Lyli Dunbar's Blog, page 50

Strength of My Heart

I’m sharing “Strength of My Heart” and joining like-minded sisters at Still Saturday and Give Me Grace.
Photo Credit: Jorge Guillen, via Pixabay

 

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When Your Family is Your Mission Field

Right before Jesus ascended to heaven, He commissioned His disciples to share the Good News. He promised them that they would receive “power” to witness. Shortly after, the Holy Spirit descended upon them on the Day of Pentecost, and we see the disciples beginning to walk in the truth of this promise.

Today, are you walking in the reality of this promise? Do you read that passage and think, “Wow, look at what God did there in the book of Acts,” and then close your Bible and doubt that will ever happen in your life?

Are you scared to share?

Maybe you are like me. You didn’t grow up in a home where the Bible sat on the coffee table. Maybe when you started walking with Christ the people closest to you didn’t respond with joy, but instead wondered if you had become a bit of a Jesus freak.

The fact is that I am a Jesus freak. Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and because of Him, I have forgiveness and healing and peace. If I am going to be freak about anything, it’s going to be about the Savior who gave it all and then conquered sin and death because He loved me so much.

I also have the power of the resurrected Christ abiding inside me. I don’t need to fear what my family will say if I share the Gospel with them. I need to surrender my weakness to my God and ask Him to help me to speak the Truth in love.

If your family is your mission field, you must…

I’m sharing over at Missional Women today.

To read the rest of this article, join me here.

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Full Throttle Faith

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The little light on the dashboard came on when I got off the turnpike.  I was sitting at the stop light when I heard a little ding that alerted me.

I figured my man had not screwed on the gas cap tight enough — because that’s usually why the dashboard warning light comes to life.

I called my husband on my fancy dancy phone to alert him (before I forgot to tell him at all).   As we were chatting, the traffic light turned green, and I pressed on the accelerator to move forward and turn toward home.

Immediately, I knew something was really wrong with my vehicle.  I pressed down on the gas pedal, but the car just had no go.

Spurt… spurt.. spurt….  the car was lunging forward awkwardly.  The only thing that gained momentum in that vehicle was my voice as I explained to my husband what I was experiencing.

“How fast are you going?” he asked.

I glanced at the speedometer.  Fifteen miles per hour.

I flipped on my hazard lights and started praying that I would make it.

Some days, you just need to grip the steering wheel and keep moving forward — even if you are just inching along.

For the last five years or so, there’s been a dashboard light blinking in my heart.  I am pressing down on the accelerator full throttle, but the road of life has hit me hard.  I am spurt, spurt, spurting along most days.

I want to live life full throttle for my Savior.  I keep waiting for the day I can finally turn off the hazard lights and just cruise along with the windows down.

But what if I never again gain momentum?  What if slow and steady remains my maximum speed?

I will still reach my final destination, and the ride may even hold greater beauty.

Something to think about…

 

 

 

I’m sharing “Full Throttle Faith” with like-minded friends at Faith-Filled Friday.

 

Have you written something thought-provoking, challenging, encouraging, or inspiring lately? Link it up here! For best results, write the title of your post in the name box.

As a courtesy, please link back to 3-D Lessons for Life in your post. Grab and share the Thought-Provoking Thursday button to spread the word. Use #ThoughtProvokingThursday to share your post and connect on Twitter.

Check back later to see what other GREAT posts have been linked up! Visit the post immediately before yours and leave an encouraging comment.

 

An InLinkz Link-up

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Starting with Me

 

Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God.

It cost God plenty

to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in.

He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know.

He died like an unblemished, sacrificial Lamb.

And this was no afterthought.

Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages

—become public knowledge,

God always knew He was going to do this for you.

It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah,

whom God then raised from the dead and glorified,

that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth,

love one another as if your lives depended on it.

Your new life is not like your old life.

Your old birth came from mortal sperm;

your new birth comes from God’s living Word.

Just think: a life conceived by God himself!

That’s why the prophet said,

The old life is a grass life,

    its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;

Grass dries up, flowers droop,

    God’s Word goes on and on forever.

This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

I Peter 1:18-25, MSG

I’m in the Easter quiet for a few days thinking about how it’s “Starting with Me.”
Photo Credit: Robert Aichinger, via Free Images

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I Know

 

I’m sharing “I Know” and joining like-minded sisters at Still Saturday and Give Me Grace.

The post I Know appeared first on 3-D Lessons for Life.

5 Ways to Forge Missional Friendships

I live next door to one of the pastors at my church, and I have learned so much from watching how he and his wife love on others Carolyn bakes cookies at Christmas time. Jorge mows the lawn for several people in the neighborhood.They open up the doors to their home and invite people in for a meal I often see them standing on a neighbor’s front door stoop having a chat.They live their lives on mission with such easy going transparency. Jesus lived a life of sacrificial friendship.He wasn’t in too much of a hurry to listen to someone’s story.He had eyes to see the hurting.He listened.He invited others in with genuine care.

I want to live a life that welcomes others in and points them to the Truth that will set them free. More and more, I am realizing that this will require me to intentionally move toward the lonely and the lost.

How about you? Do you want to join me on this purposeful mission to love others to Christ through friendship?

I’m chatting about Missional Friendships over at Missional Women today. 

To read the rest of this post, join me here.

 

The post 5 Ways to Forge Missional Friendships appeared first on 3-D Lessons for Life.

Lessons Learned in 3-D: March Radness

Last year, the month of March was full of sadness.  I am so thankful for how far the Lord has brought us in the last 365 days.  He truly is the God who heals the brokenhearted.  In honor of this year’s fantastically footloose and fancy-free version of March, I am going to join Emily and friends to share 5 fun things I learned this month.

March Radness

1.  I discovered that Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper has an online store.  I may have spent a little money.  (Package has not arrived yet, so you will have to wait till next month for the unveiling.)

2.  Facebook informed me that I can now put stickers on my photographs.  (I may have had a little too much fun with this….Don’t tell Bruce…)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  I discovered that I can binge watch all of Tom Hanks’ movies if I just set aside 7 minutes.

 

 

4.  I can create a totally ficticious holiday, and all of my fabulous Facebook friends will play along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. March 1st is National Pig Day.  (The Dunbars are fans of the pig… in case you didn’t know….we may have collected a few….)

 

 

I hope this post tickled your funny bone just a little.  It’s good to laugh my friends.

 

Q4U:  What made you smile this week?

 

The post Lessons Learned in 3-D: March Radness appeared first on 3-D Lessons for Life.

The Good Life

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We have a “closing time” ritual at Casa Dunbar.  At 5:00 PM or so, I will call my husband to let him know that I am heading home from work.  The drive is about 30 minutes, and usually when I arrive at the house, my man is standing in the driveway to greet me.  We do a little hug and kiss thing as I exit the car, and he carries my lunch box and bag in to the back of the house.  Everything gets plopped down on the kitchen counter, and we assume our positions — he has his back to the center island, and I stand in front of the opposite counter.  Facing each other, the end of the day hug fest begins.

I look forward to this every day.

Once the embracing has ended, we each plop down on our favorite stools on either side of the island to face each other and unpack the events of the day.

I will usually begin by asking, “So, did you have a good day?”

I want to know how my man is doing.  Did the day treat him well?  Is he happy?

How do you define a good day?  Does the sun shine brightly? Do the birdies sing?  Does everything go your way?

Tonight at church, God got my attention and re-framed my definition of “The Good Life.”  The pastor behind the pulpit mentioned that one of his favorite verses in the Bible is Psalms 119:71:

Well, how about them apples?  Apparently, a good day has nothing to do with my happiness.

My interest was now piqued, so right there in the service, I grabbed my fancy phone and headed on over to Bible Gateway to do a quick keyword search.   This exercise further expanded my new understanding of what is good when I reflect back on my day.

It is good

to wait on His name (Psalms 52:9)
to draw near to God and declare His good works (Psalms 73:28)
to give thanks to the Lord and sing praise to His name (Psalms 119:71)
to hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord (Lamentations 3:26)

Friend, today is a good day for a good day.  May we never forget. 
Something to think about…

 

 

I’m sharing “The Good Life” with like-minded friends at Faith-Filled Friday.

 

Have you written something thought-provoking, challenging, encouraging, or inspiring lately? Link it up here! For best results, write the title of your post in the name box.

As a courtesy, please link back to 3-D Lessons for Life in your post. Grab and share the Thought-Provoking Thursday button to spread the word. Use #ThoughtProvokingThursday to share your post and connect on Twitter.

Check back later to see what other GREAT posts have been linked up! Visit the post immediately before yours and leave an encouraging comment.

An InLinkz Link-up

The post The Good Life appeared first on 3-D Lessons for Life.

Finding My Mojo

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What makes your heart come alive?

It’s important to invest time in things that refresh your soul.   This broken world will wear you out in a hurry if you don’t set aside time to recharge.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been searching for pockets of time in my week  to find rest and renewal, and I have re-connected with 5 things that make my heart come alive.

Reading

 

Other women collect shoes… I collect books.   This book nerd has started heading to bed a little earlier, and I pick up the book on my nightstand and read a few pages.  I’ve also put a book in my purse in case free time pops up during my day.   A few minutes set aside each day are making a difference.

Journaling

 

Journaling helps me to remember God’s goodness and grace.   I am taking my journal to work and trying to spend a few minutes of uninterrupted time writing during my lunch hour.

Sleeping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside my middle aged body, lurks the spirit of a 5- year old girl who hates bed time.  Because I am a night owl, it’s important for me to have a “shut down” time for the evening.  I am learning that some things will just have to wait until the morning.  Cutting down on screen time and phone usage at the end of the day have really helped me get more sleep.

Blogging

 

There is a healing power in sharing our stories.   I want my blog to be a safe place for women to come find encouragement each week.  My hubby and I usually spend at least an hour a night watching television.  I’ve started using that time to read and respond to people who visit this blog.

Chatting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I need my friends.   This week, I decided to e-mail a nice long chatty note to a friend who I love dearly but don’t get to spend time with now that she has moved away.  It took me just a few minutes to write

 

Q4U:  What makes you come alive?
I’m sharing “Finding My Mojo” with like-minded friends at (in)courage’s Bloom Book Club and Fringe Friday.

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Strengthen My Hands

 Photo Credit: Anja Osenberg, via Pixabay

 

Some days, I am weary.  I am weary of crying out about the same things.  I’m weary of not seeing any progress with my earthly eyes.

Some days, I want to give up the fight.

Are my prayers really making any difference?

My thoughts begin to race with negative thoughts:  “This will never change.”  “This is pointless.”  “You are wasting your time.”

I start to question.  I begin to forget what I know is true.

Thankfully, I am not alone in this fight.  In fact, the fight is not really mine.  I am just a foot soldier in God’s mighty army.  And, I am not alone.  Others stand beside me marching forward in resolute faith with holy hands lifted.

We are waving a banner.  God’s banner.  He is a Mighty Warrior.

Nothing is impossible for my God.  I know that this is true.

When I am too weary to lift my heart to heaven, I am thankful for my Aaron and my Hur who come along beside me and help strengthen my hands.

I am thankful for my praying sisters.

We will keep marching forward together until the battle is done.  We will hold each other up.  We will never give up.

Lord, strengthen my hands.

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This year, my desire is to lift up holy hands and “Pray Big.” Want to join me? I’ve created a private “Pray Big” Facebook group for like-minded sisters to share their stories and surrender each one to our mountain-moving God in prayer. Let’s cry out to God together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am sharing “Strengthen My Hands” and joining like-minded sisters at Recommendation Saturday, The Weekend Brew, Spiritual Sundays, Faith-Filled Friday, Blessing Counters, Live Free Thursday, Tell His Story, Coffee for Your Heart, Woman to Woman Wednesday, Three-Word Wednesday, The Soli Deo Sisterhood, Testimony Tuesday, Purposeful Faith’s RaRaLinkup, Rich-Faith Rising, Sharing His Beauty, and Playdates with God.

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