Written by Joseph Hobbs. Published by Jordan Stafford.

 

I was raised in a rural farming community in south Georgia called Pleasant Hill.  It was about 10 miles from the smallest town and 25 to 30 miles to the bigger town.

I spent my childhood on a farm where we were the only family with children—in a place where segregation was alive, and in your face. There were many Churches in the community and neighbors who claimed to be Christian, but it didn’t always seem like they knew God personally or lived by His standard to love your neighbors as yourself.

As a young adult, while I was struggling to forgive my neighbors, I moved to Minot, ND. I began to see, learn and experience love, value, acceptance, connection, and security with my new neighbors. I began to meet with people, have conversations and read the Bible. These were all new experiences for me and showed me something different.  Sometime later I began to look at how Jesus related to his disciples.I was the fifth child of 11 children. I had parents who did not know how to interact with children, so they left me alone with no answers to my questions. I wondered why our neighbors treated us if as we were aliens and why we were labeled as slow, unintelligent, lazy and not human.  I was ashamed of not knowing who I really was and by my father not knowing how to interact with me as a child, to explain what was going on. As children we learned how to stay in our place and not bring trouble to the family or community.

My journey with Restoring Your Heart began back in Georgia in the mid 80’s when I joined a small church called Grace Free Church. This is where I met Jack Larson who was the Pastor.  I was going through a hard time at work where my co-workers did not want to work with me because I was the only African-American in the department.  They devalued me as a person and tried to find ways to assassinate my character and name to make me leave. Going through this situation brought back many memories of what I went through as a child.

In the RYH interactive group and through RYH workbooks, I started learning how to deal with my wrong thinking, losses and hurts.  I was hurt and I wept. I needed to have a fierce reckoning with what had happened to my community and me, how I felt about it and how it was still affecting my life. I learned that I had to grieve my losses before I could fully forgive those who hurt me as a child.  Those who had stolen my life and the life of my community.

In 2002 when I lost my oldest son in a car accident, it pushed me deep into grief and the pain was very great.  Restoring Your Heart stepped in again to help me to deal with my grief, to heal, and walk through the pain.  I also attended a Compassionate Friends group (group that helps parents and siblings to deal with the loss of a child or sibling.)  While in the group I saw how some people really deal with their pain and others do not. This was another great breakthrough where God and the Holy Spirit worked in my life with healing!  I now understand why grief is the hardest experience to recover from.God took me on a journey to show me how to love my neighbor like He (Jesus) had loved me. I began to see how I had been impacted greatly over the years from those negative messages and was still being impacted during my situation at work. I learned who I was as a person and how to get my needs met in healthy ways. Some years passed and I realized that I could not really mourn my childhood losses or issues without figuring out how to feel the deep pain from my neighbors.  I was taught that forgiveness is at the heart of Christianity. I used to think I understood forgiveness and believing in Jesus made forgiveness easy. Restoring Your Heart helped me to heal, love myself, forgive others, and truly love my neighbor.

As I was healing, God began to show me many people who were hurting, in pain and needed help. He has given me a passion for helping hurting people and Restoring Your Heart is the vehicle which I use to do this. RYH is a process that helps people become aware of how the hurts from the past have affected their present. We learn how to process our pain, grieve over the hurts, to heal, and to come to a place of full forgiveness.

It is still helping me to work through the process every time I facilitate a group.  I continue to heal from past pain and experience greater freedom.  So, I want YOU to join me in this ministry and learn how to help people through their healing process! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About The Author

Joseph Hobbs is part of the Worldwide Discipleship Association staff team and is a member of the Restoring Your Heart team. He facilitates RYH groups and helps write RYH materials.

 

 

 

“It is for freedom that Christ has made you free.” (Galatians 5:1)

This scripture runs through my head at least once per day. Paul wrote it in his letter to the Galatians. The church was dealing with the pressure to add to the grace given by Christ. He accused them of turning to a different gospel, “which is really no gospel at all.” (1:7) The people were like many of us being thrown into confusion by the opinions of this world, the rituals, and the traditions that tell us how we should think, feel and act in order to be acceptable or even “normal.” 

When I think about the things our world is broadcasting these days, it’s not all bad. I’ve enjoyed learning the science behind calories, simple carbs and complex carbs. I love getting into a deep conversation about classical education vs traditional. Even a light political discussion can be invigorating, as I pretend to know the ins and outs of the constitution; but, when I am not careful, these things begin to suffocate me. Condemnation creeps up and condemns me for not measuring up to the standard, and pride creeps up as I judge others for not reaching my standard. Then, I begin to see gluten-free eating as the standard for all and classical education as God’s best. Even political leanings can begin to look like a leg of the Gospel.  

 

These thoughts and feelings hold me captive; I become a slave to them. I rise, and in order to satisfy my conscience, I strive to eat that gluten-free muffin. When it comes to politics, I begin to ignore an obvious wrong in efforts to stay aligned with the “right” political party. I continue classically educating my kids even though I may find myself overwhelmed with the process, while there is a great traditional school right down the road. And just like the Galatians, I enter again into a system of works, trying to earn my righteousness, being a slave to the law. While reminding the Galatians that their salvation came through faith in Christ alone, Paul also admonished them not to add again the works of the law (namely circumcision) in efforts to maintain their salvation.

There was a time in my life that it was all about maximum effort in hopes of maximum results. If you are like me, it’s exhausting maintaining a standard imposed on me by popular culture. Paul reminds us of the freedom we have in the finished work of Christ. Breathe easy, my sisters and brothers, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Doesn’t that feel good to read this scripture releasing us from our works and inviting us to rest in Christ? I can just hear Christ’s invitation to “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and lowly at heart and you will find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)

 

Martina is a wife and mother of four wonderful children. She began as a participant of RYH groups and is now an RYH Ambassador. The Griffins live in Orlando, FL.

 

One of the circumstances of getting older is that I have begun to do things slower. It’s not that I intentionally want to, it just happens. In the fast-paced world we live in today that could be a cause for anxiety. But since I am slower, my anxiety doesn’t have the power it used to have.

Actually, there is a great blessing that comes with moving slower. I call it “living in the moment”. 

When I was younger I remember always waiting for the “next thing” to happen. I can’t wait till my daughter sits up, crawls, walks, talks, etc. I can’t wait till this pregnancy is over and I can meet my baby boy. I can’t wait till we get a bigger house. I can’t wait till I finish school and get a better paying job. Sometimes it was big stuff I was waiting on to happen and sometimes it was little everyday things. I can’t wait till it’s bedtime for my kids. I can’t wait till I finish cleaning the floor. I can’t wait till the mail comes. I can’t wait to get out of this car I’ve been riding in for two hours.

You probably know what I am talking about.

As I have gotten older though, one thing I have noticed is that time passes by at an alarmingly fast rate. When I was a child, the summer seemed to last forever. It was agony waiting for Christmas to arrive. The school day seemed to never come to a close.

Now, I sometimes feel like I can literally see time flying by me.

A few years ago I found an interesting little book that helped me change my thinking about how I was living my life and viewing time. It’s called The Practice of the Presence of God . This little book was written by a monk named Brother Lawrence who lived in France in the 1600’s.  Brother Lawrence was a humble and lowly kitchen aide in his monastery. He was so humble that if he had not spoken in depth with a French nobleman of the time, we would probably never have heard of him today.

Praise God for French noblemen!

One of Brother Lawrence’s jobs in the monastery was peeling potatoes. Every day, he peeled mounds of potatoes. Although this could be a monotonous and tedious job, Brother Lawrence adopted the specific attitude of peeling every potato as though he were peeling it for God. This helped him find joy and purpose in even the lowliest, most tiring aspects of his day. When I first read Brother Lawrence’s writings, a light bulb went off in my head. The example Brother Lawrence set could be used in my everyday life as well. I would not have to be missing the present moment by waiting on the next better thing to come along.

Living in the moment.

Perhaps you have already had this little revelation in your life. If you haven’t, I hope you will consider this. Life is not a destination, you are already there. Pay attention to each moment and open your mind and senses to what is happening right now. Don’t miss out on the moment while waiting for the future to come.

In C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters  Satan writes letters to his nephew, a lessor demon, and explains to him ways to keep “his human” away from God. In one of the chapters, he advises his demon nephew to keep the human’s mind either on the past or on the future. He tells him that the future is the better choice because thinking about the unknown future can cause anxiety. The main thing is, it will keep the human apart from God. God lives in the present. The present is the closest thing we have to eternity here on earth.

Maybe this is old news to everyone but me, but realizing this concept has impacted my life in a dramatic way. Living in the moment, practicing the presence of God. It makes time go by at a less frantic pace and it calms my spirit. It is not a destination, you are already there.

Here are a few ideas I have about how to better live in the moment:

  • Turn off your electronics
  • Go outside
  • Give someone your full attention with kindness
  • Breathe
  • Notice your thoughts and feelings
  • Engage your senses in a really intentional way (taste, smell, sight, sound, touch)
  • Accept what is and don’t fret about what isn’t
  • Slow down
  • Express thankfulness

There are countless other ways to live in the moment. My prayer for you is that this might encourage you to consider applying the concept of living in the moment and practicing the presence of God in your own life.

If you have already done this, what are some of your ideas for living in the moment?

*Editors Note: This blog is from our archives and was one we wanted to repost! Enjoy

Are you stuck in a rut?  Having trouble dealing with that one person at work that knows just the right button to push, and does it just for sport?  Do you have trouble letting go of the small things that happen throughout your day, so they pile up and stress you out?

I think we have all been in one or all of these situations.  How we handle ourselves and deal with these issues show those around us a lot about who we are.  We all have a bad day; but is every day a bad day?

I worked in the medical field for about 20 years.  People are at their worst when they are sick, and some days you question why you do what you do because it just doesn’t seem to be worth it.  For the past six months I have been working at a school for middle and high school children with learning disabilities.  This has a whole different set of challenges to face on a daily basis.

Many years ago, when I first truly began my walk with God, I came across a Bible verse that has helped me through many difficult days.

Colossians 3 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.                                   Colossians 3:23

In situations when I had a difficult patient or family member, co-worker or supervisor, I would remember this verse.  God gave me the gifts and abilities to remain calm under pressure, to be compassionate and understanding, to be patient and kind.  It is my responsibility to use those gifts to glorify him.  He is always there for me to draw strength from and sometimes the best way to draw that strength is through his word.

So, the next time that co-worker trods across that sensitive spot, remember that God made you who you are and it doesn’t matter what that co-worker thinks.  As long as you are doing your job to the absolute best of your ability and doing it as though you are doing it for God, that is what is important.

Sometimes the solution to the problem is just an adjustment in our perspective.  Whether it is your job, coaching your son’s little league team, being the troop leader for your daughter’s Girl Scout troop, do it as if you are working for the Lord and not for man.  I sure felt more fulfilled and my job was more rewarding when I adjusted my perspective.

All you have to do to change your perspective is decide who you are working for, God or man.

prayer

Unknown“In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” John 16:26-27

Have you ever really thought about what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name”? Often, it can just become a mantra or tag-line we say at the end of our prayers. But for Jesus, it was a matter of theological significance. It was a paradigm-shift in the practice of prayer. It opened the flood-gates to power in prayer. He told his disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

However, prayer “in Jesus’ name” may be easily misunderstood. In fact, Jesus warns disciples about misunderstanding prayer “in his name” (in John 16:26-27). He warns that we can be confused about what praying “in his name” is designed to accomplish. We can act presumptuously in thinking of it as “saying the magic word”. But we can also act disbelievingly in thinking that we need to convince God.

We can misconstrue the need to pray in Jesus’ name by thinking that the Father is distant and reluctant in his attitude towards us. To be sure, Jesus acts as a mediator between us and the Father; he propitiates the wrath of God. But none of that should lead you to think that there is tension between Jesus’ heart and the Father’s heart, and that the Father’s heart is distant from us and needs to be convinced. Prayer in Jesus’ name does not mean that Jesus must convey the request to the Father and convince the Father on your behalf. Instead, Jesus wants us to be assured, “The Father himself loves you” and needs no prompting from the Son (see 2 Cor.13:14).

Too often, I think that I have fallen into this trap. I doubt that God actually wants to hear me. I doubt that my prayers are effective. So I pray using Jesus like a bargaining chip to convince God to listen – “for the sake of his Son”. While there is truth in the practice of claiming God’s promises in prayer, this kind of attitude towards God is dead wrong.

It’s not like you come to the gate of heaven and they crack the door and look out at you suspiciously and ask, “Why should I hear your prayer? Why should I let you in?” And you say, “Because of Jesus.” And they reluctantly respond, “Oh, all right, fine”, and open the door just wide enough for you to dart through. And Jesus is like the bargaining chip to convince them to let you in. No! Prayer in Jesus’ name means – prayer knowing that the gate is flung wide open and the red carpet rolled out and the Father running to welcome you.

How does that change your prayer life?!?

Prayer in Jesus’ name is prayer on the basis of Christ’s finished work. It is prayer confident in all that he has done for you and accomplished. It is praying with confidence that the door is already wide open. John Calvin wrote, “We have the heart of God as soon as we place before him the name of his Son.”

Hebrews 10:19-22 says, “Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Prayer “in Jesus’ name” means that we are invited to pray like we’ve never prayed before. We are invited to prayer with the knowledge that the Father is waiting at the door to hear our prayers. Oh, that we might take up with joy such an awesome invitation and pray “in Jesus’ name”.

Today thy gate is open, and all who enter in,
will find a Father’s welcome and pardon for their sin.
The past shall be forgotten, a present joy be given,
a future grace be promised, a glorious crown in heaven.

O all embracing mercy, O ever-open door,
what should we do without thee, when heart and eye run o’er.
When all things seem against us to drive us to despair,
we know one gate is open, one ear will hear our prayer.

Matt Foreman– Matt Foreman, studied at Furman University and Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pastor of Faith Church in Media PA where he serves with his wife Mary Scott and a bunch of adorable red headed kids! Matt and Mary Scott are both Furman WDA alumni. Go Paladins! Read more of Matt’s blogs at http://blog.faithchurchpa.org/