Kat, over at Inspired to Action, has included an electronic copy of “then came Jesus” in the upcoming Hello Mornings Advent session power pack along with other fun stuff including a Christmas song from Shaun Groves. Doesn’t the term “power pack” sound exciting?!

I love Kat. And I love Hello Mornings. So I’m honored to join with the participants as we enter into the Advent season.

Click here to find out more about the Advent power pack. Affiliate links included in this post.

 
Fill me, Lord…

Are you ready for the Christmas season?!
 

The post exclusive pre-release of “then came Jesus” appeared first on Lara Howard.

So I am not going to say, “Every Friday for the next 13 weeks I am going to write about what I learned from the Glorious Grace study! Every Friday!” Because inevitably one of my kids will get some Fall germ that slowly spreads to another kid and then another until three Fridays are shot. So I am just going to say, “Today I want to tell you something I learned from the Glorious Grace study this week.” Today.

This week was an intro to the book of Ephesians. Here’s where I really hope you don’t check out since I said the name of a book of the Bible. This is good stuff. In the intro week we basically just got a snapshot of Paul, the one who wrote the book. And though I’m tempted to start a little preachin’ about God’s amazing grace (seriously, everything is grace!), I really just want to tell you one thing that inspires me about Paul.

You see Paul wasn’t called Paul before he started following Jesus. His name was Saul, as in king Saul from Israel’s past. He had everything “goin’ on” from a human perspective. He had a kingly name. He could recite a bunch of laws. He was respected with the high-roller, legalistic, religious elite. He even killed people who proclaimed this “false prophet” Jesus. Killed them. Until he came face-to-face with Jesus himself. And that’s when everything changed. Even his name.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17

A few chapters into Acts it says, “And Saul who was also called Paul…” (Acts 13:9) That may not look like much to you on the outset, but this is so huge. So precious. So reflective of what was going on in his spirit.

You see the name Paul actually means “small.” So this big, manly, conceited, power-hungry Saul met Jesus and from then on out he changed his name to Paul. Small.

Why does it matter? It shows a humility that is so beautiful in the sight of our God. It shows a man who now sees himself in the light of God’s glory and all he can do is bow low in praise. In honor. In humility. Even to the point that he no longer wants people to refer to him as the proud king Saul. He wants people to call him Paul. Small. Little. He wants people to see God as the really huge One — the One deserving all glory.

That inspires me. In a world that teaches us to strive for accolades and feast on position, Paul’s humility brings a pause to my spirit. It makes me ask myself, what do I want people to call me?

 
Fill me, Lord…

How have you wrestled with the tension to be named something great in our world’s eyes vs. walking “small” before a really big God?

I am linking up with other Glorious Grace people over at the HelloMornings blog today. Click here to read what others learned this week.

And if you want to join us, it isn’t too late. You can click here to get your own copy of Glorious Grace. It’s available in print and as an ecopy.

The post do you want to be big or little {Glorious Grace} appeared first on Lara Howard.

I was actually sitting in church yesterday thinking about life, because it’s a good place to contemplate. And a reality hit me about choices.

I can’t choose a lot of things. I can’t choose the day I die (well, unless…sadly…you know.) I can’t choose whether or not I get some disease. I can’t choose how people will treat me. I can’t choose…the weather. There’s a lot I can’t choose in this life.

But I can choose two really important things.

I can choose how I respond to people and circumstance. In Christ I can choose to live hopeful or hopeless as I remember who God is and what He’s promised. I can choose to forgive when I’m wronged and love when I’m betrayed. I can choose to give grace or pound the law. I can choose my response.

And I can choose how I spend my time. I can choose to sit or run. I can choose to watch or participate. I can choose to write or read. I can choose to think on Truth or think on lies. I can choose to complain or count blessings. Every minute of every day I have choices to make.

This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

That was my Sunday contemplation, followed by lots of afternoon choices of how I responded to my kids and my husband.

I fail a lot. But that’s why God’s grace is so amazingly scandalous. Every time I come to Him and say, “Lord! I responded really crapily (not a word).” Or “I just wasted thirty minutes surfing the internet for…why was I on there?” He responds with grace. He gives wisdom when I ask. And He empowers me to press on.

So it’s Monday. And though we won’t choose much of what happens today, we can choose two things. In Christ, through the power of His Spirit, we can choose our response to life and we can choose how to spend our time. I’m praying for wisdom with both of those this morning.

Now to go heat up my coffee.

Oh and speaking of how to spend our time. TODAY BEGINS THE REGISTRATION FOR THE NEXT HELLOMORNINGS CHALLENGE! (I promise I’m not yelling.) Registration is only open for 9 days. 9 days. So click here to find out more and/or to register.

Also, Katie and I are excited to offer the first HelloMornings Bible study in print! Yay! A book you can touch and feel and write in. (Old school.) You can click here to pre-order your copy of our newest study, Glorious Grace so that you will have the study in time for the start of the challenge. And no, you don’t have to do the challenge to order the study.

 
Fill me, Lord…

What other choices do we have today (and everyday)?
 

The post 2 really important choices we get to make today appeared first on Lara Howard.

Peter asks Jesus about John. He wants to know God’s plans for John’s life, or more specifically God’s plans for John’s death. And do you know what Jesus says? “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.” (John 21:22)

It’s like Jesus is saying, “None-ya, Peter.” As in none-ya business. “You’re looking at the wrong thing. Don’t worry so much about what other people are doing or not doing, or my call on their life. Keep your eyes on me. You love and forgive and pour out grace and minister hope and teach other followers and commune with Me.”

You follow Me.

It’s so easy to get life all twisted. It’s so easy to focus on what other people are doing or not doing, rather than simply saying, “Lord I’m Yours. Regardless of the plans you have for those beside me, regardless of what they do today, use me to reflect You. Empower me to love like You love and minister to those You place in my path.”

He doesn’t tell us to focus on Him because He wants to hurt or deprive us. He says it because He knows something we too quickly forget:

His plans for you (and me) are good.

“Good” as in He’s faithfully transforming us to look more like Him. “Good” as in He’s allowing things into our lives to prove again and again that His grace truly is sufficient. “Good” as in He sees from all eternity how He’s going to work this thing out, and ultimately it’s for our soul-good and His deserved glory.

We forget. Our eyes linger down here on people and plans, when ultimately Jesus whispers, “Regardless of the plans I have for others, you, you, follow Me.”

 
Fill me, Lord…

When you set your eyes on God rather than on the people around you, how does that change your spirit?
 

The post regardless of what others do or don’t do appeared first on Lara Howard.

Yesterday at church they had this young guy, maybe 16ish-years-old, share his story. And ya’ll, I couldn’t stop crying!

The kid was from Nepal. He and his brother came to the U.S. a couple of years ago to “find a better life.” So he started school. And one day he came home to find that his brother had packed up everything and left him. Alone. In another country. Without any family. A 16-year-old boy.

“Coincidentally” he attends a local school, mainly for refugees, that many of our church members have partnered with as tutors. And “coincidentally” he shared his story with one lady from our church. She shared it with her husband. They prayed. The rest of their family prayed. And God led them to open their home to this Hindu, refugee, abandoned teenager who now lives with them.

Ya’ll.

Since then he has given his life to follow Jesus, and yesterday, before thousands of Americans, he shared with his Nepali accent and a huge smile how he loved his Lord and was growing everyday in his relationship with Him. Then the pastor baptized him — him emerging from the water with the biggest grin and wildest hair.

It was the most beautiful thing I had seen in a while.

I think what got to me was the innocence. The freedom from church baggage or any preconceived ideas as to what Christianity meant. It was just this boy who has met his Savior and now he loves Him with sweet abandon. Thinking about it tears me up all over again. Maybe because that’s the heartbeat of where God has had me recently.

A few weeks back, God led me to set aside everything “churchy” and just walk with Jesus for awhile. To hear His words and see what He did, free from tradition or expectation.

About halfway through that journey, Katie Orr (friend and co-author of Savoring Living Water) contacted me about what we should write for our next HelloMornings* Bible study. Almost immediately I knew. We should develop a study that would lead the reader to meet Jesus. She completely agreed. So we’re calling the study “Meet Jesus.”

There comes a time when we need to set all the churchy stuff down and simply get alone with our Lord. To see Him. And hear Him. And love Him for who He is.

That’s what filled that young boy yesterday with so much joy. Jesus. Just Jesus.

* HelloMornings is a 13-week challenge to maximize our mornings, via online accountability groups. The summer session is now open for FREE registration through Friday, May 3rd. Everyone who registers will receive a FREE copy of “Meet Jesus.” Click here to find out more and/or to register.

Fill me, Lord…

How does seeing pure, excited, young faith challenge or affect you?
 

The post the story that tore me up {and…a free resource} appeared first on Lara Howard.

So I’ve re-taught the importance of respecting everyone else in the house who still wants to enjoy the quiet at 5:30 a.m. And with slight resistance, they (mostly) play or “read” quietly in their beds until the “light turns green” at 6:30. (<-- love that clock! And I don't get paid to say that.) But the other morning I had a (ridiculously immature) pity party with God. I had gotten up to spend some quiet with Him and just as I opened my Bible, I heard them stirring. “God why won’t my kids sleep in like other people’s kids?! I just want a few moments of quiet before I’m needed. Please, Lord.” Ridiculous considering the major struggles that some are facing.

By His grace my heart shifted, and I remembered the immeasurable gift of their little feet. They made their way downstairs to my morning chair and I held their warm sleepy bodies while I prayed for them. Then I led them back up to be in their own “quiet space” until the light turned green.

That’s when the word “margin” came to mind. Margin.

We need margin in this life. As humans we need a white space that doesn’t demand performance, but rather invites us to just be still before God.

Jesus sought the margin. He would rise early and break away to pray and commune with the Father. (Mark 1:35) He would step away from all the people and plans of this earthly realm and tend to that intimacy our soul desperately craves.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1

Later that day, after a morning marked by my selfish pity party, God gave me some margin. I was in the car alone, driving to my next thing when I realized that I had about 30 minutes before I needed to be there. Margin.

So I pulled over at our local park, the one with the lake and ducks and empty benches, and I communed in the margin. I could have used that time to rush through the grocery store or answer some emails, but He invited me into the stillness. He invited me to revel to His truths from Psalm 146.

He may not give it at 5:30 in the morning, but if we ask I believe He’ll grace us. He designed us with the need for His filling. He invites us into the margin.

 
Fill me, Lord…

How do you seek out the margin?
How has the margin proven to be a blessing in your own life?
 

The post the desire for margin {and confession of my pity party} appeared first on Lara Howard.

On Friday morning I was privileged to help lead a corporate quiet time with some of my fellow HelloMornings girls. Actually I did some preachin’ for the devotion time and then Katie led us in worship. Then at the end of our time together, I shared a poem that I had written about waking up into God’s day.

A number of girls asked if the poem was on my blog, so here it is…now on my blog. (And yes, I have my poetry voice going on. Strange.)

If you are having trouble viewing, click here to watch “It’s His. Not mine.”.
(Oops, I spelled “bear” as “bare.” And yes, I do wear clothes each day.)

It’s His. Not mine.

I wake into His day. Not mine.
He made it and holds it.
Loves it. Controls it.
Working it all towards a further unfolding
of His plan.
I’m so small in the grand scheme —
me stepping around folded clothes
and creaky stairs,
not wanting to wake little ones holding their teddy bears.
While He sits enthroned in glorious splendor.
I’m so small yet so loved.
So small yet pursued from above,
by my Maker.
Pursued. And purchased.
At a high price that I wouldn’t live
under the advice of a world that’s
confused and fearful,
desperate and tearful,
weak and scornful.
But purchased with crimson that little me
would have redemption.
Set free to be a giver of love,
a pourer of grace,
a receiver of mercy,
a stander in faith.
Free.
So I sit in my morning chair.
Breathing a few moments of quiet air.
Drinking His living water that my soul
would joyfully bear today.
It’s His.
Not mine.

You know, I don’t have a quiet time in order to look super spiritual or to gain some righteous status with God. Because truly, we gain every ounce of righteousness we could ever possess simply by faith in Jesus. I spend time with God before my day begins because I’m needy. I’m desperate for His guidance.

In that early morning chair, as I set my face towards His and lay all my mess at His feet, He meets with me. He soothes the wounds and mends broken places. He brings me to tears with His kindness and makes His truths jump off the pages to pierce my soul.

Time set aside to be with Him isn’t legalism — or at least it shouldn’t be. It’s life to us. It’s communing and relationship and love. It’s how I start today. His day — I’m just waking up into it.

 
Fill me, Lord…

What are your biggest distractions time alone with Him?
How does time alone with God bless your own spirit?
 

The post a little slam poetry in honor of HelloMornings appeared first on Lara Howard.

In college I decided that I wanted to learn — probably out of some self-serving, granola agenda…but learn none-the-less. So she taught me her favorite pattern and I set off with dreams of crocheting the world. Well, at least crocheting a table-cloth.

I bought my yarn and dove right in with big crochet dreams. But…it took a lot longer than I thought it would. So with slight discouragement, I decided that instead of a table-cloth I’d just make a table-runner. That’d be better.

But after a few months my crochet fire started to dwindle, so I decided to aim at finishing a place-mat. Though in the end, I basically made a coaster. A pretty coaster. But just a coaster. Sigh.

Maybe that’s why this particular gift meant so much.

flickr photo credit

A dear family friend recently crocheted a prayer shawl for me. Now you’re picturing me in Jerusalem, aren’t you. As she looped it all together, she prayed for me and my family. Priceless. And now I use it every morning before the day gets loud.

It isn’t magical but it’s meaningful. It doesn’t do anything but it represents everything. I drape it over my head and shoulders as I thank God for His covering.

I keep it wrapped around me as I praise Him. I talk to Him about my waywardness and His grace regardless. Then as it slips down my arms I open His Word.

Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Proverbs 30:5

I need my morning quiet. Need it. Love it. Before life demands from me, I need to get it straight in my spirit, “You are God. I am not. Glorify Yourself through me today.”

It doesn’t have to be mornings but there’s something about beginning with Him. That’s why a few…thousand…of us hold each other accountable to starting our mornings well. It’s called HelloMornings and our summer session starts Monday (prayer shawl totally optional). I’d love for you to join us!

Click on the box below to find out more about “HelloMornings” or to register for our summer session. Registration is completely free.
 

 
Fill me, Lord…

Do you have a good morning routine?
What do you do to get your heart and mind in line with Him?

The post new addition to my morning routine {HelloMornings} appeared first on Lara Howard.