Blog : Give Me Grace

Grounding : At The Altar, Your New Life {Day 3}

Posted on by lisha epperson

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 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬ KJV)

The moment the Spirit has quickened us to life and regeneration our whole being senses its kinship to God and leaps up in joyous recognition. That is the heavenly birth without which we cannot see the Kingdom of God. It is, however, not the end but an inception, for now begins the glorious pursuit, the heart’s happy exploration of the infinite riches of the Godhead. (A.W. Tozer , the Pursuit of God)

The summer before I conceived my littlest lovely, my hands fell off. No, really. Kind of. The skin on my palms would literally shed, peeling off in crusty patches that were painful and not pretty – at all. It began as a rash by the ring finger of my right hand and by the end of summer the skin on my palms would cycle and recycle in this process until tender new skin emerged. One hand, then the other. Over and over again. It was crazy.

The following winter I was pregnant. And I noticed my skin and hair doing something different. My hair, noticeably thicker didn’t shed much, and my palms completely healed.  The skin no longer, raw and pink, toughened up and decided to stay. I imagine pregnancy hormones and my general state of reproductive creativity healed my hands. Something shifted. New life in my body ignited the regeneration of my skin.

The body recognizes His life working in us.  It responds.

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Let’s circle back to heavens gate. Revisit the holy throne…where he promises – to make all things new. Where your life becomes one with the altar. Your existence, a daily offering laid bare on a table of stone – a living sacrifice.

This is where life altaring begins. Where we walk in the confident assurance of a God who approves your sacred gift. Fully illuminated by the life of his word we reflect his gift of love….and give it back to Him. Again and again. He takes every detail, every shattered, sacrificial token and creates….a new life.

Your new life belongs on the altar. Bow down with the angels to mark the moment. Consecrate it with the laying of stones, a dance by moonlight,  a roaring fire….a scream to heaven. Seal the memory because we’re prone to forget, prone to leave the God we love.

He found you and called you friend. Declared your value. Called you beautiful. And you said yes. Bonded, branded. Forever. His. A holy exchange and blood bought confirmation.

It’s hard to believe.

Worthy? Righteous? You? Your self-defeating mental playlist is on repeat again… every fall, every short coming…every thing – you didn’t do right.  But His love is free and you, well you have to be ready for the truth. The truth that He lives in you.

Walking in truth is powerful. Knowing God in and as ourselves aligns us with our divine calling. We are fashioned from love – here to enjoy the gorgeous synchronicity of a celestial partnership with the one who created us. We’ve shed our old covering for a holy layer of God glory. We are made new. And this is only the beginning.

Ground yourself in this – This is your new life and a Holy God lives in you.

Joining The Nester for the #31Days Writing Challenge.

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31 Days of Grounding : Remembering Who and Whose You Are

Grounding : Who Are You? I Am A Child of God { Day 2 }

Posted on by lisha epperson

For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels-everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. Colossians 1:16-17

She couldn’t have been more than 3. Limp curls and matching dark brown eyes. They squinted as the lights of a slow-moving car met her gaze. She made the adjustment, but she didn’t hesitate. She looked straight ahead as her mother pulled her across the parking lot. She wasn’t an only child, maybe not even the first child but I caught a vision of her soul in that moment and marveled at the dance that is life. How we meet, and connect or pass by people we’ll likely not see again. And I thought how creative, how great is our god that she, like you and I, is a unique expression of his wild and one of a kind creation. And oh my , how he loves and leads. He has a plan and purpose for each life.

He’s been doing this since the beginning of time and will not duplicate his creation. No thing is truly identical. He never bores of beginning from scratch, approaching his canvas each time with focused intention and renewed creativity. He begins again. Every time.

……..

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maternal grandparents

The question is not what we intend ourselves to be, but what he intended us to be when he made us. C.S. Lewis

“If we know ourselves, we’re always home, anywhere.” – Glinda, The Wiz

I thought of my toddler self and the few memories I have of being that young are wrapped in the security of my mothers’ love. Despite the drama and pain, even the questions surrounding my birth…all I remember is love.

I am the daughter of African-American parents who managed to get together despite huge differences in age and faith. Against the details of the back story and the unfolding drama of their lives….I am O’neil Harris and Monroe Woods. I am Ruth Brown and Albert Goldsmith. I am Mary Woods and Maliki Gh’Rael. Life. My life was not an accident. Life is never an accident. Never a mistake. We are made on purpose. With feeling and intention. We are not random – not just science.

Grounding myself means  tracing and retracing my heritage and hope.

Erykah Badu calls herself an “analog girl in a digital world” and I get that. Part of me knows a porch swing and a few pieces of deep-fried bacon will make it all right. A little of me knows the sting of red ants and the long walk in the dark to the out house. The thick hot smell of burning wood, the threat of switch. A piece of my city girl soul will always be at home in the country.

But I was conceived and raised in the city. I learned to find my way through subways and hi-rise buildings. Graffiti covered corner stores and museums, museums were my play ground. Holding my mothers’ hand in the concrete jungle, I felt safe enough to become who I thought I wanted to be.

Grounding myself in my beginnings means remembering who I am.  Remembering sets the stage for establishing my identity in Christ. Hurtful details don’t define me. He uses it all for His glory –  who and how I see myself, how I relate to the world around me, how I am seen by others, what I may want to consider before moving forward, who I may have to forgive…how He’ll use me in ministry.  My experiences are the foundation for my future and even a painfully broken beginning can be redeemed.

Have you spent time thinking about your past? Your heritage? Your hope? My unique story tells me who I am. How I tell it declares to whom I belong – whose I am. Choose today to see yourself and loved ones through a filter of grace. And ground yourself with this truth – You are a child of God.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. – Marianne Williamson

Joining The Nester for the #31Days writing challenge.

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31 Days of Grounding : Remembering Who and Whose You Are

Posted on by lisha epperson

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It’s only October and already my skin longs for the suns kiss. Days spent indoors with sick children the past two weeks have me only getting out in the early evening. When the warmth of the sun has faded and I’d be wise to carry a sweater. It’s fall and I’m remembering.

I didn’t know if I’d accept the challenge this year. Last year writing for 31 days almost broke me but in the end I’d completed The Process, The Promise : a Journal of Infertility Prayer. You can click the link to read through each post or you can buy the expanded e-book here. As an infertility warrior it feels good to know I’ve left a roadmap of encouragement for other women. My calling in that area feels complete.

This year I thought I’d offer 31 days of grounding. Right now my life is upside down. Life has taken unexpected twists and turns. A false start here, an interruption there – much of what I know to be true is being challenged. I’m holding fast but questioning what I know for sure. I’m wrestling with forgiveness. I’m sitting in my suffering, waiting for redemption. I know it will come. I know it will.

But I’m human.

Some days my heart is set to hope. In spite of what I’m going through, I sense the light of His promise…by and by after while…it will be well. Other days I can barely drag myself out of bed. I limp through parenting my lovelies. My wounds are open and real and I cannot hide them. A part of me is lost.

I need a re-set. A rewind. A compass to help me find my way back home.

I believe God is in all. And above all. In grounding ourselves, rooting ourselves in His wisdom and word we’re able to stand, withstand… anything. This month I’m building an altar, embracing a monastic call to find him in everything I do.

Join me as I plant my feet on the solid rock. Let’s settle ourselves in the comfort of the known. Let’s explore what’s true, mark the space. Let’s remember.

Join me at The Nesters for 31 Days of Grounding : Remembering Who and Whose You Are

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Day 2 – Grounding : Who Are You? I Am A Child of God

Day 3 – Grounding : At the Altar, Your New Life

Day 4 – Give Me Grace : Grounding – Making the Connection

Day 5 – Grounding : In the Kitchen – Dying to Self

Day 6 – Grounding : Remembering His Touch – On Leaving and Coming Back

Day 7 – Grounding : On Vision – He Sees You

Day 8 – Give Me Grace : Grounding – He Speaks : on Paying Attention

Day 9 – Grounding : Flashback – On Looking Back and Building Trust

Day 10 – Give Me Grace : Grounding – On Being Loved

Day 11- Grounding : The Year of Zero

Day 12 – Grounding : on Prayer

Day 13 – Give Me Grace : Grounding – On Truth…Looking for the Light

Give Me Grace : Wake Up

Posted on by lisha epperson
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waking up to the glory of a great day  made greater – hanging out with Big Daddy after her 1st ballet class

Give Me Grace : Wake Up

And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. (‭Zechariah‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬ ASV)

I’m ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe, Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune: “Wake up, soul! Wake up, harp! wake up, lute! Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!” (‭Psalm‬ ‭57‬:‭7-8‬ MSG)

The past few weeks have been soul heavy. Overgrown with grief. Yet, I’m still on Facebook.

I post on Facebook, like we do, to connect. To check in with family and friends. To celebrate birth announcements, engagements, weddings, new jobs and adventures. All good stuff. But the dark and hard things?…I generally leave those things out. And for the most part, I think I should. Because for crying out loud this is Facebook and I’m a grown woman. I believe in drawing a line on social media. But I also feel like it’s Facebook , and it’s been here, in the past year and half that I’ve been encouraged and inspired and learned to publicly walk my faith. Where I’ve seen communities come together in prayer over the little and much of life. I love Facebook for that. So the line? well now it’s blurry.

It seems, if we’re doing life well on social media, we learn to share a skillfully nuanced painting. We show the glory and hide the grit. We share the beauty,  rarely the blood. So much so that we’ve gotten used to unbalanced images.  We cast our carefully crafted narratives into a sea of online engineered reality.  The expectation is that it’s all good – all the time, when it’s not. The almost too good to be true is just that. The line can be confusing.

But I’ve learned everyone , every one has something to cry about, something that given a stolen moment can break through the veil we put up. Something that shatters the heart. Every one. It’s how this life is lived. Sun, rain, up, down. Broken, beautiful. Wrecked, healed. We live for the spaces between and believe God for the road to redemption. On the way we covet the peaceful moments, the holy silence, the wisdom of a redeemed after. In the middle…we rest, at least we try to.

I’m waking up to the power of a soul willing to explore crossing the line.

Last year a friend told me about an unfortunate life event and I practically scolded her for waiting to tell me. For telling me when it was too late. I don’t want to do that. Not when I have a community that cares, a community that can lift me spiritually when I’m hurting. Not when I know prayer and good love and vibes work. I have to wake up to the power of my faith.

In the natural I’m frustrated and scared and fighting my instinct to fly. Still my spirit hears his voice – in black and white He tells me He’s able, and in words preached in a school auditorium he finds me in a crowd of 200 and declares He’s the best answer for anything I may be going through. I have to listen.

I’m telling my soul to wake up. Wake up to the only answer I BELIEVE in. I’m making the choice to wake up to the everyday grace of life. Because there’s so much good. So much good. An over abundance of joy is right in front of me – if I choose it.

I want to label this thing, this melancholy covering – I want to cast it away. It’s depressive and gloomy and I want to replace it with the god glory of a smile. Because inside – I’m ready to make the shift. It’s time to wake up to His ability…He makes the hurt…hopeful.

So here I am letting you know I’m in a pit. For now, I’m covered by the full-out glory of a first ballet class. I’m focusing on my princess and her papa bonding after class, I’m savoring sweet kisses from a 4-year-old.  The busyness of life that makes my marriage and motherhood amazing doesn’t end the hurt but it keeps me afloat.  I will defeat this nameless ache…but I need prayer.

Here’s that layer of neutral tones where I don’t share the full story. Here’s where I experiment with highlights and shadows. I’ll brush over the details. Toy around with exposure and saturation. I’m grateful I don’t have to give it all up.  Maybe over a great cup of coffee and my favorite dessert. Maybe not. I guess I’m a line girl after all. God knows and now you know too. You know enough.

Let your handmaiden find grace in your sight #GiveMeGrace

♥

Maybe you’re like me and need prayer too. No demand for details here, just affirm your need in the comments section and we can remember each other in grace this weekend. 

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