Unshackled Moments ~ March 20, 2018 ~ Yard Of The Month

Sunday I turned 47, and I feel every day of it, and then some, most of the time. I enjoyed my birthday and felt grateful for another year. That is an awesome result of what has happened to me in recovery and in relationship with Daddy. I no longer curse the day of my birth nor regret the gift of life. And another result is that relationships with my family are much better than they were when I lived in active addiction and alcoholism. That probably isn't a surprise to anyone in recovery or who has family members or friends who have recovered from the bondage of addiction.

Leah and I went over to my parent's house to enjoy a meal (my Mom made me a huge bowl of her fabulous potato salad and Leah made me a delicious homemade cherry pie) with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law and one of my nieces. After the meal we played a game called Yard Of The Month. YOTM is a seriously fun game created by my brother-in-law that everyone Leah and I have played it with have really enjoyed. It always brings a lot of laughing and fellowship. If you happen to come across the kickstarter for the game when it is launched, this is a game that needs to be in stores.

But like many games, YOTM doesn't work well when played with an attitude of love and grace. You can be nice to people, but sooner or later that isn't going to work out well for you. The point of the game is to win, and you can't win if you don't cause someone else to lose. At one point I remarked about my niece that she was the best Christian at the table, because even in the game, she sacrificed her well being for others, especially for my Dad. Instead of helping and saving herself, she often rescued others from the damage and negative results of the game play. She played a very gracious game. She also lost. I won, by the way, and I was not self sacrificing. I played somewhat viciously.

No, I don't regret first knocking my brother out and then my Dad. Nor do I regret sneakily making myself look like less of a threat while my wife and sister-in-law battled between themselves until I could swoop down and declare victory. We all had a blast. And I am not about to say that games should be played like life, with sacrificial love. There's no grace in baseball....and that is true of most sports and games. You can't win unless someone loses. While we do need to be loving in our attitude toward one another, it doesn't mean I don't love my wife, nor does it make her feel less valued or loved, when I smash her gnome in YOTM. It's a game.

But it's easy to fall into that game mentality in life. If I live in the mode of Jesus, loving and giving up self for God and others, how can I win? How can I come out ahead? How can I secure my own situation while putting others ahead of me? If I do that, won't I end up in life like my sweet niece who watched her garden be destroyed by others, even those she helped (including me), who did not return her selfless generosity but took advantage of it to further their own play?

Well, it all depends on what you really want and how you define winning. If winning is only coming out on top in business, in getting material things or approval or whatever, then perhaps to live like Christ is to lose at life. But when we lose we win, because those who sacrifice their life, find a better life, a life worth living. When I hit the goal of the game, the game ended, and I had won. But our life does not end when the breathing stops, and the one who dies with the most toys is not actually the winner. Winning is finding our completeness, our joy, peace, and contentment in this realm and the eternity to come. It is in relationship with Daddy, not in the stuff or accolades we collect.

We don't have to make others lose to win. We can shine the light of love and sacrifice, knowing that even if it makes us appear weak and people take advantage, if we lose the whole world, we will continue to have and enjoy something that can not be taken away. Our intimacy with Daddy is what makes life worth living. It is what fulfills us and brings us to the place where we have and are everything we know inside we were always meant to have and be. I may not be a winner by the world's standards. I am not highly praised or rich or successful by the world;s standards. But I no longer despair of life. I have a life worth living, that I enjoy, even when it is difficult and there is suffering, characterized by serenity, joy and love. When everything is said and done, if I lose my health, my wealth, and my standing, I will still have the game changing piece that was missing from the start. I have found the treasure that isn't dependent upon people, places or things on this planet, and that makes all the difference. And my having it doesn't mean that no one else can have it. It's not limited. There are enough pieces for you and everyone to have the treasure that I have found. The freedom and life that satisfies and is found in Christ.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. 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 and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend 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.

Unshackled Moments ~ March 19, 2018 ~ What A Friend

Isn't it awesome the Jesus is a friend to sinners? That means He is my friend, and He either is your friend as well or can be. We are all sinners, or if you prefer, imperfect morally and spiritually. Being a sinner doesn't make you worse than anyone else when everyone is in the same category. We could just as easily say that Jesus is a friend of human beings. It amounts to the same thing.

Instead of bristling and becoming defiant at the idea of being called a sinner, we have the option of being grateful that someone who is more able than us to do what is right would be our friend. I know that it's not our natural bent to act that way. Even us who know we aren't perfect often look down on those who seem worse than us. We reject and walk away. I'm done. You're too messed up. You're too much trouble. You're not worth it, and you can't or won't change, so just don't come near me. And yet, the best of us is closer on the scales of perfection to the worst than they are to Him. Getting a 59 on a test may seem a lot better, smarter, whatever, than the person who scores a 3, but it's still a failing grade. Jesus came and did what we were always supposed to do and couldn't, and He made a 100. Yet He doesn't look down on us. He declares that He will be our friend.

Now here is a beautiful benefit of that friendship. I am a selfish, imperfect person, but still if I see a friend struggling to carry a load, I will try to help. That's what friends do. We forget that simple truth sometimes, and do not apply it to Jesus. We get worn out and beaten down from the pain of our struggles. And more often than not, it is because we insist on carrying a load that we were never intended to carry alone. It's not that Jesus is far from us and refusing or unable to help. It's that we don't move over and let Him grab the burden.

He is our friend. When He sees us struggling, which is every time we struggle, He is right there with the Spirit, saying let Me Help carry that and be your comfort. We don't have to do it ourselves. In fact it is foolish and damaging for us to continue to try. We have over-sized egos and under-sized strength. God know that, but He's not condemning us for it. He's constantly calling us to come close for our refuge, strength and comfort.

A friend is someone we are in relationship with, a relationship that is ongoing, continual, and beneficial. Jesus is more than our savior. He is our friend. Yes, I am pounding on that idea, because it so important. It seems we so often have an attitude that says, I know I need a savior, so thank You Jesus for Your salvation and forgiveness. I got it from here. But we don't have it. The weight will cripple and crush us. His burden is light for us, because He has done all, every bit, of the heavy lifting. Heavy? More like the impossible for us lifting. He is not only the alpha, the beginning of our faith, but He is the sustainer, and He is the omega, the finisher of our faith.

When we remember that He is our friend, and not our benefactor. we can let go of what of the weight that is breaking us down and causing us to stumble. We can more easily find our rest in Him, because we can remember that we are not His volunteer project. We are His friends, and He cares for us.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. 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 and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend 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.

Our Father's Perfect Love

Wally Flynt shares on the upcoming Easter, the new life of spring, and the difference between earthly fathers and our Heavenly Father. The message, "Our Father's Perfect Love," is about 7 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Sunday, March 18, 2018. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen. May God bless and keep you.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

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 Echo ~ March 17, 2018 ~ Some Things Never Change

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

February 23, 2015.

Did you know that God sometimes changes His mind? But what about God the same yesterday, today and forever? That is true. Who God is doesn't change. His nature doesn't change.  His eternal purpose and plan doesn't change. But the details of the plan? The steps between A and Z? Yes, sometimes He changes His mind about the details.

Not long after God delivered the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt, Moses, God's chosen leader of the people, moved outside of the will of God. God changed His mind. The man chosen to lead the Israelites from slavery to the promised land would never physically step foot into the promise land. His blessing was given to another, Joshua, Still God consoled the grieving leader. He took Moses to the mountain top and gave him the first look at the promise. And He did something else. He showed Moses the face of love. Moses received a glimpse of God that made him glow. He may not have walked the land of promise, but he received the promise before the rest, the promise to see God, to know God and have relationship with God. The Israelites reaching the promised land was nothing more than a step towards what Moses got being available for all of us.

Not long after Moses messed up, the Israelites decided to start worshiping a golden idol they'd made. They shocked God with the sheer audacity and ingratitude. He decided to wipe them out and start over on the Master Plan with Moses and his children. But Moses interceded on behalf of the foolish former slaves. God changed His mind and let them live. God showed mercy due to intercession.

Let's look at one last example as the Word that was with God and was God made flesh in the Messiah Jesus tried to take a break. He needed to rest rather than minister. A Greek woman enters the scene begging for help for her daughter from Jesus. He basically told her No. She pushed. She showed she new the truth of His goodness, and she wouldn't settle for being told there was no way for her, a gentile, to approach the God of the Jews. Jesus, enjoying her faith and understanding, to the perception of those who heard the "No," changed His mind, said "Yes" and delivered the daughter.

God changes His mind, but never His nature. The nature of God is goodness and love. Sometimes He shows mercy. Sometimes He brings life to the barrenness of our lives. Sometimes He takes away the Garden and the Land of Promise. But what He never takes away or denies is His great love. He never holds back His goodness. God will sit with us, wrap Himself around us and weep with us as we grieve and mourn. He feels our pain in the core of His being. Then, when He's felt our hurt, He'll wipe our tears away, look at us with eyes full of love, forgiveness and empathy, say "I love you so much," and give us what we need. There may be blessings on this plane that are withheld. He may or may not give us what we want. But if we go to Jesus as the broken, unclean people we are, we always, always, always find what  we need. We always find ourselves receiving the promise, the big one, the one all the little promises serve to point the way to, the promise of acceptance from and relationship with the Holy Creator.

Daddy, I thank You for Your love for me. I thank You for the glimpse of the Promise during times when it feels like the blessing is withheld. Help me fill the holes in my life with Your love and to come to You with all my scrapes and bruises and with all of my broken heart whenever I fall short of walking in Your truth and promise. Help me to remember that one of the best names for Jesus is Son of Compassion because You not only hear us when we cry but You feel our tears to Your very core. Thank You for Your great compassion that took You to the cross for me. Amen.  

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. 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 and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend 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.

Unshackled Moments ~ March 16, 2018 ~ Mistake Filled Perfection

Nobody's perfect. Not even Jesus. Before you get the kindling to burn me at the stake for heresy, Jesus was, is and always will be perfectly righteous, the perfect exemplification of love. Jesus perfectly chose Daddy's will over His own each and every instance of His life. He walked in love with every step He took. He perfectly submitted to the direction of the Holy Spirit. He is and was holy and perfectly fulfilled the law of God, and He did it without cheating. He limited Himself, although He was God with His man suit on, and the perfection with which He obeyed, He accomplished through the power of the Spirit, the same Spirit which is in us and through whom we can also walk free. Jesus did not sin. Ever. He was and is perfect.

But I am not contradicting myself or scripture when I say that Jesus was not perfect. Not like perfectionists strive for perfection anyway. Not in the way that we sometimes start thinking He was and that we should be. Jesus turned the dimmer switch down on His ability and knowledge when He took on flesh, although He never ceased to be God. He didn't open His eyes after He was born and say to Joseph,  it's OK  you didn't get a room. The barn is fine, and by the way Mother, I am a little hungry and cold. Could you wrap me warmer and feed me? He cried. Forget the lyrics to Away In A Manger. Jesus screamed like every baby.

He had to learn to talk, and I  mean learn. He got words wrong and didn't say them right at first. Not every nail he hammered with His adopted dad went in straight. He didn't cut every stone the exact right size the first time. Not every cut in wood or stone was perfect every time. He had to learn to walk. He fell down. He scraped His knee and stubbed His toes.

He had to learn how to spin that dreidel, and I bet He didn't even win every game. For all we know, James was a much better dreidel player than his half-brother Jesus. The Word had to learn to read, and He had to walk to the local synagogue to study the scrolls of the Law and the Prophets and learn the scriptures He expounded on and taught so well later. He wasn't a computer or even an encyclopedia. He had to learn, and He misspelled words and got sums wrong in the process. My point is that Jesus was human and made mistakes. Not every rock He skipped went all the way across the pond. Some of them went straight under and sank. He spilled the milk when His little hands couldn't handle the cup.

Sometimes when we make mistakes we get upset and beat ourselves up as though we have sinned and failed morally. Mistakes are part of life. They are the way we learn and grow. We make a mistake and try again, learn from it, correct it and move on. The other day a woman pulled out in front of me. I don't think for a moment that she felt suicidal or maliciously tried to cut me off. She didn't see me, for whatever reason. Maybe she just missed me when she quickly glanced down the road. Sometimes I think there is a cloaking device active on the van. Maybe she was distracted. Maybe she was in a hurry and thought she had more room, misjudged the distances and speeds involved. Whatever. She made a mistake, and I had to slam on the brakes and slung groceries forward, breaking a jar of sauerkraut in the process. It still stinks, sigh. But she didn't sin against me.

Accidents and mistakes are not sin. Making a mistake in math is not a sin, even if it means that you end up bouncing a check. There may be consequences. If you drop a plate of food, you may make a mess, but you don't need to ask Daddy to forgive you. It's not a sin. We are not perfect in that sense. Well, of course, we're not perfect in any sense, not on this side of eternity. But when Jesus told us to be perfect even as Daddy in Heaven is perfect, that's not what He meant. It's OK not to know things. It's OK to have to learn. It's OK to stumble in the process of life. You don't have to get a perfect evaluation on every task at work to be in the will of God. Burning dinner is not a sin, and neither was the time I made the mistake of confusing baking soda and baking powder while making cornbread. It wasn't edible, but it wasn't a sin.

It's what happens after we mess up that matters. Don't shift blame. Acknowledge the mistake and learn from it. Don't get angry and throw a fit, like I briefly did after I realized the mistake of not listening to that voice that said it wasn't a good idea to place two glass jars of sauerkraut in the same bag. Don't feel like it was a sin or moral failure to forget something you needed to carry to work or an on a trip. Make the adjustment and be responsible enough to make a check list, or get everything out in advance and place where you won't forget it next time. But that said, it's not even a sin to make the same mistake  twice. Aim for perfection in love and obedience to Daddy. With the rest, striving for perfection is part of doing our best, which is important.  Do  everything the best you can, as though you were doing it for Daddy, but don't think Daddy is disappointed in you if you make a mistake. Making mistakes does not lower your worth to Daddy, not even your sin does that. He loves you as you are, mistakes and all.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. 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 and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend 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.

Blind But Now I See

Dalyn Woodard continues the look at the ministry and anointing of Jesus with the fourth part of Luke 4:17-21. In conjunction with our captivity, our exile as prisoner's of war, is life in darkness, unable to see a way out, to see a way of escape, to see truth and Daddy's love for us. Jesus came to proclaim restoration of sight through the light that came to the darkness. The message, "Blind But Now I See," continues this year's Lenten series, is about 23 minutes long, and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen.

The Ash Wednesday message, "It's All About The Heart," can be found here. The first message from this passage in Luke, "Good News For The Poor," can be found here. The second message, "Healing The Broken Heart," can be found here, and the third message, "The Illusion Of Free Will," can be found here.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

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 ~ March 14, 2018 ~ The Art Of Contentment

In Philippians 4:11 Paul informs us that by the time he wrote that letter to the church he had learned to be content. Not only had he found how to be content, but that contentment was possible in all situations, good and bad, even in need. This is awesome news, especially in our society where everything is telling us that we are, or should be, discontent, but that contentment is the prize.

Contentment is defined as satisfaction and happiness. But everything from advertising or entertainment says we shouldn't be content, but if we only get, find, achieve the next whatever we will find contentment. If we are told we can have contentment, it's temporary. That new phone will bring contentment, until the next version is released, at which time you really need to have it or you will be left behind. You need what everyone else has, or even something better. This sort of thing is always telling us to compare our situation and insides to others' outsides and our perceptions of what they have. It's crazy. I didn't even know I needed that until I saw someone else with it, but now I have to have it.

In recovery. we often express the belief that God wants us to be happy, joyous and free. And I have no doubt it is true. If you think about it, happy, joyous and free is like contentment with a bonus. Freely content. It is possible. But it's not found in the next new thing. It's not found in keeping up with others or looking outward at the lives, possessions, situations, etc. of others. And, it's not an automatic thing. Paul said that he learned it. So have I.

So what is the lesson? How do we learn the art of contentment? It is in relationship with our Creator. Getting close to Daddy and finding our joy and purpose and satisfaction in Him and in our relationship with Him protects us from the ups and downs of satisfaction in circumstance. Life can be great, and it can be difficult. Storms come. If we are dependent upon our situation for our contentment, we will struggle to find serenity. But when our satisfaction and hope is built on the foundation of relationship with Daddy, serenity finds us. It is a result of our inner space and not our outer circumstance. So no matter what comes, wonderful things or devastating situations, our core is safe and secure in the refuge of God's great love for us.

The art of contentment is the art of drawing near to Daddy and finding our love, peace, joy, freedom and satisfaction in that relationship and in the promise that what He has begun He will complete. Situations always change, but the eternal truth is that in Him we will find an end to suffering, sorrow, discontentment and pain, and will be transformed into a whole, perfect and unique reflection of Him.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. 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 and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend 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.