Life/Matters

Highlight Reels

hannahpenick@golifechurch.net (Hannah Penick) — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 19:35:49 GMT

Highlight Reels

Life Matters - December 2024 Blog

By Casandra Orsburn

I know it has been quite some time since I’ve written to you. To be honest, this year has been a difficult one. In fact, if you had asked me if I was ready for Christmas, I would have told you I was just ready for 2024 to be over. Next year has to be better, right?

Maybe you’ve had a year like this. Perhaps you’ve suffered a loss that has changed the joy of the holiday season into a grief so real and present you ache. Perhaps you are a parent with older or grown children and you are remembering all of the excitement and chaos that your house used to exude this time of year and now it feels strangely empty and silent. Perhaps you can’t quite put your finger on it, but this year just feels a lot less “Christmas-y” than it should.

I could go over the list of hard things we’ve endured this year. I can identify with each of those listed above and then some. But yesterday one of my daughters called and asked me to send her a recent picture of me and my husband for her son’s baby book. As I scrolled through my phone’s photo album, I was caught off guard by the amount of great photos and wonderful memories that we had created over this last year. The trips we had taken, the family we had visited, and the friends that we had spent weekends with. How had I forgotten? And suddenly and powerfully, the Holy Spirit changed my perspective.

Often we are taught not to look and judge others by their social media posts. Those are their highlight reels, their best and photo-shopped moments, and we aren’t seeing the full picture. But just as easily the enemy can blind us so that we no longer see our joyful memories but are only living in the challenging ones. We rush to get to the next, restless to get out of the now, and resentful of the then. But if you looked back, really looked, what would you see?

The children of Israel were commanded to do something really important. In places where God had done something powerful, they built an altar or a monument. When they crossed the Red Sea, when Abraham was sent a replacement sacrifice for Isaac, when Joshua led the people across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, and many others are all examples of the people of God remembering His goodness and faithfulness. When future generations would see the rocks piled up giving long-standing testimony, they would remember the God they serve. What a great reminder for us when times begin to look bleak, to review our highlight reels, to remind ourselves of His faithfulness through every season.

I was remembering the old poem, Footprints in the Sand. Many of us had these in our homes as children. I remember we had one in the bathroom of all places! But the message is so beautiful. A person is looking over their life and as they see the moments go by, they see that there are two footprints walking side-by-side in the sand. This was Jesus walking beside them. But then they notice that in the very difficult moments of life, the most painful and confusing, there was only one set of footprints. Confused and hurt, they asked the Lord, “Why, when I needed you most, would you leave me?” And the Lord replied, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you. Never, ever, during your trials and suffering. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

I know that the Christmas season can be a difficult time for many people. The year is ending and life may not look like we thought it was going to. I want to encourage you this holiday to take a look back over the year. Review your highlight reels. Thumb through those old pictures. Look back at those piles of stones. God has always been right there with you. He promised to never leave nor forsake you. And when it feels like you can’t go on, it is in those moments that He will carry you. I pray that this Christmas, while it may not be perfect, can be filled with the knowledge that Jesus loves you so very much that He would leave his heavenly home to come to ours. Know that he gave up his position in heaven to come and experience human life with us. He knows your pain. He knows your grief. And he came to take it and give you hope if you’ll let him. Be encouraged this Christmas. God is good. He is faithful. And he loves you so very much. And so do I. Merry Christmas!

Pursuing Life

mikaylaminer@golifechurch.net (Mikayla Miner) — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 19:38:07 GMT

Pursuing Life

Life Matters Blog - June 2024

By Casandra Orsburn

As I recover from the busyness of May and all the end-of-the-year activities, I settle into the more relaxed, heaven-sent rest that is summer. I have just completed my second year of teaching at Runnels Classical Christian Academy, and the anticipation for the three months of unstructured time is absolute bliss. I have often wondered why I did not pursue this career path so much sooner. It certainly makes all of the planning and early mornings and late nights throughout the school year worth it!

Now if you’re not in education, please don’t write this off. I promise this blog is not to rub my extended vacation in anyone’s face. This season has taught me a very important lesson, as God loves to do within my struggles.

As I wrapped up two graduations this May, the unfilled calendar for the next three months had been taunting me with the question: what will we do next? My initial response is to book as many vacations as we can afford, take as many day trips as possible, clean out every square inch of the overlooked nooks and crannies of my home, and try to fit in some “me-time”. And on the surface that looks and sounds great. I mean, we only have so much time, right? We need to make the most of it.

But as often happens, I felt a check in my spirit as I opened my calendar and rushed to make all the reservations. Over the school year, I had begun to feel like there were not enough hours in the day. Instead of a joy to begin each morning, I found myself wanting to hit the snooze button. I told myself that this was my daughter’s senior year and I should be enjoying these moments and taking it all in. But even as we were blessed to go on an amazing trip this Spring Break, I felt as though my heart was unable to fully enjoy and appreciate the little things. There was a heaviness, a burden in my spirit, and even though I knew that I needed to be spending time with the Lord, my first response was to look at it as one more thing to add to my to-do list.

If I’m being honest, as I always try to be, I felt very distant from God. That is a hard confession to make when you work at a Christian school and teach students about the Lord. But we’ve had a difficult year for our family. We had a lot of financial challenges hit at once. We had some medical scares. There were some questions about what our next year might look like and we had to place a lot of things in the Lord’s hands while trying to make the best decisions we could. And while I knew that God was good, I still felt as though I couldn’t rest at his feet. There was too much to do.

I had read The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis in one of my classes at the end of the year. It was obvious that one of the enemy’s greatest tools in his arsenal for spiritual warfare, was the weapon of distraction. I knew that that is exactly what I had been dealing with. I had been distracted by the busyness of life. I was wrapped up in the things I wanted to control and many things I knew I couldn’t, but was worrying over them. And here I was, about to start a season of rest and instead, I was looking at piling up my calendar with more and more distractions and things to do.

I forced myself to pause. I knew that I couldn’t go into another school year without the presence of the Lord walking with me. I didn’t want to go another week. I needed him. Where had he gone? I began to make myself search the scriptures again in the morning, a routine that used to bring me such joy and now felt almost like a chore. Why had I let myself get so far? I pushed through it, and little by little, the light began to break through once again. I felt the numbness give way to life. I began to feel warmth and hope and joy.

I am embarrassed to admit that this pattern of closeness and distance with me and God has continued for more years than I’d care to count. It seems that it gets harder to bring myself back to a position of seeking him each time I allow the distance to grow. When we think of the prodigal son, we imagine the child who walked away for the first time. What I have discovered is that God is just as excited when the child comes home for the 50th time as he is for the first. His arms are always wide open. And what a relief it is to rest in them.

So, I want to encourage you, if you’ve experienced the numbness that comes from a season of just getting through it, if you’ve been trying to hold everything together and you’ve been trying to walk this thing out, only to realize that you aren’t anywhere close to where you need to be, then come back. Come back to the Father that loves you and wants nothing more than to have a relationship with you. The things you are carrying are often not things that he has given you. Are you trying to do it all yourself? Have you told yourself that if you just do these few more things, if you can just add these couple of extra steps to your routine, then you’ll be happy, then your life will be more on track? The enemy wants to keep you busy, tired, stressed. He wants to keep you reminded of your shortcomings. But Jesus had an answer for that. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). His arms are open. I promise that as you seek him, place him first, he will help you to prioritize everything else. You don’t need to carry it all yourself. Pursue life. He is Life. Life abundant.

You Are Loved!

Magnify the Lord

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 20:02:38 GMT

Magnify the Lord

Life Matters - April 2024 Blog

By Casandra Orsburn

I had recently done a Bible study in which two questions were posed. The first was how do you see God? The second, was how do you see yourself (in light of what scripture says about you)? I quickly noticed that I had no trouble confessing that I believed that God was good. I could confidently say that I agree that He is Savior, Comforter, Counselor, Healer, Father, Shepherd… all the names attributed to Him in the Bible. However, when it came to me also believing that I am holy, a saint, righteous, set apart, etc., I had a much harder time confessing and confidently declaring those things about myself. I was frustrated that I could believe what God said about himself, but I couldn’t quite commit to believing the things he said about me.

I was discussing my frustration at this with a coworker. I was fully expecting them to give me the affirmation that I was a good person who loved the Lord and that I just needed to see myself the way God sees me. But they didn’t. What they actually said, and I’m going to paraphrase here, was: “When comparing God and yourself, you’re better off setting your focus on God.”

Light bulb moment! This gave me such a pause that I began doing some soul-searching. To my dismay, I quickly realized how much time I had been spending in my conversations with the Lord talking about me. Our conversations were so one-sided. No wonder I had a hard time believing I was worthy to be called a child of God. All of my prayer time was spent reminding God of what a horrible sinner I was and begging him to fix me. This had to change!

As I was working through this, one phrase kept occurring in my spirit. It was as though the Holy Spirit kept whispering, “Magnify the Lord”. Was that the key? Instead of focusing so much on myself and my shortcomings, did I just need to focus on Him?

You see, there are two kinds of magnification. You can use a magnifying glass or a microscope. In these scenarios, you are taking something very small and placing magnification over it and making it look much larger than it actually is. We do this in our lives all the time. We do this with problems, with situations, with people. This is exactly what I was doing when I kept bringing all of my shortcomings to the Lord. When I was showing God all of my sinfulness as if he didn’t already know, I was magnifying myself, something small, and making it so much bigger than it had any right to be.

Then there is the other kind of magnification. The kind in which we use a telescope. When we use a telescope we view something that is very large and begin to appreciate the magnitude and the beauty of that object. When David says in Psalms, “I will magnify God with thanksgiving,” he doesn’t mean, “I will make a small God look bigger than he is.” He means, “I will make a big God begin to look as big as he really is.” David is saying we are going to place God first. We are going to focus on the beauty, the majesty, of our very big God.

I knew I needed to make this change. I had spent far too much time putting myself under the microscope and telling God to look at me when all along I should have been holding up the telescope to see just how big and glorious our God really is. The important thing to note is that when we focus on him, we aren’t using a telescope to see some cold, foreign object that’s so far away we can’t ever imagine reaching it. We are magnifying all the beautiful facets of a massive God, creator of the entire universe. Nothing exists that he did not speak into existence. The sun and stars, the gravitational pull, the oceans, the creatures, time itself. He is big and he is mighty, but he is also tender and intimate. His love for you and me is so great. He looks at us and he calls us his children. Our relationship with him is so important, he didn’t want us to look at him as some foreign being who was out of reach. No, he said “I am going to put my Spirit in them. They will know me, and I will be their God.”

As I was praying about this I was reminded of the trip I was recently so blessed to take. I was able to chaperone my daughter, Tori’s, senior trip to Europe this past Spring Break. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and I will never forget it. We saw so many beautiful buildings and works of art that, up until then, had only been in books or movies. But I remember walking into this chapel, and chapel sounds like such a small word because it was massive. The ceilings were so tall and they were domed with these beautiful frescoes. The marble floors stretched out, inlaid with incredible mosaics. The walls were so ornate with gold and beautiful woodwork that reflected the warm glow of the lights. There were marble statues that were so lifelike you could feel every emotion carved into them. Stained glass windows towered over us. And the sound… the sound echoed so powerfully through the space. And I remember having tears in my eyes as I looked around because everything was so big and so beautiful. My heart felt like it couldn’t hold it all in. I passed one of the other parents who had the same look on their face as I did. I whispered, “I feel so small.” They smiled at me with this knowing smile and said, “I think that’s the point.”

We are so small. And God is so big. We are not enough. We are not God and that is ok because He is enough. And in Him, we are fully accepted, fully loved, fully seen. In our relationship with the Lord, we just need to focus more on him- more on his promises, his goodness, his might and power, his love, and his sacrifice. And less on us. Let’s put away the microscopes, pull out the telescopes, and behold our mighty God. May we magnify the Lord.

Remember the Rechabites

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 16:28:41 GMT

Remember the Rechabites

Life Matters Blog

February 2024

By Casandra Orsburn

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Nobody’s perfect”? Likely, we’ve all said it ourselves to dismiss some imperfection or fault that instead of addressing, we’ve sugar-coated with a layer of iced excuses. It has become the norm in our society, and especially in this generation of grace-over-everything, that we accept our weaknesses and deficiencies instead of seeking the discipline or means to change them. Nobody is perfect, but shouldn’t we try to be better?

Jeremiah, the prophet, encountered a similar situation with the nation of Judah. They had had some awful kings until an eight-year-old boy, Josiah, stepped up to the throne. During his reign, they discovered a document while renovating the temple and he realized the nation had gotten way left field of where they should be when it came to following God. King Josiah began implementing some changes. He got rid of the idols in the temples, stopped the sacrifices to false gods, got rid of the temple prostitutes, and admonished the people of Judah to get back to the holy observances of the Law of Moses. But even though the people complied outwardly, their hearts were still very far from genuine obedience.

Jeremiah had spoken to the people in a no-nonsense manner, calling out their spiritual adultery. After the death of Josiah, King Jehoiakim brought the nation once again into pagan worship and the people persisted in their evil ways. Instead of hastening to follow the rebuke of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah, they chased after the flowery words of false prophets who said “Don’t worry! The Lord says you will have peace!’ and to those who stubbornly follow their own desires, they say, ‘No harm will come your way!’” (Jer. 23:17). They wanted peace and blessing without altering any of the things they were doing. In fact, looking around they thought, ‘Why change? Nobody’s perfect but we’re still doing ok.’

It was this casual attitude toward sin that prompted Jeremiah to invite the Rechabites into the temple for some wine and conversation. The Lord instructed Jeremiah to have these people brought in and serve them wine, knowing full well that they would refuse it. The Rechabites had a long-standing tradition passed down from their ancestor Jehonadab that they would never drink wine and never plant vineyards or crops. They must always live as nomads in tents and never build houses. If they followed these commands, then the Lord would bless them, and they would enjoy the land (Jer. 35.6-7). The history of why they did this is a little longer than this blog will allow, but it was a strategic command and had served their family well.

When the Rechabites refused the wine, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah to go and get the people of Judah and learn a lesson on obedience. The Rechabites had faithfully followed a command passed down from an ancestor, but the people of Judah had been sent prophets time and again, and still, they refused to turn from their wicked ways and start living as God commanded. The people were left with little excuse. They were looking at a living example of a people who had disciplined themselves to obey. God wasn’t asking the people of Judah to live like the Rechabites. The Lord had given them the land with vineyards planted and homes that they hadn’t built. What He was asking for, was their hearts to be turned toward Him.

I believe the same principle applies to us today, maybe more so than ever. We’ve become a nation of people who are so caught up in the culture around us that we think of obedience and instead of surrendering we casually replace it with the word grace. We don’t actually want to change anything; we want God to accept us just the way we are. The crazy thing is, He does. He accepts you just the way you are, flaws and all. But the better thing is, He loves you too much to leave you that way. Jesus died so that our lives would become abundantly more than before we were introduced to Him. But that change only happens when we obediently surrender to Christ. Not our will but His will be done. It’s possible. He makes it possible for us by giving us the Holy Spirit. Like a voice crying out in the desert, He is calling us to live a life that is higher than the one we are accepting. Let’s lean into what the Lord is saying. Let’s make the changes we’ve been putting off. Let’s not be afraid to stand apart from everyone else. Let’s put our trust in the One who called us. Because of His great love, He is a jealous God. He paid an enormous price for you. So, the next time you feel challenged by living a life that looks different from the world and you think you can’t, remember the Rechabites. Because of their obedience, God declared that Jonadab would always have descendants who would serve the Lord (v. 19). I don’t know about you, but I want that kind of blessing to be on my life as well.

Stop the Scroll

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 15:20:09 GMT

Stop the Scroll

Life Matters Blog - January 2024

By Casandra Orsburn

Do you have a New Year’s resolution that you’re hoping to tackle this year? I think the older we get the less likely we are to make them. We know the outcome. It’s almost as if the cosmic universe replies, “I see your bet. I’ll raise you ten extra pounds and a new credit card bill” when all you wanted was to lose some of the weight you wanted to lose last year and tackle a sliver of debt you swore you wouldn’t accumulate again this Christmas. The cycle continues.

While it may not exactly be my New Year’s resolution, the Holy Spirit has been loud and clear in His insistence that I get honest about the amount of time I spend in front of a screen. Somewhat ironic as I type this on my computer, but the reality is more and more of us have become more interested in our phones than the people in front and around us. Is that not true?

For the longest time, I swore off many social media platforms, except for my Facebook. I of course justified that by being able to keep up with all my children, friends, and relatives in other places. I’ve watched as family members and friends became obsessed with our electronic devices. My kids would lay in their beds or on the couch for hours with their little fingers poised above the screen just swiping from one video to the next. I’d hear chuckles coming from the bathroom for far longer than anyone should spend in that particular room of the house, knowing that they had been sucked into the black hole of a screen. I’d watch at restaurants as our family would sit down to eat and in the hands of each of us, perched our cellular device, obviously far more engaging than one another. Why this fascination?

As my resolve to steer clear of other social media apps crumbled, I found that I too had trouble resisting the lure of the screen. I began to struggle with my prayer and devotion time in the morning. When I woke up, the first thing I would do was reach for my phone and do a quick Facebook scroll. Then, instead of letting my Bible time sit with me for a minute and allowing my mind to be still, I just checked the box complete and used the rest of my morning quiet time to check emails and friend’s posts. Throughout the day and into the evening, any moment that wasn’t filled with immediate obligation became an opportunity for me to reach for my phone. It didn’t take long for me to recognize that this was a problem.

What exactly is the problem? You’re not hurting anyone. Everyone is doing it. Some videos may be educational. Most people now admit that social media is where they get their news. So why did I feel like this was becoming less of an innocent, or even beneficial activity to pass the time, and more of a life-stealing addiction?

I did some research on the negative effects of scrolling. Not surprisingly, all of it is programmed to make you want to watch more and more. You sit down for ten minutes of idle screen time and find yourself glued to the chair for two hours when you finally look up and realize that you’ve spent time in the lives of others that you’ll never get back to yourself. Each new video or photo gives us a fresh shot of dopamine, making us eager for the next. Lucky for us, it’s just one more swipe away. Studies show that excessive use of social media and other screens can lead to decreased attention spans, disrupted sleep, increased loneliness and depression, and the development of unhealthy habits like procrastination and avoidance of real-world tasks. I hear those words and my immediate reaction is a palm to the forehead as I shout, “Duh!”.

But I think it’s important to realize that it’s not an innocent addiction. It is not only stealing your peace, but also your purpose. I’ll say that again. The enemy is behind the addiction to “the scroll” and he wants nothing more than to distract you from meeting the needs of the people around you. He wants to keep your mind so busy and loud that you can no longer hear the voice of the Lord. Even worse, you find yourself in a state of depression, lacking the motivation to make the changes to get yourself back to closeness with God even though you know it’s the one thing that will “fix” you. That sly devil is at it again!

If you don’t have a problem with your screen time, this may seem extreme. But likely, even if you don’t have a phone addiction, you’ve seen the effects on someone you know and you can attest to this. It is vital that we address this issue. We must put some safety measures in place to protect our call from the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I’ve started leaving my phone on the charger when I wake up. I have my devotion time in another room and look at a clock instead of my phone to keep track of time. I make time to pray and listen. I’ve started asking God to help me with my distractedness. I’ve begun to limit the screen time for my kids as well. They don’t have their phones at school, which is a blessing, but after school, we have a cut-off time and the phones go to another room to charge so they aren’t disrupted by the notifications, tempting them to start looking through their phones again. It’s made such a difference! There are limits you can set on apps; you can delete them all together. Whatever you have to do to protect your peace, your heart, your purpose. Stopping the scroll is a resolution that has rapid results!

This is a little different from some of my other posts but it’s something that I think is so important. God wants us to be tuned in to what He’s doing. He uses His people to effect change in this world and this world desperately needs Jesus. But we can’t be the hands and feet of Jesus if our hands are constantly holding our phones. We can’t see the needs of those around us if our eyes are always trained on a screen and not the Lord. Don’t give the enemy a foothold. Make a change today and share this with someone else who needs to hear it. Stop the scroll! We have an abundant life waiting for us when we look up to see it.

Enjoy the Manna

mikaylaminer@golifechurch.net (Mikayla Miner) — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 19:42:04 GMT

Enjoy the Manna

Life Matters - November 2023 Blog

By Casandra Orsburn

Teaching jr. high students has really caused some personal reflection. If you

have raised an early teen, or perhaps simply had the opportunity to casually ask them

how their day was, you notice that they easily have something to complain about. Now

this might seem a little stereotypical, but I think most of us can agree that seldom are

our teenagers grateful about the blessings that are so obvious to us older and wiser

folks… wink, wink.

I don’t say this to make fun of my students (and children for that matter), but it got

me thinking about the way in which we think of the things that God has blessed us with.

Too quickly I’ve recognized, we start to look at our blessings and ask God to tweak

them. “Yes, Lord, I know I asked for this large house, but couldn’t you do something

about the electricity bill and maybe a little help with a maid service?” “Yes, I know I

prayed for this job but could you do something about the hours and that awful

coworker?” We complain about our circumstances to God and miraculously He hears

our prayers. However, too often do we receive that blessing and are off to complain

about the next thing. How exasperating we must be!

The children of Israel were no different. No sooner had the chains of slavery

been broken and they watched the Egyptians buried at sea, did they begin to complain

about dinner. Even after receiving manna from heaven each morning, they quickly

began to want something else. Eventually their continual complaining and

dissatisfaction with the Lord’s provision would cause an entire generation to miss out on

the blessing of the Promised Land. All because they couldn’t appreciate what the Lord

had given them in that season.

I felt the Lord showing me this afternoon that He really loves to bless his children.

Like, really loves to bless us. But like us, no one enjoys giving in to a spoiled child who

is going to immediately become dissatisfied with a new toy as soon as they see what

their neighbor is playing with. If we are continually looking at our lack, then we cannot

appreciate our provision. Let’s face it, God has been so much better to us than we

deserve. If we just look at the gift of salvation and unmerited grace and favor, we have

no right or reason to ask for more.

But the crazy thing is, he wants us to. He wants us to ask for good gifts and for

blessing. He wants us to ask for protection and wisdom. But he wants us to thank him

first. We should thank him for allowing us to live this in a country in which we can gather

and worship freely. We should thank him for his Word that was given so that we might

have the opportunity to seek him. We should thank him for his presence. We should

thank him for his promise. We have many, many reasons to thank him!

This Thanksgiving I want to encourage you to enjoy your blessings. Might you

want more? Sure. But could we just look up to our Father who art in heaven, and say,

“Thank you… for everything”. Maybe then as we begin to enjoy the things we have, will

our hearts be ready to receive the things he still wants to give us. Enjoy the manna. It is

a good gift.

Yes Man

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 14:24:02 GMT

July Blog Post

Yes Man

Do you remember the Jim Carrey movie “Yes Man”? It was a pretty funny movie

about a man who is at a standstill in his life. During a self-help seminar, he is presented

with the challenge to say “yes” to everything that comes his way. Almost overnight, he

sees the radical difference that saying “yes” to things brings into his relationships,

business, etc. Where he often found himself afraid, now he was bound by the response

to accept whatever challenge presented itself.

Now, of course, Jim, or Carl in the movie, quickly found out the problematic side

of agreeing to everything. But several years ago, my pastor had preached on this idea

of saying “yes” to the Holy Spirit whenever we felt prompted. He challenged us that if we

start saying “yes” instead of giving excuses and reasons why we should not obey or

follow his promptings, then we would quickly see how wonderful he is and how much we

can trust him in those moments. He encouraged us to take a step of faith and the next

time God spoke we would do exactly as we were being directed.

I was intrigued by this idea and decided to give it a shot. I recognized that I often

talk myself out of little things the Holy Spirit highlights. This is often out of fear- fear of

embarrassment, fear of rejection, fear of failure- whatever excuses I can come up with.

The following Wednesday night service during praise and worship, I felt the Holy

Spirit directing me to the woman behind me. I felt like he was telling me to go speak to

her and let her know that it was ok to feel joy again, that she needed to let go of her hurt

and let God fill her with his peace and gladness. Now, I knew this woman. She had

been in my Bible study and I knew that she had recently lost her husband. It felt like this

was the most inconsiderate thing for me to tell this grieving widow. Plus, she was on the

other side of the sanctuary! I would have to get out of my seat, walk all the way around

while everyone watched me, and then get her attention and speak to her while worship

was happening. I of course explained all of this to the Holy Spirit in case he hadn’t

considered these things himself.

But, he was persistent and he reminded me of the vow I had made that Sunday

to be obedient. As I mumbled, “You better not stand me up, Lord”, I awkwardly shuffled

out of my seat and across the church. I laid my hand on her shoulder and I could see

the surprise all over her face. I took a deep breath and started, “This may seem strange,

but the Holy Spirit wanted me to tell you that it’s ok to feel joy again. You don’t have to

be ashamed of it. He wants to fill you once more.” As I said the words I saw her heart

break wide open. I could feel the walls of it crumbling. We hugged and I prayed over her

before heading back to my seat.

That was a good one, God! Way to go! But he wasn’t done. As soon as worship

was over, the pastor took the pulpit and started with, “Tonight, I want to talk to you

about joy.” What?! I quickly glanced back at the woman and we were both teary-eyed

and grinning ear to ear. This was definitely a God moment and all the confirmation we

both needed.

He has done that several times in my life. He presents the challenge and it’s up

to me to accept it or excuse it. But when I trust him, when I take that step of faith, he

has never not met me. I may not always get an immediate confirmation like I did that night, but I’ve never regretted following what the Holy Spirit has placed in my heart.

That’s how we build our faith.

I want to encourage you with a Jim Carrey movie this month. The next time the

Holy Spirit prompts you to do something- maybe it’s to give a person some change,

maybe it’s to offer prayer to a stranger, maybe it’s to stay quiet during an argument

instead of speaking your mind- whatever it may be, challenge yourself to say “yes”.

Trust the Lord and see if he doesn’t show up. As you do, your faith will build and you’ll

look forward to those times when the God of the Universe wants to use you. It blows my

mind! Isaiah 6 verse 8 says: “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a

messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

You Are Loved!

Pouring Seasons

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 03:26:17 GMT

P ouring Seasons

Life Matters- June 2023 Blog

By Casandra Orsburn

Have you ever experienced a “pouring season”? You know, “When it rains, it

pours.” We just got back from “vacation”. I say it that way because if you have children

you understand that you always need a vacation to recover from your vacation. On our

trip back to California we all ended up with the stomach flu, I left my laptop in our cabin

and did not realize it till we were a full days journey away, I experienced my very first

fender-bender as I rear-ended a pickup as I was looking the other way to yield, and

when we returned home we discovered our septic backed-up, a toilet had flooded a

bedroom closet, and we had several dead fish to deal with in our pond (that is a story

for another time). When it rains, it pours!

Maybe you have experienced something like this when it feels like you just can’t

catch a break. Money is stretched thin and one more thing falls apart. Relationships,

health, finances- they all seem to be under attack. You take two steps forward only to

feel as though you’ve been knocked back three. If you aren’t dealing with a particular

crisis at the moment, you either have or will have in the future so I wanted to take the

opportunity to use my personal calamity as a testimony of God’s faithfulness.

I admittedly don’t handle stress well. Instead of becoming a glowing image of

peace and calm floating ethereally into the room to pour that life-giving water onto the

licking flames of disaster, I am more a pin-ball machine bouncing and bobbing every

which way and heaving hefty sighs as if the sheer wind of my pouts will extinguish the

flames. As I was zig-zagging all over my house the day after our return, washing

laundry, shampooing carpets, bagging fish, and giving every member of my family the

stink-eye who was caught in the act of some sort of unproductive service, the Holy Spirit

began to remind me of His presence.

As He reassured me of His sovereignty I began to see a bigger picture. Yes,

these things were inconveniences. Yes, they could be stressful. Yes, they could even

be quite costly. But God. I’ve always loved that pause. But God is bigger. But God is

faithful. But God sees the need before I do. But God knows the outcome. But God

makes all things work together for my good. But God knows the good plans He has for me.

When I began to get my focus off of the negative things going on in my life, even

though they seemed so big, and I began to magnify the Lord and His goodness, my

perspective shifted. What felt like one overwhelming blow after another, became fiery

darts skillfully directed by the enemy to distract, worry, and cause me to fear. Not today,

Satan! I choose to rejoice in the struggle because I know that God is going to use what

the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good. I know that my God is going to make a

way where there was no way and He will get the glory for it!

And so today I want to encourage any of you that may feel as though you are

going through a storm that God is for you. It may be something small or it may be

something so big that God is the only one who can come through on this… trust Him.

When we magnify the Lord and His love and character, then every struggle and trial

becomes so small in the light of His goodness. Don’t let the enemy have a foothold! Say

it right now to yourself, “God, I trust you. I may not know how you are going to work this

out, but I trust that you see and you love me. I trust that you are a good God. I refuse to

give the enemy one more moment of my peace. I praise you in advance, Lord, for the

testimony that will come from this. Amen!”

I pray that this season for you is a “pouring season”. Not the pouring out of

disasters and frustrations, but the pouring out of God’s presence. Even in the struggle

He is there. Just because life seems to be going in the wrong direction, don’t for a

second think that God is not with you. In fact, it’s often those “pouring seasons” that set

you up to allow God to take you to a new step in your relationship with Him. So sit back,

take a deep breath, and let it pour!

You Are Loved!

A Mother's Day Prayer

Wed, 17 May 2023 14:21:24 GMT

In honor of Mother’s Day I wanted to pass along a little nugget of wisdom that

was recently imparted to me. As you may know by now, I have been a mother for the

past seventeen years, raising babies that I’ve birthed and those that I did not. What a

blessing and a privilege to be called a mother.

But being a mother is the hardest thing I have ever done. It has required sacrifice

in many areas of my life. I was so optimistic fresh out of adolescence and into the real

world. I just knew that everything was going to work out and life would be grand. And in

a sense, it has been. But many of you understand that when you choose to have a

child, there is a shift in your priorities.

Having conversations with my adult children who are now raising their own

families, I hear the echoes of my same frustrations and insecurities as a young mother.

You feel pulled in so many directions and never seem to get the balance just right.

There is always something out of alignment. If you’ve nailed it at being a great mom that

day, you probably have guilt about not giving your husband enough attention at the end

of the evening. If you and your husband connected, then you feel guilty that you didn’t

make time to spend with the Lord that morning. When was the last time you enjoyed a

day where you weren’t reminded of a shortcoming somewhere? The enemy loves it

when we take our eyes off of the Lord and look to the storm. He delights in making us

question Gods plan.

I love the Lord so much I always felt like God had called me to do something

“big” for him. I just knew God was going to make me a missionary or evangelist to the

nations. I had this “fire shut up in my bones” that seemed as though it had to be

restrained because I was not a free agent any longer. I have responsibilities. I chose to

have a family and that requires some self-sacrifice, right?

I know that almost every mom feels this way at some point in their life, especially

when raising little ones. You feel as though you’ve lost something of who you were or

what you were meant to do. One of my favorite books is “The Nightingale” by Kristen

Hannah. In it an elderly mother speaks about her relationship with her son. Speaking of

the juggling act of appearing to be the perfect mother she says, “I always thought it was

what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I’d like to be known.”

This brings me to the point of this short message. You have a Father in heaven

who sees you and knows you. He sees your heart, he knows your fears, he sees the

sacrifice and he honors it. My sweet friend that I mentioned earlier is in her sixties. She

shared with me how she felt about choosing to homeschool her children in those early

years of her marriage. She discussed the loneliness and the frustration of feeling like

she was meant to do more for the Lord than what she was doing because she had little

ones to raise.

That was when the Lord whispered to her about the tithe. When God

commanded the tithe it was to give your first and your best to the Lord. In exchange, he

would bless and prosper the remnant. What an awesome God we serve! Mommas,

when we tithe our time, those first and best years of our young lives, God then does

something amazing! Not only does he bless that time with your children and we see the

abundant fruit of our labor, but he covers our remaining years with a supernatural

anointing and redeems our time. The best is yet to come!

I just turned forty years old a couple of months ago. I am about to see one more

baby off to college this year as my last two enter their senior and eighth grade years of

school. I am living in this season where I can see God stirring up something big once

more. He has now given me the experiences I was lacking to go with the boldness that I

will need for what he is bringing me into. I want to encourage each of you, that God is

not done with you as long as you have breath in your lungs. Lean into your season. Let

him guide you. Offer him your tithe. He will bless it and multiply it. Nothing is wasted

when it is placed in his hands. Happy Mother’s Day! You are so loved!

Do you know Jesus?

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 18:11:08 GMT

Do you know Jesus?

April Blog Post

By: Casandra Orsburn

We just commemorated Resurrection Day in such a special way. We were invited

to our friend’s house a few hours away to witness and celebrate their decision as a

family to follow Christ and demonstrate that commitment with water baptism. It was

such a special and holy moment and as the tears flowed I remembered the prayers I

had prayed and the ones I had shared with my dear friend for her family. God is SO

GOOD!

As I reflected on that experience the next day, the Holy Spirit began speaking

into my heart about the importance of making sure our loved ones know who Jesus is.

My sweet friend had continued to push her little family to get up in the mornings and go

to church. She had modeled what it meant to be a woman of God and faith as she

prayed for her spouse and her children. As she sought out Godly connections with

believers, she multiplied the praying power in favor of her little family. And God honored

that commitment.

In the past, I have been guilty of not having conversations with my children or

extended family about Christ. When I first became a mom at twenty-one, it was to six

bonus children. While I would take them to church on the weekends we had them, I did

not often engage in those conversations that would have led to deeper meaning and

understanding of the goodness of God. I am ashamed to admit, I left the church in

charge of my children’s spiritual awareness.

As they got older and I gave birth to two more, I was somewhat more purposeful

in my task of raising them. We had dinner around the table and we prayed together. As

they encountered difficult situations in life I may discuss scripture, but often I would

direct them to something to read. It hurts me to confess that today most of my grown

children know that God exists but they struggle with being able to defend their faith in a

world that absolutely wants to tear it apart.

Last year, we were incredibly blessed by the opportunity for me to teach at our

local Classical Christian Academy. This provided the opportunity for my youngest two

children to also attend. What a difference! I have watched them grow leaps and bounds

in their faith and understanding of scripture. They have convictions that are solid and

rooted in the Word. They are learning to defend their faith well, as well as share who

God is. We now have incredible family discussions that center on what God is doing in

their lives. Wow!

I don’t say any of this to brag. Obviously, this is all God’s doing. In fact, what it

has taught me is that I should have been preparing my children for this long, long ago. I

never should have put so much weight on the church that only sees them once a week,

maybe twice if they attend Youth Group, and a week of summer camp, and call that

sufficient exposure. I should have done better. And I know I’m not the only one.

I write this as an encouragement. Are you reading the signs? The days are

getting darker. The enemy is coming for our children. Just as in the days of Moses and

of Jesus when Satan specifically attacked the children of a generation because he knew

that deliverers were being brought up, he is coming for our babies. God has proclaimed

that in the last days, there would be a mighty outpouring of His Spirit. The enemy is

doing everything in his power to stop it.

I challenge you to look into your own family, your friends, and your neighbors.

Who do you know that needs hope? Who do you see that could use some faith-

strengthening encouragement? Do you know Jesus? Share your testimony. Tell them

about what He has done in your life. If you’ve never done this before, I encourage you

to write it out. Peter explains to “worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks

about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” (1 Peter 3:15).

We have to stop living in fear of what the culture is doing and saying. There is a

world of dead people out there. They are lost. They are confused. They are hurting and

desperate, latching on to any new fad that will give them some sense of identity. As

believers, however, we have the antidote to this sickness. We have the cure! We cannot

afford to be selfish or afraid any longer! Ask the Holy Spirit for boldness in this hour. Fill

our hearts with the Word of God and allow it to overflow into the lives of those around

us. Silver and gold you may not have, but what you do have, give to those in need. We

are created for such a time as this!

I pray that as we transition into this new season of life, we have an awareness

that is not numbed by the passage of time or the pressure of busyness. Let us stay

watchful and ready. May we be good stewards of the treasure that has been entrusted

to us. It is time to rise up mighty men and women of God- mothers and fathers, aunts

and uncles, and grandparents. It is time for us to share the light in this very dark world.

Take up your armor. Do you know Jesus? Let’s reintroduce him!

Break My Heart

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:37:22 GMT

Life Matters Blog

February Blog Post

By Casandra Orsburn

“Break My Heart”

L et me tell you what. I really tried to overcomplicate this month and come up with

something profound. The good Lord knows that I sometimes just need to keep it simple,

like myself. Since it is February, the month of “Love”, I thought what better to talk about

than the love of our Lord and Savior. Though honestly, though it is simple, it is actually

quite profound.

I get a little choked up when I begin to think of the extravagant love of God. The

love that held Jesus to a cross as he looked upon the very people he had come to

rescue now with hate blazing in their eyes and spewing from their lips. Crying out to

God, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.” It just breaks my

heart.

This scene, (well, the Mel Gibson-directed Passion of the Christ version of this

scene), plays over in my head. How do you love like that? How do you lay your own life

down so that someone else may have a chance at theirs? And not even a good

someone! This someone is rotten, egotistical, selfish, backslidden, prideful, and a whole

list of other unpleasant things…this someone is me. And it is you. And it is the person

serving his prison sentence for a heinous crime. It is the mother who has lost her

children to her own very poor choices. It is the man who drinks himself to sleep every

night just so he can get a respite from the voices that remind him of all that he’s lost. It

is the person halfway around the world fueled with rage at those who do not look and

think, and worship like him. He died for us all while we were yet sinners.

I will never forget the time that I prayed for God to give me his heart. “Break my

heart for what breaks yours,” I cried out in my car during a particularly emotional

morning. I should not have done that in that setting because I was immediately flooded

with such empathy and compassion, not for someone that I had never met. No, it was

for someone who had made my life hell.

I have mentioned that my husband had children before me. He and his previous

wife had three beautiful daughters together. I was so excited to be a step-mom and

enjoy all the girl dates and mani-pedis we could get. It was going to be wonderful! But,

as divorces and blended families often are, things got messy. I won’t go into all the

details, but she and I were not great friends. I am not a person to get easily angered but

this woman could bring me from 0-60 in 2 seconds flat, my blood pressure boiling out of

my ears!

But it was during that morning commute that the Holy Spirit broke my heart for

her. It literally felt like it was being split wide open as this flood of understanding rushed

in and where I had judged and pointed a finger, now I saw all the hurt and pain and

confusion that was under the surface. God had shown me what was beneath that tough

facade that she liked to taunt me with. She was scared and she was fragile and she

needed Jesus just as much as I needed him. I saw her as a mother who had lost

everything, a woman who wasn’t quite sure who she was anymore. Oh, how I wished

God had shown me anyone else as I wept those bitter tears.

I have never been able to harbor the kind of animosity that I once did. She tried

to make me, for sure. She was not aware of what God had done in my heart, but I could

not forget. I have found myself praying for her, rejoicing when I hear of positive

progress. One day, she even called me to have me pray for someone else because she

didn’t know where else to turn. God is that good, y’all.

And that is love. Love for the broken and the lost. Love for the ones who hold

tightly to the rules and the ones who try to break every one. He loves us all. And we are

called to do the same. 1 John 4:7 says “Dear friends, let us continue to love one

another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.”

Is there someone in your life that you have a hard time loving? I pray you to ask the

Holy Spirit to give you a new heart and fresh eyes, to see them the way that he does.

Break our hearts, Lord, for what breaks yours.

You are SO LOVED!

I Can’t Do It For You

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 19:47:13 GMT

January Blog 2023

L ast week, my husband and I were driving and I was online, self-diagnosing

some issues that seem to be creeping in as my fourth decade of life looms before me. I

know I’m not the only one who does this. Dr. Google was not being particularly helpful. I

closed the browser and flopped my head back in the seat. “Why are all the answers to

just eat better and exercise,” I sighed. “Why can’t they just make a pill?”

I heard Kenny chuckle from the driver’s seat but no sooner had the words

escaped my mouth than I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to me. Always looking for the

easy way out, aren’t you, Casey? Ouch. The sting was felt as I searched for the

meaning. It didn’t take long to find. I was looking for the fast way out, the path of least

resistance. I wanted something that would fix the problem without me having to change

any of my habits or put in any real effort. That’s when I knew what he meant.

As a mom of nine, I can remember plenty of times that I have shown my children

how to do something and then had them mimic it. As they learn to walk, you are right

behind them, encouraging them step by step but also within arm's reach to catch them

at the first teeter. As they get older, you find that the lessons become harder. The

stakes become a little higher. You recognize the importance of their independence and

force yourself to restrain from jumping in to save the day. Instead, you find yourself

looking at them, remembering the child but seeing the young man or woman before you,

and saying the words “I can’t do it for you.”

For my entire life, I’ve prayed to God. I’ve asked him for help and guidance. I’ve

prayed that he walks with me through life. I’ve asked that he protect my family and lead

them all to salvation. I’ve prayed that he lead me into the purpose and calling that he

has for me. But at some point, God looks at us square in the face, like a parent to their

child, and says the same thing… “I can’t do it for you.”

He wasn’t saying that he wouldn’t be there for me. He wasn’t asking me to do

anything that he hadn’t equipped me to do. In that moment he was reminding me that I

had all of the tools and knowledge to move forward, to make it to the next level. He was

saying that you’ve gone as far as you can go on spiritual milk but it’s time for you to

prepare yourself for solid food. However, that means you will have to hold the fork

because we are no longer spoon-fed. The Holy Spirit was telling me there would be no

magic pill to cure all my ills. It was going to take some self-control and discipline.

You might be thinking that this is pretty heavy to be starting the New Year with.

But I think that God is raising up his army. He is saying that it is time for us to leave the

Bible daycare and start growing some faith muscle. I believe that this year is a season

of rapid acceleration and growth. I pray that if you started this year with some

resolutions, you find the strength and endurance to stick to your commitments. God is

interested in your spiritual health, but also your physical health. There is no magic pill. If

you’ve been praying the same prayer as I had, asking for God to change things but not

putting in much effort, I want to encourage you to start building those wobbly legs up to

stand. To stand and fight as the mighty man or woman of God that he has created you

to be. We are no longer victims, but victors in Jesus Christ! “(For) those who trust in the

Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and

not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31. That is his promise to us…

but he can’t do it for you.

I pray that this year is your best one yet! May you be blessed coming and going,

you and your children. Remember brothers and sisters, YOU ARE LOVED!

Christmas Together

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 18:05:56 GMT

Christmas Together

December Blog

By Casandra Orsb urn

I cannot believe that we are halfway through December. I will be honest with you

as always, I have been struggling to make time to write down anything this month, let

alone a few hundred words of an inspirational Christmas message. Between working,

parenting, shopping, celebrating with Christmas dinners and programs, and overall

trying to do “all the things”, this season can leave you feeling more overwhelmed and

exhausted than joyful, hopeful, and peaceful.

As I was sitting at my desk between class periods, literally struggling to find quiet

and praying that God would download this power sermon into my brain, I felt instead

that still, small voice. In an instant, he had shown me all of the things that I was putting

my time and energy into. I saw the work leading up to today, all the planning and

preparations for the days still to come. I saw all of the events and projects and even the

mundane necessary things like feeding my children dinner that night. As soon as I felt

myself start to complain about fitting one more thing in at Christmas time, I felt the Holy

Spirit say: “Why don’t we do these things together?”

That’s when it hit me. I had taken on all of these commitments and wanted to

orchestrate all of these wonderful moments and events for my family. I had piled on the

obligations and then felt guilty when I didn’t make room for one-on-one time with the

Lord. But why wasn’t he invited to tag along in the first place? Why was Jesus separate

from any part of my life at all?

I watched a video once that showed a young lady asking Jesus into her life. She

would pray for him to be with her during the day but as she goes to get out of the car to

go to work, she sees Jesus reaching for the door handle. “Not today,” she says a little

guiltily and tells him to wait in the vehicle. After work, they pick up the conversation.

However, as she pulls into the driveway of her home, once again Jesus is left outside.

That night, Jesus knocks on the door but she reminds him that she’s just too busy right

now and that she’ll call him when she has a free moment.

How often do we treat God that way? I know I have been recently. I call on him

when I need something but I haven’t been inviting him to do life with me, which is

exactly what he wants. He wants to join you at work and while you’re folding the clothes.

He wants to be there with you as you teach that class, run your business, and as you

run to the grocery store. Not as a silent observer but as a friend who holds a

conversation, gives advice, shares laughs, and sympathizes with hurts. When you are

keenly aware of the presence of God in the moments, your perspective changes. You

aren’t focusing on just what you are doing, but on the how and why you are doing it. It

changes everything!

Remembrance Stones

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 14:22:36 GMT

Remembrance Stones

November Blog

By Casandra Orsburn

Since we are in the month of November, I thought it only appropriate to write a post on

thankfulness. No doubt, God has been so, so, so good to me. In fact, I was thinki ng just the

other day about what my life looked like exactly one year ago.

One year ago, I was working at the private prison here in town, not sure if I would have a

job in the next 30 days. The company was dangling carrots and I knew that since I had only

been there a year and a half that I was on the chopping block. Sad that I would be leaving a job

and coworkers that I had truly come to love, in a place where I never would have thought I

would have found joy, I had decided that my next move was to continue my education. I enrolled

once again in college courses, determined to finish the degree I began 20 years ago to become

what I always felt called to be– a teacher.

Fast forward a few months, I had finished another semester at our local college and I

was set to move forward into student teaching the next school year in our local public schools. I

had it all planned out. I say it that way because I have discovered that God loves to wreck my

plans in the most wonderful ways possible.

Just before I take that next step, I get approached by the most amazing woman in

charge of our church’s affiliated Christian academy. She comes up to me just after a women’s

fellowship night and mentions that she has heard through the grapevine that I am interested in

teaching. As I pour out my heart and my list of self-declared shortcomings, she invites me to

apply for a position at the school (in the exact grade level I desired to teach, by the way).

Man, I took my time with that application. God and I wrestled with it. The devil and I

tussled too. All the reasons why I wasn’t qualified. All the ways in which this would be the

fulfillment of so many dreams. For two weeks I debated whether or not to submit this

application. To be accepted would change everything. To be declined would be confirmation

that I wasn’t teacher material.

Long story short, I submitted my application. After the interview and the acceptance

offer, I remember getting into my car and sobbing in front of the school. God had taken my

dream that I had tried to fit into this tiny little box and blown it out of the water. He provided a

way not for me just to teach, but to teach children with Jesus running through the center of

every subject. Oh, and my own children? They get to reap the benefit of this blessing too. They

now attend a Classical Christian Academy! My goodness, God… is… GOOD!

In the Old Testament, the people of God would leave remembrance stones, or altars, to

mark a place where God had shown up. They would stack stones so that every time they

passed that location, not only would they remember, but they would tell the story to their

children of God’s faithfulness. Most notably the twelve altars for the twelve tribes as they

crossed the Jordan River before taking the Promised Land. Generations of people would

remember how God had shown up for His children.

Why are these important? When we share God's faithfulness with our children, friends,

and family, not only does it build our faith, but it builds theirs as well. We often see God move in

our lives and keep it a private affair. Why? We need to normalize and make it a practice to

share what God is doing in the lives of His children. He is good! God is NOT DEAD! He is

moving and working in our lives every day but He does so, not just for our benefit, but for His

glory. We need to recognize that and share the Good News!

One year ago I had no idea what the future would bring. I had my plans. Thank the Lord

that He had His and His plans were so much greater and bigger than mine. This Thanksgiving I

want to encourage you to find a way to set your remembrance stones. Whether that’s a yearly

list on your fridge (as a coworker of mine does and I love it!), a journal entry, or a phone call to

family and friends. Whatever that may look like for you, I pray that we remember the goodness

and the faithfulness of our God this season. May we pass it down and share our stories and

encourage one another.

This Thanksgiving, may your table be full, but your heart be fuller. May we remember

that God is good and He is for you! YOU ARE LOVED!

Work In Progress

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 23:53:25 GMT

Work In Progress

October Blog

By: Cassandra Orsburn

H ow I love the Fall! I love the cooler weather, the changing colors, and of course, all

things pumpkin. It is my favorite time of the year. As I’m sitting here typing this, wearing my first

sweater of the season, cozy on my couch looking out at the gray skies and smelling the sweet

scent of the candle burning on the fireplace mantle, I am reminded of how wonderful change

can be. And while it means that we are that much closer to the close of another year, I am

excited to see what the Lord has in store for the next one. He has been so faithful to me!

While it is easy for me to trust the process of the unfolding months and to see how

beautiful and creative our heavenly father is with the changing of the seasons, I find that I am far

less patient, and certainly less appreciative, of my own change process. Do you ever feel that

way? That you should be so much further along on this journey than you are? That for every two

steps forward you always find yourself taking at least one step back?

A couple of weeks ago I started a Bible study with some ladies from church. I was gung-

ho as I sent out the invitations and started getting responses. I was excited to see how God

would use this time to cultivate new friendships and strengthen my faith. I looked forward to our

weekly meetings and knowing that God was up to something big.

But, as time got closer to that initial meeting, I felt a shift in my spirit. I was getting

distracted. Things were coming up that took my time and focus away from spending time with

the Lord, praying in the mornings, and rushing through instead of being intentional about my

day. I was getting into a funk and it took me longer than it should have to recognize that same

familiar pattern of the enemy. Ugh!

Does he do that to you as well? I suspect that he does since he hasn’t learned any new

tricks in the last several thousand years.

As I sat there beating myself up about how I always seem to fall into the same old traps,

I was reminded of something very powerful as I forced myself to dig into the Bible study that lay

on the table beside me. In the study Having a Mary Spirit: Allowing God to Change Us From the

Inside Out, author Joanna Weaver said something that jumped off the page and smacked me

across the face, knocking me out of my self-induced pity party.

“The Lord knows that we need the process as much as we need the product. For it isn’t

just our holiness God is after. He also wants to make us wholly His.”

Wow. What a concept. How different would my life look if I gave myself some grace? Am

I where I want to be? Absolutely not. Am I so much farther along than where I started? Yes

ma’am. That in itself is a miracle and something to celebrate. God’s not done with me yet, thank

goodness! It’s a process and the goal is not to reach a completion point but to cultivate a real

relationship with our Savior along the way.

I’ve heard it said that life is a journey, not a destination. Trust the process. Learn from

mistakes but also give yourself grace for those repeat offenses. Some lies are harder to spot

than others. Your stumbling blocks may look different than mine but it takes the same surrender

to the same God to get us over them. I thank the Lord that I’m a work in progress and He hasn’t

given up on me yet. No matter your journey, I want to encourage you to trust the process. There

is nothing too big for God and no amount of distance that He can’t bridge to reach you. He

wants nothing more than to make you whole… and wholly His. Masterpieces take time. He’s not

finished with you yet!

Fishers of Men

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 17:21:01 GMT

Fishers of Men September Blog

By Casandra Orsburn

My daughter, Tori, is now attending her first year at a classical Christian academy. As a junior, she has been required to debate some pretty controversial topics. She has had to take a stand and learn to defend that position. It’s been challenging for her, and oh so fun for me, to watch her grow.

One day, the topic of the rainbow flag was raised and the question was posed as to how we combat the prevailing liberal agenda and weakening Christian influence. She came home frustrated at what felt like a lack of compassion for others. Now, I’m not going to write a political post or go into all of the things I believe. But as a Christian, I do have some thoughts on this.

First of all, I think it is important, crucial even, to remember that we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). Whatever the sin, your fight is with the evil behind it and not the person. If we aren’t fighting flesh and blood, that means your weapons cannot be physical either.

So how do we fight it? How do we destroy the evil that is in this world? How do we get rid of the darkness and make them see the light? That, fellow Christian, is where you come in. Remember that we are called to be the salt of the earth, a city on a hill (Matthew 5:13-16). We should bring flavor into this world. We should be enticing, offering something better than what the world does. We should shine bright like a lighthouse on a hill, proclaiming a safe haven for those who are lost. Are we being those things?

I think it is important to remember when Jesus called the disciples and told them to leave their nets and follow him, he said he would make them fishers of men. Notice that he called them to fish for men, but never to catch and clean them. I wonder how many people avoid the church, and hate it even because someone tried to catch and clean them instead of

allowing the Holy Spirit to work on the inside. How many people struggling with some sort of addiction or weight of shame avoid “Christians” because they’ve been told nothing more than God hates what they identify with most?

We know how God feels about sin. We should also know how God feels about people. The Bible tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.” He didn’t just love the people who loved Him back. He came to this broken earth, was spit upon, mocked, pierced, and nailed to a cross, and with nothing but love cried out, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” That is the love that God has for you and me. Do we share that same love with those who don’t know that God?

I know that because we are saved, sin upsets us, as it should. We should hate sin because we know of the destruction it causes in the lives and futures of all it effects. But we need to remember that each person is precious to God. Just as He has forgiven you, He also has forgiven them. They may not have accepted their forgiveness yet. They may not feel worthy of it. But, if we who are called by His name, can look on them with the same love that Christ has looked on us with, how much easier to draw someone to the only person who can set them free?

So whether it’s a rainbow flag, a young mother who has just made the toughest decision of her life, a person who has trekked across the desert to find refuge and a better life for their family, the man sitting on death row, or any person in between- we are commanded to love. Love with the same unconditional love that Christ loved us with. Go and fish. Fish with the best bait ever, the sweet goodness of our Lord. Share your testimony. Pray that strongholds be broken and God’s light flood into the darkness. Then let the Holy Spirit worry about the rest.

If I do nothing else with this written word, I want you to know that the God of the universe is head over heels in love with you. He will not stop chasing after you because it is his only desire to have a personal relationship with you, his child. If you have wandered away from him or you feel as though you’ve never known this God , let me tell you, He’s wonderful! He wants nothing more than to walk through this life with you, engaged in an adventure so spectacular that you’ll know you aren’t taking this trek alone. Call on his name. Give him the driver’s seat of your life and see if he doesn’t amaze you.

YOU ARE LOVED!

Socially Awkward

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 17:16:41 GMT

Socially Awkward

August Blog

By Casandra Orsburn

I am weird. There, I said it. I feel awkward in social settings. I say dumb things,

especially when I’m nervous. I go beet red in the face when I’ve done or said something to

embarrass myself or draw attention to something I was hoping no one would notice. I have

embraced this idea about myself as just a quirky fact. In fact, I bought a cute pink t-shirt that

said ‘Introverted But Willing To Talk About Jesus’. I mean, how adorable is that?!

I have always felt like I was not like all of my friends or even my family. Sometimes it

was in a good way and sometimes it just left me feeling alone and misunderstood. My response

to that was to isolate myself. I could spend hours alone and it wouldn’t bother me. I would avoid

large social gatherings or at least leave the party early. As a child and into my teen years I

found myself trying to mirror my classmates and always feeling like an imposter. As an adult,

you have more freedom to keep to yourself. It was easy. Having a family means your time is

focused on them and so I didn’t have time for friends. I would see posts on social media of mom

friends and play dates but I never could find my circle, my tribe, or even my person. Through the

years we would have couples that became friends but my husband was always the one driving

the relationship (he is way more of the social butterfly than I am). What was wrong with me?

Now, if you have always had tons of friends and love large social gatherings and feel as

though people actually revive your spirit, then this post probably will not resonate with you at all.

But even as I struggled with the idea that I was different and somehow not capable of having

meaningful relationships outside of my immediate family, I knew I wasn’t alone. As I was driving

into town the other day, I was thinking about all of the people who feel like they are different,

that somehow they just don’t fit in. Society has us all accepting the labels of socially awkward

and/or introverted. There are a host of other terms that fly around, all letting us know that we

can identify with not fitting in.

But is that our identity? Has God ever labeled anyone as a misfit? Now we are not of this

world, yes. But we are of the body of Christ. That means that you do have a place and are a

perfect fit for the puzzle. I think the enemy has done a fabulous job, not to give him too much

credit, of isolating us and keeping us from connecting with one another. If we believe that we

somehow do not fit in, that we are different, then we will never embrace others or invite them to

do life with us. When that happens, you feel as though you have less value than someone social

and comfortable with connecting to other people. When you don’t feel as though you fit in you

begin to wonder why. Why don’t I feel like anyone understands me? Why don’t I connect with

other people? Why do I feel so different?

Can I be honest? Good, because the devil is a liar. You need to know that. He has us

looking at Instagram posts and Facebook videos and all of these snapshots of people’s lives

that are filtered and cropped and edited. When we see them we think that our lives are so much

messier and we don’t want to let others in to see that. But we all know that those images are not

the full picture. It’s just a scene of the story. Usually the very best scenes. When we fail to let

others see the messy side of our lives, we aren’t being authentic. And authenticity is what we

need more of.

Can I encourage you this week to speak some affirmations over yourself? You are a

child of God. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You have been created on purpose with

purpose. Yes, you may be different, but your difference is exactly what God created you to be.

He is going to use that for His glory if you will place it in His hand.

I recently saw a post that said that flowers and sunsets look nothing alike but are both

beautiful. Stop comparing yourself with others. The hand doesn’t look at the foot and think it’s

useless because it doesn’t do what the foot is doing. It has its own job and is wonderful in its

own way. The eye doesn’t look at the nose and think it isn’t any good because it can’t smell.

You get the idea.

The enemy wants to get us thinking that we don’t fit in because we aren’t the same as

other people. He wants us to feel that we have to hide and keep our crazy to ourselves. Well

God didn’t design us that way. We are created for community. We are created to share each

other's burdens. The nose can’t do what the eye can do but when they work together, you can

see what you’re cooking with! That is how God created us- His family. The next time you feel

the need to label yourself as socially awkward, remember that we are all a little weird, a little

unique, and that’s exactly who you were created to be. God has a purpose for your life that only

you can fulfill and if you look at scripture, God always created us for one another. Your purpose

is tied to another’s. Let’s do life together.

Be blessed and know that YOU ARE LOVED!

The Lavender Donut

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 21:30:40 GMT

The Lavender Donut /July Blog Casandra Orsburn

Several years ago I went on a business trip to Boston. It was a wonderful trip. It was late May, the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing in over the harbor, the flowers were blooming and we had a lovely walk from our hotel to the training center that morning.

As I walked along the historic streets and quaint shops, I came across a little donut shop a block from our building. I stepped inside to grab a quick breakfast before heading up to the 15th floor. As I perused over the various delectable offerings in all kinds of sugary sweetness, my eyes rested on a beautiful, delicate lavender donut. The lilac frosting was lightly sprinkled with actual lavender seeds and it looked so fresh and delicious that I couldn’t resist.

That lavender donut was everything I dreamt it would be and more. The infusion of the light yeasty dough and the white chocolate and the lavender ganache was revolutionary. It was organic and delectable. I had never tasted anything so wonderful in my entire life!

As I made my way up to class I was quick to announce to everyone what I had just discovered. Surprisingly I had not devoured the treat in anticipation of sharing this wonderful newfound delight with my fellow co-workers. They must not miss out on this experience! Later, as we walked out to enjoy lunch across the street, a couple stopped us and asked for suggestions on where to eat. I informed them that I was not from the area but they must not, under any circumstances, miss the chance to eat the beautiful lavender donut served in the little shop around the corner. The following morning, I had to stop back in and buy one for myself and a couple to share with anyone who did not get to try the little heavenly manna yesterday. Yes, it was that good.

That evening as I settled in for the night, contemplating all the new experiences of the last few days, I felt that familiar nudge from the Lord. While it wasn’t audible, I felt the Lord almost sadly ask me why I didn’t have the same excitement for him. What? In an instant, he spoke into my spirit asking me why I could share something as simple as a donut- no matter how spectacular it was- with complete strangers and with such enthusiasm. I had made such an effort to inform people I had never met and a room full of my peers of the deliciousness of a calorie-filled, cavity-creating little breakfast dessert.

I heard it again. Why didn’t I do that for him? ‘Am I not good? Am I not wonderful and unique and exciting? Don’t I surprise and excite you?’

I wept.

‘Of course you are, Lord. It’s just…’ It’s just what? Why didn’t I treat God and the incredible gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit that way? Why didn’t I rush out to tell everyone about the goodness of God? Taste and see that the Lord is good, better than a lavender donut for sure. So why didn’t I react and respond the same way?

I have never forgotten that moment. Even now it breaks my heart to tell of it, almost 10 years later. If I’m honest, as I always try to be, I still struggle with sharing the goodness of the Lord with strangers. In our society, we try so hard not to ruffle feathers. To let people have their opinions. You stick in your lane and I’ll stick to mine. But is that fair? Is that fair to people you meet that need to know about the sweetness of our Lord? Is that fair to God who is so good and extravagant in his love for you and me?

It was a donut for me that day, but I’ve seen others do it over a new restaurant, the latest blockbuster movie, or the most recent chart-topping hit. We have no problem telling people about these almost with a sense of importance at the fact that we have discovered this great and wonderful new thing . Do we have the same enthusiasm for Christ?

I hope in writing this I encourage you to look at your relationship with the Lord and how you feel about who he is and what he’s done. Do you treat him as the sensational, mind-blowing lavender donut? Are you excited about what he’s done in your life and all the wonderful things he’s shown you and where he is taking you? Are you in awe at his goodness and kindness and power? Or, are you timid in your relationship and unsure about him or where you stand with him?

I saw and shared a social media post some time ago that said:

“It’s not that Christians wanna shove Jesus down your throat but man if YOU KNEW. If you KNEW how he can transform you, how he can take away all that bitterness, that sorrow, that hurt, that depression, anxiety. We boast about our Lord because He is MIGHTY!”

Do you know? I want to encourage you today to get reacquainted with our really good God. God who is not just good for you and me, but God who needs to be discovered and tasted by a world that needs him. Romans 10:14 reminds us “how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” Let’s be the ones to go and tell this starving world just how wonderful and sweet our God is.

Be blessed and always remember, God is for you and YOU ARE LOVED!

What do you have?

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 14:59:19 GMT

Has God ever given you a phrase that seems to keep resonating with you? You hear it over and over in your mind. You start seeing it printed in books, newspapers, magazi nes, or even billboards. You hear it stand out in conversations. When we first moved to Texas I remember the word tether would often come to mind and make its way into my prayers. Tether me to you, Lord. Don’t let me drift or be tossed out to sea, but keep me close and within reach of you. It was a prayer that I prayed constantly in our new environment where little felt familiar and everything seemed to have changed.

The ladies of Life Church, One Sisterhood, have begun reading together the book Declutter Your Way to Success by Terri Savelle Foy. In it, Terri describes a time when God had called her to clean up and clean out . These words would echo over and over and she found that God was calling her to start organizing and cleaning up where she was so that God could promote her to where He wanted to bring her. If you haven’t gotten it yet, you need this book! It really is revolutionary how God can use an organized pantry and made bed to bring peace and clarity into your life.

And so, I found it interesting that a particular question from God had made its way into my spirit. What do you have? I have heard it over and over and over. I don’t know about you, but I have noticed that I tend to downplay what I have. Yes, I have a home but it doesn’t have the yard I want. Yes, I have a car but it’s just a grocery-getter, my mom-mobile. Yes, I have clothes to wear but most of them were bought second-hand. (Actually, that’s something I’m quite proud of, and will often let you know if you ever compliment me on something I’m wearing!) What I’m trying to say is that no matter what we have we often focus on what we don’t have. We think about all the things we want to be, the things we want to obtain, the things we want to see happen in our lives and it seems so far away from our reality. But God has been asking me, “Casey, dear daughter, what do you have?”

As I pondered this question and what God was trying to get me to see, He highlighted some key persons in scripture. Gideon, the least of his tribe and family, was approached by an angel that calls him a mighty hero. Then tells him to “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites.” (Judges 6:14). In 1 Kings 17, you see Elijah led to a widow who is about to prepare her final meal for her and her son and Elijah makes a seemingly selfish request. He tells her to go ahead and prepare what she has but give him some first. What?! Then there’s Jesus, as he’s preaching in the countryside he is reminded that it’s supper time and they don’t have enough food to feed all of the people. And what does Jesus do? He asks the disciples what they have.

Do you see it? What do you have? God can do more than you could ever ask or think if you just offer Him what you have. Instead of looking at what is in front of you and thinking that it’s not enough, what if we offer what we have to God? Can’t He bless it? Can’t He multiply it? Can’t He use it to conquer enemy territory? He can!

This question actually began several months ago for me when we had a prophetic minister in an evening service. He singled me out and I didn’t know whether to be excited or terrified. As he spoke over me and my life, I remember praying, silently crying out that God would give me direction and let me know what ministry He was calling me to. I knew that He had placed a calling on my life and it felt like something big. As he finished speaking to me and began to walk away, he turned and looked me straight in the face and said, “Your family is your mission field”. Now don’t get me wrong, the promise that my family is going to be saved was the best promise ever. But, in that moment, I remember my first thought being, Really, God. You can send me anywhere. Send me to China! I’ll be a missionary for you. I can do big things if you just give me the direction. I can do so much more. My family, God? Is that all? Now that’s embarrassing to admit but I promised that I would be honest and transparent with you. I truly thought that my family wasn’t a big enough assignment and that somehow God was wasting a willing heart. Oh, how foolish I was!

Thank God that He is patient and faithful. From that moment God has shown me how big my mission field truly is. My heart began to change and I started to accept my assignment. Through it, I am realizing that if we just offer Him what we have, He can make it bigger and better than we could ever ask or think for ourselves!

What do you have? What can you offer God? Gideon was told to go with the strength he had. God has already placed everything you need for your assignment on the inside of you. You only have to offer it back to Him in faith. Don’t forget that He can take the smallest and make it great, the weakest and make it mighty, the broken and make it beautiful. He wants more for your life. He wants to do big things in and through you. He wants to take you on a grand adventure. But what are you doing with what you have already been given? Luke reminds us that if we can be trusted with little, only then can we be trusted with more (Luke 16:10). Let’s start by offering God what we have and see if He can’t grow those tiny seeds into an abundant harvest!

God is so good! And you are so LOVED!

The Problem with Oak Trees

Wed, 04 May 2022 14:46:23 GMT

The Problem with Oak Trees

I have always been infatuated with oak trees. I love them. When we drive through the countryside and I see a majestic oak standing tall in a field with its outstretched branches, something calls to my spirit. I even told my husband that when I die I want to be cremated and placed inside one of those oak tree seedlings so that one day my body will be part of an oak tree. Yes, I know it's a little weird but it’s a thing-- Google it. So, you can imagine my sheer joy when we purchased our home with three glorious white oaks in the front yard and one large one in the back covering most of our grass area. They were beautiful and I just knew this house was meant to be!

Well, if you have never had an oak tree within close proximity to your home, let me tell you a few things about them. First, they do not typically lose their leaves in the fall as most trees do. You get beautiful green trees all through the winter. However, they do lose them in the spring. Once they have finally dropped all of their thousands of tiny little leaves (which are impossible to rake up, by the way) they then sprout little blossoms. These little suckers will look like snow falling for the next few weeks, covering your yard, pool, and everything else in a blanket of green fluff. In the fall, instead of beautiful colorful falling leaves, you will be pummeled by acorns dropping from their branches or being hurled by a passing bird or squirrel that now resides in your tree. In addition, you will now have to purchase a monthly car wash pass because these beautiful trees love to shower you with sap … all… year… long. It will cover your cars, your patio furniture, and your sidewalks with a thin, sticky film. It truly is the gift that keeps giving.

So what’s my point and why am I writing about oak trees for a church blog? Well, God reminds me something about these oak trees every time I pull into my driveway. I had always prayed for a home with oak trees, beautiful and majestic. However, now that I have them, I see that I didn’t know what came with them. We do that with so many things in life, don’t we? We see something that looks so perfect and we desire it. Remember when you were little and wanted a puppy and all you could think about was how much you were going to love it and how fun it would be? But your parents knew all that came with it-- the walks, the chewing, the vet bills, the mess. Now that we are older, maybe it’s a new job, a partner, a child, a car. Maybe it’s influence. And you think that if you just had that , whatever that is, you would be so happy. But do you know what comes with it? Or do you just want the perfect filtered Instagram post version of it?

I am reminded of so many blessings that I once prayed for and have now received. At some point, I am sure I have complained to God, or anybody that would listen, about each of them in some way or another. After two miscarriages and a failed first marriage, I prayed desperately for a solid relationship. When I met my husband who had six children from previous relations, I was so thankful and excited to get to experience what it meant to have a big, ready-made family. Though I wouldn’t change it for the world, I am sure you know that 21-year-old me was a little naïve to the challenges of a blended family. When I wanted to move out of California and God opened every door, I just knew that this would be the adventure of a lifetime. Though I am confident it was the right move and we have found ourselves in an incredible community, it came with some very dark days. Days when the kids have had trouble adjusting to new schools, missing family events, and major milestones with children back home. These have all had me, at times, questioning if we made the right decision.

But I am reminded of my oak trees. Life, the day-to-day living, can be experienced very differently depending on your perspective. I have asked God for so many things that He has blessed me with. He is so faithful and good. But if I lose my perspective on that and start to focus on all of the things that aren’t perfect and tidy, then I find myself in a constant state of discontentment. Always striving and never getting satisfaction from life. Wanting more and becoming unhappy with what I have. Can you believe I actually told my husband we were going to have to cut down that oak tree in the backyard?! Dramatic, I know.

I’m reminded of Solomon. He was the wisest man to have ever lived, builder of the temple, beautiful poet, and national leader-- he was a man who seemed to have it all. Yet, at the end of his life despite having all the property, houses, money, servants, and livestock, he penned these words in Ecclesiastes 2:11, “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”

Solomon lacked an attitude of gratitude for his blessings. He had been given everything he had desired but it was not enough. Trying to live a life that is measured by comforts and as little inconvenience as possible will always leave you striving for more, unsatisfied with what you have or where you are. But focusing on God, what He’s doing in and through you, will bring perspective. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 reminds us “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. Give thanks in all circumstances. Not just when it’s tidy. Not just when it’s perfect. In the chaos, disappointment, and the hurt too. And trust Him. Trust Him when it’s messy. Trust Him when your situation looks nothing like you thought it would, even if it’s what you prayed for. Then look for truth in what you are beholding. While it is common to want to run from the uncomfortable and fix the broken things, it is often in those very places that we grow and mature.

I pray the next time you look at an oak tree, you are reminded as I am, to look for the beauty and faithfulness in the mess and chaos. Embrace what God is doing, thank Him for His provision and presence, and trust Him in the process. Remember that God is for you and YOU ARE SO LOVED!

Holy Habitation

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 16:22:33 GMT

Do you think of yourself as holy? Does it make you squirm a little to think of calling yourself righteous? Perfect? When was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror and thought that there was nothing you would change? Ok, that last one made even me giggle. Why do we struggle with accepting the labels that God himself has placed on us? We have no problem identifying ourselves as sinners, less than perfect, works in progress. What does He see that we don’t?

A few Sundays ago Pastor Kevin preached a great message on being tuned into the Holy Spirit and how we can and should walk in the Spirit. Then Pastor Michelle closed out with an idea that struck me. We are holy. Already Christ has taken our place and exchanged our sin for His righteousness. But are we creating a habitat for that holiness? What does that look like in our own lives? What kinds of habits are helping to shape that habitat?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten really good at making excuses for my bad habits. Like, really good. Oh, and finding lots of reasons to not create good new ones. I shouldn’t question where my son gets his debate skills because the apple obviously doesn’t fall too far from the tree if you know what I mean. The problem is, as a believer, I can recognize where that conflict comes from. It may sound like me in my head, it may even have some very valid points. But the truth is if God has commanded me to do or not to do something, and the Holy Spirit is giving me that check in my spirit, then the response should be obedience.

Ugh, that word. OBEDIENCE . Why do we have such a hard time with it? It instantly makes me crinkle my nose up like it’s got some awful stench wafting out of it. I truly feel that Americans have more trouble with this word or idea than most. Unlike in other countries, our children are not taught to value authority as they should. In fact, it’s almost the opposite these days. We struggle with being told what to do. Everything in our society is now programmed with the idea of ‘my body, my choice’. ‘I am the master of myself and my destiny’. ‘I can be anything that I want to be.’ ‘Just be you.’ ‘Self-love’ and ‘self-care.’ You get the picture. I, I, I, me, me, me. We have made ourselves and the way we feel the ultimate authority in our lives and those feelings begin to dictate the directions we go and the choices we make.

Why is that so wrong, Casey? What’s wrong with taking care of yourself? Why wouldn’t you want to strive to be the best you can be and follow your dreams? Do you see it? Those debate skills come into play. These things don’t sound bad on the surface. But if the Holy Spirit has told me one thing and my flesh has told me another, then I have to decide which one I’m going to obey. If I want to have a relationship with this person but the Holy Spirit is warning me to run, not walk, in the opposite direction, then who am I going to listen to? If I want to take this job because it’s going to mean my bank account is going to double in size but God is warning me that it’s going to steal all my time and rob my peace, then who am I going to listen to? The examples could go on and on.

However, obedience is not hard or scary if you have trust in the person you are submitting to. The first sin was disobedience and it came because Adam and Eve believed the lie from the enemy that God was not as good as He said He was. That somehow He set those rules in place to deprive them instead of for their benefit. When all was said and done, we can

see that if they had just followed God and obeyed his commands, then they would have saved themselves and all of mankind a ton of pain and heartache. But the devil has been practicing this lie for a long time and he’s gotten pretty good at it. When I said I’ve gotten good at making excuses for bad habits, what I’m really saying is I’ve listened to the lie of the enemy telling me that what God has asked me to do is going to deprive me of something that I want. That God is holding out on me and keeping me from something good.

But is that who God is? No. It’s not. When the Holy Spirit asks me to start setting aside time to pray and seek Him, it’s not because he wants to test how well I’ll function on an hour less of sleep. It’s because He genuinely wants a relationship with me and He knows I need one with Him. When He prompts me to give some change to the same person I’ve seen on that corner holding a sign asking for money week after week, it’s not to deprive me of my Starbucks fund. It’s to remind me that I trust in Him for my provision. Do I know that He is good? Do I believe that He has great things planned for me? Am I certain that He gave up heaven and came to earth to suffer and die for me so that I could have life and life more abundantly? I am. I believe that. Yes, God is good.

Then the response to that is a heart of obedience. Listen to Him. Follow Him. Create in yourself habits that create a habitat for holiness. As we walk in step with the Father, we destroy any foothold the enemy had in our lives. Hebrews 12:11 reminds us “No discipline is enjoyable while it’s happening - it’s painful! But afterward, there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” It’s worth it! He’s worth it! God loves you and wants His best for you. He wants to have a relationship with you, His child, and that means trusting that He is God and you are not… and that’s ok . In fact, it’s great because He sees and knows what we do not. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”, Ephesians 2:10. This Easter season and always, let’s walk in that holiness, trusting that God is for you. You are so LOVED.

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The Greenhouse Effect

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 14:56:03 GMT

Hi y’all! First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Casandra Orsburn but I go by Casey to most that know me and I have never written a blog before. Nope, never. However, when asked, I vowed that I would be nothing but transparent and honest. These are my thoughts and beliefs and I look forward to sharing them with you and hopefully encouraging you in your own journey.

I have been married for 15 wonderful years (with challenges, of course) to my husband Kenny. Together we have nine kids! We’ll talk more about that dynamic later as we get to know one another. We moved to Texas from California about two and a half years ago in what was truly a leap of faith… well, actually we were kind of pushed off the cliff. But God opened every door and we were scared but incredibly excited to start this new chapter.

I was born and raised in a Christian home to wonderful parents who prayed for 11 long years for children. At the age of 12, Jesus became very real to me and I fell in love with the gospel and the One who gave His life in exchange for mine. Though my teenage years were touch and go as I struggled with who God had called me to be and

the lies that somehow I was missing out on something by following Christ, my family was grounded in our local church. We attended and served every Sunday morning and Sunday night, every Wednesday night, every revival and every sidewalk Sunday School. While there were definitely times I fought my parents and their insistence that we had to go when the doors were opened, I can look back and recognize the power and roots established in those challenging years.

And so, that’s what I’d like to dive into as we get to know one another these next few months. The church was truly a family and I’d even say a training ground for me. They watched and helped me grow. They invested their time and energy into helping me recognize and develop my spiritual gifts. They taught biblical truth and while they called out sin and wrong behavior or thinking, they didn’t judge me or toss me out when I fell short. They rallied around the hurting and the broken and prayed for deliverance and helped with accountability. They went to battle for the oppressed and bound and didn’t shy away from the ugly things of this life. When times were hard, the church showed me how to trust God and how to adapt when things didn’t go the way we thought they should. It was in these most difficult of times that God usually showed up in big ways. My best years at my previous church actually happened when we outgrew our building. When we couldn’t find a building to purchase, a large yellow circus tent became available. Yes, I said circus tent. We pitched that tent in the church parking lot and used the building for our children's church. It snowed back to back winters with that tent and we had record breaking heat in the summer. Worship instruments had to be brought in and set up then taken down after EVERY service. We became known as the circus church in our little town and were laughed at by so many. But God moved more

mightily in that tent than I had ever seen before. Lives were changed, drug addicts were set free, marriages and relationships restored, and people found their purpose. Though there is a beautiful building now, many of us would prefer that big yellow tent and the way God’s people came together and served and loved one another.

I know these days a lot of people say that the church is just a building and that as long as they love the Lord and love people, then they don’t really need to assemble every Sunday or whatever that looks like for them. That they can watch services online and as long as they’re getting fed then all is well. And I’d politely like to tell them that they’re wrong. Not only do we need the church, but the church needs us. PK (Pastor Knudson) gave a wonderful sermon last month on the vital church connection and I couldn’t agree more. As he mentioned, the church is like a greenhouse where God himself plants His seeds (that’s you and me!), tends them, and watches them grow. And we grow by being connected not just to God, but to the Church- His body! We have to rid ourselves of this prevalent consumer mindset that we just get to have our fill of our favorite flavor of the Word, and realize that God has called us to be contributors, the very hands and feet of Jesus!

This is something that I am so passionate about. When we moved to Big Spring, my first order of business was to find a local church for my family to become established in. I prayed for God to bring us somewhere that would feel like home even though we were 1,200 miles from where we knew that to be. Big Spring has some phenomenal houses of worship and we found several that were great. But something was missing and even though we were new, I was lacking that connection. The first time we attended Life Church, I filled out the visitor card as I had in the other congregations. The Orsburns are looking to get connected. Where do we start? Well, for the first time, we had gotten a very personal response. That week, we received a hand-written letter from the dear Miss Toni. She thanked us for coming, let us know she was praying for us, and asked if there was anything that we needed. For the first time in months, I felt like we weren’t alone in this new place. That we were seen. Something about that letter was the answer to my prayer and we have attended and gotten connected with this wonderful church family from that day.

That letter still hangs on my fridge as a reminder to me of God’s faithfulness and how He can use even the smallest things to work His will. I am reminded that no gift, no act of obedience is ever too small or wasted. As a member of the body, we all have a part to play, a gift to bring. 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 in the Message translation says it perfectly: “The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependant on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.” Together , we can do mighty things for the Lord!

No matter your history with the church, and we know there are no perfect churches because there are no perfect people, my prayer for you is that you find a body that you can connect, grow, and serve with. As a self-proclaimed socially awkward introvert, I understand the temptation to isolate ourselves. But as people, we actually have been created by our creator to be very relational beings. We were created for community! I pray that you take this to heart and connect with your local body of Christ, the church. Let God plant and grow you in His greenhouse so that you can bear so much more fruit than if you were planted alone- without the care, attention, and fellowship that He desires for you. Like the mustard seed, alone we are small. But when planted, there are no limits to what God can do through us!