Holy Spirit

How To Spark Spiritual Renewal – Hack: Doggy Pants!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Come and learn from me, friends!

Recent articles on this Substack taught us:

  1. How to know whether you are a Christian based on the type and product of cigarettes or pot you smoke, and
  2. How to get strangers to like us even though “Regular” people who know us well (MAY!) find us a twitch annoying at times.

These startling truths came from a story I was telling about when I made some doggy pants HERE and HERE.

Here is the last part of that story:

Join people in over fifty countries who read this to gain valuable life wisdom! (Or maybe they’re just laughing at me? . . . Whatever!)

As I was about to leave the coffee shop, I thought Holy Spirit was nudging me to buy another coffee. But I didn’t want another coffee! “Maybe my life is not entirely about what I want,” I reminded myself.

I stood in line.

Clerks were running everywhere, and many different people were taking orders. Again, I wasn’t surprised when I got the same clerk, because this felt like a God-appointment.

Ask him about his church, Holy Spirit seemed to prompt my heart as I ordered coffee.

“Hey, you said you are a Christian. Have you found a good group of people at a church around here to belong to?”

I wasn’t surprised when he said no. Theology that revolved around the type and frequency of product he smoked, the topic of our earlier conversation, didn’t seem completely orthodox. “Even though my mom is an atheist, I used to go to church. But I don’t have a ride right now,” he said as he gave me my change.

Again, a nudge from the Lord.

Do you have a car? Holy Spirit seemed to ask me, tongue in cheek. I offered him a ride to our thriving church. He declined, and I presumed there were deeper reasons why He wasn’t part of a church community.

I walked away, carrying a bagel I was too full to eat.

Lord, there is so much spiritual food here at Your table. May many young men truly know they are forgiven and loved and thus seek their next steps in a relationship with You and other believers. May these young men find another who can lead them to the feast.

Update to this article: This story is perhaps an UNSUCCESSFUL example of spiritual renewal. However, this event happened a couple of years ago, and since then, God has been answering my prayer (I state, however humbly). For example, check out this report from Britain1.

News of a growing number of young people – and in particular young men – turning back to Christian faith has grabbed the attention of even the secular media in recent months.

Premier Christianity – 6 Lessons You May Have Missed From The Quiet Revival

To be clear, I am NOT talking about a rise in Christian Nationalism, which is weird, but I am talking about young men nudged by Holy Spirit to show up at church. Then they get touched by God, and their lives are transformed, which is not weird (In the traditional sense of the word – wait – maybe that is weird, but weird in a good way!)

I hope everything is much clearer for you now!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Thanks for liking me! I like you too! – Proven HERE, HERE, and HERE! Let’s journey together!

1 We are excitedly noticing a similar trend of a quiet revival among youth in our area of Canada.

This Is How To Feed Others Spiritually – 3 Methods

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Why not share a bit of your food, friend?

ostrich drinking water from a white plastic bucket

Make some for yourself, too, God seemed to whisper to me that day several years ago. God had been nudging me to make fleece pants with my kids and their friends. Now, He seemed to be nudging to make fleece pants for me, too.

So, I was online ordering fleece fabric.

A particular type of fabric stood out to me, as joy bubbled from within. I bought the fabric with golden retrievers stamped all over it (True story, but why would I lie about that?). I made my pants.

And now, I will convey something challenging to articulate.

Join people in over fifty countries who read this to gain valuable life wisdom! (Or maybe they’re just laughing at me? . . . Whatever!)

Shockingly, these doggy fleece pants are like a key opening a door between another culture and me.

People who would never even bother looking down their nose at me suddenly become my best friends. I am accepted by a whole new world of people when I wear these pants. These pants melt their hearts, and they pour their love on me, after asking me where they, too, can buy the same pants.

Note: I say this HUMBLY, but in THIS article, I deferentially mention the name brands of the clothes I am wearing, because I am THAT kind of a person. Just saying. Read more HERE.

But a couple of stories to illustrate the surprising allure of these doggy pants: Once, someone exclaimed jubilantly that she loved my pants and then recounted a surprising amount of her life story as I stood, listening, stunned and speechless, my to-go coffee cup waiting in my hand, mid-air, for her to finish. This kind of thing happens often.

It happened today.

The teenage guy working at Tim Hortons spent five minutes before taking my order telling me he loved my pants, telling me a story about his dog, and then speaking with the lady next to him about whether she liked dogs or cats better.

I listened mutely and smiled.

When I finally pulled away from him to sit at a table to drink my coffee, I noticed the table was covered with crumbs. I returned to that young man to quickly ask for a napkin to clean it. He leaned in to confide that they are understaffed, “But I will clean the table for you.” Stunned, I watched him wipe my table.

Then he said, “People really surprise me sometimes.”

“How do you mean?” I asked.

He was quiet.

I offered, pointing to the messy table, “You mean how people are always making messes?”

He nodded.

He seemed to need a crumb to eat, as he lingered a bit longer at my table. I wondered what I could say in the several seconds left of our interaction that could feed him just a little. “Well, it’s a good thing that God forgives us after we create our messes.”

I looked innocently away, waiting for the metaphor to nourish his soul.

The crumb nourished him, and his hunger pangs made him sputter forcefully, “I can’t believe people don’t know I’m a Christian! I don’t even smoke!” He then felt the need for some reason to confess to speaking a partial truth to me, a perfect stranger, by quickly adding, “Well, I do smoke weed.”

My brain was overheating. “Did he say that smoking weed made him a Christian?” I wondered.

Or that smoking cigarettes made a person not a Christian? It’s hard to keep all that theology straight – I can empathize!

“And so, where do we go from here, God?” I prayed. What do I say in the twelve nanoseconds before he departs to resume his job? Clearly, he was being nourished, somehow, by the crumbs of this measly conversation.

But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”

“All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.

Jesus said, “Bring them here.” . . . They all ate their fill.

The Message

“Well, if we can truly understand that God loves us after we mess up our tables, that’s the important part, right?” I offered him, like a crumb. Would he take and eat?

He stared at me, fumbled, and then dropped his cleaning cloth.

His hat fell off as he bent over to pick up the fabric. He stared at me a moment before picking that up, too. He was deep in thought.

Eye contact one more time before he walked away.

Was there a glimpse of light lit for a moment, so that Your light broke through this ordinary day for a clerk at Tim Hortons, God?

May this generation find messy tables wherever they go, we pray.

And may the crumbs somehow, by your grace, be multiplied to nourish the soul. There is more, there is more, there is more, He is saying to the teenage boy working at Tim Hortons. There is more to this story, too. I’ll continue it another time.

For now, how can our lives spiritually feed others?

  1. We get thirsty.

Jesus said, “. . . Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever.”

The Message

  1. We learn how to listen.

My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me.

The Message

  1. We trust Him to lead us, come what may.

In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

The Message

That’s it.

(And may you, your doggy and your doggy pants1 (of course!) bring some love and crumbs to nourish a spiritually hungry world, too, friend.)

Thanks for liking me! I like you too! – Proven HERE, HERE, and HERE! Let’s journey together!

Photo Credit – 3 Methods / 3 Ostriches by Jutta Kamp on Unsplash and Me-and-My -Doggy-and-My-Doggy-Pants (Of Course!)

1 Or however He leads you in your culture.

How To Get Fit? Be S.T.U.P.I.D (Not S.M.A.R.T.) Of Course!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Sometimes the most important truths are upside down!

a man with a white beard sitting in a gym

“Finally!” I thought.

I had been attending these same classes at the gym for seven months.

It’s only taken me seven months to arrive, so now I can tell others what to do! I sized them up as newbies and immediately joined their group. I looked forward to showing off my knowledge, to “encourage” them, of course.

Join people in over fifty countries who read this to gain valuable life wisdom! (Or maybe they’re just laughing at me? . . . Whatever!)

This is not even a lie, but in the first set of exercises, I somehow got confused and started doing exercises from the other set.

The two newbies patiently explained to me how to rotate through the three exercises that were listed on the board right in front of me.

“Well, everyone makes a mistake at some point!” I thought to myself.

I sulked while doing the triceps extension exercise, and then the new lady had the audacity to lean over and tell ME to pull my lats down before extending my arms.

I felt like throttling her because I’VE been going to the gym for a while – not YOU! I’M the one who’s supposed to know what’s going on here – not YOU! I’M the one who’s getting stronger – not YOU!

During the break, the irritating newbie who knew what was going on all the time revealed that she used to be an exercise instructor.

“Bad luck!” I thought, waiting for my next victim, a new person at the gym.

Sooner or later, I’ve got to be able to “help” someone else so I can feel1 superior to someone!

The instructors asked us to set a fitness goal for the new year in that class that day. The only one I could think of was the one the instructor had told me. One day, when she was shocked at my (relative) improvement, she blurted out that she thought I could do one (yes, that’s ONE) pull-up next year (yes, that’s next YEAR) if I keep coming to the gym every day and keep working hard!

I actually didn’t have any faith or confidence that I could achieve this goal.

Still, she thinks I will get stronger because I KEEP COMING BACK to the gym, even though everyone else (show-offs!) always seems to know what’s going on all the time, and even though I might not (always!) be impressive to look at when I’m at the gym.

AND you WILL get fitter, too, if you are S.T.U.P.I.D., not S.M.A.R.T.

“What do you mean,” you ask, scratching your head.

Last time, we discussed how the best types of goals are S.T.U.P.I.D., not S.M.A.R.T. A S.M.A.R.T. goal is (See the Footnote2 – They are boring to read about!), but S.T.U.P.I.D. goals are based (however loosely) on the high-powered acronym full of immense wisdom, “K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple, STUPID.” (See full explanation of the details of S.T.U.P.I.D. Goal Setting HERE.)

So setting a S.T.U.P.I.D. goal means that you keep it simple and choose TO KEEP GOING.

For example, if you KEEP GOING to the gym, even if you’re not very strong and you still don’t know what’s going on after seven months, you will actually get fitter because you’ve set a S.T.U.P.I.D. goal.

“I’m going to KEEP GOING” to the gym is my S.T.U.P.I.D. goal. It’s simple. I keep going, S.T.U.P.I.D.!

So set a S.T.U.P.I.D. fitness goal and then keep going!

We are getting stronger, even if we’re not really much “help” to anyone else practically, and we still get confused (sometimes!).

So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit.

The Message

Setting S.T.U.P.I.D. goals is similarly immensely important for other areas of life, including emotional and spiritual growth. However, you can’t expect me to share ALL my manifest wisdom at once! Stay tuned for next time, and I’ll continue to draw on the insights gained from my time at the gym and in life, in general, so that I can continue to “help” you, too!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

After some thankfulness for the good things already in your life, consider asking God what the new direction you need to set your life and your heart towards is. Will you keep going and not give up, too, friend? May God give you the joy, courage (and of course, the S.M.A.R.T.s) to keep walking in the right direction, friend.

Thanks for liking me! I like you too! – Proven HERE, HERE, and HERE! Let’s journey together!

Photo Credit – He’s Getting Fit, Too! by Centre for Ageing Better on Unsplash

1 A BIT at least! I’m human!

2 S.M.A.R.T. Goal: S = Specific, M = Measurable, A = Attainable, R = Relevant, T = Time-bound

Did Christmas Make You Disappointed? How To Open God’s Beautiful Gift

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Want to borrow a pair of scissors, friend?

person holding red and white box

Who isn’t excited to open a present?

Even for the most hardened of hearts, a brush with hope in an unopened present makes the soil of our hearts ready for the seed.

And what happens when we open the box and find nothing inside? We turn it over and examine it from another angle. Did we miss something? We take the box apart before finally setting it aside.

Click HERE to continue reading.

Join people in over fifty countries who read this to gain valuable life wisdom! (Or maybe they’re just laughing at me? . . . Whatever!)

The Exciting Gift Your Heart Craves Is Found Under Your Neuroses! Surprise!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Got time to open a present, friend?

selective focus photography of gift box on person's palm

I was spinning in circles, putting up a decoration on the tree with one revolution, beating back my dog in the daily effort of chaos management, who was sneaking licks of the Christmas pudding, again, trying to find my worst, ugliest Christmas sweater in time for the curling party, while still spinning the plates that keep our lives circling round and round – food prep, clean up, laundry, and then the alarm rang in the early hours of the winter dark to do it all again.

Click HERE to continue reading.

Join people in over fifty countries who read this stuff to gain valuable life wisdom! (Or maybe they’re just laughing at me? . . . Whatever!)

The Truth About Being Annoyed With God (It’s Helpful for Eye-Opening Transformation)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

You can learn that from me! You’re welcome! Good luck!

man holding telephone screaming

The worst, most terrible, awful part about parenting and homeschooling, is that God will want to transform your attitude, heart and motives and that STINKS!

I mean, think about it – you have always wanted to boss someone around, and now you have your little people to line up army style and pull rank on. YOU know what’s going on and YOU call the shots. You’ve been alive longer than they have, and so the world is in perfect order, thank you very much!

Then God steps in and messes everything up for you.

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

At least that’s what happened to me every SINGLE DAY. Yeah, it stinks. For example, consider entitlement.

One day, I was looking down my nose in condemnation at my five-year-old because – WOW!- she wasn’t thankful!1

“How did she end up as such an unthankful little human?” I wondered with fear and trepidation. Would she be an unthankful little brat her entire life? THIS has got to be fixed!

I lectured her for half an hour on the benefits and joy of noticing the little things.

She looked at me blankly and continued to blame me for not buying her a third ice cream cone, stamping her little feet and yelling insults at me.

Yikes!

“What do I do now?” I wondered, finally looking up at God. “Can2 you please help me?”

And He did whisper to my heart that day as a gentle wind passed us.

And what He said was THE most annoying, infuriating and upsetting thing He could have mentioned to me right at that exact moment.

He seemed to whisper to my heart:

And how is your level of thankfulness, child?

His words were not harsh or condemning, but gentle, patient and full of the same kind of love I had for my daughter – I WANT her to find joy, and this is the path to it!

So it is for you, he seemed to remind me, turning the parent-child relationship on its head again.

How had I become the child again?

I wanted to be the parent, carefully explaining truths to my little mirrors of me.

And THAT was precisely the problem.

She WAS a mini-mirror of me on this issue.

Time for me to change.

Jesus held out his hand to me, and asked me to walk with him on this path towards a having a bit less gunk in my heart.

Would I follow?

Will you? He holds out his hand to you, too. Will you follow?

Yeah. I know. It STINKS to follow God sometimes because instead of changing THEM, He ends up changing US! I HATE THAT!

But Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Ancient Text

The song below is too humble for my taste. However, it contains some excellent thoughts about gratitude that are worth considering. As the song below plays, consider asking God how He may be a Shepherd to you, increasing joy through gratitude.

God, help us to figure out the (one or two places) where your plans for us are better than our ideas for how to run our lives, we pray.

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

Photo Credit – Someone ELSE (NOT me!) Being Annoyed At God by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

1 It is worth noting that whenever my children demonstrate excellence in virtue, they naturally reflect the excellent teaching, values, and confidence that I instill as a homeschooling parent. But whenever they do something naughty (WHAT?!), of course, that is because they didn’t sleep well or their stomachs were upset, as explained perfectly clearly HERE. (Yes. That article is about my dog, but the SAME THING is true about my kids, OF COURSE!)

2 Notice the verb “Can” which of course makes Jesus laugh and slap his knee, wiping the tears a tear from his eye because he is laughing so hard. The answer “Yes. He CAN help!” A valuable truth to remember, one I often seem to forget. Jesus IS helpful!

New Lessons I Learned After 29 Days Of Bed Rest

/ Lori Lawe / 3 Comments

Sometimes essential life lessons come in strange gift packages, no?

a bench sitting on top of a lush green hillside

The first week on bed rest1 wasn’t too bad.

I was initially hopeful that my body would figure itself out, my back would crack in the right direction, and I would be up and running in no time. I opened an office on my bed, barking orders at my homeschooled kid, and attending meetings online. I forgot to tell one male teacher why I was in bed during the online homeschooling call, which was embarrassing in retrospect.

But I’ve done more embarrassing things2 in good health.

Click HERE to continue reading.

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

Sitting Ducks Or Soaring Eagles? 4 Tips You Need To Free Your Church

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
silhouette of birds flying during sunset

She rises from her knees in her prayer closet, opening the curtains to the brightness of the risen Sun shining on her face.

She leaps and skips to the bedrooms, waking her family.

open blinds of window against sun rays

“Get up”, she calls out joyfully! “God is good! He is leading me into an adventure and . . . “

STOP

red and white stop signage

There is a large STOP sign directly in front of her face. She tries to look around the sign and peek behind the large octagon shape at the people standing in a line behind this sign. “Can we speak…?” she asks. The words are not heard. She is met with authority. The sign doesn’t listen. It only speaks.

Religion, defined here as (1) “an institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices”, religion (2) without the breath of God blowing through the nuances, this religion1 arrests her enthusiasm.

And what do we do when the church expects us to be Martha? What do we do when we set aside everything of value in our lives and sit at the Teacher’s feet, and He is calling us to walk a new path, not to follow the footprints that tradition carved into the sand from thousands of past traveler’s feet?

What happens when God calls a woman in your church on an adventure outside the boundaries of how you expected her to serve in YOUR programs and initiatives?

What then, women and men in leadership, whom she longs to bow the knee before and to serve with love.

What then?

What will be their Master?

Will you open the door, church leaders, both men and women, who are both officially and unofficially recognized as such in the church? Will you listen to her enthusiasm with an openness to be convicted by Holy Spirit? What if your church programs aren’t ALL perfectly aligned with the heart of God for this season?

If what they say is outside the current scope of your existing programs and activities but you sense the breath of God, too, blowing your congregation in this new direction, then friend . . .

what (or who) will be your Master?

Are you WILLING to open another door, to encourage others to follow her, if your spirit also testifies within as she speaks what Holy Spirit has been whispering, as you (1) listen and (2) have an open mind to the new thing God may be doing in our midst?

Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination!

The Passion

(3) Will you encourage their flagging spirits?

That’s your job.

(4) Will you remove obstacles in their way?

Then sit back with a coffee and watch them soar. You did that, friend. You helped them fly.

Well done.

I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it?

The Passion

May she be set free, church.

And may you and your congregation follow.

A colorful macaw soars above blooming flowers.

Innocent, simple faith that believes what God says is real and that expects Him to do what He says He will do – that’s the mark of a mature believer, not complicated doctrine and fancy arguments.

John and Carol Arnott in Preparing for the Glory: Getting Ready for the Next Wave of Holy Spirit Outpouring

Photo Credits: Sunrise by Sefa Murat Özdemir on Unsplash, STOP! by Anwaar Ali on Unsplash, Many Doves Soaring In the Sunrise by ekrem osmanoglu on Unsplash, Another Bird Flying by Happysurd Photography on Unsplash

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

1 Every man and woman inside the church has a tendency toward legalism as defined here. Let’s rid our hearts and our churches of it, friends. What is God whispering to your heart? If you are not currently connected with a church, please rebuke us. We need you, too. Let’s soar together, brothers, sisters, and new friends!

Adventure Himself is calling.

Can you perceive it?

The world has never needed more hope than to be encouraged by the transformation of others they can see when they lift their eyes.

The Best, Simple Way To Enjoy Church? Be A Jerk!

/ Lori Lawe / 6 Comments

a group of people standing around a cross with balloons

Putting lots of chickens into a cage, cutting off their beaks, and letting them defecate on each other for their entire caged lives because we prefer our chicken sandwich to cost $1.99 instead of $2.56 has, at times, been my church culture.

This financial choice is a particular “church culture”, not “Kingdom living”.

Kingdom living says:

Good people are good to their animals; the “good-hearted” bad people kick and abuse them.

The Message

And so we dig deeper into our pockets, where it hurts, and place more coins on the counter for our lunch. OR heaven forbid, we eat a few more vegetables instead of another chicken sandwich because it’s cheaper than another piece of chicken, considering the actual cost of paying for cage-free birds.

This example is an aspect of a church culture (a common behavior) that I experienced many years ago, which I find frustrating.

Some of the very wise, and my heart goes out to you, dear friend, say, “That is not a healthy place,” and do not return to church. I do not blame you. I believe God does not blame you . . .

. . . though He is still pursuing you, dear friend.

Keep looking.

There are safe places to rest. But it might take a bit of seeking. And God will be (Sneakily!1) healing you as you seek a safe group of Jesus-seeking people to belong to. Who you started as won’t be the same person as who you end up as, which is half the joy of the process, actually.

And there will still be annoying parts of church culture to correct, no matter where you call home.

It’s the reason you’re there.

It’s the reason they need you.

Remember: Don’t just “fit in”! Disagree!

Be a jerk! Be you!

Instruct and direct one another using good common sense.

The Message

Been disgusted by Christian culture, or church culture, lately? I have too. Jesus was, too. His harshest comments were for the leaders of His church.

Ouch.

May our rears be sore from the spanking that Jesus gives us because it is better to have a sore rear than for our entire selves to be oozing pus from our unhealed diseases – the diseases of pride, love of money, prestige- that we are too proud to ask Jesus to heal.

However, within the mess and the brokenness of Christian culture, in pockets of beauty, is the joy of Christ’s message, called Kingdom living.

Thank you, Lord, for loving the mess that is your church, the mess that is me. Thank you that even here, in the charred remains of my heart, there lies an ember of love that you can fan into flame. Do your good work, dear Jesus. We pray to help us become Kingdom people, not merely robots of Christian culture.

Help those rightly offended by Christian culture to find a home in You, and with other broken people that You also (of course) love, we pray.

And friend, as you grow, learn, talk, and ask God (heaven forbid) for His perspective that is a BIT higher than ours, may you get a bit happier, too, as clearly proven HERE!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Photo Credit – Fun With Jesus And His Friends by BBC Creative on Unsplash

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

1Oh. And a caveat about this approach is that you must be prepared for… clearing throat… you may be WRONG about ONE of the ideas you hold so dearly. For example, I am listening to a course on Food Ethics, and they are messing with my dogma. That’s when you MAY need some humility, BUT that is a later lesson, and I haven’t found any need to grow in that discipline yet.