Grace with Covid // Heather Dillingham

As I am writing this I am on day four of Covid…Yay. Something about being sick though is that it makes you realize how much you need grace.

You need grace because you aren’t able to play with your kids. You need grace because you can’t be intimate with your partner or even be around them. Grace for the laundry and dishes piling up, grace for the groceries that need to be ordered, and grace for having to hide when the rest of the family is enjoying family time. Not to mention the grace you need for yourself for feeling guilty about all the above.

But I noticed something when reading Psalms 119. A simple line that I could have sworn I read already in Psalms.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    as is your way with those who love your name.

Psalm 119:132

Here is why…

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.

Psalm 25:16

I entreat your favor with all my heart;
    be gracious to me according to your promise.

Psalm 119:58

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
    our God is merciful.

Psalm 116:5

There are so many more verses like this, but you can already see how the Psalmists were constantly reaching for and begging for God’s grace.

Personally, I’m thankful for it! Passages like this point out to me that the Psalmists were flawed. That they NEEDED grace just as much as I need grace. That they argued with their spouses, allowed tasks to fall behind, lied, failed, and had FLAWS. And yet, they constantly point to how gracious God is because they understood the significance of the grace they had been given.

It’s not human nature to be gracious. We tend to want justice and even vengeance sometimes over grace. But God shows time and time again that He is full of grace and mercy. He can handle when we aren’t are best and can help us find the grace to give others and ourselves to become better through Him.

God, I love that no matter how messy I am, you are always full of grace. Your grace is seen so clearly throughout scripture. It’s in the requests of Your Psalmists, the praise of their words, and even in the way you constantly saved your people even when they didn’t deserve it. God please never give up on saving me. Never give up on saving us as a body. Grow us, God, with each failure, and help us to worship you more and to give you more. God thank you for accepting us, flawed and all. In Jesus Name. Amen.

I challenge each of you to find a verse about grace and write it somewhere for you to see this week. Add it to the bathroom mirror, your planner, anywhere. Then comment below what verse you chose.

Heather is a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a believer, a wife, and a mother to a wonderful (and sometimes crazy) toddler. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and listening to podcasts. She can usually be taking care of the home and playing on the floor with her daughter.

Photo by Tracey Hocking on Unsplash

Persistence \\ Heather Dillingham

Have you ever noticed that God often likes and helps those who dare? Women (and men) in the Bible who were like, “Ya, that’s cool that this goes against all reason but, my God has me”.

I can’t tell you how many times I have read about Daniel in the lion's den to my daughter and just thought this is crazy! Or read about Ruth who dared to propose to a man. I couldn’t even tell my husband I liked him until he told me first!

But the women I want to talk about today were not only daring. They were persistently daring.

“The daughters of Zelophehad … came forward and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, “Our father died in the wilderness…Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”
Numbers 27: 1-4
 

Woah woah woah! Do you mean they just walked up and demanded property? In a day and age where women WERE property? Yes and no.

In order to get to Moses in the first place, these five daughters had to first go through lesser courts, pleading their case and daring to demand what they thought was right.

Something else to know about their ask is that it’s not just a simple, “here is some land”. If they get this land, they have to cultivate it, work it, and protect it. They aren’t asking for an easy task. They want the work.

I wonder how many times one of them got nervous or scared and wanted to back out. I wonder how many times they contemplated quitting altogether, but they didn’t, and God blessed them for it:

“Moses brought their case before the Lord, and the Lord said to him, “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.”
Numbers 27: 5-7

This short story in the Bible gives us a glimpse into daring acts that set things apart for a whole family. It goes against customs and norms, but God chose to honor and bless them for their daring. So, what are you daring for?

For me, I’m daring to put my trust in God as I work on side projects that I always thought I wasn’t good enough to do. To fail, mess up, and keep pushing. To do the work and choose to be persistently daring.

Are you ready to be persistently daring? Are you brave enough to do the work and face the courts as Zelophehad’s daughters did? Are you brave enough to go to God?

I pray that each of you makes time today to just listen to God. To what He has called you to be daring for! I pray that He renews you with strength and continues to help you push and be like these five daring women.

Heather is a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a believer, a wife, and a mother to a wonderful (and sometimes crazy) toddler. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and listening to podcasts. She can usually be taking care of the home and playing on the floor with her daughter.

Photo by John Thomas on Unsplash

Woman at the Well

Have you ever noticed that in church we talk about things like our testimony, or evidence of proof? When this happens there’s a tendency to start at the beginning of your “walk” with Christ. This can make for a really long testimony if you asked Jesus into your heart at the age of 3, like I did. I’ve actually never loved my testimony, because it feels like nothing has happened in my life. Nothing that could help someone see Jesus anyway. In college, someone told me that my story reminded them of Esther. That while Esther never heard God speak directly to her, she still had faith in Him and that faith gave her the courage to save her people. This really encouraged me and made me more likely share that part of my testimony.

I’ve realized something though in the last few years. My testimony doesn’t have to include my whole walk with God. My testimony can be as simple as a struggle that should, according to the world, make me into a bitter, unpleasant person. The Samaritan woman does what each of us should do when we have any kind of encounter with Christ. Share that moment with the people around us.        

Last week we read John 4:4-42 and we asked the “Question: What do we learn about God?”. This week please read through the story again and ask yourself the question:   

What Do We Learn About Man?

Mankind is Skeptical

After Jesus told the woman who He was, the Messiah, she had to spread the word. She told everyone she met about her encounter with Jesus and because of that people believed: 

“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony […]. So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them […] And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said;
now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
(John 4:39, 42)

But note, it was not until they heard from Jesus, himself, that some honestly believed. This is a great example of what each of us should do after we’ve come to know Jesus. Go out and proclaim who he is to us and to the world. There will be people though that need more than just a testimony. Remember, every time we share the Gospel we plant a seed of hope. But until a person goes to the source, the Bible, they won’t truly know God.

I encourage each of you, take a moment today and write down an encounter you had with God. This encounter could be something that happened in the past or something that happened recently. It doesn’t have to be “big”; it could be as simple as a verse you read in the Bible or an encounter you had in the grocery store. Think about what God is telling you through that moment and share it with someone who might need encouragement.    

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Please leave a comment about what you learned about man in this chapter.

Bethany Thomas is the Publicity Coordinator and a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a daughter of God, a wife, and a dog mom. When not writing for the blog, you are most likely to find her reading a fantasy novel or crafting at her home in Sapulpa, OK.

Photo by Hannah Morgan on Unsplash

God at the Well

Can you imagine being hungry or thirsty? Could you see yourself turning down a sizzling pan of steak fajitas or a glass of water with the little condensation drops sliding down the side while feeling hunger pains?

That’s very similar to how we, as Christians, turn down a chance to read the Bible or spend a moment in prayer. It might be harder to diagnose spiritual hunger or thirst, but there are some clues that show we might be in need: anger, frustration, and depression. I personally struggle with those feelings. I feel so much better when I sit down and read a Psalm and maybe even do a little bit of Bible Journaling. But I don’t always make the time for those things.       

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I’m going to ask you all to read John 4:4-42, the Samaritan Woman at the Well. Over the next 4 weeks we are going to dig into the story of this woman and how her encounter with Jesus changed her for the better. But how can we study the difference Jesus made in this woman without asking the question:

What Do We Learn About God?

God knows us

Jesus knew who the woman was before he ever met her:

“He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’
‘I have no husband,’ she replied.
Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.’”
(John 4:16-18)

Before He sat down at the well, Jesus knew exactly who the woman was. Her story, her desires, her failings, and successes. The Samaritan woman did not know who Jesus was, she could have easily lied about her marital status. But because she didn’t, she was able to have a heart changing conversation with the Son of God.       

God knows who you are and what you are wanting with your life. He knows that I have a deep desire to be a mother, though I am still waiting for that prayer to be answered. The waiting can be the hardest part about prayer. It is during the waiting that fear sets in and causes us to make wrong decisions. I don’t believe the Samaritan woman chose to have so many “husbands”. I believe she was chasing after something to fill the void in her heart.

Not long ago I heard a woman speak about how God told her that she would not marry or have children. That day a small thistle of fear was planted by Satan in my heart. What if the silence, I hear from God is His decision that I am not meant to have children? Every month when I know, for sure, that my belly holds no life. I feel that thistle sprout anew, strangling my hope and creating a void. I try to fill my void with mothering my dog, binge watching Netflix, and reading fantasy novels.

I chase after things I believe will help me manage. But the one thing that has brought me any peace is going to God, ironically or rightly. Which leads me to my next answer to the question above:            

He wants us to know Him

God desperately wants us to know Him. He sent Jesus down specifically for that reason, to create a bridge between us and Him. In John 4:24 Jesus said to the Samaritan woman:

“God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Our God wants to have a relationship that is deep and true with each one of us. There can be nothing sweeter than having those moments of quiet worship with God. It is in those moments that we can learn about God and discern if the voice we hear is God’s or Satan’s. That is where Satan is at his most clever. My fear that God will deny my prayer is the very thing that makes me avoid time with Him. But it’s the very thing I need in order to have peace and purpose in my life.  

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There are more answers that could come from the Question: What do we learn about God? But I want to hear from each of you, dear ladies, who are reading these blog posts. Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this passage and what God is revealing about Himself to you!    

Bethany Thomas is the Publicity Coordinator and a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a daughter of God, a wife, and a dog mom. When not writing for the blog, you are most likely to find her reading a fantasy novel or crafting at her home in Sapulpa, OK.

Photo by Frank Albrecht on Unsplash

Shaken & Stirred: An Adoption Story

I was born somewhere in the state of Mississippi in May of 1975. I was 5 lbs. and 5 oz. with red hair and the nurses called me Sara. The end. This is all I know of my birth and the beginnings of my life.

Sometime later, I don’t know if it was weeks or months, I was adopted by a couple that had a 3 year old boy. The boy that became my brother had been adopted as an infant, just like me, and was not related to me or my parents by blood.

When I was little, I didn’t understand adoption. I didn’t understand why the woman who carried me in her belly didn’t want me. My mom made me read a book about adoption and how, according to the book, I was special because my mom and dad got to pick me. It made it seem as if everyone else born into a family is just the luck of the draw, but somehow adoption was supposed to make me special. Instead of feeling special, I felt ugly and unwanted. I didn’t have a good relationship with my mom. I felt like I could never please her or measure up to what she thought I was supposed to be.

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Jeremiah 1:5 says:

“Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work.”

When I became pregnant with my first child, I was in awe of how God created us to carry and sustain life inside of us. I found myself thinking more and more about the woman that carried me in her belly. I wasn’t thinking about how she didn’t want me anymore. Instead I was thinking about how very much she must have loved me. She carried me in her growing belly, feeling all of my kicks and nudges. In fact, I began to believe that she loved me so much that she chose to go through all of that, so that I could have life! There is no greater unconditional, sacrificial love.

Here’s the kicker though…I also know a Father. A Father that had a son. He gave that son up too. Not because He didn’t love his son, but because He loved me and He loved you, so very much that He wanted to give us life! He chose to go through death on a cross so that we could have life eternal with Him. There is no greater unconditional, sacrificial love.

God is that Father and that day on the alter when I was 8 years old, He adopted me into His family. Not because I had pleased Him or was anywhere near what He created me to be, but because He made me and chose me for a special purpose. He shook me that day and He shakes me still.

The blood of Jesus makes it possible for you to be adopted into God’s family. In fact, adoption through Jesus is the only way into His family. Turns out, my mom was right. Adoption does make me special.

Being shaken by God is the beginning of my life story and I’m constantly stirred to seek Him more. To know Him more. To love Him more. Shaken & Stirred is my adoption story.

I pray that it will be yours as well.

Mary Swafford is the founder of Shaken & Stirred, Meals that Matter, Coffee Talk, and a Co-Owner of Boulder Coffee in downtown Sand Springs. She is a wife, a mother of 3 beautiful children, but most importantly a daughter of the most high God. You are likely to find her chugging or serving coffee, sitting in a tattooist’s chair, or making friends out of strangers.