Let Go and Make Room! (And LIVE Worship Tonight!)

PRE-BLOG NOTE: Hey, I’m going to be leading worship and doing some original songs on the Choose Conference Facebook page WEDNESDAY NIGHT, June 3rd, at 7:30pm Central Time. Join me if you’d like!

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My parents took the plunge a couple weeks ago. They moved out of California where they had been living for over 35 years and moved to Nashville. (In the middle of a global pandemic, and now, mass riots. Wow.) Needless to say, it's been exciting and an interesting roller coaster with ups and downs. If you've ever done a big move like this you understand the perils of all the things that are out of your control. It's quite an undertaking, and frankly, it takes courage to let go.

Something struck me though as my mom began to shoot texts with pictures of the old house emptying out. It brought waves of emotion I wasn't expecting. I haven't lived in that house for over 15 years, but there's still a lot of memories there. As the texts and pictures came through, this truth hit me:

You have to let go of something old in order to take hold of something new.

 You can't take all the old furniture with you and have room for the new stuff. There's not enough room. Imagine your hands are full and you are desperately trying to grab onto something valuable that someone is trying to give to you. Every time you open your hands to receive, stuff falls out and you drop the very thing you're reaching for. For many of us, our hands are full. We long for something new, but we just can't part with the old.

Perhaps you're holding on to an old pattern, mindset, or broken way of doing things. Maybe you’re holding on to something you were taught that was not right or even righteous. (Sometimes we don’t realize those kinds of hand-me-downs.) God wants to do a new thing.

It's not that we don't honor what our pasts have provided for us. Certainly we don't have to toss everything and pretend like none of it matters. Much of our past, both failures and successes have shaped us. Our pasts tell the story of what we've done, where we've been, and how we've grown.

I wonder how many times we miss what God wants to do ahead of us because we're so attached to what's behind us.

 

If you want newness in your spirit and your relationship with God, you've got to create space; to dis-possess something in order to possess something new. Will you make room? Will you relinquish what's good for something better and new? Perhaps there's an even greater blessing if you'll prepare your heart by letting Him clear out what isn't good for you.

Imagine spiritual breathing room. New furniture. New smells. New paths to walk. New power tools. New ingredients in your kitchen or recipes. What is true in the physical often has a spiritual parallel.

I bet the Lord wants to do something new in and through you today too. I wonder if Covid and chaos might even be the tipping point to launch you into a new direction.

You can cling to what you know and understand, or you can take the plunge, trust, and clear out what doesn't empower you anymore. The choice is up to you.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to inventory what God might be challenging you to let go of. Hop in the van. God has places He wants to take you that you've never experienced before.

The adventure awaits.

Joyfully,

Rachel B.

Patience, Patience, Patience. Ain't Nobody Got Time Fa Dat!

(Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash)

I started ruminating on patience recently. After time with the Trinity this morning, it became obvious that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have a lot of thoughts around patience. It is one of their favorite virtues.

• Patience is faith that's grown comfortable with God's timetable.

• Patience is faith that is active even in the waiting room.

• Patience drives out irritation.

• Patience is no where to be found in the kingdom of darkness...it is a Heavenly Kingdom attribute. The enemy is running out of time. God is not.

• Patience is homegrown fruit cultivated in the soil of Holy Spirit. It's sweet and delightful when you offer it to others.

• Patience is okay when the future is not quite in focus because it knows God has perfect vision.

• Patience is the front door to peace, gentleness, and kindness. Patience allows you to cross the threshold and welcome those behind you. It's a door for you to walk though, and a door that opens in you. 
  
  

Do any of these pearls resonate with you? Which one?

AFFIRMATION

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are full of patience and never rushed or late. As I trust You, I am learning the flow and timing of your ways. I experience Your gentle, unhurried presence when I choose to value patience. The next time I encounter irritation, I will remember that this is my custom-made opportunity to practice patience.

SCRIPTURES

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Gal. 6:9 NASB

Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. Ecc. 7:9 NIV

So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. Gen. 29:20 NLT

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May our love for our Lord be so strong that our hearts are content to wait on Him with faithful expectation. And may we all stop driving our cars like hurried maniacs.  =) Amen.

Joyfully,

Rachel B.

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TWEETABLES

Patience is faith that's grown comfortable with God's timetable.

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Patience is faith that is active even in the waiting room.

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Patience is the front door to peace, gentleness, and kindness. Patience allows you to cross the threshold and welcome those behind you. It's a door for you to walk though, and a door that opens in you. 

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New pocket book from Rachel!

50 Pearls to Deepen Your Faith. Only $5!

Buy Here

Affirmation for Getting Unstuck

Sometimes we just get stuck… (Photo by Tomas Tuma on Unsplash)

AFFIRMATION

I am capable of change. "Stuck" is not who God created me to be, and it is not who I am. As I awaken to the Holy Spirit's voice in my life, I am energized and surrendered to the changes, renewal, and new ideas He wants to bring about in my body, mind, and spirit.

SCRIPTURE 

Romans 12:1-2 (The Passion Translation) 

 12 Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.

2 Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.

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Romans 12:1-2 (New Life Version)

12 Christian brothers, I ask you from my heart to give your bodies to God because of His loving-kindness to us. Let your bodies be a living and holy gift given to God. He is pleased with this kind of gift. This is the true worship that you should give Him. 

2 Do not act like the sinful people of the world. Let God change your life. First of all, let Him give you a new mind. Then you will know what God wants you to do. And the things you do will be good and pleasing and perfect.

Sometimes we get stuck because we become close-minded about ourselves and our ability to grow.

The only person who gets to decide if you grow or not is you.

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When you tell yourself that you are capable of growing, learning new things, gaining new mindsets - you are! Don't get stuck simply because your mind says, "I can't change." Who says?

• Who says you have to be stuck with dysfunctional thought patterns?

• Who says you have to live your whole life riddled with anxiety?

• Who says you are never going to get well?

• Who says depression is your destiny?

• Who says your past determines your future?

• Who says it's too late?

• Who says you're too old?

• Who says you can't lose that weight?

• Who says you can't memorize that Scripture?

• Who says you can’t learn a new ________.

• Who says your situation is not redeemable?

You know who says all that crud? The enemy. Because he wants you stuck, hopeless, and useless.

And do you know why? Because he is stuck, hopeless, and useless.

That is actually making me laugh out loud right now. For real.

(Photo by Kat Yukawa on Unsplash)

Don't listen to that stupid voice telling you that you can't change. It's lying to you. Even if it sounds compelling and authentic, it's still a lie. Don't listen to lies. Don't get stuck "in your head" when your head is telling you anything less than the truth.

Speak this affirmation over yourself. Speak it over your circumstances. God is greater than anything you and I will face. Get into the Word of God and find out what He says about you! Go listen to that Lauren Daigle song, “You Say.” That will get you going in the right direction!

God goes before you and has already prepared ways for you to walk in victory.  That's the truth!

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Joyfully,

Rachel B.

Affirmation to Stop Approval Addiction

[Photo by Jose Aragones on Unsplash]

Affirmation:

I declare the addiction to man's approval broken over my life. It is my highest honor to honor Who is highest in my life: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. May every other noise bow to the voice of my Heavenly Father. God is my greatest cheerleader, coach, and friend.

I need this affirmation! How about you? I love to make people happy. Sometimes that's possible, other times that's like trying to salvage the Titanic. Approval addiction looks different on all of us.

It can look like…

• Perfectionist tendencies

• Inability to make decisions

• Asking everyone's opinion on something

• Changing your clothes three times before leaving your home

• Over-cleaning your home

• Standing with a hunched/closed, or apologetic posture

• Making excuses, over-apologizing, or providing disclaimers (songwriters are notorious for this!)

• Not speaking up (never expressing your opinion)

• Speaking too much (dominating a conversation)

• Fatigue or short-fused from trying to figure out people's expectations of you

• Minimizing your successes (to keep the playing field level and to not intimidate)

• Exaggerating your successes (to look better in front of others)

• Striving (whatever that means to you)

• Giving up because it's never "good enough"

Any of these hit ya in the heart? Me too. I need to speak words that break off this over-attachment to approval. This addiction hides behind the real desire to be loved. Ultimately that's why we become approval junkies. We want people to like and love us. Why? We need love. Love is good. It is how God has wired us. Sometimes we attempt to meet our own needs though by trying, striving, and becoming everything everyone else wants us to be so that we experience love, belonging, and attention. 

Ouch.

Praise God we are already loved. Praise God that His love, attention, and affection for us is unconditional. We don't have to get smart, work harder, be more efficient, be cool, dress more in style, or anything else. In all our bare nakedness - in both spirit and body, we are totally, and completely loved by Jesus. Whew. What a load off.

Let me give you a 3 word #faithpearl to help you if you're struggling in this area.

Rebuke and Rest.

What does that mean? Verbally speak out against that addiction and tendency. Tell approval addiction to buggar off. Tell it all about God's amazing, unconditional approval and love for you. Tell that addiction to leave in Jesus name. Tell approval addiction that it is a lie, and you refuse to believe it anymore. THEN…tell God how grateful, thankful, and at peace you are in His presence. Rest in His goodness. Thank Him for the rest, the repose, the redemption story He is writing in your life.

Rebuke - talk to your problem and command it to leave. Tell your problem how good God is.

Rest - surrender. Open up your hands and start your day there. When you get stressed or you feel the pressure rising, remind your spirit that you choose to rest in the One who has opened up heaven for you. Choose trust. Choose to take a deep breath and say,

[Photo by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash]

I rest in You, Jesus.

I rest in You Jesus.

I rest in You Jesus.

Do this as many times as you need. There’s no shame in overcoming an addiction. We have to set new thought patterns and renew our mind with straight-up truth. This is what sets us free and gives us the ability to come up for air, resting in the very heart of Jesus.

I want to hear my Heavenly Father's voice and heart. I want to be aware and awakened to His nudges. That means I must choose to silence those other competing voices by resting in His strength and power at work in my life.

I encourage you to speak this affirmation out loud each day, and to simply pray, "Father, quiet every voice that is not from You. I am hungry to hear You."

I hope you have a great week. If you haven't heard any of my new releases check them out on iTunes or on my website - RachelBarrentine.com

• Meditations for Hope

• Meditations for Peace

• Go in the Joy

• Shame off You 

Joyfully,

Rachel B.

PS - Watch the NEW video here.

Fun fact: I shot this ocean video footage on an iphone on my drive down and back to a catholic monastery in Big Sur, California. I did a “silent” retreat there last summer and that’s where God downloaded these affirmations I’ve been sharing. Full-circle awesomeness. The beauty itself is inspiring!

Meditations for Peace

Meditations for Peace - Buy Here

Hi friends, I’m on a mission this year to release a ton of spoken Scripture with original music. I know it helps my mind and attitude tremendously if I am thinking on whatever is good, excellent, and praiseworthy. What better way to accomplish this than to listen to Scriptures - over and over.

Each 10-minute meditation has a certain theme. The first installment of the “Meditations for…” series, is called Meditations for Peace. A friend of mine just texted to let me know that she has been listening to this meditation before she goes to bed. She loves it! It’s helping to calm her mind and spirit so she can get better sleep!

What a great way to use this meditation! I hope you’ll listen over and over. As I have done that, I am literally getting these Scriptures memorized in the process. Plus, it really has increased my peace in an amazing way! There is power in the living, and active Word of God.

Here are the links if you’d like to check out this 10-minute Scripture meditation on Peace: (You can purchase or stream.)

iTunes

Spotify

Amazon

Joyfully,

Rachel B.

Because It DOES Matter

There's nothing like those powerful words, "This doesn't matter." Those are disheartening, disempowering words. They aren't the truth though. God uses everything. In the hands of a faithful God, nothing is wasted. NOTHING.

If the enemy can steal your motivation and hope, then he doesn't have to defeat you. You defeat yourself. I may even venture to say there's a whole enemy team called "self-defeat" that may be out to devour whoever's susceptible.

So whatever you do today, know this: It matters. You matter. What you do matters. How you love matters. Your words, your acts of service, your unloading the dishwasher, your taking the carpool to school, your picking up dry-cleaning, your random no-reason hug to your spouse...these micro-decisions make up the stuff of life. They matter. They count. Even if your inner critic says they don't.

Get out of bed. Take a breath. Write the song. Give the compliment. Thank the clerk. Choose the smile. Take the nap. Pet the dog. Love your children. Listen to a piece of music that moves you. Open up your hands to God. Let Him have whatever it is you have or don't have today. Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord...not because God desperately needs you to get stuff done, but because your toil is not in vain when it's laid down at His feet.

Joyfully,

Rachel B.

#faithpearls