• How faith saved this girl from death

    "God's splendor is tale that is told...without a sound, without a word, without a voice being heard, yet all the world can see its story."
    - Psalm 19:1, 3-4 TPT

    Vast open skies glittered with stars splashed like paint flicks and a moon so yellow, so round, so perfect called my anxiety filled heart to be still. Warm Summer wind kissed the pale and bruised of my skin, and the cool water whispered a sense of peace my broken soul longed for.

    The lake night was the night my heart wanted to plunge into the water’s glistening depths, where the pain of life would no longer be felt. Where the voices in my head that spoke of my rubbish existence and my used state, which was of no worth to anyone, would forever be silenced.

    As I gazed at the splendor of the sky, vibrant life energy stirred up by creation was alive and awake and beckoning me to seek the face of a God I wasn’t sure existed, let alone would care for someone as broken and messy as me.

    I cried out…

    The lake night, the night that was intended to end my life awakened me instead to a very present God. A God who was gently speaking to me without a sound, and was guiding me in and through all things, and somehow, despite the mess and the deep dark hole that I had kept on digging, He was here now, inviting me to seek His face.

    The splendor of creation was awakening this wretched girl who was soul numb and dying inside, to the glorious presence of Jesus and entwining my heart to a grander story. His creation was designed to wake us up to Him.

    For the last seventeen years, God has been waking me up through His creation, breathing truth words into my soul. Beckoning me to walk this wild faith life that invites us to live wide-awake, and it has happened as His truth words whispered in the midst of living the ordinary everyday life.

    I have woken up to the truth that early morning cuddles and silly songs with young ones are holy work.

    My soul has come alive as the sun kisses the sea and bounces brilliant colors across the sky or when I've held my baby boys for the first time… and in these moments I've discovered you can’t help but worship Him profoundly and purely.

    I come alive where trust is tested, and dreams are shattered, and life doesn’t have the perfect Instagram post because He is with me and He is faithful.

    I have experienced authentic relationships over cups of hot tea, long talks, and prayer that leads to healing and restoration because I'm no longer numb and afraid inside.

    I now understand that the work God has entrusted to us is the way in which He touches the world through us, where people encounter the face-to-face with God… and it's beautiful.

    These life experiences with creation, humanity, and brokenness have been used to wake me up and by His grace, grow my soul into who God created me to be.

    That’s what life is meant to do; it becomes the God-at-work, groundwork within that teaches us how to work with and walk with Jesus in the everyday ordinary, waking us up to His presence alive and at work within and around us. It’s like leaven permeating every part of our soul, enlarging and expanding the kingdom of God within us, teaching us, gracing us in our fumbling and stumbling to live into and be the fragrance who He created us to be. We become part of the story He is telling the world.

    The invitation to wake up is not just for the select few; it’s for every single one of us. Messy and broken, rich or poor, fatherless or famous, each of us is invited to wake up and live into this wide-awake life with the Creator of the universe. As we live awake, it changes us, it changes the way we see and experience the world around us, and it wakes us up to the grander story being told… His…

    If you'd like to learn more about this WILD FAITH Click Here

    Posted by Carly Thomson
  • How to trust God when dreams shatter

    Has God ever asked you to TRUST Him?

    I mean REALLY trust Him.

    To trust Him when it hurts like crazy.

    To trust Him when you don’t want to let go.

    To trust in His goodness and faithfulness.

    To trust that when He says He loves you and will never leave you... AND that He really means it…

    To trust that you are a child of God, equally valuable to Him.

    To trust.

    A silver Tiffany’s bracelet sits on my wrist as I write. It is scratched and tarnished with time and tears. It was gifted to me on my graduation from Mercy Ministries (Australia) many years ago now. It is a marker of God’s promises of healing and restoration in my life. It reminds me of a time when I was so broken that I didn’t know if this world could want someone like me in it much longer.

    It’s a faith marker…

    Wild Faith…

    A marker of a time when I trusted God with my whole heart and life…

    It’s a remembrance of Who He has been to me in my past and Who He still is today.

    Inscribed on the heart are the words ‘Forever a Princess.

    A reminder that I am a beloved daughter of the King of all kings.

    and a scripture…

     Proverbs 3:5-6

    “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

    In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” (AMP)

    A reminder that He is in it all with me. I am never alone.

    A reminder that He has been trustworthy before and remains trustworthy now.

    Old wounds that make your roots grow deep in Him

    So I am still standing and proclaiming this scripture, trying to trust God with all of my heart on this new path He has set my feet on. Trying to allow Him to grow my roots down deep in His great love.

    It’s been tough, exciting, joyous, freeing, but tough.

    Mostly because this last season opened up old wounds where my trust had been damaged before, nobody has tried to do this to me by the way, it’s just what happened in the coming and goings of life and I’m pretty sure the enemy would love it if I never trusted again.

    But, I look to my scripture and I TRUST…

    It feels vulnerable and scary.

    Sometimes I cry...

    Sometimes the heart walls come up...

    What happens if I get hurt again? What happens if disappointment rocks my world one more time? Will I break? Will I not be able to rise again?

    Sometimes I feel like a mess... AND then I look to the One who holds all things and I walk...

    I speak the words YES to the Lord and I proclaim His truths again and again...

    “A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench; He will bring forth justice in truth.” – Isaiah 42:3

    He doesn’t break us.

    But He does unmake us.

    Wild Faith in the unmaking

    He unmakes all the stuff that can cause our root system to die or be hindered.

    He asks us to surrender who we are and our dreams to a place of trust in Him. In doing so we lose more of ourselves and find out more of who God really is in us. His testimony burns like fire in our bellies, it shapes us like clay and He reawakens us to His constant presence and His kingdom purposes.

    He is in everything, not the cause of everything, but always in it with us.

    As we acknowledge Him in this space of Wild Faith, this trust, this place of deepest surrender, He is there with us.

    He undoes old mindsets we didn’t even realize we still held onto and brings more freedom…and our roots grow deeper more freely.

    "Don't you know that when you allow a little lie into your heart, it can permeate your entire belief system?"             - Galatians 5:9 (TPT) 

    He goes into old wounds and brings the deeper healing that leads to beautiful restoration… and our roots grow deeper in quiet trust in Him.

    "...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes." - Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)

    He covers us in His loving kindness and grace, giving us the time and space to feel, to hurt, to cry and to once again let go and surrender everything to Him time and time again.

    And the beauty here is that nothing sown has gone to waste. Every seed sown in tears will be reaped in joy… and our roots grow deep.

    "They who sow in tears shall reap with joyful singing."      - Psalm 126:5 (AMP)

    It’s all for Him, for His kingdom.

    Trust Him today

    He will breathe on the life of things to come, promises you are holding onto, dreams not yet here, restoration you long for…

    Trust in Him.

    Yield your heart toward Him.

    He is with you and will guide you.

    He will breathe life into your soul once more (Stole that from my hubby’s song LIVING WATER) over your dreams, into your deep wounds.

    He will breathe…

    He will unmake you in all the BEST ways and you will see who you really are as an image bearing child of the King whose roots are deep, trusting in Him.

    Can I encourage you as I encourage myself to first lay it all down, give all your fears, anxieties and troubles over to God? Spend some time in worship at the foot of the cross, surrendering your heart and life to this Wild Faith, this deep trust. Press into His Word because it is a lamp unto your feet (Psalm 119:105). Step out into uncharted waters because He is with you…

    He calls us to trust Him with ALL of our hearts.

    Surrender your heart today beautiful one…and your roots will grow deep.

    Allow the words of this song by Nicole Nordeman minister to you, or better yet, download it HERE and sit at the foot of the cross and allow the words to minister to you and help you release it all to Him today.

     Big love,

    xx

    If you enjoyed this post you may enjoy reading

    WIDE AWAKE: The story of a soul waking up

    If you'd like to grow in your Wild Faith journey, be sure to sign up to my website to gain a beautiful devotional, Wild Faith: Part One. CLICK HERE for more information

    THE UNMAKING

    This is demolition day

    All the debris and all this dust

    What is left of what once was

    Sorting through what goes and what should stay

    Every stone I laid for you

    As if you had asked me to

    Monument to holy things

    Empty talk and circling

    Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?

    What happens now?

    When all I’ve made is torn down

    What happens next?

    When all of you is all that’s left

    This is the unmaking

    Beauty and the breaking

    Had to lose myself to find out who you are

    Before each beginning

    There must be an ending

    Sitting in the rubble

    I can see the stars

    This is the unmaking

    This is the unmaking

    The longer and the tighter that we move

    Only makes it harder to let go

    Love will not stay locked inside

    A steeple or a tower high

    Only when we’re broken are we whole

    What happens now?

    When all I’ve made is torn down

    What happens next?

    When all of you is all that’s left

    This is the unmaking

    Beauty and the breaking

    Had to lose myself to find out who you are

    Before each beginning

    There must be an ending

    Sitting in the rubble

    I can see the stars

    This is the unmaking

    This is the unmaking

    I’ll gather the same stones where

    Everything came crashing down

    I’ll build you an altar there

    On the same ground

    Because what stood before

    Was never yours

    This is the unmaking

    Beauty and the breaking

    Had to lose myself to find out who you are

    Before each beginning

    There must be an ending

    Sitting in the rubble

    I can see the stars

    This is the unmaking

    This is the unmaking

    Oh this is the unmaking

    Had to lose myself

    To find out who you are

    Posted by Carly Thomson
  • How to be brave enough to sit at the feet of Jesus

     

    How long has it been since you soaked in the daily presence of God?

    Since you slowed down so much so that instead of busying yourself to serve Jesus, you simply sat at His feet, loved on Him and learned from Him?

    Have you been afraid of what others might think? Afraid of being 'unproductive' when there is so much to do? Me too...

    There is a beautiful story found in the book of Luke, chapter 10 and here we meet two sisters, Mary and Martha...

    I imagine Martha as a busy woman. I see her with an honest desire to serve those in her world with great love and care as she cleans and prepares a meal. I think her love language might be acts of service. She’s a home entrepreneur, sassy, brave, bold and seemingly can handle whatever comes knocking at her door… even the Son of God. Yet, Martha somehow misses what is most important… she is simply too busy.

    Gosh, I feel her burden and pain…

    Too busy to lean into what is of most value in the treasured moments God gifts to us in this very short space of time in all eternity.

    Mary chose what was better…

    She chose what was of greatest value right now. She chose what would bear the most fruit in her life; she chose what would help her to live freely and lightly in the days to come.

    Jesus was here, present, ready and willing to teach Martha things of great value, things that would help her become the woman He created her to be, to help her see what truly matters in life and how to tend generously to those things. How to find sacred in the seemingly silly...

    Martha was consumed by worldly pressures of hospitality…

    Mary knew what was of more value.

    Mary knew that the word Jesus would speak and would become her “foundation words, words to build a life on.”

    She leaned in and learned how to, “…work the words into her life,”

    Mary would come to know that sitting at the feet of Jesus was not wasting time, but it was a place she would learn to be, “…like a smart carpenter, who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river bursts it’s banks and crashed into the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last.” – Luke 6:48 (MSG)

    Mary chose what was better…

    She knew what she valued most; she knew how to prioritize what was most important right now. She threw custom and schedule out the window and tended to what was of greatest value.

    How many times do we forget this way of living?

    How many life lessons do we miss because our schedules and to do lists are so jam-packed we don’t have time or space to look and see what is of greatest value in the moments we are in?

    A couple of weeks ago I sat in the Tuscon Botanical Garden, a stunning space of beauty in the middle of the Arizona Desert. I had scheduled a day of rest after a busy book tour and thought what better place to find rest than in a garden. So I moved slowly through the space, I took time to look at, explore, read and smell all the sights and then I sensed God ask me to sit still on the dusty, stone bench seat. I sat under a tree, out of the dry Arizona heat and looked around for a short while, I breathed deep and went to go.

    I hesitated...

    I sensed Him asking me to linger longer…

    So I went and sat again…

    This time I just sat and looked around, allowed my eyes to linger over everything. I was still. Be still the bible says, be still…

    Right then my eyes became truly open, I saw small creatures I would never have seen if I hadn’t been still long enough and right there I became even more aware of how stillness opens our eyes, it helps us to see what we’d never have seen even meandering slowly through that space.

    Be still…

    Right there, in the middle of the Arizona Desert, I was working the Word of God into my life and almost instantly seeing the fruit of that. Being still allowed me to be grounded... aware that God was present and holding all things together... being still helped me to know God as the One who holds all things and is in all things.

    Work Jesus' words into your life

    Mary had chosen to work Jesus’ words into her life as she sat at His feet…

    Martha was missing it…

    Jesus longed for her to enter in...

    Pride perhaps got the better of her...

    There He revealed truths and teachings that would help her to live in the fullness of all this gift of life has to offer…

    Mary was learning how to walk with and work with Jesus…

    There she’d learn the unforced rhythms of grace… the ability to live freely and lightly in His presence…

    “learn from me…” He whispers

     “…for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls…”

    Learn from Me…

    Learn from Jesus…

    Lean into all he has to say, all he has to teach us…

                Work His words into your life...

                            Then you will find REST for your souls.

    "Listening to and learning from Jesus guides us to find rest for our souls." (See my article over at Enliven women for more on this).

    Not everyone will understand your choice

    Martha didn’t quite understand how sitting at the feet of Jesus would be the better choice. She didn’t see that the time spent learning from Him would benefit her more than a clean house and a meal prepared right now, in this moment of time. She lived by the, “It needs to be done now” mantra, instead of learning to take the time to listen to and learn from Jesus. She allowed outside pressures to scream louder than her inward yearnings.

    He was there right now, in their home…

    The Word made flesh…

    Martha pushed time with Him aside to be in the kitchen… to get the stuff that needed to get done, done.

    Martha failed to realize that taking the time now with Jesus would benefit her life greatly for the days ahead. She failed to see that learning His teachings while He was readily available would set her up for that life of rest. It would teach her how to live freely and lightly in her daily walk with the Lord.

    You are invited to sit at His feet

    The beauty of this picture is that when Martha complained, Jesus still beckons her to come to learn with them too. Yes, He is pretty blunt, but there is no judgment but an open invitation to drop what she is doing and to choose what is of greater value.

    What about you?

    Are you taking the time to prioritize scheduling in spending time at the feet of Jesus daily?

    Are you coming to Him to learn how to live freely and lightly in your daily?

    What can you do today to prioritize some time in your week to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him?

    Challenging hey?

    But SO worth it!

    Big love,

    xx

    If you enjoyed reading this post, you might also enjoy

    AWAKE OH MY SOUL: Learning to listen for the God whispers

    THE UNMAKING: A journey into WILD FAITH

    Posted by Carly Thomson
  • Family, Faith and making the most of Easter



    The other day I had my teacher hat on, a beautiful year two class was my given assignment and the topic talk over our morning tea break was, 'Easter and what it means to me,' AND of course, being with a class of seven year olds, the hot topic was chocolate eggs and how many, what colour, what style, how big and more! That is to be expected right? Who doesn't love an Easter egg hunt and chocolate for days?!

    One little boy stood up and in a big brave voice he shared how that for him, it wasn't so much the Easter eggs that gave Easter meaning - though love them he did - and he was grateful that Jesus died on the cross and rose to life again for him and that was a big part of what Easter meant for him too, but more so, he LOVED that at Easter he was able to spend time at home with his family...

    So simple and so profound...


    He LOVED the opportunity to simply BE WITH those he longed to be present with. It wasn't going anywhere or doing anything big or special... it was to just BE WITH them...

    And there it is...

    BE. WITH.

    And isn't that what the death and resurrection is all about, being able to BE WITH the One who loves us more than anything else? To spend time with Him, not always DOING but BEING with Him.

    Mary got that right as she sat at the feet of Jesus. She saw an opportunity to sit at His feet and simply BE WITH Him and in the sitting and BEING, she would have been learning deep truths and simple pleasures and getting to know Him. Not just know of Him.. but to closely and intimately know Him, His character... the truth that His presence is a refuge and strong tower, that being with Him was the greatest gift, the ultimate prize...

    This simple year two topic talk question slowed me down and caused me to ask it of myself...

    My heart response?


    Easter, to me, means that great love has been poured out and has given me the greatest gift... His forever presence... simply because He LOVES to BE WITH me...

    AND His love...

    It's not just for me to keep to myself, but it's to be shared out of the overflow of love He has poured into my life as I've sat at His feet and allowed His deep truths and love to be life and breath for me...

    AND the eggs...

    I do love those little chocolate eggs and having one with a cup of tea and Jesus.

    So the year two topic talk question falls to you now, tell me sweet soul, about Easter and what it means to you... 

    xx PS Don't forget to sign up for my news letter and receive the first module of the Wild Faith Devotional for FREE xx

    Posted by Carly Thomson
  • How to trust God when your heart is breaking

    I can barely breathe…

    I swallow hard and perse my dust-encased lips closed.

    I try to set my face like stone… unreadable…

    My heart is heavy…

    I don’t know if I can face the journey again…

    My body felt weary before I even took the first step on the desiccated, dusty road to the temple in Shiloh… to worship You.

    I am well. My soul is not.

    It is fatigued by the inner fight. My heart is divided in this moment. I feel let down, disappointed and unable to trust that You are truly good…

    I feel like a waste of space…

    Unworthy…

    Unloved…

    Every year it’s the same…

    Pennaniah mocks me and gloats over my bareness…

    Bitterness then breeds all kinds of ugliness within my heart and soul toward her and toward You. It seeps in like a poison trying to kill any life or live that is left within me. I am desolate, desperate and in deep despair God.

    I see their faces looking sympathetically as I saunter past. Some mock and jeer, others are filled with heartfelt empathy. I can almost hear them whisper the shame I bring upon him, Elkanah, my husband and my love.

    How my heart aches for him. He loves me, I know… but I can’t help cloaking myself in the shame I know I bring on him…

    My bareness…

    I’m empty…

    Childless…

    A humiliation to my husband…

    Not worthy of one portion of food let alone the double portion he places in front of me…

    I cannot bear to eat a single morsel.

    Why me Lord?

    Have I done something wrong?

    Have I not remained faithful?

    Every year I set my heart on You, believing that You can and will open my womb…

    Why hasn’t it happened yet?

    Do You even hear me, God?

    Are You not the same God who parted the Red Sea and brought down the walls of Jericho?

    Aren’t You the God who has remained faithful to His people despite our constant disobedience and poor choices?

    You are Him right?

    I can trust You and put my hope in the one true God, can’t I?

    The One who made a convent promise with Abraham that all people on earth will be blessed through him?

    I am one of his children.

    Is not Your covenant promise for me too?

    Can You open my womb and allow me to be the bearer of life, to be called a blessed woman?

    I can’t bear this garment of shame any longer.

    So I run…

    I run so hard, so fast…

    Dust encircles me and invades my lungs and I do not care.

    My tears almost blind me and I stumble forward as I arrive at the temple.

    Breathless.

    Panting.

    Desperate.

    My body trembles with exhaustion. I simply fall on my knees and weep.

    All these years have taken their toll… and I am in the deepest anguish of heart…

    So I am here, bursting open the floodgates of my anguished heart and pouring out the deepest parts of my aching soul before You.

    Lord, my Sovereign King, it is in this moment that I choose to yield my heart and life to Your great plans.

    I choose to fix my mind, my heart and my life on Your governing Lordship alone.

    I choose to trust confidently that He who promised is faithful.

    I will year after year come and celebrate Your blessings and Your faithfulness in my life.

    I boldly ask for a son and believe that You can and will open my purposeless womb to the promise of fruitfulness.

    You, God, are great and worthy of all praise.

    My heart rejoices in God my savior.

    There is no one who gives good gifts and loves humankind out of the purity of holiness like You do.

    You breathe life into being.

    I will trust You and I will thank You.

    If you enjoyed this short story, you may also enjoy reading

    A Christmas Tale: May it be to me as you have said...

    OR ordering my book, The Freedom Sound

     

     

     

    Posted by Carly Thomson