The Meals

Entrée

Lessons from the Fall

The Manna Chef

For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity. (Proverbs 24:16 NKJV)

Sisters, I want to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone, even if it means you fall.  That may sound a little weird, but I want you to step out and allow yourself to experience something beyond what you could have ever imagined.  Step out of the familiar.  Go ahead, Sisters, take that leap!

I recently joined a pretty exclusive club:  those who have fallen off a horse!  Yes, Sisters, I fell, and it was glorious!!  It was one of the best rides I’ve ever been on!  And before I go any further, let me say this right now:  find something that you LOVE and commit to doing it this month, whatever it is that brings you joy and peace. 

Horseback riding is something that I’ve come to love.  It’s a private moment with me and God as He allows me to bond with one of His most beautiful creatures.  Riding has become like therapy for me—I can get away from it all and fully immerse myself in nature.  So, I try to go pretty regularly.

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What’s on Your Tree?

The Manna Chef

For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.

(Luke 6:43-44 NKJV)

If a tree is known by its fruit, I wonder, “What kind of fruit are you bearing, Sister?”  It’s a question worth examining today, because there is so much going on around us.  We know that we reap what we sow, which makes it paramount that we sow good seeds to produce good fruit.  Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV) reminds us of the kind of fruit that God is expecting us to produce:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law. 

This, Sister, is what the Lord is looking for in our lives.  We should produce His attributes in our lives, and we should produce them consistently.  If a tree is known by its fruit, then we must be careful about what we are producing (if we really do desire to reflect the image of our Heavenly Father).  If I sow in anger, frustration, and chaos, I cannot blame God or anyone else for the result because I have chosen to not exhibit His fruit.  It’s an everyday process too.  You have opportunities to sow daily, and there is a great deal of responsibility in each choice.  But, Sister, there are also great opportunities for the manifestation of blessings from your obedience in sowing what pleases the Father.

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Think About What You’re Thinking About

The Manna Chef

For a moment, I want you think about the many things that occupy your mind on any given day.  Sisters, we are being bombarded with negativity every single day.  You can’t even escape it right now.  Just turn on the television and you’ll hear about a tragedy that is unfolding in real time.  There are negative stories and negative images everywhere; just look at your social media feed.  We are constantly hearing about inflation, violence and war, gas prices, and supply chain issues.  It’s no wonder people are fighting depression and are consumed in discouragement.  There is so much negativity that you have to constantly ask God to renew your mind.

I’ve found it necessary to limit the amount of negative information I take in on a daily basis.  I ask the Holy Spirit to filter out those things that would weigh heavily on my spirit or that would create negative energy in me.  So sometimes it means that I have to turn the television off and choose to not watch the news because there are moments when it’s all just too much.  I have to be intentional because if I take in too much negativity, my thoughts can be shaped before I even realize it.  I am a “glass half-full” kind of girl, so when I think of a “glass half-empty” thought or say something negative, the Holy Spirit checks me immediately.  That mentality doesn’t line up with who I really am. 

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Does Jesus Really Understand?

The Manna Chef

Does Jesus really understand how I feel?  How many of you have ever asked that question in total sincerity?  It’s not even that you doubt that He is God or that He died for your sins.  The challenge sometimes is that we forget that He is God in the flesh and that He really is relatable.  We don’t doubt His omniscience or His power or even His ability to be omnipresent.  We get that part.  It’s easy to focus on the fact that He is fully Divine; what we forget is that He walked on this earth fully human, too.

I had the funniest thought earlier today as I listened to my stomach growl while I was sitting in my office.  Well, first, of course, I thought, “It’s snack time.  Let me eat something.”  But after that, I had a second thought:  Jesus knows the pangs of hunger. 

Now that may not seem earth-shattering to you right now, but the thought allowed me to reflect on Jesus as a human being.  A real man.  One that got lonely, angry, and sad.  He experienced rejection, sorrow, pain, and loss.  The people around Him didn’t really understand Who He was or what He was doing most of the time.  He had to maintain balance because He lived among the people, but He had to find alone time with God.  (That can be a real challenge today because our lives are so fast-paced.)  Jesus’s life teaches us so many things, but we can miss out on really connecting to Him because we don’t fully realize that He does understand how we feel.  He gets it.

Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor.  He knows what is lying ahead of us—He’s seen it already—and He really does understand what it’s like to be human.  He doesn’t offer clichés with little more than great sound bites.  He can speak from total authority and total empathy at the same time. 

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Take Another Look

The Manna Chef

Sisters, I want to encourage you today to revisit those dreams and goals that seem too far away from your reach.  I know what some of you are thinking:

I’m too old.

I’m too young.

I don’t have enough money or resources.

I’m not as qualified as “they” are.

Too much time has passed by.

I don’t know where to even begin.

I know all of these excuses because I have tried to use them many times.  I won’t even pretend that I haven’t.  Sometimes it’s hard not to respond with an excuse when your back is against the wall.  But today, Sisters, I want you to dig deeper and press past those excuses.  We need you!

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