have assumed this was his lot forever.”

It wasn’t his lot forever.  He would one day become king. 

It’s not our lot forever either.  Not as long as we walk in humility.  And, according to Edwards, not as long as we…..

“One, never learn anything about the fashionable, easily-mastered art of spear throwing.  Two, stay out of the company of all spear throwers.  And three, keep (our mouths) tightly closed.”

I’ll be the first to admit, keeping my mouth tightly closed is not one of my strengths.  Can I get an amen, Kris Takle?

But, I’m working on it.  God wants me broken.  Humble.  Patient.  *GASP*

If you’re struggling with forgiveness, brokenness, or spear-throwers, I highly recommend A Tale of Three Kings.  It’s an easy read but heavy on the heart.

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January 4, 2010 · 6:00 am

Don’t Make Noise. Make A Difference.

Why yes, of course, I missed you.  Did you miss me?  Taking the last week of the year to spend solely with my family just seemed like the right thing to do.  I’m glad I did.  But, I did miss talkin’ to y’all.

There are plenty of photos from this season I could post, but this one is my favorite.  It’s Anna Takle, day one, at my parents’ house, in search of gifts that read her name.  One day, I’m going to miss little bodies under a Christmas tree, shaking their presents with smiles planted across their face.  It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

But, I’d like to experience many wonderful times of this new year.  I heard my dad recently share on how many of us make New Year’s resolutions to work out, eat less – even though, it profits us little.  However, resolving to pursue Christ above all else, love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind profits us much.  I’m letting that be my New Year’s resolution. 

So often, we focus on things that bother us.  We let those things take up more space than our love for God.  How wrong is that?  A couple of days ago, Mark Batterson posted this on Twitter:

“quit criticizing and start creating.   don’t focus on what’s wrong.   do something right.   don’t make noise.   make a difference.”

Wow.  That’s what it’s all about.  The only way we are ever going to get to that point is to stop being so dang negative and start loving God.  Really loving God.  And, pursuing Him as relentlessly as Anna pursued her gifts. 

I bet we might just discover a few gifts, too. 

That’s my resolution. 

Yours?

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