Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others

I love how humble, willing to be vulnerable, candid, humorous, and honest Pastor Steven Furtick is in sharing examples from his own day-to-day struggles with the chatterbox, the internal monologue that goes on in our minds that can keep us from living in the fullness of God’s love and freedom.  The lies we believe keep us from hearing, heeding, and accepting the Truth about God, how He sees us and others.  Identifying the lies is an essential step in order to “Crash the Chatterbox.”  Furtick explains that the lies we believe often fall under one of these four categories: insecurity, fear, condemnation, and discouragement.

    
Furtick offers Biblical truths about the children of God as proof that many of the thoughts we have that fall under one of the four categories mentioned above are contrary to who God says we are and how Our Creator sees us.  The importance of daily prayer and ongoing Scripture study are emphasized as keys to combating lies.

    
If you voiced aloud to someone else some of the exact same things that go through your mind about yourself, would they be horrified, offended, or hurt?  Probably.  The thing is the lies we believe not only affect us and our openness to God, but they also affect those around us in big and small ways.

    
Furtick doesn’t suggest that any negative emotion we have is a lie.  Sorrow, guilt, and regret are all very real, truth-based, and can be indicators of sinfulness for which we need to repent and accept forgiveness.

    
It’s rather freeing to find out that some things are intended to be part of our daily struggle to grow closer to the Lord and become more Christ-like.  There’s not some point at which we’ll have overcome all fears, temptations, lies, roadblocks and can coast along without any more obstacles internally or externally—at least not this side of Heaven.

    
I can identify best with people who are down in the trenches still fighting spiritual battles, though able to see and share some of the insights and grace God has given them to keep fighting.  I prefer to read about and hear from a fellow prayer warrior who may be a bit frazzled, but who continues on confident in Christ. 

    
Through humor, personal stories, and pound the chatterbox nuggets, Furtick reminds us that the negative influences, thoughts, and feelings in our lives aren’t going to disappear.  We’re in this battle against darkness and evil, but Christ has already conquered everything we’re fighting against.  We’re given the mercy, grace, forgiveness…all of the tools we need to win every fight we have with fear, discouragement, insecurity, and condemnation.  We just have to admit that we need these blessings and stock up on them through study and prayer. 

    
When a thought goes through my mind, it can be helpful to ask myself whose line is this, anyway?  If it’s of God, I may be called out and asked to change in some way, but, ultimately, I will be lifted up and affirmed as a beloved child of the Lord.  If the line of thinking is governed by fear, insecurity, condemnation, and discouragement without an ounce of hope or freedom in sight, then it’s time to suit up.  When all else fails, go get your armor!

    
I highly recommend Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice above All Others by Steven Furtick.  It’s one of the few books that I have read twice in a row, because there are so many powerful truths and reminders about how to recognize and combat the lies Satan tries to feed us.  I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.  For more information about the book, or to order your own copy, click here.

    
There are some great links, interviews with some of the experts that are quoted in the book available on the www.crashthechatterbox.com website.  It’s another really good resource that will help you get the most from this book.

Vocation Discernment & Encouragement

The Cursillo Contingent

     This Saturday morning Kevin and I attended our first deacon ordination Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral.  It was very exciting to see so many people we know well gathered for the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the Eucharist.  A number of the eighteen gentlemen (and their wives) being ordained are part of our Cursillo family.  Quite a few other Cursillistas presence contributed to the love, encouragement, and joy that filled the sanctuary.  De Colores indeed!

     A sea of familiar faces, those of prayer warriors, parishioners, clergy, and dear friends all together to confirm and affirm what God has been doing and will continue to do in these men’s lives, families, churches, and ministries shine with the light of Christ.  We are all uplifted when those around us say yes to God’s call to serve Him.  We glorify the Lord and help bring others closer to Him when we are willing to lay down our lives to submit completely to what God wants for us to be and do to build the Kingdom.    
     Before Mass started, we gave a warm greeting to someone who has been very instrumental in our Cursillo faith journey and in our understanding of what it means to be a FROG (someone Fully Relying On God).  Once in the diaconate formation himself, God has led this man, his wife and family in a different direction, actually many different directions in regards to ministry.  I once told him in all honesty and still believe that God knew that it would be easier for this husband, father, and prayer warrior to continue serving in a variety of ways and minister to several people around our diocese as a layperson who’s very open to the Holy Spirit rather than as an ordained deacon. 

Marriage Vocation Affirmation

     It was a great reminder that God knows what will help make us holy and sanctify us.  He knows what roles, people, situations, vocations, ministries, circumstances, and opportunities will best prepare our hearts for Him.  The best thing we can do at present is to glorify the Lord through the vocations which we’ve already discerned while having an openness to additional ways He may want for us to be Christ to others. 

     A couple who belongs to our parish and who for a number of years led the Office of Marriage Formation in our diocese, was sitting near us.  Seeing them reminds me of the importance of glorifying God through the gift, covenant, and sacrament of our marriage.  It can be so very easy to downplay the importance of that vocation.  Kevin and I will get caught up in the nitty-gritty of daily life, and on some level forget that by living out our covenant and the sacrament of our marriage, we’re growing closer to God and bringing others closer to Him. 
     When I see some of the other and/or additional ways people are called to serve, I can become distracted and forget how sanctifying it can be (for our marriage and for those around us) to submit completely to God and put my spouse second, only to the Lord.  In a sense, this was a reminder that brought me back to the “small things with great love” lesson.                                                          

Fostering Religious Vocations   

     Our beloved brother John received special permission to come to town from St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore for the deacon ordinations to serve at the Mass.  At one point Kevin looked over at John, who was dressed in clerics and wearing a white alb for the occasion, and holding back tears said: “I’m really proud of him.”  Of course, we are very proud of John for growing in God’s love, drawing closer to Christ, and after serious discernment, dedicating himself as a seminarian.

     Our dear friend Michele, who in the not-too-distant future will be entering a cloistered Carmelite community, was sitting to our right.  She’s another person we’ve been close friends with during her discernment process and time leading up to becoming a nun.  It struck her while we were sitting there that she won’t be able to attend John’s ordination since she will have made her initial vows and won’t be able leave. 

“What Do You Want of Me?”

     Michele has been traveling around Richmond, Virginia, and along the East Coast performing her original play Teresita which is based on the early life and vocation discernment of Carmelite nun and Doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Avila.  She was led to write and perform the play Teresita as a fundraiser to pay off the student debt she incurred from going to seminary to study the Christian faith in greater depth.   A poem called “In the Hands of God” written by St. Teresa of Avila which Michele includes in the program for her performances is quite powerful and has really struck me as Kevin and I continue on the path of life-long discernment of God’s will for us.  You can read entire poem here. 

     The refrain of the piece is “What do You want of me?”  It’s a pertinent question we must keep asking God.  It’s certainly something that the men ordained this morning and their wives have been open to asking throughout this process of formation.  God’s will is what all of us are called to follow.  We need to pray and listen, because God’s plan for our lives is going to be different from everyone else around us.  We have unique gifts, talents, and strengths, connections with certain groups and people, and spiritual charisms that are tailored to grow into abundant fruit that will feed others.  When we take the time to be still and know God, to listen in the silence, then we will be in a better place to receive the specifics of what our ministry is supposed to be.  All of us are chosen to serve.    

“Be Still and Know I Am God”

     One thing that really hit home for me today is that I haven’t been as good about setting time aside for silent prayer.  I’ve been too caught up in the doing that I’ve lost the peace and trust in the Lord that only comes from being still in His Presence.  I’ve needed this reminder as Kevin and I have really felt that we’re in another period of serious discernment of what God wants of us, who He wants us to be and the specifics of how He wants us to live that out. 

     When I think about how I need to spend some time in prayer and listen to God in order to discern what’s best and what’s next, I get this sense that He’s already telling me what He wants me to do: “Trust.”  And what is my initial response?  Basically, the same as Scar’s reply in The Lion King: “NO! No.  Anything but that!”
     Today Kevin and I are going to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 12:30-1:30pm at St. Benedict’s so we can sit in silence before God and just listen.  Thank, You, Lord for drawing us closer to You each time we start thinking we can figure things out on our own.  Amen. 

“What do You want of me?” Part III of IV

     It’s often much easier for me to believe and really trust that God is guiding and will show loved ones the way than it is for me to trust that He’ll let me know what I need to do or what’s next when the time’s right.  (For more on this, see “What do You want of me? Part I and Part II, Part IV.)  Kevin and I take great joy in seeing how God’s working in and through the lives of those around us.  Sometimes His provision and love for them is so lovingly lavish to the point it’s almost extravagant.  We marvel at how many struggles and problems He brings them through with solutions far better than anything they’d come up with on their own.  We see the incredible beauty and love God has placed in them, we smile hearing the miracles He’s doing in their lives, and we are certain the abundant blessings will continue. 

     I think that’s part of the reason why community is so important.  It can be far easier to see and believe that God is in and working through others in powerful, significant ways, than it is to trust He’s also working in and through us.  We need other people in our lives so we can see and affirm God working in and through them just as we need others who can see us more through God’s eyes than our own or those of the secular world. 
     I can’t count the number of times when my husband, a family member, or friend has been telling me about a situation, and I’ve been struck with what a kind, loving person they are.  I usually know this ahead of time about the individual, but when I hear another example of what the person believes is just a small, everyday occurrence, I’m able to see it as one of the “small things with great love” Blessed Mother Teresa talked about so often.   
     I’m always interested and find it kind of amusing when Kevin tells me that someone at work gave him a really nice compliment.  He’s always blown away by such things, and I have to explain to him that I’m not shocked like he is about such affirmations.  They don’t surprise me nearly as much because I already know he’s a hardworking, kind, compassionate coworker and friend.  I know he will bend over backwards to help a customer and probably make them laugh a little in the process.  These are more facts than news to me.  That’s not what they are for Kevin, though.  He genuinely doesn’t see himself in the same loving light as others do. 

     My special prayer for each of us: Dear Lord, please bless us on our spiritual journeys.  Help us open up our hearts so that the Holy Spirit is able to move freely in and through us to bring others closer to You.  Sanctify our minds, bodies, and spirits, so we are strong, holy vessels for Your word, love, and Truth.  Give us peace that passes all understanding, a sense of deep, unquenchable joy, and a profound trust in You.  Guide us to choose Your will in all areas of our lives.  Show us how precious we are to You, and grant us the ability to see ourselves and others through Your loving eyes.  Amen. 

     (Click here to read: "What do You want of me?" Part IV.)