Unshackled Moments ~ June 13 ~ The Redemption Of Han Solo

I feel a little sorry for George Lucas, which is stupid, because he doesn't care what  I think (or you either most likely). Fans give him sci-fi god status and then depose him and howl in anger and frustration at his refusal to take their desires into account when he chooses what to do with his epic creation, the Star Wars universe. Meanwhile, he's laughing all the way to the bank and loving the fact that those same fans will watch or read almost anything that has Star Wars slapped on it, so he can continue to do what he wants. What's funny is fans that cried and whined over the choices Lucas made in regards to re-releasing the  original trilogy and in regards to the prequel trilogy and yet threw a fit about Lucas selling out to Disney.

Fans loved the series and the expanded universe acting almost personally involved in protecting its integrity and honor while they themselves hate and complain about over 50% of the material. It's wild. I am a Star Wars fan, so much so that  I have watched the television Star Wars Holiday Special. That is everything wrong with 70s TV in one not so neat package. It's so bad that Lucas refused to release it on VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray or even audio cassette. Of course, what is done in secret will be brought into the light, and what you dd n public and are ashamed of can never be erased, especially as long as YouTube exists.

Yes, I am a Star Wars fan. I am even a Lucas fan, and while this may paint me as the stupid one to other fans and cause some to stop reading at this point (if anyone is), I like almost everything about the SWU. I liked the Ewoks when Return of The Jedi came out, and I like them still. I liked that they made Anakin a petulant know it all, spoiled whiny brat. Those guys turn into angry jerk villains quite often, so I felt it one of the more realistic aspects of Star Wars. I liked Jar Jar from the start.  I Still do. I thought he was hilarious. I didn't find him anymore derogatory than the Trade Federation characters or C3-PO. I think he was there for the comedic relief and for the kids, like the Ewoks, but I think Jar Jar was underestimated too,  and while Disney didn't go this route I also think the theory presented in the video below is an interesting one that might make you Jar Jar haters rethink things.

Anyway, speaking of Disney, I also had zero problem with that sale. First, Lucas can do what he wants with Star Wars and anything else he creates. We act like he owes the fans some say in what happens to it for some reason, but he doesn't. Secondly, remember all the complaining about what Lucas had been doing? Why assume Disney would do any worse? I know when we hear Disney we think Mickey, but this is the company that gave us Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. The Narnia movies, The Pirates of the Caribbean series, just to name a few really well done sci-fi, fantasy films. And I happened to love Episode VII, despite screaming and nearly crying at that one part.

And speaking of Han, that would be the one thing that gets me. Han.....shot.....first.  Changing the scene with Guido is the one change that Lucas made in the original trilogy that didn't just expand or enhance or even detract from the original story but changed it...drastically. I own a copy of the film in its original form, and I prefer it, even with it's poorer color and effects, because Han shoots first. I hate that change, because it totally changes the story and character of Han Solo and because the past can't simply be rewritten, no matter how much we'd like to alter a few scenes here and there.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Lucas defended the controversial change as keeping in line with the principles of Star Wars. "Han Solo was going to marry Leia, and you look back and say, 'Should he be a cold-blooded killer?'" he explained. "Because I was thinking mythologically — should he be a cowboy, should he be John Wayne? And I said, 'Yeah, he should be John Wayne.' And when you're John Wayne, you don't shoot people [first] — you let them have the first shot. It's a mythological reality that we hope our society pays attention to." Whatever, Han shot first. *

I disagree with Lucas here, because it didn't happen that way. I feel a little like the crazy Annie Wilkes screaming about how the hero went over the cliff in Misery, but it's true.  Changing things to make it work just irks me. And never mind the reality that many a man who has married a princes in history has been a cold blooded killer and a great argument that Han shooting first still fell under the category of self-defense (Guido was going to kill him, and the best defense is a good offense and all) by changing the scene to make it more palpable with the idea of Han's future character he goes directly against his entire Darth Vader story line, the aspect of and hope for redemption.

But as much as it bothers me that Lucas tried to change the perspective on Han and his character by changing a detail about his past, don't we all too often do the same thing? How easy and natural is it to just alter the way we tell our version of some event or multiple events to make ourselves not look as bad, as wrong as degenerate as we were at the time? I was a selfish jerk who did this horrible thing, but if you understood why you wouldn't think so badly of me. I did indeed do that, but if you only understood the circumstances or what happened to me in the past you wouldn't judge me as harshly. We want so badly to excuse and justify our past in order to be seen as less unrighteous or at least justify the evil we have done.

But when we alter the truth of our history we diminish the redemption story of our lives, and we steal some of God's glory for the work of forgiveness and grace in our lives. We attempt to redeem ourselves with lies and make ourselves look better than we are or were, when the truth is that only forgiveness can justify us. The Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony is a mighty weapon with which we can aid in freeing captives from the enemy. There is a promise that in finding relationship with God and freedom from our addictions and self centeredness we will not regret the past nor wish to close the door on it. We will see how our experience can benefit others. But that weapon is weakened and the benefit is lessened when we selfishly hide and alter the truth of that testimony.

The truth is that Han shot first, and the contrast between who he was with who he became is part of the greatness of the story. I shot first too. Many times. I acted solely in my own self interest too many times, and others were damaged because of it. So have you. Justifying and excusing it doesn't make us look any better and doesn't change the truth that we weren't worthy of praise but lived as enemies of God and His love. But honestly acknowledging the truth of actions and motives and then contrasting who I was with who I am today, because of the power and grace of God is not only staying true but is a much better story of redemption that can give hope to other broken degenerate enemies of God.

I was a selfish man, who did too much damage to my own life and the lives of others. But God.  I am not who I should be, but I am also not who I was, thanks to the amazing love and restoring power of God. The force that changed my life into something worth living and made me a man who doesn't have to live in shame can do the same for you. We all need redemption. And we can't redeem ourselves, no matter how we change the story. But God.


* This paragraph came from the excellent article on the topic of the change to the Han/Guido scene found at Movie/fone.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Moments ~ June 12 ~ He Knows

Yesterday evening I didn't feel good. I don't know how to explain it, but I just felt off. What I wanted more than anything was too feel better and to spend a little extra time with Leah. So I chose to stay inside and not go spend my usual 45 minutes to an hour before bed with God, my reading and my pipe. We stayed up a while talking and visiting and exploring some music we were unfamiliar with, and then went to sleep.

I slept for a short while, and then the nightmares started back up. They've been coming more frequently and gotten rougher lately, but last night is the worst it's been in years. Around 4 AM I actually woke up swinging, which is something that hasn't happened since the first year of my release from prison. I lay there praying and giving thanks that I had not struck my wife. I finally drifted off to sleep, but rest didn't happen. The bad dreams continued.

Exhausted and struggling to force myself from bed this morning, I moaned and complained to myself about the lack of rest. For a brief moment, I slipped into my old way of thinking. The thought popped into my mind that the horrible night of terror and restlessness occurred because I had skipped my evening time, that God had punished me for rejecting to spend that time with Him. Something within me rose up and said don't slip into self-pity, and don't allow your tiredness to make you vulnerable to such lies. I rejected the thought in the name of Jesus, and then something wonderful happened.

Peace came. I got the basis for what I am writing now. The Spirit reminded me of two things. God loves me deeply and completely. Also, God is not a petulant and vindictive jerk who responds to a slight, or a perceived slight, by getting even. There was no, I'll show him what happens for skipping his evening time. No. It wasn't the first time I stayed in with my wife, and it won't be the last. The off feeling I had most of the previous evening was likely a precursor to the rough night, a warning that I wasn't doing well. And while it may have been perhaps lessened by spending that time with God before sleeping, the distress was not punishment for failing to do so.

There is a huge difference gaining blessing and benefit that helps in times of trouble from spending time with God and  having times of trouble as punishment. We don't earn God's protection and peace any more than we earn His love or our redemption. He is not so needy that He will give us blessing in exchange for a little of our precious time and withhold it if we don't spend X amount of time with Him. He doesn't want a little of our time anyway. He wants all of us, totally and completely. He wants me to be as much His when I am with Leah as when I am alone with Him.

Sometimes when we walk outside the will of God He chastens and corrects us. It happens, and it happens because He loves us and doesn't want us to continue down a path that will lead to destruction in our lives. Sometimes when we slip back into self we do things that have negative consequences. They are not punishments but the natural results of cause and effect. These are real situations, but it doesn't mean that every time something negative happens we are either being chastened or getting what we deserve. There is such a thing as evil, and there is an enemy that resists the will and blessing of God in our lives.

If the first thing I do every morning is say I love you to my wife and the last thing I do every night is to tell her again, she might get a little concerned about what's going on if I skipped doing that. Am I sick? Did I stop loving her? But God knows our heart in a way that another human being can't, in a way that even we can't. He doesn't have to question meaning or motive or situation when we do something out of our normal routine. He knows the why of it better than even we do. He knows exactly how much  we love Him when we are on our knees proclaiming it, when we are saying a quick prayer in bed rather than a longer prayer in our evening chair and when we are totally absorbed in something else. Our words will never convince Him of love that isn't real and not saying them will never make Him doubt the truth of the love in our heart. He knows.

It is normal as we seek to improve our relationship with God and our spiritual condition to begin doing things that help with that. It is normal that as we grow more and more in our love for God we will spend time with Him. These things can become regularly scheduled events because we tend to do the things that we do every day on a sort of natural schedule. But there is no rule to it. We are not earning God's favor by adding Him to our schedule. Grace does not demand adhering to a rule, especially a rule we put in place ourselves. There is no doubt or question that the more time we regularly spend with Daddy the better our relationship with Him will be. It is also a wonderful and proven way to stay on track and in the will of God to start and end the day focusing on Him.

But if we muss one aspect of a daily routine with our Daddy let us not believe the lies of the enemy trying to hinder and hurt our relationship by saying that whatever bad happened later was Daddy slapping us. No. If we miss time with Him, His response is only to lovingly say He missed us too, take us in His arms and love on us. Also, for the record, I truly believe there are times that God fully agrees with chucking the schedule and the routine. He made the sun go backwards once, and that's pretty radically against the norm. I believe there are times when He agrees that we need to spend some time that we would normally spend with Him with our spouse or our parents or our children or a friend or maybe even with a stranger.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Moments ~ June 11 ~ Alone

My wife and I watched the latest episode of the History Channel show Alone online last night. For those unfamiliar with the show, it's kind of like an acoustic Survivor in the genre of non-real reality TV. Why non-real? It is not scripted. In fact, there are no camera men. Ten people get dropped off alone, scattered around an island of the coast of Canada with a certain amount of equipment, no food and no water and no shelter. They have a device to call for help or to drop out of the show and some gear. Then they go about the business of filming themselves trying to make, find or imagine up the necessary things to survive out there in the wilderness. Last one to quit and run home to easy-order fast food and the connection with other people most of us crave even as we say we prefer to be alone wins a half a million bucks.

So why isn't this the only show out there that is actually real Reality TV? Because most of the reflection, vocal meditations, whining and preening for the camera that the contestants are involved in is not real. If you listen for half a second, you can't escape the manipulations and lies, and I can't help but wonder if they have told these lies so much that they actually believe themselves.  They choose when to turn the cameras on and off, although I am sure that it is in the contract that they must provide a certain amount of footage. That means that they are very aware of the camera being there and on, and that means that they are not alone. Not in the sense that they are acting as though they are alone and no one can see or hear them. Pretending to be alone so that people can watch what you do when you're alone when you are extremely aware of the world watching and listening is seriously not real.

There are some real moments, such as watching some person act tough and unafraid and brag about how they will handle or at least be OK with bears in their area only to later watch them tuck tail and call for the boat after their first encounter with one. But what really makes me ask are you even listening to the words that are coming out of your mouth? is when from day one you see the image being created, where the contestants (I use the plural here because most of them in the first two seasons have done this) begin building their way to fail and or quit and save face at the same time from the start, where the foundation for justification and excuse are created.  They all seem to be similar in scope. They are some variation on the I came out here to learn about myself, to gain some spiritual, emotional  and or psychological insight. I came out here to show my family I can do this or that and now that I have accomplished those goals and have done what I have set out to do I can quit with my head held high. I can do what I want and give up this fight and struggle because I don't have to make it to the end in order to do what I hoped to do excuse. I wasn't really here for anything other than what I have already done.

Now, not everyone is doing this, at least not obviously, but the majority are, and it makes me want to say to each of them that they are so obviously full of it. Listen, if all you're after is the challenge and the aloneness and the character/spiritual development of the situation, you could do that without the cameras, without the contest. Within an hour's drive of most large cities in this country, and pretty much all smaller cities and rural areas, are places where one can go camp out, and avoid other people almost entirely. You can go try to survive and live off the land in any number of state and national parks and wilderness areas. These people took part in this show for attention and a little "fame" and or in hopes of winning $500,000 for playing an adult version of last man standing. So stop pretending that less than two weeks into it you've accomplished some great spiritual or personal feat and can quit without failing or falling short. Stop pretending it doesn't matter that you are completely ignoring the fact that you can't possibly win if you give up.

Now, please don't get me wrong. I am not criticizing the contestants for doing anything that I don't believe we all do. In fact, I think most of us fail to be honest enough with ourselves and God to be real. Our lives are rarely real. Basically reality isn't real very often. We wear masks, we hide motives, we manipulate circumstances and situations to effect perceptions of who we are and our performance, and as we set out to change our lives, to accomplish some goal or another or to start or stop doing something we also begin laying the foundations of justification and excuses for when we eventually fail. No, we aren't real enough to consider our lives reality very often, not with ourselves, not with our God and not with others.

It's scary to be that real and honest, because when we are we see that we are not good enough to meet our own standards, we see that we do not have what it takes to run the race, to live and do rightly, and there is something within each of us that we are not proud of, that we are not happy with and that just isn't what we wish we were. That's the reality of life. We all have some inner drive to be and do things that we simply can not be or do.

Sometimes we give up and justify not trying anymore, because the struggle to do the impossible is just too difficult. We lower the standards we subconsciously know are the only measure of success. Or at least we try to lower them. But when we do, we are miserable, because deep inside we know that living righteously, with love, with purity in attitudes and motives, is the standard we are born to strive for. Sometimes we try to pretend that we are making a low A, when we know that the truth is that we are usually making a D+ at best. And sometimes, sometimes, we tap into the real solution to our reality problems.

There is a place where we can honestly get real with ourselves and God and acknowledge that the image of ourselves we wish we had and live up to is just not possible but that it comes from an inborn calling to be holy even as our Daddy in heaven is holy. There is no close enough. There is achieving righteousness and running the race to the finish line victorious in our walk with Him and then there is quitting, giving up, settling for less, failing and falling short. There is no middle ground. It's either  win or lose and trying to pretend that we aren't in the race to win it doesn't change the reality.

And in that reality, we are all, each and every one of us who ever lived or ever will live, losers. We are all pretenders in life. We are all trying to be and accomplish what we can not. And we are all going to find times when  we simply can not go on fighting to be what we hope to be, what we dream of being. We may try to hide our shame and embarrassment by claiming to ourselves that our goal was something different. We might try to lower the standard. We might try to convince God that our motives and drives are different than deep down we know that they are. But when we finally find moments in the dark where we are almost alone, and we take off the masks we hide behind from ourselves, we know the reality of being selfish and self-centered losers, seeking our own comfort and pleasure and acceptance and glory.

But the great news regarding the reality of life is that  Jesus came for losers. He loves losers like us. He says to each of us that we have the game goals wrong. The reason that we can never make it on our own, that we can never achieve what we feel like we were meant to in our own strength, ability and determination is that we were never meant to. The  game is rigged. Surviving on our own is not possible, nor was it ever part of what life was ever meant to be. Alone is not reality.

Alone is an illusion. The reality is that we are not alone. Ever. We were meant to go through the good times and the bad with our hand in our Daddy's hand getting help from Him to meet our each and every need. It is only in Him and through Him and by His grace that we have a chance of living a life based on honest reality, of seeing our shortcomings and still  being able to live up to  a humanly impossible standard. His grace makes it possible to change our heart and purify our motives and desires. He inspires the drive to run the race, and only He can help us run it well. We are never alone, and we were never supposed to be.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Moments ~ June 10 ~ The Invisible Gorilla And Other Blindness

Those who know me or are regular readers are aware of my vision problems. A couple of months ago my vision had become so bad that I could barely function at all, and had even begun asking Leah to drive me because driving was dangerous. It looked like I would end up legally blind before the year was up if something didn't change. Something changed.

I got into to see an eye surgeon, finally, who diagnosed the problem and began treatment. I see him again next week, but things are a lot better. I can read what I'm typing without the font having to be a quarter inch or more in size. I still can't see well enough to do the fine vision work of photography and photo editing, but I can see enough to look at Leah or watch a movie with her and actually see it, and I can see enough to read, which is most important as it's hard to minister without being able to study God's Word.

I'm not going blind. It's not only not growing worse, but it's gotten a little better. I am praying for continued improvement over the next few months, and then we'll evaluate if the time for surgery has come. This time being unable to see inspired a lot of thinking on the subject of blindness. For one thing, going blind was always one of my biggest fears, and now it is not. Don't get me wrong; I most certainly would prefer to be able to see, but I imagine there are worse things than not be able to see.

I remember a friend from my youth,, a blind man, named Lamar. He was amazing. He smoked a pipe, and somehow managed to never have to rest it.The same pipe every day without it getting gross. He must've known a secret to daily cleaning that I have yet to figure out. He could also walk up to a truck with the engine running, diagnose the trouble with the motor by sound, reach in and make adjustments fixing it! Seriously, I can't fix an engine with both eyes wide open,and he is somehow not losing fingers messing with a running motor while not being able to see. We prayed for his healing, and it didn't come. One day he will close his eyes and open them on the other side of eternity to see the beautiful face of Jesus, but on this side of eternity he hasn't gotten that healing.

I don't think he's happy about that, and I don't blame him. I don't think I would be thrilled if I were him. But I also think that there are things that he can do as well or better than the sighted, and that is awesome for those of us watching who are not stuck in the dark. Sometimes we may find ourselves handicapped by circumstances or the past or perhaps even the obvious, by health.  Of course our preference would be complete healing and restoration, and it sucks when that doesn't happen. It sucks for us anyway. But seeing someone keep going, keep making it, and keep walking with God despite the thorn, instead of because the thorn has been removed, especially if they do it with joy and not bitterness, can be an amazing statement pointing the way to Daddy and His power, grace, and love. Sometimes when the healing doesn't come makes a stronger statement for God than healing. I don't know why, but it's true. Lamar's blindness and ability helped me see that.

There's another type of blindness that is selective and momentary. It's the Invisible Gorilla or selective attention. Basically, back in the 1990's a researcher had people watch a film of people playing with a basketball, passing it back and forth. He instructed them to count the number of passes. Half way through the event, a woman in a gorilla suit walked through the middle of the players. When asked how many people watching saw the gorilla, half hadn't! Now, if you look this up on YouTube, you'll see the gorilla. No matter how hard you count the passes, you are informed and aware that there will be a gorilla and are looking for it. But if you hadn't been told about it, only about half of the people reading this would notice the gorilla. It's because of selective attention, and it's the same principle that causes people to run over pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists in plain sight. They are so focused on looking out for other cars that they don't see what's right in front of them that doesn't fall within their search parameters.

We can become similarly blind spiritually. We become so focused on the things that have us worried or are going wrong or the problems that haven't been fixed, the things that haven't been restored, the negative, that we miss a big God walking through our midst, moving on our behalf and holding our life together even as we feel like we are coming apart.

There's another type of blindness that can effect us spiritually. It's the familiarity blind spot. I remember one day I was driving though an area that I traveled on a frequent and regular basis when suddenly a police officer drove up behind me with his lights flashing. I had run a stop sign, and he was already writing the ticket as I looked in surprise at the back of the new stop sign at an old intersection. It had been a stop only for the side streets and not the main road for as long as I knew. Now it was a four-way stop, and I had completely failed to see the change. This is similar to the selective attention problem of the invisible gorilla. Instead of focusing on one thing so much we miss the obvious other, we aren't focused too much but not enough. Going through the regular routines and places we miss the changes and the new. God can do something, open a door, and we walk right by cursing the hallway we can't get out of. We pray for help and fail to see it when it comes becomes it's outside of our routine that we don't break.

We can help overcome the contempt of the familiar and the selective focus through awareness and looking for God and what He's doing in our lives. We can make a conscious choice to examine or lives, our days and our routines for evidence of the hand of God. And even those situations where it's not psychologically spiritual but some handicap, we can escape discouragement and bitterness if the healing doesn't come by pursuing God and learning what we can do that will bring Him glory without that vision, or that arm, or that career or that......

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Moments ~ June 9 ~ Facing The Fear Monster

I had a nightmare last night. It's a pretty regular occurrence here lately. As I lay in bed trying to go back to sleep and praying that I could be done with the tormenting dreams for the rest of the night, I thought for a moment about my childhood nightmares. There were a few. Most times I responded by first trying to change the channel. I can remember as a child pretending my belly button was a screen selection button and imagining that if I pushed it I could change the channel and make my mind play something different. Sometimes this would work and the fear would fade away and I would slip back off to sleep to dream of flying or riding motorcycles or something else wonderful.

Sometimes though changing the channel didn't work. Sometimes the channel wouldn't change. Sometimes when I fell back asleep I would drift back into the very dream I had tried to escape from or maybe even find myself in a worse dream. Sometimes I couldn't go back to sleep. And in each of these times the fear would increase, and I would get more and more  uncomfortable, miserable and afraid laying there on the top bunk above my brother.

Usually when that happened I responded by swinging down from my bed, trying hard not to step on my little brother or wake him, and then I would walk to my parent's room to wake my Mom.  I would tell her that I had a bad dream, and she would pray for me and with me and send me back to bed. There may be times that didn't work, but I can't remember any. I do remember though, especially as I grew older, times that I tried to be a big boy and not go to Mom when I became afraid at night and the fear only got worse. It would grow until I wasn't afraid of the dream any more but had begun fearing being afraid. Fearing fear is a rough mutation.

And that can happen even today at 45 years of age if I try to battle the fear monster on my own strength. We don't have to live in fear. Fear can drive us to do a lot of things and react to situations in any number of ways, and most of them just make the situation worse. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), but that doesn't mean we won't ever experience fear and worry.

I can't remember my Mom ever getting angry or upset that I bothered her or woke her when I got scared at night. She would comfort me and pray for me. And the truth is that our Heavenly Daddy doesn't get upset with us for being afraid either. We haven't failed by experiencing fear. We don't have to muster up courage or faith or defeat the fear within us ourselves in order to please God. In fact, we can't do that. We can not control the faith within us or the rate at which it grows. Faith comes as a gift from God and from our going to Him in times of need and learning from experience that He is our refuge and our strength. We also can not control the fear which grows within us or the rate at which it grows. The peace that overcomes fear does not come from us but from God.

We are His children, and it is not a sin to experience fear. He doesn't hold it against us or become displeased with us. But He wants us to run to Him when we become afraid so that He can comfort us, so that He can intercede on our behalf and so that we can experience the truth that He is our answer and solution. His response is to wrap us in His love and assure us that He is with us. He neither expects or desires for us to overcome fear on our own. He wants us to rely on and call upon Him.

Today when worry and fear come against us, let us run to Daddy for help, comfort, refuge and relief. Sometimes the fear will be immediately dissipated. Sometimes we might still feel afraid but also continue to go the right way on the right path because Daddy is holding our hand. Either way, the next right thing is always to rely on and seek Him. He will not turn us away. He will not tell us to grow up, be our own strength  or to get our fear under control before bothering Him with our problems. He will not call us foolish or failures for being afraid. We have never been called to be self-sufficient. It is not desired nor expected of us.

You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.

- Psalm 32:7

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Moments ~ June 8 ~ Electric Fences

This week I put up an electric fence around the front and west side yard of our home. The purpose of an electric fence is to keep animals in or out of a particular area. The property belonging to my neighbors is also protected by electric fencing, but that one has a stronger charge than ours. I know just how strong, because I bumped it several times yesterday as I worked on the one section where the two wires run down through the same area of their east side line and mine and Leah's west side line.

The one we have is barely there compared to the neighbor's, but it works, most of the time. The thing about an electric fence is that electricity has to be going through it in order for it to be effective. Otherwise it is simply a piece of wire that can easily be pushed aside and gone under or over. It doesn't matter if it's touched or not when it is powerless.

I spent a couple of days clearing obstacles, making a pathway, running the wire and getting everything up. Hurting and exhausted from the labor, I plugged it in. Nothing. It wasn't working. I checked the outlet with a phone battery charger to make sure the juice was getting to the box. No problems with the outlet. Then I walked the perimeter. I found some spots where the bottom wire was being hit by weeds and touching something that interfered with the flow of power. I used a couple of more poles to get the wire off the areas of interference and puled weeds and vines. When I tried it again it worked, although there were still a couple more adjustments to be made with connections and placement to make the fence as effective as it can be.

The electricity was always as powerful as ever, and there was no problem with it, but even with the big things moved, some small things hindered the flow. It made me think of our lives. We are powerless without the flow of the Spirit n our lives. We can't keep anything out of our living area or protect and keep what we need to without power. Those things we want to rid ourselves of, that bring destruction and misery, just keep coming, no matter how much we try to stop them.

We come to the place where we need something outside ourselves to guard the property  line, we need a power that can do what we can not. But our lives are overgrown and filled with wreckage that gets in the way of contact with that Power. The great thing is that all it takes is asking for help and surrendering, and God's grace will make a space for His power to enter the area and connect with us.

Still, we need to keep an eye on the fence line. It's easy to think that the big stuff has been taken care of and is out of the way, so we don't need to worry about the small stuff. But the truth is interference with electricity is more about what the issue is than size. There are things that will block the flow, and even a small example of such can insulate. The same is true of sin.

Sin insulates our heart from the Spirit. It blocks the flow. Where we allow it will be an area where our fence is down. Maybe nothing will get in that spot where we always had problems before, but predators in the yard are predators in the yard. Does it really matter which fence they came through? Maybe I won't hit the bottle or the dope first. Maybe I keep too close an eye on that fence line. But if I allow sin in other areas, other fence lines, death and destruction  can still take over as I cut myself off from the flow of the Spirit.

The great news is that we don't have to overpower the weeds any more than we have to charge the line. If we ask God for help, if we simply give Him access to our hearts, He will show us the areas that need work. He'll even do the work Himself. We are much more like the little child kneeling next to Daddy pulling a few weeds here and there, helping, while He removes the vast majority of the problem than we are faithful and capable workers. He'll move the big stuff. He'll prevent the growth of little stuff cropping back in to block the flow. He'll be the power that protects our hearts. But we have to listen, check the flow, make sure we're making contact before the predators get to the line. If we wait and the power is down, it will be too late.    

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Moments ~ June 7 ~ Why Be Normal?

This morning as I scrolled through my Facebook page to see the posts from my wife and some of my friends who post scripture and inspirational/uplifting things most mornings I came across a meme that read: If someone treats you like crap, just remember that there's something wrong with them, not you. Normal people don't go around destroying other human beings.

Now I understand the idea behind this, why someone would like this underlying idea that when we are mistreated it's about the other person, not us. When someone is treating you in an unloving, unkind, abusive  manner it shows what's in their heart, not yours. Your heart isn't seen until you react to their mistreatment of you....unless of course you started it.

But the main thing wrong with this highly self confirming I'm OK, You're OK meme is that um, actually, that  is exactly what normal people do. Normal, ordinary folks put themselves first, tear others down to lift themselves up, and do things, small and large, that bring destruction, pain and misery into the lives of other human beings. Normal people are nice to other people in the hopes that people will be nice in return, they are polite so that they look good and are accepted, or they are good to people because they want something. If it seems like they can get away with not being nice without hindering what the majority of society, friends, family, etc. think about them and without looking bad, and if they are not going to get anything for being nice, then the normal course of action is at best apathy and indifference and at worse malicious evil.

Disagree? How many people walk by the broken homeless on a daily basis, refusing to make eye contact or acknowledge their existence, much less their need? How would it feel to be treated as though you were worthless trash that might as well not exist? Could that possibly be destructive? We are in the midst of a Presidential Election year. It doesn't take more than a few minutes on social media to see Conservatives saying the most hateful and hurtful and just plain mean things to and about Liberals. Of course Liberals are doing the same to Conservatives. Sanders supporters try to destroy Clinton supporters and vice versa. I can call someone stupid, say things about them that would make me cry if personally directed at me by someone I respected as long as they're on the opposite side of some group or issue.

The absolute worse thing any parent can go through is the pain of losing a child. And yet recently half or more of this country attacked a woman they did not know, screaming for her blood basically and for her to be held responsible and have her (thankfully still alive) child taken away from her because a gorilla was killed to protect her child who fell into it's area. To nearly lose your child and then before the adrenaline can wear off and the breath can be caught you are judged by an entire nation, your qualifications as a mother and right to raise your child called into question, you are personally attacked by half the people and the other half, who are supporting you, are attacking people who attack you, that's not the least destructive or normal. No one is hurt, right? Right. It's not normal human behavior for people to try to destroy one another over a gorilla. Yes. Yes it is.

That's why living like Christ is so radical. It not only is not normal. it goes against our every instinct and nature. Don't look out for yourself first. Put others before you. Lay down your life for people who haven't done anything for you and don't deserve it. Love others, without expecting anything in return. Love your enemy and bless those that curse you and pray for those who despitefully use you instead of retaliating. Now that's what's not normal or ordinary behavior. In fact it's so outside the realm of normal that we can't do it. The only way to come close to loving others and treating others in anything other than, at best - as long as you don't hurt me I'll be nice to you way and, at most normal - if it's not in my best interest not to I will destroy you sort of way, is by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit.

Today, let us not be normal. Let us pray for the grace to live outside the realm of normality and let our words and actions bring life to those we encounter. Let us not bring destruction into anyone's life today.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.