by MeredithNMills | Oct 24, 2017 | abiding in Christ, Family, grace, growing in Christ, knowing God, Uncategorized, Walking by Faith
By Meredith Mills
@DazzledByTheSon
Yesterday was not a good day.
Everyone in the Mills house woke up tired from a busy weekend. And busy weekends make for long Mondays.
The kids and I took a field trip which involved a lovely nature walk in the autumn-colored woods. An impending thunderstorm held off and the temperature was perfect.
The humidity, however, was intense. I wore rain boots instead of hiking boots so by the halfway point, I was exhausted. That halfway point happened to be at the bottom of a hill and the hike back seemed much longer than the hike in.
After a morning of learning about wildlife and preservation efforts, we headed home where a messy house greeted us and screamed of work that needed to be done. My afternoon to-do list didn’t include all the kiddo needs that arose, and I failed to handle those “interruptions” with grace.
It was not a good day.
As I look back on it, however, I see much for which to be thankful, so many things to slow down and savor, even in the chaos of the day.
Surely I could have done better.
But I didn’t. I didn’t live the day well.
Maybe it’s because I neglected to keep coming back to Jesus. I forgot that on my own I can’t do better. I can’t chose patience, grace or gratitude without staying connected to Christ, without yielding my heart and expectations to Him in each moment.
“And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is his treasure” Isaiah 33:6.
Underneath the shifting sands of emotional ups and downs, God is the bedrock for our souls. He offers the stability of His unchanging heart and faithfulness of character.
He’s the steady Source of everything I need in every moment – salvation from the sins that tempt me, wisdom when I don’t know how to parent, knowledge of His heart when I lose sight of His face – all these things in abundant measure.
In big struggles and little frustrations, God understands. He offers wisdom and grace for each one – and new mercies with every rising sun.
Stability in unstable times – this is God our treasure.
How has God been your stability this week? In what ways do you need Him to be your unchanging Rock today? Please comment below – I’d love to hear.
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by MeredithNMills | Oct 10, 2017 | fear, Hope in the Midst of Heartache, knowing God, Loneliness, Uncategorized, Waiting, Walking by Faith
by Meredith Mills
@DazzledByTheSon
Sometimes life is really hard.
As a nation, we’ve experienced some tragic events lately – from the Las Vegas massacre to hurricanes and wild fires leaving destruction in their wake.
Closer to home, several dear friends lost loved ones in the last few weeks. We attended one funeral on Saturday – a dearly loved husband and father. Unexpected. Much too soon. Today, my husband played piano for yet another funeral – a beloved wife of nearly 59 years. Still too soon.
So much pain and heartache. Such enormous needs.
Many of us carry “smaller” burdens, concerns we voice to no one. Fears that plague us when we’re all alone. Important to us, nonetheless.
Whether your needs are immense or you carry less-big burdens today, my prayer for you is this:
May you find hope in the presence of God who promises it won’t always be this way.
May His love be a balm to your soul.
May you know the healing power of the One who is also acquainted with grief.
May His nearness be your ever-present comfort.
May He enter your loneliness and whisper words of tender affection.
May He give beauty for your ashes and be the stability of your soul.
May His grace be your lifeline,
His wisdom your next step,
His love the very breath that you breathe.
In Jesus may you find rest and healing for your soul.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” Ps 46:1.
What burdens do you carry today? I’d be honored to pray for you – please leave a comment below.
How has God been a refuge and very present help for you in the past?
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by MeredithNMills | Sep 5, 2017 | Family, grace, Identity in Christ, knowing God, Uncategorized, Victorious Living, Walking by Faith
by Meredith Mills
@DazzledByTheSon
Sometimes you’ve got to give yourself a time out.
For several months, I’ve been very intentional about writing regularly, trying to post here on a weekly basis. But last week, I chose not to write. At all.
God told me not to.
I had lots of work to do – A book proposal waiting to be revised, a book in process, a weekly blog post, a monthly contribution to Just18Summers and another article to complete by the end of the month.
Clearly, I didn’t have time to take the week off.
But God showed me that writing had become an idol.
An Idol.
It’s a rather church-y word, one that’s lost much of its meaning to modern American Christians. We read about idols throughout the Bible, but they can seem like distant relics of the past or an unfamiliar element of cultures somewhere else in the world.
Maybe we need to rethink the word.
Maybe addiction is more relevant to our modern minds.
Unlike statues of gold, addictions can be much harder to recognize, but they’re just as insidious.
Some addictions are big and ugly and obvious. But most of them aren’t. Most start as good gifts, designed by God for our enjoyment and use.
But they become addictions when we find our identity in them.
When we panic at the thought of losing them – even temporarily.
When we can’t stop thinking about them.
When we look for comfort, peace or healing in them.
When they drive and control us.
That’s what happened with my writing. I had taken it up as a hobby several years ago. It was a refreshing way to process my thoughts and emotions and a means of sharing with others what God is doing in my life.
But I’ve grown to love the feeling of completing a piece and meeting a deadline. I get excited when I hear how God ministered to someone through my words. I enjoy reading comments and feedback.
Those good things, however, took root in my heart and seeped into my identity. They began driving and controlling me like a task-master.
What started as a good gift became an addiction, an idol.
When God showed me this, I asked Him what to do about it. Not all idols can, or even should, be completely discarded. I’ve wrestled with a food addiction for much of my life, but I certainly can’t quit eating.
As I prayed, Jesus reminded me of this verse: “…Take every thought captive to obey Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Just as my thoughts need to obey Jesus, the gifts I’ve received need to be under His control as well.
My writing needs to obey Jesus – the time I spend on it, the projects I undertake, the very words I say.
My eating habits should obey Jesus – what I eat, when I eat, how much I eat.
My parenting ought to obey Jesus – how I speak to my kids, the way I train and discipline them, the activities we chose to do as a family.
My role as a wife needs to obey Jesus – how I talk to and about my husband, how I respond to him, the priority I give our relationship.
My people-pleasing personality should obey Jesus, so that His pleasure is my heart’s desire and satisfaction.
My use of time needs to obey Jesus.
Absolutely every area of my life needs to obey Jesus.
Because this is what following Him is all about – my whole self living in full surrender to the God who invites me to find rest in Him. Rest from the idols that drive me, rest from the law that condemns me, rest in Christ’s work and rest in the nearness of God.
While idols and addictions consume those who cling to them, Jesus offers the abundant life for which our souls were created. (See John 10:10.)
How about you? Are there any idols lurking in the shadows of your soul? Any addictions strangling your abundant life?
God loves us too much to let us continue worshiping at the feet of things that will destroy us. Will you bring your idols to Him and let Him show you how to bring them under His control? 
I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments! Please respond below.
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by MeredithNMills | Aug 15, 2017 | abiding in Christ, freedom, grace, growing in Christ, Identity in Christ, knowing God, Uncategorized, Victorious Living, Waiting, Walking by Faith
“Please don’t let me mess up. Help me not to make a mistake.”
I stood in front of our church congregation, filling in as a member of the worship team. I would be leading out on the next song. My stomach was in knots as I thought through all that could possibly go wrong, things that have gone wrong in the past.
I could forget the words. My voice could crack. I could miss that high note.
Listening to the song’s intro (my heart obviously not worshiping), I realized something quite convicting – I’m quick to admit I’m not perfect. I talk about transparency and the importance of being real, of extending grace in our weaknesses and laughing at our embarrassing moments.
But I don’t like people to see me make mistakes. I want to control which imperfections they observe.
It’s one thing to talk about our mistakes and embarrassments, even our sins, in the past tense. It’s another matter to mess up when people are watching.
For most of my life, I’ve aimed at perfection. It seems a worthy pursuit. Jesus Himself said, “You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
When the Bible uses this word perfect, however, it has the connotation of completeness and maturity.
This term “can be used in a relative or absolute sense…God’s perfection is absolute; man’s is relative reaching the goal set for Him by God with each individual different according to one’s God-given ability.” – Lexical Aids to the New Testament, Key Word Study Bible
God is perfect. He’s sinless and holy. He needs and lacks nothing.
We, His children, on the other hand, are in the process of becoming perfect and mature. We’ve been declared righteous and our sins have been washed away. Yet the Holy Spirit is about the lifelong work of forming Christ in us – and He’s not in a hurry.
True perfection, like all of Christianity, revolves around Jesus, not our own efforts to keep a good image or avoid mistakes. Jesus is our example, as well as our Source of transformation. He uses even our weaknesses to mature us and make us like Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.)
So today, instead of focusing on myself and the image I want to maintain, I choose to rejoice in the work God is doing in my heart, my life and my home.
How about you? How is Jesus perfecting you these days?
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by MeredithNMills | Aug 8, 2017 | grace, Identity in Christ, knowing God, Uncategorized, Victorious Living, Walking by Faith
By Meredith Mills
@DazzledByTheSon
Why can’t I just say “no”?
I was a slave, bound by my own desires and cravings. Food was my master and I regularly did its bidding. Hungry or not, it didn’t matter. Delicious food or mediocre, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop myself. I was powerless to change.
And I hated it.
Guilt, shame, even despair, clung to my soul like my kids’ backpacks on the first day of school.
Here’s the crazy thing – I knew Jesus. This isn’t a pre-salvation story. I’d been a Christian for years. I knew the right answers:
- Christ in me is greater than the evil one (1 John 4:4).
- I’m more than a conquerer through Jesus who loves me (Romans 8:37).
- Sin shouldn’t have dominion over me, since I’m living under grace now (Romans 6:14).
But that’s where it stopped – in my head. New year’s resolutions, diets, shaming myself…none of it worked.
Finally, in desperation, I literally cried out to God. I remember two different nights, sobbing on my knees before Him, admitting my helplessness and begging Him to set me free.
And He did.
Not in an instant, but over time. He taught me to think differently and began transforming me on an emotional and spiritual level. I learned to recognize His voice as He talked to my heart, saying things like “You’ve had enough food” or “That’s a healthier choice.”
He satisfied me with Himself as He broke the chains of addictive sin.
And that’s what He’s willing to do in each sin struggle we face.
“You will again have compassion on us, and will subdue all our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea” (Micah7:19 NKJV).
He takes captive those things that once held us captive. He makes them subservient to Himself.
And He flings those sins into the deepest depths of the ocean.
Kinda takes the sting out of temptation, doesn’t it?
It’s nice to know when we feel like we have to give in, our feelings are lying to us.
If we’re being real, though, we’d probably all admit victory is not an everyday reality. The above story happened years ago and honestly, I still struggle to obey Jesus in the realm of eating, though the addictive hold has been broken. It’s a battle I’ll most likely take with me to the grave. (I think of it as my ever-present reminder that I still need Jesus.)
But I know now that I don’t have to sin.
I know that “freedom to do whatever I want” isn’t true freedom at all.
And I know I want Jesus to be my Master – not self and sin. Jesus is good and kind, unlike the sin that seeks to destroy me. Jesus carries my burdens with me. He equips me for this spiritual battle and doesn’t leave me defenseless or alone.
He never meets me with condemnation, even when I fail, but rather with the mercy that triumphed at Calvary. He is instantly ready to pick me up, to redeem the mess I’ve made and help me move forward.
This life of freedom is a process. We must learn to walk with Jesus, to recognize His voice and trust that His heart for us is good. It takes practice to rely on Him for the strength (and sometimes the desire) we need to step out in faith.
There are no methods that can take the place of relating to Jesus – not even the spiritual disciplines.
Seriously.
Reading my Bible didn’t set me free.
Praying didn’t break sin’s hold on me.
Telling lots of people about Jesus didn’t inoculate me from addictive sin.
Nope. All of those things are empty when we look to them as our source and hope.
The Pharisees did all those things, but they missed Jesus and remained unchanged.
Walking in victory isn’t a matter of mustering the strength to obey or setting up strong enough “fences” to keep us on the straight and narrow. Nothing but an ever-deepening walk with Jesus can transform our hearts.
And yes, that does include the irreplaceable spiritual disciplines mentioned above. These and other disciplines are essential tools for knowing Him. But they are not the source of change – Jesus is.
What are you facing today? Does a particular sin hold you in its grip? May you find freedom in the nearness of Jesus, in acknowledging your powerlessness and in surrendering anew to the love of Jesus.
In what areas has Jesus set you free? I’d love to hear – please leave a comment below!
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by MeredithNMills | Jul 25, 2017 | Family, knowing God, serving, Uncategorized, Victorious Living, Walking by Faith
Maaaaaaaama! Can you help me? 
Can you fix this?
Find that?
Look at this?
Open that?
Change this?
Mama, I need you!
If you’re a parent, you get it. You know what it’s like to repeatedly change your agenda because someone needs you. You know the reality of days spent helping.
It’s what we parents do. Because we love, we serve.
Sometimes, though, I feel a little sorry for myself. I look at my insurmountable To-Do List and think, I can’t get any of MY work done! I imagine more glamorous, exciting ways to spend my time.
Some days I just want to be served, instead of serving.
(Side note, my sweet hubby and kids do serve me and love on me – all the time, in fact. I just forget to notice when I’m focused on myself.)
I guess it’s human nature to think of serving as a lesser job. To be the helper is less desirable, less prestigious. Important people have servants. Less important ones are the servants.
But I think we’ve got it backwards, because the Bible often calls God our Helper and portrays Jesus as our Servant.
- “You have been the Helper of the orphan” (Psalm 10:14).
- “God is my Helper; The Lord is the Sustainer of my soul” (Psalm 54:4).
- Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
- “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My [Jesus’] name, He will teach you all things and will bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26).
- “We confidently say, ‘The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid…’” (Hebrews 13:6).
No one is higher than God Himself, yet during His last moments on earth, Jesus dressed Himself as a servant and washed His followers’ feet. The dirty, dusty feet of every single one of them. Even Judas, whom Jesus knew would betray Him with a traitor’s kiss later that night. Even Peter, who would deny even knowing the Master for whom he swore he’d die.
Jesus did that night what only servants would do.
He spent His whole life doing what servants do. He taught for days on end. He healed the sick. He touched the untouchables. He raised the dead and forgave the penitent. He poured out His life helping those around Him, not because He was inferior, but because they needed Him.
It’s what God has done since the inception of humanity.
God our Servant. Kinda changes things, doesn’t it? Because God is our Helper:
- We fill a sacred role when we serve those He’s put in our lives.
- We have an ever-present Helper with whom we can face the dailyness of life, as well as the trials that come our way.
How about you? What difference does it make to know that God is your Helper? In what ways do you need His help today? Please comment below – I’d love to hear! Let’s get to know Him better together!
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