I Am More Than a Tech

I used to think that to serve the Lord, to do ministry work, is to actually work for a church, to be an actual pastor of some form. But scripture doesn’t say that. No, 1 Peter 2:9 states,

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

So, regardless of what my paycheck stub says Jesus says I am a holy priesthood and that I can declare praises to him! But how exactly does that play out in my current job?

For months and months I struggled with being on fire for the Lord but having to work an oilfield job. I would say, “GOD! Why can’t I get a job for a church! I could totally bring people to you”! I just couldn’t understand why he had me here at my current job making plots, tracking production, and studying well failures….I mean, does Jesus even care about oil production and well failures?

This went on for months. There have been even days here recently that I have struggled with my purpose for Christ here at work; especially after having to walk out some tough stuff that involved a couple of coworkers. But God is good and He is always there to lead, guide, and direct me (us) when I (we) seek him.

The past two days have been a little rough in the oil patch. I heard of a couple accidents on some well service rigs and my heart jumped into my throat. I knew I had to pray for them and praise the Lord that they were safe and not dead! So yesterday as I entered the details of an accident and those involved the Lord whispered something sweet to me. He said, “This is your ministry. You may not be preaching in the courtyard and people may not be pouring into your office with prayer requests but there are prayer points to be prayed over and people who need to be prayed for and you are here to do that.”

Over the last 24 hours I have been repeating those words over and over in my head and in my heart. “People who need to be prayed for and you are here to do that”…. I googled, yes I googled because Google can lead you to Jesus too, scripture that goes with what the Lord had spoken to me. This is what I found and I am in LOVE with it…

“But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.” 2 Timothy 4:5

Hmmm….”Work at telling other the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you”…..the ministry God has given me! When I take 1 Peter 2:9 and 2 Timothy 4:5 and align it with my position here at work I can see the purpose God has for me here. These truths have really encouraged me and let me know that my time here is not wasted.

So I can no longer think that I am a girl wasting her time with an oilfield job tracking production and well failures. Nope! My identity, my calling is this:

A minister to the company I work for. I pray for those who are employed by, contracted to, or associated with this company. I love on those who need encouragement. I listen to those who want to be heard when no one else will listen. I walk a walk that allows others to see Christ alive in my life. My decisions, actions, mistakes, and how I react to the situations around me are opportunities to share Christ with others. Sometimes I mess up. Some days I can walk it out better than others but I am a testimony of a forgiving God who humbles us, stretches us, and grows us into beautiful people. I post scripture or a devotional daily on my Lync, I will play Christian music in my office, you will always find an open Bible on my desk accompanied by dozens of sticky note scriptures on my monitors. I am not ashamed of the God I serve and I will be glad to talk about him to anyone who asks. My name is Sarah Bredemeyer and I am an Operations Engineering Tech and a minster to the company I work for. 

My "Holy Spirit Light Bulb" Moment

So, I’m on this “Made To Crave” journey with several other beautiful women. I had read somewhere (either the book or the devo) where the Lord had begun revealing scriptures about food struggles and victories to Lysa, the author of Made to Crave. I thought about that and was not really sure what that looked like….until last night.

I have been reading in Jeremiah and was really struggling to focus. I had found myself rereading passages two or three times and still think to myself, “Say what…I’ll read it again”. That was until I came across this little section of pure brilliance. My Holy Spirit light bulb came on and I was captivated! The jaw dropping inspiration states this:

“Set up signposts to mark your trip home.

    Get a good map.

Study the road conditions.

    The road out is the road back.

Come back, dear virgin Israel,

    come back to your hometowns.

How long will you flit here and there, indecisive?

    How long before you make up your fickle mind?

God will create a new thing in this land:

    A transformed woman will embrace the transforming God!”

                                                Jeremiah 31:21-22 (MSG)

Even reading that now makes my stomach have butterflies! While the Lord was speaking to Jeremiah concerning how Israel was just so wrapped up in sin, I saw it as me being consumed by my food struggles. What does it say to you? To help better understand how we can apply this scripture to our lives let’s break it down shall we. Let’s find ways we can apply this scripture whether the thing that has led you away be food, drugs, alcohol, or any other addiction or distraction!

“Set up signposts to mark your trip home.” For me this is placing Post-It notes with scripture written on them all over my computer screens, scripture written on my dry erase board, and my home screen of my phone displaying scripture! I want everywhere that I turn to have a sign that is leading me in the right direction; signs of inspiration, signs of encouragement, signs for accountability. What kinds of “signposts” can you put up around you? Where do you spend most of your time?

“Get a good map.”  Have a good plan in action. You want to be reading the Word, working with an accountability partner, and getting together a plan of action that is realistic and easy to follow while you make this journey back to Godliness! For me it will be getting a workout plan and meal plan down on paper and then finding accountability to back it up! I want my map to be clear and easy to understand! I want to be able to grasp it, understand it, and apply it! The more twists and turns we add the less likely we will use the map and eventually lose our way. Make sure your plan is easy to follow!

“Study the road conditions.” There are a few definitions of the word “Study” that I just love! These are pulled from the Free Dictionary by Farlex online…

Study: n.

1. b. the pursuit of knowledge, as by reading, observation, or research.

7. A state of mental absorption

Study: v.

1. To apply one’s mind purposefully to the acquisition of knowledge or understanding of (a subject)

2.To read carefully

3. To memorize

4. To give careful thought to; contemplate

Study the road you have been on. What areas are you weakest in? When do you tend to give in to temptation? Is it when you are really emotional? Were you even aware of how you got down this road to where you are today? Being able to sit down and examine where you have been will play a huge part in your success in the future! Knowing where you are weak, where vulnerability sneaks in and what words you even tell yourself that allow temptations to become lifestyles is a great way to identify problem areas and put an action plan in place to be successful!

“The road out is the road back.” When I think about this little piece of scripture this is what the Lord reveals…. We have always been fully equipped to fight our battles. We have never had to go about them alone. The road we started on wasn’t a bad one we just made some poor choices along the way. So turn from your old ways and start back with a fresh new mindset!

“Come back, dear virgin Israel, come back to your hometowns.”  God wants nothing more than to have a relationship with us, for us to call on him, and rely on him! He love, love, loves his role as our heavenly Father! He’s calling us home! He desires for us to no longer be distracted by the things that bind us down and keep us from pursuing a life of freedom with him! Kick off those chains and return to the one who created you!

“How long will you flit here and there, indecisive? How long before you make up your fickle mind?” As I read this my stomach kinda felt like it had rocks in it. How long was I going to do the same thing I had done in the days, months, and years before that has me in this state of unhappiness and lack of self-control? When will it stop? It stops when I make the choice stop trying to do things on my own and give it all to God. It stops when I let him be the focus of my day, of my food choices, of my life! It stops now!

“God will create a new thing in this land: A transformed woman will embrace the transforming God!” What a refreshing thought. You see, when we surrender our struggles to God, when we let him in on our plans, He begins to work in us, transforming us into a new person! A new, strong, women of God! Isn’t that exciting! What I love most about God and how he works in our lives is that we don’t have to wait until the end to see and enjoy the fruits of our labor! Each day holds new promises, new beginnings! Every day we can celebrate victory and we can recognize where the Lord has brought us!

God, we thank you for this wonderful piece of scripture that draws out a path to success! We thank you Lord that you are forever pursuing our hearts and that you never give up on us! Help us Lord to make time to meet with you, identify our struggles, create a good road map, and place signs that will lead us to you! Thank you for the victories you have ahead for us! We love you, we thank you, and we praise you! In Jesus name, Amen!

Fruits of the Spirit: LOVE

So I have felt called to break down the verse that gives us the fruits of the spirit. Today I am going with the first fruit love!

Love can be defined in several different ways but today I want to break down the meaning of love from the verse Galatians 6:22-23. The verse reads, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

The definition of love I want to use is this: an unselfish loyal and benevolent (benevolent is the purpose of doing good) concern for the good of another as (1) the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2) brotherly (or sisterly) concern for others.

In the eyes of God love is a pretty big deal. In 1 Corinthians 13:13 it says,“Three things will last forever- faith, hope, and love- the greatest of these is love.”

Now, God totally practices what He preaches. He isn’t up there just bossing us around! See in verse John 3:16, “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” That’s love man. I mean L to the O to the V to the E, LOVE! He gave his son, a beautiful sacrifice for us! So that we may have eternal life with him! So that we could have the Holy Spirit bless us, speak to us, advocate for us! Aw, it’s just beautiful!

Love is such a big deal to God that he even calls us to love our enemies! WHAT?! So, what is the love your enemy business? Let me share…In the Message version of Matthew 5:43-48 it says, “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” …well, I think that summed it up pretty well.

So, God loves us, we are to love our enemies, who is next in our line of love? Well, that my friend is our neighbors! These can be your neighbors at your apartment complex, on your street (if you rent or own a home), the office next to you at work, the person you are parked next to at the light, the person behind you at the grocery store, Hey, we’re Americans…that even means to love our neighboring countries such as Canada and Mexico…. If they are near you they are your neighbor! Mark 12:31a says, “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Yup that’s right. Treat your neighbor the way you would treat yourself. We are all pretty selfish people in some form or fashion…so only the best for us right? Well, that goes for your neighbor too! We should want the best for our neighbors! Is there a neighbor in your life that could use some extra love? Pray for the Lord to show you what they need! Do they need Jesus? That is the best gift you can give anyone!

And we’re trucking along….next stop the oppressed, the widows, and the orphans! We learn this in Isaiah 1:17 (NIV), “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow!” Seek justice is to stand up for those who are being wrongly accused! To Defend the oppressed is to speak up for those who are too weak or tired to speak up for themselves! Take up the cause of the fatherless and love love love on them! They deserve parents just as much as you did! And plead the case for the widow who has lost her spiritual head of house hold! She no longer has her partner to help her through daily tasks.

You see, love is not just a word! It is an action! Love is to pray. Love is to listen. Love is to be a voice. Love is to mow a yard. Love is to encourage. Love is to cook or bake. Love is to look beyond someone’s sins, someone’s financial situation, someone’s choices and see their potential! To see this person as a precious child of God who was created to do wonderful, amazing things in the name of Jesus! We are to love more than just our spouse or our best friend or our mothers and fathers. We are to love the broken, the messy, the arrogant, the quiet, the outspoken, the weak, the strong, the criminals, the victims, and everyone else in between. Why? Because God calls to. When we honestly look at ourselves…I mean deep down….we are just as broken, we are just as weak, we can be just as arrogant and sinful. We are not perfect yet God loves us! I want to encourage you to love others just as Christ loves you!

A New Focus, A New Blog...The Beginning!

Why Hello There Sweets! I am so happy you stopped by! I have blogged in the past and enjoyed it but I feel called to start this blog “Messy, Beautiful Me” to encourage others around me. In my “before Jesus” days I had a blog called “Soapbox Sarah” where I ranted and raved and really just stood on one big ole negative soapbox. Ugh, that makes me nauseous just thinking about that…. Not the kind of blog Jesus wants to read… So, I stepped away from blogging for a while. I didn’t want to keep the same name, though my “soapbox” would be a different kind of soapbox now… So, I present to you my new blog…Messy. Beautiful. Me…a blog dedicated to sharing with you my messy moments, my beautiful moments, and everything in between! I hope it encourages you as much as I know it will encourage me to write you all. So, I hope you come back and check out little nuggets of life I have to share. Blessings to you! Sarah