Have you ever wasted time trying to help people make sense of a calling God gave to YOU?
Maybe after prayer and confirmation all we need to do is get to work.
What are you going to walk boldly into that God has called you to do?
Your sister,
Monica
Just before Christmas I was able to squeeze in a local Christmas lights sight seeing with our youngest children. Unfortunately we spent almost an hour in traffic before seeing any displays.
We sat there as patiently as we could, my husband playing games on his phone to distract himself and the girls chatting in the backseat. A little voice came from behind me…
“I wish I could name a cloud,” Monica Jr. declared.
She was probably remembering when I shared that Peter had payed for a star to be named after me when we were dating. It was a cute idea; naming a cloud.
“Well… that’s a neat idea honey, but clouds don’t last so it would be silly to name them. They’re just vapor in the sky that floats away.”
The words I spoke were oddly familiar:
Yes, even the exaltation of having a star named after me would not last. That distant ball of fire and the records naming it for me would all one day be vapor just as my earthly life and name.
Along with even the beautiful flowers of this world, I will fade.
But I have a new name.
God named me.
I have new life.
That name is as eternal as the life I have found in Him.
He named me because He has given me permanence in His kingdom; a right to reign alongside His Son, even.
What an honor!
I don’t know that I ever grasped the significance of being named by God so deeply as I did the day my toddler decided she would like to name a cloud.
I don’t know that I have ever been so grateful that my Father has chosen to call me His and give me a new name.
I pray that you take seriously the implications of such a simple, yet permanent gesture. We may not know our new names yet, but we can be sure that they are everlasting just as we are everlasting in Christ Jesus.
May you walk in that new name; in truth and in confidence of your Father this year.
Your sister,
Monica
*If you would like to but have yet to accept Christ as your Savior, I would be honored to walk with you through this step! Feel free to contact me here, and I’ll be in touch ASAP 😉
Weak isn’t the same thing as wimpy.
American culture would say otherwise; especially for men.
You aren’t allowed to show weakness.
To make matters worse we’ve taken to inferring weakness from normal human emotions. If you get hurt, you must be weak. If you cry, you must be weak.
Everyday life struggles are taken as a sign of weakness for the men enduring them.
Your marriage is struggling: you must be weak.
You lost your job: weak.
You’re not making enough money: weak.
Can’t send your kids to private school, take the family on vacation, have the “right” car & house, or solve world hunger…
Weak, weak, weak!
Yes, by this fallen world’s definition it may be true. But we live by a greater standard.
One that requires recognition of true weakness and ultimately shows our God strong in us.
“we’ve taken to inferring weakness from normal human emotions”
You’ll never be able to provide enough… because you aren’t the Provider.
You’ll never love your wife enough… but you can point her to the One who does.
You’ll never be void of negative emotion… and that’s a good thing because God hears the prayers of the broken.
So men, will you be our confidently weak heroes?
We don’t need you to be strong. We need you to be real so you become strong.
We need your leadership as broken, humble men who rely on Jesus; not as pompous, “self-made” fakes.
We need to walk alongside each other as husbands & wives, brothers & sisters, mothers & sons, fathers & daughters who know our failings and choose to bare them that God may be glorified instead of our egos.
Here’s to all the real heroes out there! May God strengthen you in your submission to Him.
We honor you for choosing humility amidst a world full of pride.
Your sister,
Monica
Sisters, this one is just for you. For us.
First of all I want you to know how incredible you are. I pray for you all each day. I thank God for you and I absolutely LOVE hearing what our Father is doing in your lives!
I want to share some encouragement I received this past weekend when I was in Nashville, Tennessee. (HUGE thanks to NorthStar Women’s Network for making this possible!!)
There were so many incredible communicators (church lingo for ‘speakers’) that I was more than full at the end of the three day Lifeway Women’s Leadership Forum.
The moment that set the stage for me to take it all in was my first breakout session led by Christi Straub.
“We stood in our weakness and became powerful in our unity in Jesus”
Christi challenged us to walk in the life God intends for our leadership, our marriages, and our lives in general… but it wasn’t her powerful speaking that made the deepest impact (though that was awesome!) It was the unity she helped us realize.
“If you are going through a trial right now, would you stand?” she requested.
Most of us have experienced this before. A few people stand in a church service and the rest of us (those who are coasting along in the joy of the Lord, *eyeroll) lay hands on the few and pray over them.
That day the few became the many. Almost the entire room of women stood to their feet, myself included.
We prayed together for one another. Voices cracking, snivels scattered throughout the crowd… we stood in our weakness and became powerful in our unity in Jesus.
Each woman that the enemy had desired to isolate and conquer, many in leadership positions that do not afford them the liberty of sharing their struggles so publicly; each of us were strengthened by the other that morning.
I left that place changed forever.
I’ll admit that a life of ministry is not easy. It’s worth it but it comes at a cost and there are many battles along the way.
In the past I have wondered,”How can I possibly overcome this trial? I feel like this will be the one to take me out. Maybe I should quit?”
As I stood among these powerful, humble women the lie that I was ever alone became clear as day. The question now is, “How could I lose?”
I can’t lose! Ladies, WE CAN’T LOSE!
Yes, there is nothing new under the sun. Yes, Jesus is with us through it all.
Those things are true and necessary, but know this to be true as well:
Every women in leadership is battling alongside you. Every trial you face, thousands of other women have stared down in faithful prayer… and many have overcome.
The simplest truth is that we have already won. Your spiritual enemy knows this. That’s why you get hit so hard.
Now go throw on some worship music and praise the God who is faithful! Praise the God who has brought you this far! Praise the God, our Father, who has trampled the enemy and is bringing you into victory for His glory!
Praise Him!
Your sister,
Monica
(Oh… I also met *and got a hug from* my sister Jackie Hill Perry so basically everything I do is super anointed now, just saying 😂🙌)
(Ps- be sure to check out these other awesome Jesus followers: Dr. Lorg, Lori McDaniel, Lauren Chandler, Denise Pass, Selma Wilson, Jennifer Rothschild, and so many more I will have to post another blog with recommendations later)
Now that the Devil’s Day Debate has simmered down, I thought I might stir the pot a little with some truth.
(How else can I excuse munching on handfuls of my kids’ candy? I need the sugars for brainpower to blog, of course!)
Yep. We “celebrated.” Let me tell you why:
1) Celebrating Halloween won’t send you to hell any more than celebrating Christmas will get you to heaven.
I figured I would go straight for the throat on this one. All the religious fanatics out there who think that someone isn’t saved just because they don’t do things exactly like you can pretty much stuff it.
This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of in my life and I’m not giving it any more space on this blog. Sorry not sorry.
2) The devil doesn’t get a day. They’re all God’s days.
If you really believe that Jesus is sovereign in this world, then this language wouldn’t even be in your vocabulary.
I understand that there are people who celebrate Halloween as part of an unholy religion. Unfortunately for you, those people consider this day to be very holy.
It’s gonna be quite difficult for you to witness to people if you keep demonizing them once a year (they’re not all devil worshippers) while you attack your Christian brothers and sisters. I’m pretty sure unbelievers are not gonna come to you when they have problems and let you pray for them.
Stop saying this nonsense and stop damaging your witness.
3) It’s a “meat to idols” issue.
I don’t broadcast our family’s participation. It’s not the world’s business. I don’t hide it either because that’s just stupid. But since I’m open on social media and minister to so many people it’s bound to come up.
I used to be too concerned about what everyone thought; not because I wanted to please but because I take my position as a teacher and leader very seriously. The reality is I would be doing you all a disservice NOT to discuss the issue.
If you are somewhat religious you already know what I’m talking about with meat to idols. Go read it again. If you’re new to walking with Jesus, it’s a great passage to digest while navigating this new life you’ve found.
It’s gonna be quite difficult for you to witness to people if you keep demonizing them
The point is that we all have different levels of faith and God has called us two different things at different times in our lives.
Sometimes this means participating or abstaining in activities that make us look more or less set apart from the world. Trust Him to lead you through these times and for goodness sake…
For God’s sake,
Stop being so hateful toward your fellow man! Your pride is showing when you do this and it is far more hideous than any Halloween mask.
Excuse me while I polish off this candy bar and thank the Lord for it.
Your sister,
Monica
(Note: because I acknowledge that there is an unholy aspect to this holiday, my family abstains from all things that socialize realistic occult activity and I educate my children on the history of Halloween. This is not only in October, but a way of life for us. Spiritual warfare is real and certain behaviors are gateways for attack.)
I’m kind of heated that I even have to write about this, but I’ll do it anyway because I love you all.
Feel free to get mad and then get over it because I’m about to speak ACTUAL truth and it won’t feel good to some of you.
There is no “your truth.”
“Your truth” is only real insofar as you speak what is real to you… but that does not make it truth. Those are two different things. There is only one truth. When everyone can just have “their own truth,” that is called relativism.
Relativism is a worldly concept and opposed to the gospel.
If the body of Christ continues referring to our human perceptions as truth, we will be misleading the world and setting a horrible example.
I’m not going to touch on specifics because it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we stop just repeating crap that sounds good and start believing things that are Biblical and holy.
The body of Christ doesn’t exist to make everyone feel good and condone peoples’ (and their own) “version of truth.”
So here’s the real truth:
Every one of you reading this is a sinner.
You probably already know each of those sins in detail and have been doing them for a long time. Even us Christians. That is truth.
Part two: there’s a way out.
Jesus died so that you can be forgiven and find freedom from those patterns of sin.
Now here’s the hard truth:
You don’t get to walk around claiming the second part without knowing the first. If “your truth” discounts the fact that you are a sinner, it’s not truth at all. It is a lie from the enemy that’s been coated in pumpkin spice flavored, pop-culture lukewarmness and it is meant to destroy the witness of the church.
I pray to God we start taking this title of Christian more seriously or drop the act if we aren’t willing to go all in.
Sorry y’all but you can’t have both worlds. It’s Kingdom or bust.
With loving admonishment.
Your sister,
Monica
“This, then, is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people have loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.” John 3:19-21
I’ve been here many times. It never gets easier.
The person I look to for guidance seems to have less and less of it to offer until one day I realize they can no longer lead me.
It’s a sad thing. I develop close relationships and real affection for my leaders, and they for me. But relationships change.
I’m a hard charger and it’s not in my nature to stay long with one leader, teacher, or mentor. Even when I have tried God has an uncanny way of removing them from my life.
I’ve lost people to death, relocation, and plain old outgrowth more times than I would like to mention, but I’ve learned to have peace in these times.
“Leadership is just something we do in the interim until a person can lead us back.”
I’ve come to know, not just as a bible verse, that there is only one Teacher.
He is my Heavenly Father. He will never leave me and I will never outgrow Him.
Besides, that’s not how it’s supposed to be anyhow. We are supposed to be family. Leadership is just something we do in the interim until a person can lead us back. It’s a beautiful relationship when it works, but it only works with really humble people who can withstand the pride check.
I’ve met leaders like this, the ones who could take critique from their mentees, and grow from it. They are few and far between.
I hope you all know how special you truly are who can do this.
For the rest of us, let’s remember:
In the end all we have is One Teacher and love for one another. The world will know us by that love. Let’s focus on that more than we focus on being the “leader.”
Your sister,
Monica
