I know a few people who play baseball. Some pitch and have to learn how to throw them accurately. Others stand in the batter’s box and have to learn how to hit them accurately. Curveballs are a part of the game!

Off of the field – what about in life? We really have three responses.

1. Dodge them. (Then someone else takes the hit.)
2. Get hit by them. (Ouch.)
3. Respond accurately to them. (Hard and often time-consuming, but best choice.)

Straight out of the gate, let me share God’s Word: ”I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”“
‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We like to have a trouble-free, worry-free, curveball-free life. However, that’s not reality and never will be. In the midst of it all, though – we are not alone!

This week, I think I’ve done all three things. I dodged some (and extend apologies to the people who may have been hit by what I dodged). I was definitely hit by some (hard objects moving at high speeds HURT when they hit you and leave marks – and healing takes time). And I did respond accurately to some (and am so thankful for the people around me who helped me do this). All in one week. A “normal” week, whatever that’s supposed to mean. 🤪

The first curveball is not a big deal.
Maybe not even the second.
But when they keep coming – it’s hard to keep a right perspective and “stay in the game.”

So, friend – go ahead and suit up. Get ready to step on the field and play. Be sure you’ve surrounded yourself with a supporting cast who can hold you up when you fall short or run out of gas – and, in return, you do the same for them. Trying to handle them alone is like standing against a wall in a game of dodgeball with 30 people armed and ready to take you out. Don’t do it!

Curveballs are coming. Trials are coming. How will you respond?

#BetterTogether

Today marks the third day of the NFL Draft. As an unashamed sports enthusiast, it’s exciting to see where our Alabama guys land….ROLL TIDE! The process of the draft is intriguing. These teams have been watching these players….their strengths, their weaknesses, their work ethic, and their coachability. The commentators size up every one of the players and the teams drafting them. In the big scheme of things, what seems to matter most is the FIT. What does this player have that can fill a gap for this team and make them better? We often hear the phrase, “teamwork makes the dream work,” and this is such a great example of that truth. One person can’t turn a team around alone. But one person can make a tremendous impact on a team…..good or bad.

1 Corinthians 12 is a beautiful picture of how the body – the “team,” if you will – should work. Take a minute and read the whole chapter.

”If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.“ 1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

For an NFL team, if the quarterback can’t or won’t throw, the wide receiver suffers. So the team suffers. If the offensive line can’t or won’t block, the quarterback and running back suffer. So the team suffers.
What happens when that’s reality? The team loses heart. They get discouraged. They may even get to the point of turning on each other. Every single one doing their part is essential to the success of the whole.

So it goes in the Body of Christ – The Church. If your gift is encouragement – encourage. If it’s giving – give. If it’s praying – pray. If it’s teaching – teach. Your gifts are needed and valued – and they make the Body whole.

On an NFL team…..
In the Body of Christ…..
In your business or organization….
In your family…..
Bring YOUR best. Bring your flavor and talents to the table. You’re needed – and you make a bigger difference than you may know. Teamwork DOES make the dream work.

Consider yourself drafted.

About 2.5 weeks ago, I went to the gym to get some miles in on the treadmill. As I started running, I hit “play” on the video for Session 1 of the 2024 Passion Conference. Tens of thousands of college-aged students lifting up one Name – Jesus. It was a beautiful sound!

In the middle of the singing, Brad Jones and his wife came out on the stage to welcome everyone there. After asking about who had to fly to get there, they talked about people from all over the world being in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

I just kept running.

Somewhere in the midst of the conversation, I heard him mention this verse….””For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him….“ 2 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Still running…..but the Holy Spirit “pinged” me. There were maybe six people in the gym that night – but at that moment, I was alone and I heard one voice speaking directly to me. “How about you, Jackie? What’s the status of your heart? Is it FULLY COMMITTED?”

I would love to tell you my immediate response was “Yes!” I didn’t lie that night and I won’t lie today. The truth is that SOME parts of my heart were. But there were some other parts that I was tucking away because I wanted to control them. Like these….
➡️ Harboring Unforgiveness because what they did to me was wrong and I was right to be offended and angry.
➡️Speaking in ways that did not honor the Lord because…..see arrow #1.
➡️Struggling with a pretty significant bout of depression/anxiety on my own because I didn’t want to be “a bother” to anyone (and I didn’t want to seem unable to “just handle it”).

I got off of that treadmill, sent a message out to my small group, and asked for anyone who felt a “ping” to meet me for prayer the next morning so we could have some accountability. I wasn’t the only one who got “pinged.” There were six of us in the circle on Monday morning. I’m thankful for honesty….for safe places and people to confess your sins and find healing……because I truly DO want my heart to be fully committed to Him. I can’t do it on my own.

Neither can you.

If my heart is fully committed to Him….the fruit I bear in my life will represent THAT level of heart health. If I’ve got areas that are broken and bruised and hurting….the fruit I bear in my life will represent THAT level of heart health, too. A tree doesn’t produce fruit to feed itself…..it produces fruit to feed others. What kind of fruit is my life bearing to feed those around me? At home? At work? At church? In friendships? In traffic? At Walmart? 😊

People from all around the world converged in Atlanta, GA so that I would have the opportunity to hop on a treadmill in Tuscaloosa, AL and hear directly from Him. I don’t think it was coincidental that I was exercising my heart when He spoke to me about the very thing I was trying to keep healthy.

How’s your heart?

Please don’t have anxiety about the two words mentioned in the photo. Hang with me.

As we wrap up the year, I’ve been pondering a lot of areas of my life.
▶️ Marital Health.
▶️ Family Health.
▶️ Relational Health.
▶️ Professional Health.
▶️ Spiritual Health.
▶️ Physical Health.
▶️ Emotional Health.

In each of these areas, I have some reasons to celebrate and evidence of growth. In each of these areas, too, I have some growing to do.

Insert the recurrent theme of STRETCH MARKS.

I am very aware of what causes stretch marks as I have personal experience with them. To seem more “official,” though, I visited the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic websites to investigate the medical jargon as to why we get them. Essentially, we develop stretch marks on our bodies when there is rapid GROWTH or rapid SHRINKING of our skin.

As we wrap up 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ and prepare to head into 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣, it’s easy to get wrapped up in determining New Years’ Resolutions or goals for the year ahead. The Lord gave me my “word” (actually 2 words) for 2024 in the summer and has been preparing me since then. My two words are BIGGER THINGS.

What that means to me is….
Stretch Marks are coming.

There are some things I want to grow in my life. There are also things I want to shrink. Either way – I hope things look differently on 12/31/24 than they did on 01/01/24. Just a few examples….

Marital – I want to have more intentional and uninterrupted time with Kyle (growth) and less impatience over silly things (shrinking).

Family – I want to be present for my kids in this season of life in ways that are meaningful to them (growth) and less being tired because I’ve invested my best elsewhere (shrinking).

Relational – I want to find more intentional ways to celebrate my friends for who they are to me (growth) and work to reduce social anxiety/isolation (shrinking). Yes, that’s a reality for me.

Spiritually – I want to write and publish my first book, rooted in Scripture, to help people grow in their walk with Jesus and relationships with each other (growth), and I want to maintain the discipline of prayer long after 21 days of prayer to reduce being so reactive in prayer (shrinking).

All of these things…..the growth and the shrinking…..should be evident as they happen and change me. Lord, may Your fruit be evident in my life more and more….and may my fleshiness become less and less. (John 3:30)

Where do you need to grow?
Ask Him to show you.
Find accountability to make it reality.

Where do you need to shrink?
Ask Him to show you.
Find accountability to make it reality.

Stretching….
Shrinking…..
Both necessities.

Believing for “bigger things” in 2024. We are #BetterTogether.

A few years after we bought our house, I decided there were two tree-like plants in our landscaping that I wanted to replace. My friend and co-worker, Elizabeth Tiley, and I placed an order from a crepe myrtle farm that included six four-foot tall “healthy crepe myrtle trees with well-established root systems.” She was getting three and I was getting three. When the box arrived at school, there was only one box. We thought the other five would be coming soon….until we opened the box. All six “trees” were there… because they were basically six little branches, not four foot tall trees.

They had to be planted in pots first and tied to some supports to hold them upright as they grew. Eventually, they grew taller and the trunk got stronger, so they became strong enough to go plant in the ground. Year after year, they grew taller and thicker and produced leaves, but no flowers. For a crepe myrtle tree, the flower represents the “fruit.”

After being established, the trees took several years to bear fruit. In the process of waiting for those flowers to come, I often thought that I got some HOOPTIE (yes, hooptie!) crepe myrtle trees or that they were going to give us nothing but leaves. It took a bit for the root system to be established enough to produce the flowers (fruit).

I use that long illustration because when something new has been planted in us (for the first time or after something else has been removed – like those first tree things in my yard), we often forget that the newly planted thing has to be nurtured, watered, and supported as it grows stronger IN YOU first. Strong roots will always produce fruits.

As we continue to let the Lord work in us, remove some things that need to go and plant some new things that need to grow…be patient with Him, with yourself and with others…abide in Him. Stay put in Him. The fruit is coming. He’s strengthening you to be able to offer that fruit to “feed” others.

Give Him access to remove what needs to go….and plant/nurture what needs to stay.

John 15