My Encouragement

Today on the blog I’m featuring a guest post from the incredible Brandi Goff McElheny.
I’ve become acquainted with Brandi through a couple of outstanding on-line groups. I’ll let Brandi tell you her story, but please make sure you click-through the links at the bottom of the post to learn more about the great work she is doing around the world. Enjoy!
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I’m living my dreams….or at least most of them J

I’m a single mama to 3 and I run 3 non-profits. I get to spend my days walking wounded people to truth, beauty and healing. I get to spend hours every day on skype with my Ugandan team working towards healing and long-term sustainability for 968 single mamas and widows in Uganda. Last week, I got to wire $50,000 to Uganda so that 900 kids could go to school again. I’ve gotten to go undercover in brothels throughout SE Asia to see the oppressed set free. These are the things my dreams were made of for so long. I longed with everything in me to be used by God for His kingdom. I longed to loose the chains of injustice and be a part of setting the oppressed free.

People ask me fairly regularly what they can do to find and then live their passions and change the world around them. Want to know my best piece of encouragement?

Do your work.

No, I’m not talking about working harder or longer hours. I’m not taking about strategic planning or a 5-year plan.

I’m talking about doing your emotional work, your spiritual work, your healing work. Wanna be a world-changer? Go to therapy.

A few years ago, my life fell apart. Completely. Utterly. I dropped out of everything ministry related in those months. I wasn’t helping a single soul. I did nothing for the kingdom of God. I questioned if I would ever be used by God again. I felt guilty for dropping everything, but in those moments it took all my energy to simply breathe.

There’s one thing I did not drop during those days, however, and that is me.

For the first time actually, I began to really observe my own soul. I gave up working for Jesus and I took time to be wounded and broken and to get to know the healer of all healers. I let Jesus deep into my darkest places and simply took time to heal. I went to therapy weekly (sometimes more!) and asked for help in digging into what is good and pure in my life and what was wounded and dysfunctional.

During my months of hiding out in the shadow of His wings, where I focused on healing and my own soul exclusively, I wondered if I was being selfish. What I would later learn, however, is that the best thing I have EVER done for the kingdom of God is my own healing work.

Healing begets healing. Freedom begets freedom.

Since taking that year to focus on healing, I have gotten to walk with countless women through their deepest, darkest wounds to beautiful healing. Since that year of focus on freedom for myself and breaking through my own chains, I have gotten to watch trafficking victims be brought to freedom and raised over 100k to make it happen. Since that year of focusing on learning my own value, I have had the honor of speaking to thousands of Ugandan women on their value.

We can only give what we have received.

So go. Receive. Heal. Be free. Sink into Jesus’ true view of you.

I promise, doing your own healing work is the best thing you will ever do for yourself, or for the kingdom of God. Wanna be a world-changer? Go to Therapy! J

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A Holy Experience

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Something happened to me on Monday. It’s hard to describe. I think the best way to explain it would be to say the Holy Spirit moved in me.

During Lent this year, I’ve been working through a 40 day prayer challenge. Using Mark Batterson‘s book, Draw the Circle – The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, I have daily spent time reading a devotional and learning how to pray with intent.

Monday was day 35. At some point early Monday afternoon, I began to feel a strong urge to go pray. I’m not talking about finding a quiet place at work to pray for a few minutes. This was a full-on urge or push or whatever you want to call it, to leave work and spend significant time in prayer.

I didn’t know what to do.

How could I simply leave work? What would I say to my boss? What about my customers who were expecting to see me when they arrived later? And it wasn’t like I could simply hold out until 5pm. This “feeling” began early in the afternoon. Maybe around 1pm. On Mondays I work until 8pm.

I decided I’d at least begin with leaving for lunch. Usually I eat at my desk, but I knew this needed to be different. My intent was to grab some lunch and go sit in my truck somewhere and pray.

As I walked to my truck I realized I needed to ignore my hunger. It could wait. This needed to be a time focused on prayer.

I drove to a nearby parking lot where I wouldn’t be bothered. And I prayed. I prayed for over an hour. I prayed for the four items I’ve been circling in prayer during the 40 day challenge. I closed my eyes, opened my hands, and prayed.

I prayed for God to calm my mind.

I prayed for God to open my ears.

I prayed for God to open my heart.

I prayed for God to speak to me, and to pour His love and power into my heart so I could be more obedient to His calling in my life.

The call to pray was crystal clear. I answered the call the best I could at the time. I had to return to work. There were people relying on me.

The time I spent praying was wonderful. The experience was what I had been searching for, and at least partly the intent behind participating in the 40 Day Prayer Challenge.

There is certainly a rebirth occurring in my prayer life. I’ve learned how important it is to be intentional, committed and consistent with prayer.

Prayer can begin a rebirth in your life. It has in mine.

Through these last weeks I have grown exponentially in some areas of my prayer life, and not at all in other areas. It is a learning experience. It is a growth experience.

I’m growing closer to God. I’m learning how to listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

I’ve been planning all along to write about the experience of the 40 Day Prayer Challenge. I hadn’t been planning to do it this soon. But this was necessary. Very necessary.

In the weeks after Easter I will share more about what I learned during the 40 days. I hope you’ll come back to read more.

Have you ever felt you should drop everything and go pray? I’d love to have you share your story in the comments!

Marbles and Weekends

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I began writing this post in September of 2013. Yep. 18 months ago. Sometimes ideas and thoughts and words need time to stew and percolate. Either that or I’ve been avoiding finishing it because of the sobering reality it always throws in my face.

What I do know is I’ve spent more intentional time with my sons since I began writing this so many months ago. And THAT is the whole point!

Right now you’re thinking, “What the heck is Rick talking about?”

Okay. To the point.

On a September weekend in 2013 I had the incredible privilege of attending a conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference was put on by Jon Acuff in conjunction with his recently released book START.

The key part of the weekend as it relates to this article, was when Reggie Joiner stepped on the stage and proceeded to blow me away. He made me cry. His message that day was about how many weekends we have with our children. His premise was that we have approximately 936 weekends with our kids from the time they are born until the time they leave our home.

936 weekends from birth to age 18.

He used a huge jar of marbles as a visual aid. 936 marbles in a jar to represent 936 weekends. And then he began tossing them out. Slowly at first, and then faster. Marbles were rolling all over the stage, onto the floor, and into the crowd.

And then it hit me.

On that day the marbles remaining in the jars representing my boys looked like this:

Noah = 87
Jared = 243

The marble jars for my boys were almost empty.

I cried right there in my seat.

The number I used is the number of weekends until high school graduation.

Fast forward to today. The number of marbles has changed. Now they look like this:

Noah = 8!!!!!!!!
Jared = 164

EIGHT!!!???? Whoa!

But you know what? Since that day when the numbers were 87 and 243, I’ve spent more intentional time with each of them (and my wife). I have thoroughly enjoyed these weeks, and I will relish the next 8 and 164.

I love my boys. They know it. That will never change. But since that day in September of 2013, when Reggie Joiner made me cry at a conference, I’ve tried hard to show it as well. And I’m going to keep showing it.

Just because they graduate from high school, turn 18, leave the house, etc, I don’t have to stop loving them and spending time with them. My life with them isn’t over. In some ways it has barely begun. I have so much more to teach them. I have so much more I can learn from them.

I’m excited about all the weekends (and weekdays) to come. Imagine the great experiences we can have together. Imagine the conversations we get to have with each other!

Exactly what the future holds is unknown. But one thing I know for sure.

I get to spend it with my boys!