Yesterday I was outside working in the yard and watering my plants which were incredibly thirsty in this Summer Alabama heat! I have several rose bushes in the back of our house and my Mother, who is a wonderful gardener admonished me to "deadhead" my roses. For those of you who like me have no clue what that means, it means that the old rose heads that are left after the roses have bloomed and the petals have died and fallen off, need to be cut off. And the reason my Mother said they have to be cut off is because if they are not, nourishment continues to go to them, thus taking the nourishment away from budding roses. Sure enough, every time I "deadhead" my roses, getting rid of them, I wake up to multiple new growth and flourishing plants. It's amazing!!!

So, as I am out there "deadheading" my roses, I began to ask the Lord what I could learn through this exercise and the Lord brought this to my mind: in the Church today, there are many "deadheads"....people who go to worship, and take what the preacher gives, take from the other ministries (as a babysitting service, childcare, Sunday School teacher, etc) and never contribute one thing. They are also the first to complain when things don't scratch their itch and they rarely if ever give their tithes and additional offerings to the Church, especially during these economic times (as if God isn't aware of the strain and therefore relieves us of our obligation to tithe and thus strengthen our faith!)

Deadheads in our Churches suck all the nourishment out of the Church, yet they are not blooming, not contributing, not ministering....

So the question behooves all of us: are you a deadhead? (don't get mad at me! but if the shoe fits....) are you being poured into and not pouring out? are you being poured into and not receiving and thus have nothing to pour out? are you taking and not giving back? (I am also aware that there are times of struggle, where some need to be poured into and just receive and can't give back at that time....God knows our hearts, and He's good with that)

This is not to condemn or to shame anyone. It is however to stop and make us think. Have we taken on the mentality that it is the pastor's job, or the other staff people's job, or the certain lay leaders who seem to know what they are doing, or the more talented people, or the more beautiful people, or______________________ (you fill in the blank).
God says that He gave each of us spiritual gifts and abilities that are specifically needed to edify the Church. They were not to hoard to yourself, to use for worldly purposes, nor to only use when they benefit you. They were given to edify the body of Christ. The question then becomes: will you allow them to be used in that way? Will you allow God to take your specifically needed gifts to edify the body in your local church, community, and world?

May we be challenged that our existence is not for our own selfish pleasures, but for others......for the salvation of the lost and the edifying of the Body of Christ.

And may we no longer find deadheads in our Churches, but rather those blooming with the gifts of the Spirit, and filling our Churches with the fragrance of Christ.

Just recently, our family had a conversation regarding our favorite old T-shirts.
You know, the one that you always run to when you are just going to "veg" at home and do nothing.
Well, we all found our "old faithful".....Jorja's is her Texas Ranger T-shirt from her mission trip in Dallas, Texas last year. Dale's is his Tommy Hilfiger T-shirt from about 12 years ago (complete with several holes). Cole's is his Student Life Camp T-shirt from 10 years ago (barely fits but he loves it and yes, it has holes in both pits!!!). And mine is my Samford University Intramural Sports Champions T-shirt from college (the T-shirt says 1987-88.....that can't be right!!!)

How often we revert back to those things that are most comfortable.....not merely physically, but emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.

Isaiah 43:19 says "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

God is doing so many new things in the hearts and lives of us women as we seek to become authenticated for His glory. Be aware that we will be tempted when we are tired, hungry, anxious, or stressed to revert back to our old ways of handling things. Yet God has done new things in us and wants us to live those out as He works through the power of His Spirit within.

Do not be tempted to revert to your old comfortable ways of perceiving things and then responding improperly.....walk in truth and reverse those old faithfuls.....you're a new creation!

As many of you know, we took a trip with our daughter, Jorja, to New York City a few weeks ago. Of course, we had just begun the Authentic Woman study and so as we walked the streets of new York City, I was thinking on the things I had studied that morning.....

I so desire for all of us who are walking with God through this are beginning to change our perspectives and thoughts about ourselves.....that we are beginning to think the thoughts that God thinks about our bodies, souls, and spirit.....

So I am thinking all about that, and when we crossed a street, I came face to face with this sign that was posted on a wall:
As, we go through Week 5: Depositing Soul Truths, it's all about how to overcome satan's lies.....how to remove his lies and replace them with God's truth. I loved this sign because the way to overcome satan's lies is indeed to "protect our thoughts".....and we protect our thoughts by making sure that we are thinking "God-thoughts".....

What are you allowing into your mind? Are they God-thoughts or worldly thoughts? Do they promote God's truth over your life, or not? Be careful what you fill your mind with.....for what you ponder is what you practice.....you will live out what you think on......PROTECT YOUR THOUGHTS......and thus protect your life.