I have a deep passion and commitment to the ongoing development of spiritually strong and emotionally healthy individuals, marriages, families, leaders and cultures, helping you achieve your God-designed and appointed destiny.
We LOVE the promises of God’s Word, don’t we? We love to hear about how good He is, how much He loves us, and the blessings He has in store for us. The thing is, we often miss out on all that stuff because we neglect to take into account our part of the deal in obtaining all of the good stuff. Then we wonder why we aren't being blessed. As I discovered 20 years ago, we have a say in whether or not we’re going to do what He says in order to obtain the Good Life.
So what’s your “crazy”? If you believe you have no “crazy,” can I respectfully challenge you? All families have it, because we’re human and imperfect. By taking the time to identify the crazy, we can then take it to God, allowing Him to heal and restore – showing and enabling us to live a new and better way. It is then that the power of the past, even if it is that of our great-great-grandparents and beyond, is broken.
I would like to talk to talk specifically to all of the Ladies today, however, Men, please read on, as I really want to hear your thoughts on this matter. What I have to say will very possibly either cause you to go “Yes!” or “Cammie, you’re crazy!” Whatever the outcome, as I used to tell my kids when they were younger, “I love you enough to make you mad at me.”
All too often, the greatest "Naysayer" isn’t someone from without, but rather someone from within – ourselves. We can be our own worst enemy, self-sabotaging any "God-ideas" that appear in our hearts and/or heads by disqualifying ourselves before we've even allowed God Himself to qualify us. This scenario has played itself out in my life way too often. I cannot even tell you how many times I've been guilty - disqualifying myself, or the dream I've been given, within mere minutes of receiving such a vision. I don’t even allow the dream to take flight before I’ve grounded it to utter failure.
Years ago, as a result of what I now identify as a moment of temporary insanity, Stan and I came up with the brilliant idea to get our boys, then three and seven, a dog. Looking back, we had extremely idealistic, even romantic, visions of our boys learning great responsibility, working together and maturing, as they willingly took on the grand responsibility of feeding, walking, loving, and bonding with the little cherub of a pet that would come into our home as the fifth member of the Wilson Household.
"Now is the Time" Women's Conference, March 1 - 3, 2017, in Ashville, NC!
What is it about humans wanting to worship other humans? We've all witnessed it...one person praying for someone else...What starts out as a God-honoring, God-exalting prayer asking for covering and empowerment from on high, quickly turns into a prayer of adoration and exaltation of the person being prayed for. It both saddens and frightens me. In my 33 years of ministry, I’ve seen it over and over, reading like a script
I have been astounded at the responses received in regards to the article, “When You’ve Lost a Child…or Know Someone Who Has,” as it received almost 600 hits. I heard from women who had lost a child, or children, through miscarriage or still birth, as recently as a week and as distant as 32 years. It didn’t matter how short of long ago that it happened – the pain and loss continued to be very real. As I pondered this topic further, I was reminded of how men can be overlooked when such a tragedy occurs.
This week didn’t turn out like I thought it would…at all. We’ve all experienced times like this. You enter the week with a plan, particular duties to be performed, issues to be addressed and pleasures to be experienced. Your “to-do” list may include everything from the mundane to the spectacular. That’s how I thought my week would be. However, my family was thrown a bit of a bombshell that none of us expected, knocking the wind out of us and causing us to call out to God in a way that we hadn’t planned.
What is it about faith when it comes to our dreams or ideas coming to fruition? In my experience, rarely have I seen such things "just happen,” but rather, it appears there is always a requirement of our first “stepping out”. Hebrews Chapter 11, the “Faith Chapter” of the Bible, begins by making the bold statement “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” For those who want proof first, this concept is a huge challenge.
Tuesday night I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite things – teach a workshop Biblical Journaling. I can't even describe how my heart dances when I witness others comprehend that they can actually hear from God as they journal and spend time in His Word. I came home excited, fulfilled and encouraged, as 34 men and women gained a greater understanding of how to develop a more intimate relationship with Him, experience true transformation, and learn how to hear His voice. And it all started with our getting honest about the barriers or struggles in this area - things like fear, confusion, apathy, schedules, distractions, TV, social media, discipline, perfectionism, etc. It was awesome to say the least!
Do you ever feel like you have a million things coming at you from a million different directions? You’re that gerbil on a wheel going round and round, faster and faster, and for the life of you, you can’t figure out how to get off. I woke up that way this morning – a bit panicked; a bit tired, and a small piece of me wondering how in the world I was going to straighten all of this out. Between work, church, home, friends, family, aging parents and a 15 year old dog named Lucy who needs our assistance to stand up, there’s just a bit too much to do. And don’t even tell me how many weeks until Thanksgiving or Christmas! Seriously – I automatically translate that into the number of paydays, which causes my insides to flip out, my mind to race, and yes, my toes to tingle. Ugh!
Whenever my breath is taken away by something other than Jesus (definitely not as good of a feeling), it usually involves something that is traumatic, shocking, or out of my control. It can feel much like shock-waves going from the top of my head to my toes, causing my brain to scramble in an effort to figure out what is happing. My toes have even been known to get tingly. I hate that feeling.
During one particular gathering, approximately one year ago, our Senior Pastor spoke of the concept of our personal view of our Heavenly Father being molded and shaped by what we have experienced with our earthly father. Probably, like you, I’ve both heard and read this viewpoint many times.
Have you ever felt like you’re literally going around in circles, not making any progress? In fact, it seems you keep re-visiting (over and over and over) the same things or issues, without ever arriving at a destination. It can seem like it's "same ol', same ol." It’s frustrating, aggravating and can cause us to abandon hope and loose heart, wondering if God remembers, hears, or sees us at all.
Recently, after praying with a dear friend regarding difficulties in her marriage, I had no sooner said the word, “Amen,” then she replied, “I wish I could pray like that.” Really? I was surprised to hear that, as I felt I had fumbled through the entire prayer, never finding the right words, ultimately limiting my ability to take the proper requests to our Father. On the contrary, I would have guessed that she would have thought my poor attempt at partnering with her in prayer was pretty pathetic, even embarrassing - especially for a pastor.
Judges (2:10) both amazes and terrifies me every time I read it. Not too long after Joshua (Moses’ successor) had successfully led those somewhat difficult Children of Israel into the Promised Land, he passed away. The Word then goes on to describe the state of God’s Children as such: “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” What happened?!?!
It’s been said (great sermon, BTW, Stan-my-man) that there are two obstacles that keep us from becoming fully-engaged, fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ. These two challenges also keep us from fully pursuing and acquiring emotional and spiritual health and freedom. First obstacle – we simply don’t know what to do. Second obstacle – we know what to do, but we don’t do it.
Have you ever been afraid to pray certain prayers? For instance, "God, please make me more patience." That one's a killer! Earlier this Summer, more like late Spring, I came across a portion of scripture that I am sure most of us have read dozens of times, Psalm 51:10-12, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit with me.
This morning, as I sleepily (and a bit grouchily) drank my first cup of coffee and read my Instagram feed, I came across this quote by Lysa Terkeurst, “A woman who is careful with her words is a gift to all who know her.” Goodness! That’ll make me think before I spout off at the mouth today. As long as I can remember, I’ve been plagued with the need to speak my mind.
