Yucky Goo

And I will give them one heart [a new heart], and put a new spirit within them. I will take from them the heart of stone, and will give them a heart of flesh [that is responsive to My touch] ~ Ezekiel 11:19 AMP

Last year, God said He was going to remove all the impurities from my heart in order to make room for what He wanted to do in my life. I began to pray over myself, that I’d live my life through the filter of the Holy Spirit. I especially asked that God would remove from my heart anything that was not of Him and fill me with His life.

This past August, the need for that prayer became evident as Savannah struggled through the change of having to start school. Though Savannah was excited, the change scared her and she clung to any form of control she could muster, including refusing to get dressed…every single day. We tried everything we could think of, but the most effective was prayer: praying with and for her, and praying over our parenting. One particularly rough morning, Holy Spirit told me to pray my prayer for her on the way to school. I did. After a few weeks, Savannah participated in the prayer, asking God to remove the “yucky goo” from her heart (the things that don’t belong), and replace it with the Fruit of the Spirit.

God’s still working on my heart, reminding me to surrender and cast aside the impurities—things that don’t belong. I wish it was a one-time-and-done event. Unfortunately, I’ve allowed circumstances and people’s careless words to shift my focus, which fills my heart with yucky goo things. But God continues to lavish His love upon me, calling me, again, to surrender those things to Him, so that He can replace them with His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control—the Fruit of the Spirit.

Maybe, like me, you’ve allowed people or circumstances to shift your focus, filling your heart with yucky goo, when what you really need is His love, joy, or peace. But He’s a faithful God and He’s waiting for us to confess and surrender those things to Him. His desire is to replace the yucky goo with a new heart, one that’s filled with His Fruit. The choice is ours. Which will you choose?

©Heather Potts 2017

Was It a Bad Day?

I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart, I’m writing the book on your wonders. I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I’m singing your song, High God. ~ Psalm 9:1-2 MSG

Maybe your day went something like this: Your 20-minute drive to the doctor took 100 minutes because traffic was at a dead-stop on the interstate. And after leaving the office, you had to go to the bathroom really badly, so you stopped into a fast-food restaurant across the street (because you were too shy/embarrassed to ask to use the bathroom at your doctor’s office). But when you were ready to leave, you discovered the lock on your stall door was jammed. You perused your options: call for help, try to scale the stall wall, or drag yourself out underneath the door and pray you fit. You chose option #3, praying the whole time that no one would come in—not because you’d be embarrassed to be caught, but because the door would likely smash into your head upon their entry. You safely escape that episode, drive to your friend’s to pick-up your kids to take them home for nap time. Your day looks brighter now…until your almost 4-year-old gushes pee onto the floor in front of the toy bin. But she did it just for you because she didn’t want to have an accident on your new couch…

Drs. Cloud and Townsend define a boundary as a way of defining ownership of feelings, attitudes, and behaviors, because when we understand who owns what, we know who must take responsibility for it. I am responsible for my feelings, attitudes, and behaviors. Others can’t make me feel frustrated or happy. I am responsible to choose how I will respond to circumstances. That means, you can choose to laugh off the entire day—maybe even write about it as a way to encourage others—or sit down and cry, focusing only on the negative events. Which will you choose?

©Heather Potts 2016

The Every Days

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace ~ Isaiah 55:12 NIV

The every days. We all have them.

It’s realizing that the enemy has a plan for you, but God’s plan is still greater.

It’s suffering for a night, but waking up to joy and Jesus singing over you in the morning.

It’s the picnics with your kids celebrating nothing more than Tuesday.

It’s the weird charges in your bank account causing you to be in the hole, followed by blessings from Father God.

It’s potty training and wanting to cry when your 3-year-old pees right in front of the toilet.

It’s a text from your spouse, just to let you know they think you are the greatest!

It’s burnt dinners, belated birthday wishes, and that relative who still spells your daughter’s name wrong.

It’s when everything at the monthly meeting goes wrong AGAIN, no matter how much you prepared in advance to ensure it wouldn’t this month.

It’s running late for work and getting stuck in traffic.

It’s exercising when NOTHING in you wants to, but then feeling so good you know you’ll do it again.

It’s celebrating as your friend’s dreams come true!

It’s laundry and dishes and toys everywhere.

It’s a warm cup of coffee in the morning before sunrise.

It’s discovering that plate of food in the freezer, where you put it to cool but then forgot to serve it to your kids the night before.

It’s overcoming what you seriously thought was going to end you and then knowing how to deeply and personally pray for someone else.

It’s standing up to the liar when he tells you that you’re nothing.

It’s the moments when you question God’s calling and He says, “It’s not your reputation on the line; it’s Mine.”

It’s waiting for God to show you the next step.

It’s perseveringly pursuing the passion burning deep inside you.

It’s the sweet moments when Father God reminds you that He loves you, always and forever, no matter what.

It’s realizing that no matter what, God still holds the whole world—you and me—in His hands.

The every days.

©Heather Potts 2016