We are never to get complacent or take for granted the amazing love gift of  life we have received through Jesus Christ. We are never to miss the opportunity to grow stronger by living in the power of  God’s Spirit and Word within us. We are always to turn our attitudes towards thankfulness recognizing that we are always held in God’s unfailing love.

 Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in your faith and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-7

Personal Reflections from Sylane:                                                                           After we receive the wonderful, eternal gift of life through Jesus Christ, we need to remember to live this new life–to CONTINUE to live this new life that has been given to us in Christ Jesus.

It’s not just a one day special! Salvation is an eternal gift of life. And eternal life with Jesus doesn’t just begin on the other side of the Pearly Gates! And that until we get there we are to just bide our time, just making it through–and maybe just barely at that–while here on this earth.

Oh, no! That’s not God’s plan or the power He has for us to live in Christ Jesus!

Our eternal life with Jesus is taking place right now, and began the moment we trusted that Jesus died to give us life. By God’s Spirit we are brought to life, and we are called to CONTINUE to live in Christ Jesus–and in that truth!

Sometimes I forget that. Sometimes I get sad, angry, selfish, sinful, sick, tired, sick-and-tired, lazy, apathetic, uppity… Oh! Isn’t that just a list of the godly characteristics which Jesus has to strengthen us!? The answer would be: NO!

So! When I forget all that God has for me so that I may CONTINUE to live in the love, the power, the grace and the truth of Jesus Christ, my Abba reminds me that:

• Living in Christ Jesus is to make a choice daily–moment by moment–to be active and intentional about growing deeper and stronger in my faith. 
• Living in Christ Jesus  is about trusting God, His loving goodness and eternal plan even if I don’t feel the love or see any good reason for what I may be dealing with right at any given moment or season in my life. 
• Living in Christ Jesus teaches me, shakes my attitude to where it needs to be and empowers me to have a heart full of thankfulness because I know I am loved beyond my imagination and God is good!

God loves us so much. He provides everything we need to live a life in Christ Jesus–and teaches us to do it all in thankfulness. Even what may be, at first, bitter for us to live through, is able to be turned into sweetness and strength as we CONTINUE to live our life in Christ Jesus.

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane  

A new day we have been given. And today just happens to be the first day of Spring!

Thank You for this, LORD! Thank You for the clear signs You give us of Your order and wisdom, beauty and love. LORD, thank You for the lengthening days of sunlight, the warmer temperatures (even when the chill and snow still jump in on us). Thank You, LORD, for the evidence of renewed life and color in the grass, flowers starting to poke out of hardened soil and tightly folded leaf-buds dotting the trees. And, LORD, thank You that people just smile a little bit more, and a little more freely when the promise and hope of life are evident to them.

Open our eyes to see Your love and power at work all around us. Open our hearts and spirits to accept Your truest evidence of the promise and hope of life through the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ. Open our minds and mouths to sing a new song of thankfulness to You in this new day, this new season and every new day. You alone are God. You alone are the giver of life. Thank You, LORD!

Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.  Psalm 96:1-2

 In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane   

The only true safe haven we have for all eternity is in the arms of our mighty God. His protection, His healing, His rest, His renewal, His strength, His hope, His peace, His love, His grace, His truth are all available to us right here, right now.

We need to stop throwing up our arms as we give up because we are in the midst of difficult circumstances. We need to stop keeping people at arms’ length because we’re either too self-centered to really care about them or we’re too afraid to get hurt.

Instead, we need to trust our loving Abba, and run into His arms that are always open wide with a love that will never fail us and with a strength that can never be destroyed. What a good and powerful place it is to be in Abba’s Arms!

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.  Deuteronomy 33:27

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane   

We can get so full of ourselves at times that we forget that God is God.

 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm…Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me if you understand.  Job 38:1, 4

Personal Reflections from Sylane:                                                                           It’s good to remember how much greater and very different God is from me! We need to understand that God is Eternal, Creator, Sovereign, Holy, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-present, Truth, Love…and so much more!

And yet, how amazing it is that God lovingly and powerfully speaks to us through His Spirit and His Word…and God desires to be in an intimate relationship with every single one of us!

We just need to understand that God is God, and that humility before Him is not only necessary, it is the very power of our Lord Jesus which frees us to live in a deep, love relationship of obedience, peace and truth with our Eternal Abba.

It is so much better to acknowledge the fullness and greatness of our God and His unfailing love for us, than to be so full of ourselves that we can’t or won’t (that darn “ca-won’t ” factor, again!) make room for God in our hearts and lives!

May each of us understand that God is God… AND understand that God is great, above all other powers…AND understand that God loves us with an intimate, all-powerful love for all eternity!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane  

Top o’ the morning to ye!

Yes! It is St. Patrick’s Day 2009! And, like so many others, I’m enjoying a bit of fun, wearing some green and claiming every ounce of Irish heritage that’s within me!

After all, the Irish blood flowing from my husband Timothy (whose beautiful silver hair was once a deep red!) and me can be clearly seen in our two daughters: Erin (her name couldn’t be more Irish!) with her green-hazel eyes, auburn-tinted wavy hair, music in her heart and the wisdom of one much older; and Julia with her bright blue eyes, crazy red curls, fiery spirit and beautiful singing voice. Yes, the bit o’ Irish blood within us cannot be denied! 

What about ”the luck of the Irish?” Oh! It’s a fun thought, but luck is all about chance and not certainty. We will, instead, depend on the certainty of our God’s Word of grace and truth, love and peace.

We do not know what each day will hold for us, but we can be certain that we are always held by our Faithful God! And we will hold onto that truth everyday of our lives!

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…Let us hold on unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:22-23

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Our battle to justify our own actions can greatly destroy the peace in all our relationships. How wonderful and different is our justification in Christ!

Through Jesus we are proclaimed as righteous in God’s sight. Our justification is fully based Jesus’ act of pure love for us by His death on the cross. And peace with our Holy God is the eternal result! 

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ–Romans 5:1

Personal Reflections from Sylane:                                                                           I don’t want to be  too rough here, but self-justification is really just selfish.

ANY time, energy, excuse, explanation or defensive posturing that we give in order to justify ANY of our own bad behavior because of what we have sufferered–or how hurt or angry someone else has made us feel–just doesn’t work! 

Self-justification is a deflective, defensive, sin-denying, self-protective behavior that doesn’t have anything to do with the peace, freedom, forgiveness and righteousness that Jesus Christ GIVES to us through His bloody, cruel death on the cross for us.

People do hurt us. People do things that make us angry. BUT! We always have the choice–ALWAYS–to do things God’s ways.

We do NOT have to be bitter–just because the situation is (or the other person is!)

We do NOT have to prove that WE are right–just because the other person is wrong.

And ANY behavior in thought, word, action or reaction–that comes from a desire to put someone else down OR in some way punish them OR seek retribution for their bad behavior towards us–is just plain wrong.

We who are in Jesus Christ, have been given the Spirit of Jesus Christ–the Spirit of the Living God–who lives within us to guide us, direct us and teach us how to be more like Jesus.

And I am absolutely convinced that Jesus–the One who never sinned  yet became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)–doesn’t have anything to do with self-justification!

Not one little bit! Not one little word! Not one nasty look! Not one unkind action!

No! We who claim to be in Jesus have been given the great gift of being justified before our Holy Heavenly Father for every single one of our own ugly sins (including self-justification!) so that we may receive the very peace of God for ourselves!

Let us by God’s loving power truly forgive others. And let us in honesty and humility admit that we have done wrong–without hanging onto even one single shred of self-justification.

When we accept the gift of life-sacrificing justification given through Jesus, we recognize that any attempt on our part to continue to self-justify our own wrong behavior (no matter how provoked we may feel) is a complete denial and rejection of all that Jesus has done for us!

Self-justification doesn’t work. It is a waste of time and destructive. Jesus’ full and holy sacrifice on the cross already has worked, perfectly and completely, to justify all who believe by faith–once and for all, for all time.

May we each give up ALL self-justification so that we may more fully receive and give to others the love, forgiveness, peace and grace of God that comes only through our Lord Jesus Christ!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane  

We were created with a need for physical and spiritual rest. Our bodies can suffer some pretty serious consequences when we don’t get proper rest.

About five years ago, after two months of averaging only 2 ½ hours of sleep each night because of a very intense ministry schedule, I actually fell asleep WHILE standing up, and broke my nose on the window frame on the way down! Some people get a “wake up call.”  I got a “go to sleep call!” (Which I have since seriously heeded, much thanks to many loving and wise watch-dogs people in my life!)

How much more serious the consequences are for us when we do not rest our souls in God! Everything breaks, not just our noses! Our peace, our hope, our perspective, our courage. And if we have never rested in God, we have rejected the very gift of salvation that comes through Jesus Christ alone.

May we each slow down, breathe more deeply and allow God to hold, restore and give rest to our souls. Take Sabbath moments each day with the Lord. Take Sabbath days each week…and extended times of Sabbath as often as possible.

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. Psalm 62:1

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

God wants us to trust Him and, like an eagle, learn to fly with Him. Often times, however, we’d rather stay in our nests–in our own comfort zones. We want to maintain and protect our known ways of doing things. It’s just easier that way.

Leaving our nests is risky business. Flying is riskier still.

We don’t always realize that God’s stirring up our nests is out of His deep love for us that would move us to greater strength, truth and freedom.  Just as baby eagles don’t get it when they are first stirred up and pushed out of their nests. They, and we, don’t realize yet the heights to which we were created to soar.

We need to trust God’s wisdom as He stirs us up, and pushes us out of our comfort zones, so that we will receive the power and purpose God has for us to fly with Him to heights not even imagined!

We need to trust God’s unfailing love that hovers over us, catches us and carries us as we learn to match our flight plans to His!

the LORD is..like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.  Deuteronomy 32:11

Personal Reflections from Sylane:                                                                           I have learned had to learn to hold all things loosely so I may more freely fly and fully live in my relationship with Jesus.

My only REAL nest–my only REAL comfort zone is trusting God even when things don’t make sense.

It doesn’t make sense for little eaglets–all comfy, warm, perfectly well-fed to suddenly be stirred up and pushed out of the comfort of their nests. But it is the only way for them to fly–and attain the fullness of their created purpose.

For you, to follow God’s stirrings out of your comfort zone, it may never entail learning a foreign language or changing your address (several times!). But! It may be God’s Spirit urging you to reach out to share the love of Jesus with someone in your family, in your neighborhood, at work or school.

Maybe God is stirring you up to reach out to someone who is lonely or in need–on any level, anywhere in the world. From the forgotten grandmother in a nursing home or the little boy who always seems to be playing outside by himself. Maybe you’re being stirred to make a meal for a sick friend or send a care package to a soldier or a soldier’s family–even if they don’t know you.

God’s stirrings will come in different ways to each of us as He calls us out of our comfort zones. And I know that leaving the comfort of our nests is risky.

But! I am convinced that ignoring the stirrings of God’s heart and will for our lives is far riskier to our well-being, and the quality of our lives, on every level–mentally, physically, relationally, spiritually.

When we choose to hold all things loosely EXCEPT for our relationship with and trust in our Lord Jesus, we have greater freedom to spread our wings to fly and grow in intimacy and unimaginable ways with our God!

It’s worth the risk because God alone is our REAL comfort zone! And the views and adventures while soaring according to God’s flight plan are spectacular!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane   

When I was a little girl I spent a lot of time curled up, hiding in the upper shelf of a closet. I didn’t want to be found. I didn’t want to be hurt or touched any more by any one. However, that hiding place was not sufficient for my safety nor for my freedom.

God alone is.

You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.  Psalm 32:7

Personal Reflections from Sylane:                                                                          I love God.

God does things in such a much bigger way than we could ever even begin to imagine!

As a child that closet seemed liked a really good idea, with me curled up into the tightest ball I could possibly force my body (a BLURSE–blessing/curse–even in that: all those hours in that contortionist position have left me ridiculously flexible for one closing in on 50!).

But the security of that hiding place was an illusion.

I still remember the day when my hiding place was ripped away from me and my body was ripped into, once more, through ugly sexual abuse.

Any and all other security measures we take–or think we have, whether they are physical, material, financial, intellectual, professional or relational, are just illusions IF they are not based on the Eternal Love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God alone is my true safety, my true hiding place, my true protection, my true freedom.  And God does this for each of us NOT by keeping silent OR hiding us so we will not be found. NO! Our God does this with songs of deliverance!

In Christ our protection is perfect. In Christ we are hidden in His compassionate and unfailing love. And in Christ we are set free.

From our Abba comes sweet and powerful songs of deliverance that flood the very core of our inner-most being…and causes our own songs of awe and thanksgiving to pour back out to our Abba for the mighty healing and hiding place He is!

Our God protects and frees us fully–so far beyond what we could ever possibly have imagined! And God does this with His beautiful music–His songs of deliverance for each of us, now and for all eternity, as we place our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!

Is God alone your hiding place–your security and your freedom? Are you singing along with Jesus?

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane  

My precious friend Eddie was killed by a drunk driver. He had a beautiful wife and four young children. He had been ripped away from them. And he had been ripped away from me.

When Eddie died, I believed he was with God. He loved Jesus. I believed the LORD would care for his family. I believed and trusted that my God is Sovereign and Loving. 

This was, and is, my determined faith in the One True God. And it was, and is, only through the intimate love of God that I have this faith.

But that’s not how I felt. Even though my faith was not shaken, my heart was completely broken.

Sometimes we have to let our feelings catch up with our faith. 

Our LORD will hold us and tenderly love us with His compassion and mercy throughout every moment of that catch up time. He did it for me. I know He will do it for you.

Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.  Psalm 31:9

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane