Arrived Challenge : Day Three

Scripture Reading:

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

Devotional Content:

Today is not drawn out. A simple story that can change a perspective.

For a long time growing up I watched all things law involved. Law and Order, CSI, Forensic Files; if it had the law involved, name it I was there. I loved it. I loved trying to figure out the criminal mind and hearing the crazy stories from criminals and FBI profilers. I even used to spend hours reading the crime library. 

This prompted my desire to go to law school and become an attorney. For years this was my goal; my dream. I even did Teen Court and was a defense attorney for the program; after a while I was requested by name. I was good. 

I thought, "If I'm good in a simple teen trial my gosh how much better would I be with training and schooling? As a real attorney?"

Cocky much. Yes. 

But, here I sit today as an infant photographer, single mom, and active Jesus chaser. I blog and sing more than I breathe, I am nothing close to an attorney.

But the other day I photographed a couple with both parents being prominent attorney's in the city where I work. Both were requested by name I'm sure; and both felt very unfulfilled in their jobs. They even commented to me on how "blessed I was" to NOT be an attorney. 

I just stopped. They both shared on how they can financially give their now two kids anything they would ever desire but that they barely see them. I'm sure now they feel completely stuck in their lifestyle, their career choices, because of the life style they've chosen in the past. 

All these years I've sit on the stone of failure. I've sat, burning, in my own opinion that I had failed at life, and at something great, because I hadn't finished school and become an attorney. 

What I failed to see (no pun intended), early, was that God, in all these years, was protecting me from something that He 1. had never meant for me and 2. knew would bring my demise. What we might see as a failure may not be a failure at all, but a turn around sign from the Lord saying, "I've called you into greatness, YES, but not this. Not this path." 

I'm choosing today. To jump off that rock.

Journal Prompt:

What thought of failure have you lived in that you need to let go of? Was it really your own understanding, something you wanted? If you believe that the Lord was calling you, and you messed up, how can you fix it?

Prayer:

Father, today we realize that our own opinions of failure need readjusting. Lord we thank you for your ever understanding. For your protection in times when we believe we were meant to go down a certain path and actually where suppose to go the opposite direction. Thank you Lord for your reminders, your signs, your word through the mouths of those we love and trust. And help me today Lord. Help me to identify more quickly, and with much wisdom, when I am going in the wrong direction. 

Challenge: 

Pray today and ask the Lord to give you a fresh look on your possible not failures. Reach out to one person and share your story, and post a picture to faceook or instagram and share a visual view of how you haven't failed but have actually walked into your destiny. 

Arrived Challenge : Day Two

Scripture Reading:

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Devotional Content

Do you know the story of Little Red Riding Hood? Most people, especially women, do. Little Red, we will shorten it for convenience, is asked by her mother to go bring goodies to her grandmother who is recovering from sickness. Little Red gets ready, gathers her basket, fully prepared, and heads out. In fact, in the Grimm's version (my favorite!) she has strict orders to remain on the path she's been given to walk.

Then she encounters the wolf. This mean wolf wants to eat the girl and the food in the basket. He secretly stalks her behind trees, bushes, shrubs, and patches of little and tall grass. He approaches Little Red Riding Hood and she naively tells him where she is going. He suggests that the girl pick some flowers; which she does. In the meantime; he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be the girl. He swallows the grandmother whole (in some stories, he locks her in the closet) and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandma.

The girl arrives, and well we all know the story.

As I began to pray about this challenge I realized that many needed to fully grasp who the real enemy of their souls where. It's not your spouse, your friend, your Pastor.

It's SATAN. 

And just like the wolf he wants to trick you and manipulate you into believing things are "good" when they are not. Little Red was told by her mother to strictly stay on the path she had laid off for her. That did not include picking flowers on an off path. But that clever wolf tricks us into believing this is OK.

It's not. We are blessed with grace when we do veer off trail but how much simpler would our lives be if we possibly understood, identified, and knew our enemy and his tricks so that we stayed as close or on the path completely?

Satan's tactics aren't really secretive. He is a liar, a killer, and he hates us and wants us to have little or nothing to do with Jesus. So he attacks our families, our work, our identities. He lies and says we are something we aren't (ie: saying that we aren't loved by God, when we can if we choose to serve Him be the BELOVED of God).

Satan specifically hates women. He attacked Eve in the garden. We establish that Satan hates women because they are beautiful (as he once was and no longer is) and he is a murderer. Put those two things together - that Eve incarnates the beauty of God and she gives life; as a woman, you give life. Satan's bitter heart cannot bear it. He assault us, women, with a special kind of hatred. 

Journal Prompt:

Do you see this? Understand this concept? Can you comprehend this? Take a few moments and write a paragraph on being Little Red and encountering the wolf. 

Do you really know or believe that Satan is the main attacker behind everything bad that has happened to you and that you've been through? Yes, humans have choice, but that human was most likely influenced by the wicked and sinful way and temptation of the enemy. 

How have you strayed from the path? 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we come boldly before you. We need fresh encounters from Your Spirit today, Lord. Engage our spirit, teach us to know our enemy well so that we can understand that we have more authority over him and that we have the ability to catch situations and people who he may use to impact our lives negatively. We desire to honor you, to serve you, and to forgive boldly. 

In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Challenge

Repost today's instagram photo above with your completed sentence below:

I've believed the wolf when he's said _________________. But I no longer believe that in Jesus' name, because I am the beloved of Jesus! Amen!

For me:

I've believed the wolf when he's said that I wasn't worthy of marrying a good man. But I no longer believe that in Jesus' name, because I am the beloved of Jesus.

Arrived Challenge : Day One

WELCOME! You've started, Arrived Challenge, and today is DAY ONE. How exciting! Here's the format for what you'll see daily on the blog. Originally I was going to offer a downloadable devotional but felt pressed by the Spirit to post them here on the blog so everyone had equal opportunity to read, participate, and be set free.

Each day you will have a 1. scripture reading, 2. devotional reading 3. journal prompt. 4. Challenge!

Keep a journal. Write it down. Devotionals and the prompts with this challenge should take 5-10 mins. Now, lets get it started:

Scripture Reading: 

Genesis 37:5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.

Devotional Content

Before we can become fully confident in our ability in the Lord, sometimes we have to look back. We don't look and GO back, we look back to deal with issues that we may have hidden deep in our heart. Before we can arrive, fully, and be present fully in a place of deep confidence, we have to rid ourselves of the insecurities set within us early.

I didn't realize until two years ago that I had a rooted insecurity set inside of me. God brought it to the service and began to deal with it in me. It seemed like such a "simple" issue that I should have gotten over years and years ago; in fact, I didn't even think it was an issue.

That tricky enemy. He does that. He makes thing that are seriously dangerous (ie: flirting with a man "innocently") seem like it's not a big deal, because he knows it is, and he hopes we fall.

So I looked back. I had arrived into a place of deep insecurity several years ago because I hadn't dealt with this.

When I was about 8-years-old I had a neighborhood friend. Ladies, I don't even remember her name. We used to ride backs and play in the dirt mounds around my house. She was my closest friend and we did everything together. 

One day several months into our sweet friendship we were riding our bikes, laughing, and playing make believe. We decided we would pretend that one of the dirt mounds was our castle. She said, "Meg, I'm Princess So-and-so!" I gleefully proclaim, "I'm a princess too!" Then she stopped and said, "Oh, oh no Meg. You are too ugly to be a princess."

I just started crying. I went home and told my mom and she comforted me. She said those things were lies. She even bought me a new necklace and earring set to make me feel more princess like.

But I had never heard a peer so openly say I was ugly. So of course, I believed her. I also never played with her again and from that day I realized a seed of insecurity on my beauty had been planted.

Well I didn't realize that until 2 years ago.

You see those bad places you arrive, like such above, come from a seed. And you have to figure out how to grab on to those roots and YANK those suckers out. Now I'm learning to arrive into a place of confidence in my life, my health, and my beauty. God designed us well. He makes no mistakes. Lets work together on not insulting His most prized creation.

Journal Prompt:

Think of my own example of arriving in a place I shouldn't have and pray and ask the Lord to reveal any "bad seeds" planted in your life. This could be recently, from childhood, or even from your own negative thinking. 

How can you identify these seeds? And when you do, how can you pluck them out? Write down several possible answers in your journal. 

Prayer:

Father, we ask Lord that you would help me to identify any negative places I have arrived due to badly or negatively planted seeds. Lord, help me to pluck these up with the help of your word, prayer, and the community around me. Help me to be surrounded by people who will speak Your word into my life, uplift me, and correct me lovingly. Lord, I desire to begin moving my thoughts, spiritual life, body and heart into a place of arrival in which you are there completely.

In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Challenge:

Write down three negative things spoken over you and then write down three positive things that you can replace those thoughts with. If you've been told your dumb write down DUMB - SMART. And begin to speak and pray those things over your life.

Also, post a selfie of yourself on you instagram or facebook with the hashtag #arrivedintroductions and #arrivedchallenge and list these three things:

1. Your Name
2. Your occupation
3. Your favorite beverage currently 

Looking forward to getting to know all those who participate!

Love,

Meg 

Arrived

I dream of a place where women can freely be accepting of themselves, their flaws and their strengths and using them both equally to better themselves, their family, and their communities. I believe that women have been battered and beaten in so many ways (even by themselves) and that many women, especially mothers, struggle with a sense of self-identity.

I believe in a place where we can arrive in a season in our life where we know who we are, the beloved of Jesus Christ, and where we can believe and hope for strong things for our future.

This is what the arrived challenge is about.                          
       It's not about arriving and staying. Long.

It's about arriving, celebrating, and then moving along so we can arrive again. 

Arriving should be constant. Moving.

There are many definitions for the word "arrive or arrived" the one that resonates the most with me is this:

arrived; verb:
reach a place at the end of a journey or a stage in a journey.
"We arrived at his house and knocked at the door."
synonyms: come, turn up, get here/there, make it, appear, enter, present oneself, come along

We are in a journey. A journey to arrive at a place or stage in our season of life that can be celebrated. As women; singles, mothers, wives, widows, sisters, best friends, lovers.....we can help each other arrive and celebrate together.

The 30-day arrived challenge is just that. It's a celebration of each different parts of our lives; family, love, sex, singleness, JESUS. We will take the challenge and walk hand in hand and with each day we will complete little challenges { ie: drink 9 glasses of water today and photograph it and post it to share! } pray for one another, and complete the FREE downloadable devotional that goes along with it. In the devotional we will talk about the in-laws, babies, sex, health, Jesus, scriptures, work....you name it, we have it covered.

It's time ladies that we refresh together. Journey together. Allow the Lord to quench our thirst for Him, community, and genuine female relationship; we will no longer be dry bones but a deep fiery well of water.

At the end of this journey I'm offering a girls night out. We will all get dinner together, talk about what we learned, then hit the town for an ARRIVED women's photo shoot; complimentary of myself.

Are you in? Take the challenge. Let me know you've joined by following the journey on my facebook, Meg Bailey, or follow us on instagram @arrivedchallenge.

His presence is sweet,

Meg Bailey