Casandra Martin

He called before ten o’clock in the morning and you could hear the tension in his voice. Ice covered the sidewalks at his school, and this morning it got the best of him. Three times he felt his legs slip out from underneath him. Three times, he fell with a hard thud to the ground. Shaken and bruised, he struggled to get back up and keep walking. The distance to his destination seemed to get longer and longer as the ice stretched out on the path before him. After a close encounter with a car slip-sliding on the ice, he reached his class and called home.

He needed some reassurance. He needed to share his fear, embarrassment, and worry. He was anxious about slipping again. We talked for a few minutes and then he went on to class. In the process, he taught me a lesson.

His phone call reminded me of the power of confession. We all slip. Sometimes on ice, but more often on sin, temptation, and unholy habits. We hit a slippery patch and go down. It hurts. It is dangerous. We are shaken and bruised and struggle to get back to our feet. Confession helps us find our balance. When we open our hearts and share our failures and fears, it resets us on firmer footing. It reassures us that we are not alone, that grace is our true reality, and that holding Jesus’ hand is the best way to walk in this slippery world.

My Jesus Resolution today is to embrace confession. Confession is hard. I have to admit that I slipped. I have to say out loud that I can’t walk by myself without falling flat on my face. But confession reassures me that God is on my side. It opens the door so that others can encourage me, lift me up, help me walk, and cheer when I make it. Confession is the remedy for the bruises I get from bumping into the struggles of this world. It showcases the beauty of grace, the faithfulness of God, and the transformation He is working in me for His glory.

Can you define the word integrated? Integrated is one of those interesting words. It means “to bring together or incorporate parts into a whole.” As a society, we talk about integrated technology – technology that is woven into every area of our lives. Educators discuss integrating curriculum and learning disciplines. Health providers talk about the need to integrate wellness and preventative care into the healing process. When we integrate, we stop looking at something as individual pieces and fit them together to work as a whole.

The transformation that God is working in us is all about integration. It is about bringing all of the different pieces of our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths under the authority of Christ. Integration comes from the root word integer, which means “whole.” That is what God wants for us. He wants us to be whole. Not broken. Not fractured. Not falling to pieces. Not flying off in a million directions.  Whole. Complete. Full. Put together in Him.

My Jesus Resolution today is to surrender to integration. I want every part of my life to line up with Jesus. My inconsistencies reveal where I need more integration. My faith needs to be as much about living a God-centered life as it is about speaking God’s name. I want Jesus to be integrated into my conversations, my choices, my motives, my attitudes, and my actions. Integration is the harder, longer, requires-deep-obedience, abundant, joy-filled path. It demands daily dying to self and learning to live in Him, through Him, with Him, and for Him.

I want to be a dreamer. Dreaming opens up vistas, pushes back boundaries, and frees us to imagine that something bigger than what we can see today is possible. Dreaming is important. If we never take time to dream, we can never see beyond where we are right now. We can end up in a rut of the regular, routine, and repetitive. Dreaming fuels the hard work that it takes to make tomorrow brighter than today.

Dreaming is more than wishful thinking. Dreaming is the launching pad for real and practical change. It is what inspires us, energizes us, and keeps us heading in the right direction. The mechanics of realizing a dream are rarely easy. They require discipline, commitment, and a willingness to believe that the dream is worth the price that must be paid to make it a reality.

The world encourages us to dream our own dreams. Pick anything, work hard, and make it your own. As a society, we like people who follow their dreams. We make movies about people who risk everything, give everything, to make their dreams come true. Our world is not as comfortable with people who live out God’s dreams. God’s dreams are bigger, more encompassing, and more penetrating than dreams we could ever dream for ourselves. God dreams of igniting light in darkness, love amidst hate, generosity in a world defined by greed, and sacrifice among people prone to selfishness. Living in God’s dreams has the power to shake the foundations, rock our realities, and change the world.

My Jesus Resolution today is to dream. I don’t want to dream just any dreams. I want to dream dreams bigger than the ones I can dream for myself. I want to dream God-shaped, God-sized, God-designed dreams. I also want to be committed to allowing God’s dream to take form in me. This is where it gets hard. In order to live in God’s dream, I have to give up my own. I have to surrender, obey, and trust that the cross-shaped, Christ-reflecting, resurrection-empowered life He dreams for me can be a reality when I walk, and dream, with Him.

It has been a cold, wet week. The wind is chilly and blows right through you as you walk outside, ducking the droplets of cold rain. After this much damp cold, our bodies start hungering for warmth and sunshine. We long to stretch and let the open blue skies expand our souls and our horizons. We are anxious to take a deep breath of fragrant air and remember the possibilities that come with new starts, fresh beginnings, and the promise of spring.

But today, it is still cold. The clouds blanket the sky in a covering of grey. Impossibles are a lot like cold, grey days. We fight the way they chill our souls. We struggle against the way that they limit our perspective and dampen our spirits. God’s Possibles are like the sunshine. We crave its warmth. We value its light, the way it makes things grow, and how it illuminates our boundaries with new opportunities. We make it through the winter’s chill because we know that spring is coming. Impossibles melt into Possibles when we keep our eyes on the Son.

My Jesus Resolution today is to remember that spring is coming. The dark clouds and cold days don’t define my limits. God’s promises are as real in the edges of winter as they are on the brightest summer day. He is at work in me even when it seems like nothing is growing and shadows fill every corner. Even as I pull up the corner of my jacket against the wind, I can anticipate the warmth that will come with spring. I can look forward to counting the ways God has used these cold days to prepare me to flourish and bloom in the light of His presence.

Who do you want to be? I think that we all want to be strong, courageous, compassionate, joyous, and confident. We want to love our families, nurture our children, share deep friendships, make a difference where we walk, and fulfill our God-given purpose. A conversation this week reminded me of an important principle that lies at the heart of living the kind of life I dream of living. I call it the Fill and Flow principle.

Imagine that you are a pitcher. Out of your pitcher flows everything that you want to give to your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and fellow Christians. Your love, time, creativity, strength, service, laughter, and hope flow like a stream into the lives of those you meet, work with, and love. I fervently pray to pour Christlikeness into every conversation, every encounter, and every activity throughout my day. In the midst of all of that pouring, however, I often lose sight of one important truth – I can’t pour out what isn’t a part of me.

If I want to pour out Jesus, I have to take the time to fill myself with Him. If I want peace to flow out, I have to be still and let Peace fill me up. The same is true of love, truth, compassion, goodness, holiness, and hope. Sometimes I get so busy, things are so hectic, and life is so crazy that the easiest things to cross of the list are the “fill” practices – Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and worship. It almost seems selfish to invest time in filling up. The truth is that is short-sighted to try to live an all flow, no fill life. God created us to live in a cycle of filling and flowing. Filling reminds us to be dependent, to be quiet and humble, and to refocus our eyes on the One who fills all with the fullness of Himself.

My Jesus Resolution today is to live in the rhythm of fill and flow. I am learning that you can’t shortcut the filling in order to keep up with the crazy busy flow of life. I serve better when I spend time with the Servant. I love more deeply when I allow Him to fill me with His immeasurable love. I can share more joy when I have saturated my soul with His presence. The cross can flow more readily into my moments when I have planted myself in its shadow.

Have you ever been homesick? There really isn’t any feeling like it. No matter how interesting or exciting your present location, home pulls at your heart. It is where you are best known and most loved. Home is where your soul breathes and your heart has room to fully sing. When we are away, we yearn for the voices that are most familiar, the hands that fit best in our own, and the laughter that ignites our joy.

When traveling, a letter from home can be a lifeline. Someone who loves you reaches out and pens words that touch your heart and remind you of who you are, where you belong, and what matters most.

As Christians, we are supposed to be a homesick people. This world is not our home. We are not meant to be too comfortable here. Our hearts are tethered to a different world. We ache for a home that is the true dwelling places of our souls. As we yearn for that place, God gives us a lifeline. Augustine of Hippo put it this way, “The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”

My Jesus Resolution today is to read my letter from home. The Bible helps me see who I truly am and reminds of where I really belong. In the Word, I can hear my Father’s voice, feel His presence, and experience His love. Each sentence in Scripture pulls my heart toward home, reminding me that this world is temporary and what I can see is merely a shadow of what is to come.

Do you feel overwhelmed? There are days when it all seems too much. Time pressures, money stresses, health struggles, and relationship tangles push on our hearts, making us feel like it is all going to come crashing in on us. We look for ways to keep our heads above water as we navigate the difficult waters that threaten to pull us under. We gasp for breath, praying that today will be the day we come out on the other side of the storm.

Perhaps being overwhelmed is the antidote to feeling overwhelmed. As I sit thinking about the mountains that need to be climbed, the valleys that must be travailed, and the tasks that call to be completed, I realize that I have a different choice. What if I begin to catalog the ways that I am overwhelmed by God instead of the ways the world is trying to bury me?

I am overwhelmed by grace.

I am overwhelmed by His love.

I am overwhelmed with power and purpose.

I am overwhelmed with blessings.

I am overwhelmed in His presence.

My Jesus Resolution today is to be overwhelmed. When I focus on the way that God overwhelms me with His goodness and might, it takes my breath away and helps me see my day with new eyes. Each day I have a powerful choice – be overwhelmed by the pressures, pains, and problems of life or be overwhelmed by His presence, power, and provision. Today I will choose awe rather than awful. I expect that in the process I will be overwhelmed with gratitude and joy.

Who are you? On a daily basis, we answer this question with basic vital statistics – name, job, and relationships. But how we answer this question in our souls is of eternal significance. The world spends a great deal of time trying to shape our identity. It will work hard to convince you that who you are defined by your weaknesses, your flaws, your shortcomings, your bank account, your accomplishments, your looks, or your circumstances. And we believe it. I believe it, and it cripples the way I walk through my day. Never good enough becomes my mirror and the way I see my reflection.

God has good news. You are not limited by your “I can’ts,” “It will nevers,” or “That’s impossibles.” Here are ten truths God wants you to embrace.

1. I am blessed.

2. I am forgiven.

3. I have a purpose.

4. I am loved.

5. I am victorious.

6. I am a masterpiece in progress.

7. I am saved by grace.

8. I am never alone.

9. I am rich in the things that matter.

10. I am a child of God.

My Jesus Resolution today is to believe that I am who God says I am. The world shouts, screams, and pressures me to settle for its version of me. God gently calls me into His love, inviting me to see myself through His eyes. Today I will read God’s truths about who I am out loud. I will say them with joy, embrace them with hope, and walk in them with confidence. God is at work…in me and in you. That is who I am, and that is enough for me.

I love watching the Olympics. There is something inspiring about watching athletes from around the world come together to put their dreams on the line. Everyone who competes in the Olympics does so with one goal in mind – a gold medal. Hours of practice, years of discipline, and a lifetime of sacrifice point the athletes toward a single goal – standing on the podium, flag flying, anthem playing, with a medal around their necks.

The stories that fill the Olympic Games always go straight to my heart. Stories of families who have dedicated themselves, sacrificed time, money, and opportunities in order to help their athlete live a dream. Stories of towns who have offered support and encouragement. Stories of the strength required to overcome pain, injuries, and heartbreak. One goal inspires them all – being the victor, winning the gold medal.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Here is the good news. We all have gold medal potential. At the Olympics, only one athlete can be a winner. In Christ, victory is not only possible, but guaranteed, to everyone who runs the race.

My Jesus Resolution today is to commit to my training. I don’t think of myself as an athlete, but the lessons I can learn from watching the Olympics can help me run the race. Keep your focus. Surround yourself with people who will cheer you on. If you fall down, get back up. Keep practicing. Don’t give up. Sacrifice is necessary. Remember that you are on a team. Thank those who help you. Keep in mind that in the end, it will all be worth it.

You are loved. Really. You. The God who rules the whole universe loves you. In fact, He is crazy about you. He deeply, passionately, whole-heartedly, unreservedly loves you. He wants to envelop you with His love, drawing you close to His heart and whispering to your stressed-out soul to breathe. Let His love change your heart, refocus your eyes, transform your mind, and redirect your feet. Today you can live knowing you are wholly and completely loved.

The ways that God shows us that we are loved are very personal. His love isn’t a generic one-size-fits-all thing. It is a personalized, intimate, knowing love that expresses itself in simple gestures and quiet touches on your day. Spend today watching for the ways God is quietly whispering His love to your heart. Take an inventory of your blessings. Notice how many times He meets a specific need of your heart. Look for the ways that He leaves a fingerprint on your day or a love note for your soul. He loves to custom-make gifts of love for you. He wants to catch the attention of your heart and longs for you to love Him in return.

My Jesus Resolution today is to live loved. Every moment of today is going to be drenched in His love. I want His love to saturate my soul and soak down deeply into who I am. Living loved changes that way that I see, think, move, feel, talk, pray, and listen. My identity and my confidence flow from the certainty of His love. My joy bubbles over when I find the expressions of His love all over my day. Each one reminds me that I can live loved because I am loved.