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 | Jun 27, 2017 | abiding in Christ, knowing God, Uncategorized, Victorious Living, Waiting, Walking by Faith
I have a garden this year. 
I love saying that. It feels so…earthy. So…natural. So…not me.
You see, I’m not really a gardener.
I want to be. I try to be. But I get a bit lost when plants don’t just…grow. I put the seeds in the ground, so now they should do their thing. Right? But when bugs invade or plants start dying, I don’t always put up a fight.
This year, however, I’m determined. I’m going to figure this cultivating thing out.
Last night I spent some time working in my garden – pulling weeds, pruning rogue cucumber plants, transplanting mint to improve its chance for survival. It was sweaty, prickly work. But it felt so good.
And then I saw it – a bunch of tiny green tomatoes growing in the middle of the tomato cage. I was so excited to see the plant I’ve been tending start to bear fruit.
It’s small, so far from ripe. But it’s fruit, nonetheless. It’s progress, the promise of more to come. And it thrills me.
As I looked at those itty bitty tomatoes, it struck me that maybe God feels a similar joy over us. When He sees us growing, does His heart burst with happiness?
Sometimes I get so impatient with myself.
Surely I should be producing lots of mature fruit by now. I’ve known Jesus for so long, why am I not bursting with the fruit of His Spirit? Why, oh why, do I struggle with the same old sins? Why am I not more grown up in my faith? Why do I doubt? Why do I get irritable or angry with those I love?
Do you ever feel that way? Ashamed of yourself for not being…better? More productive? More mature? Closer to perfect?
And like the scorching sun on a mid-summer day, condemnation threatens to wither the fruit that’s growing, be it ever-so-slowly, in our lives.
I don’t think God looks at us that way. In fact, for those with faith in His Son, He declared us free from condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Like a patient gardener rejoicing over not-yet-ripe fruit, I believe God is okay with the process. More than okay, I think He’s excited to see us growing, responding to His master touch.
No gardener expects ripe fruit the same day the seeds are planted. There’s a whole season of tending yet to be done. 
In the garden of our hearts, our God is all about the process. Because, unlike me with my tomato plants, there’s a relationship being cultivated. In the tending – the daily watering, the pruning and pulling of weeds – we get to know the Gardener.
What do you think? How does the Gardener tend the soil of your soul? What are you learning about Him in the process? Please comment below! Let’s get to know Him better together!
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by MeredithNMills | May 4, 2017 | abiding in Christ, Family, Hope in the Midst of Heartache, knowing God, Loneliness, Uncategorized, Waiting, Walking by Faith
“Look at this picture I drew, Mommy.” I turned my attention to my preschooler’s stick-figure drawing. She explained, “This kid is all alone because his door was open and he fell out of the car.”
(In case you’re wondering, that has never happened to her, or to anyone else we know.)
When you fall out of the car
As I looked at her unusual artwork, I noticed another, larger stick-figure person above the child. I asked her about it, and she simply stated, “That’s God.”
God.
Well, of course.
Because really, we’re never alone. Even when we feel lonely or abandoned, or if we fall out of a car and get left behind, there’s God.
“My presence will go with you and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).
It’s easy to think that peace lies in the stability of our circumstances. If life is good, I often fear change and the unsettled emotions that accompany new chapters. If life is turbulent, I long for change as the solution to my problems.
But God Himself is our peace. His nearness is our good, the source of rest for our souls. Walking close to His heart enables us to experience His rest.
Several years ago, I found myself in a very dark season. God seemed indifferent to my prayers, and I was angry. So I told Him how I felt. I poured out my heart to Him (Psalm 62:8) expressing my disillusionment, anger and fear.
Then God came near. He spoke gently to my doubting heart. He didn’t condemn, rather, He reminded me of who He is – my Source of life and peace.
That encounter changed everything. Well, not my circumstances. They were just the same after my time with Jesus. But I had changed. My heart was at peace, even in the midst of my pain. (I wrote about this in When Life Falls Apart).
In the presence of Jesus, I found rest.
How about you, fellow Jesus lover? How’s your heart? Has life left you weary and wounded? Could you use some rest? I leave you with some of my favorite of Jesus’ words:
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).
In what ways have you experienced Jesus as your rest? Please comment below – I’d love to hear!
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by MeredithNMills | Feb 28, 2017 | abiding in Christ, Hope in the Midst of Heartache, knowing God, Uncategorized, Victorious Living, Waiting, Walking by Faith
Have you ever won the lottery?
No? Well, don’t feel bad – I haven’t either. (Of course, I hear you have to play to have a chance at winning, so maybe that has something to do with it.)
How about being chosen in a drawing, like at the Home and Garden’s Expo? You just fill out a little slip of paper, giving them all your personal information, then sit back and wait for a phone call. Sounds easy enough. I’d enjoying having new windows for my entire house.
Or even just the “guess how many jelly beans are in the jar” game? Nope. I’ve haven’t won that one either.
I’ve never been a lucky person.
My husband, on the other hand, now he was an altogether different story. He used to win drawings and prizes a lot. Until he married me.
Whatever your views on luck versus the sovereignty of God, there’s something inside each of us that loves to win. Be it small or big, we humans delight in attaining something of value.
Recently, I was wrestling through a life circumstance I wanted God to change. I thought this change would simplify life and add value to my days. I read and began memorizing the following verses – “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:25-26).
So, I waited. And I prayed. And I tried to change things on my own, which I guess isn’t really waiting on God.
Then I grew resentful when God didn’t bring the change I sought. I prayed and waited and tried some more.
And then I gave up.
God showed me that, while I love Him and desire to follow Him, I was fighting the direction He’d given. I was fighting Him.
You know, if I were God (and it’s a good thing I’m not), I’d be pretty irritated when my child wouldn’t follow my instructions. When, after lavishing goodness upon her, she kicked and squirmed and tried to run the other direction, I would find my patience growing thin.
But wonder of wonders, God didn’t treat me that way.
First Timothy 1:16 describes Jesus as “immensely patient.” And that’s exactly what I’ve found. With gentleness and grace, He led me to a place of surrender.
Oh, that word. Sometimes it makes me cringe. It feels so unnatural to surrender to someone else’s control. But this, like everything else in Christianity, is a matter of faith.
It’s a conscious choice to believe that the heart of God is good. To trust that He really does have my well being in mind. To act upon the belief that He sees the bigger picture and higher purpose.
I was waiting for God to grant me the “prize” for which I prayed. Instead, He gave me more of Himself. And I realized that Jesus is the prize, the treasure of infinite value.
People “surrender” many things for the chance at winning a prize – time, money, personal information…And any prize that we gain is temporal and sometimes worth very little.
But when Jesus asks us to surrender, He offers us in exchange the priceless gift of friendship with God.
Surrender
Paul said “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).
And might I add a side note? When I surrendered, I told God, “Lord, I’ll do what You ask. But I can’t keep living like this – discontent, restless, angry. You have to change my heart. I’ve been trying to change myself, to pull myself out of this pit. But I can’t do it. So You’ll have to.”
And that’s exactly what He did.
After that step of faith, God began restoring joy to my soul. Where there was striving, there is peace. Where there was resentment, there is rest. I don’t know what the future holds, or how He will lead tomorrow.
But I know He’s good. And that’s good enough for me.
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by MeredithNMills | Sep 16, 2016 | Hope in the Midst of Heartache, knowing God, Uncategorized, Waiting, Walking by Faith
By Meredith Mills @DazzledByTheSon
Have you ever experienced a natural disaster?
Storm Fury
I’ve been through several – two earthquakes while living in California, a hurricane during my teen years in Hawaii, even a fire in the valley directly behind our home. Oh, and a predicted tsunami (though it was quite anti-climactic when it rolled in at less than three centimeters!)
A few weeks ago, we visited some dear friends near the Georgia coast and found ourselves in the path of what was Hurricane Hermine. It had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached our friends’ house. Still, the winds uprooted trees and knocked out the power. A nearby town flooded. It was intense.
But then the eye of the storm passed over. An earie calm settled in. No wind. No rain. Just stillness.
Storm Fury
A short time later, the backside of the storm hit, bringing wind and rain in abundance once again. I was thankful for our friends’ strong home protecting us from the hurricane’s fury.
As I watched it rage from inside the house, I thought of Bethel Music’s rendition of “It is Well.” I was reminded that hurricane-force winds, powerful storm surges, and torrential rains…they know their Master’s name. His voice spoke the wind and water into existence. And His word has calmed them in an instant.
I’m grateful that their Master is also mine. His power is stronger than any force in the universe.
He is able to calm every storm I face. He can make it stop with just one word. He is Master of the Storm.
But sometimes He doesn’t stop the storms. Sometimes He permits “sorrows like sea billows” to roll. In those seasons, He is my unshakeable shelter in the middle of the storm. His nearness is my good. His heart is trustworthy and ever open to mine.
What about you, fellow Jesus lover? Is there a storm raging in your life? Are you experiencing Him as Master of the storm or as Shelter in the midst of the storm? How has He brought comfort to your soul? I’d love to hear – please join in the conversation!
Peace, be still
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by MeredithNMills | Sep 2, 2016 | Hope in the Midst of Heartache, knowing God, Uncategorized, Victorious Living, Waiting, Walking by Faith
Did we take a wrong turn somewhere, God?
Did we take a wrong turn?
This path we’re on is bumpier than I expected. I’m not seeing many “green pastures” or much “still water.” It’s certainly not glamorous.
I was kind of hoping for something more exciting, less mundane. I know You lead down “paths of righteousness,” but isn’t there a less exhausting one?
That path over there…the pleasant-looking, grass-is-greener one? I think I’d like that one better. It looks easier, more productive, more… well, fun.
Can’t we give that one a try?
Do you ever have such conversations with God?
Ever feel frustrated, discontent, even disillusioned with the path on which God has you? Ever compare your life with others and wish your days looked more like theirs? Or maybe memories of past seasons or dormant dreams make you long for something…different.
Life has a way of not turning out the way we envisioned, no matter how good we have it.
Sometimes I whine and complain, as evidenced by the above conversation (“inspired” by this past month).
I’m so thankful that God isn’t impatient, that He continues loving and leading me, no matter how I grumble along the way. Sometimes I’m in awe of how gracious and “longsuffering” He is.
In my grumbling seasons, God faithfully reminds me that He Himself is the only Source of true joy and satisfaction. “The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail” (Is 58:11). “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days” (Ps 90:14).
Did we take a wrong turn?
He never promised that life would be easy. On the contrary, He said, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me” (Lk 9:23).
Some days are crazy hard, but “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).
By faith, I trust that He has “given us everything we need for a godly life through the knowledge of Him…” (2 Pet 1:3).
When I grow weary, I remember that “at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9).
Sometimes He leads through the valley of the shadow of death, yet He is always with us (even when we don’t feel Him). He knows when we become “weary and burdened,” so He invites to come find rest in Him beside quiet waters (Ps 23, Matt 11:28-30).
He Himself is each need’s satisfaction and every heart’s greatest pleasure.
Did we take a wrong turn?
Are you on a difficult path? Have you been grumbling about your circumstances? How does Jesus satisfy you when life is hard? I’d love to hear – please join the conversation!
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