Capricious Or Caring?

God is not playing a game with our lives. He is trustworthy and cares for us. Dalyn Woodard shares on how we can always turn to Daddy no matter what shape or condition we are in and how we can run to Him because He loves us not because we will be in trouble if we don't. The message, "Capricious Or Caring?," is about 10 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Sunday, September 30, 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 ~ September 29, 2018 ~ Faith When Facing The Cross

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

March 31, 2015.

Faith is not believing that God will make things work out the way that we want or would like. Faith is accepting and believing that God will turn any and every situation to good and will ultimately bring Him more glory and be better for us than anything we could devise ourselves. It is remembering that it is not about us but about Him, but that because of His great love for us, whatever He allows in our life will ultimately bring us closer to Him and make us more like Him if we cling to Him despite our circumstances, turn to Him rather than away when things get hard and scary, and align our will with His.

Lord, even when I face things that frighten me and look like disasters, help me follow Your example from the Garden of Gethsemane and say not my will but Yours be done. Help me to remember that Your plan is always good and better than my ideas, but that sometimes the pain of the cross must come before the victory of the resurrection.

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 ~ September 28, 2018 ~ #YouAreEnough

While I almost always begin my day with prayer and only slightly less frequently do all my morning and scripture reading, meditating, more prayer and writing immediately after that, that process may not always look as spiritual and quiet time focused as one might imagine. Sometimes, especially when I have a rough night and or get up a little earlier than usual and my brain feels a little foggy or thick, I pause before doing my readings.

Most days like those I put on my Pandora, usually an instrumental station or instrumental shuffle, lean back in my chair, pray some more, meditate on the music and some scripture or an idea about God while trying to draw near to Him, drink my coffee and smoke my first pipe of the morning. Basically I chill with the Spirit until I am awake enough to really think. I do this so that I don't waste my reading time by just glossing over without being able to contemplate or retain much or anything that I am reading. But sometimes I will peruse social media. I used to tell myself that I looked through it to see if family or friend posted or tweeted something it would be good for me to see before my prayer time, such as a struggle or prayer request. And while I do that, I can now be honest enough with myself, and I guess you Dear Reader, to admit that's not the main reason, especially when it comes to Twitter.

The truth is that it is reading that doesn't matter much if I don't really think about and just scan as I slowly climb to brain functioning cruising altitude. And often, I will see a tweet that catches my attention and hits me like a booster, waking me up a little more quickly and making me think. It's like the old Arsenio Hall segment "Things That Make You Go Hmmm." I find that nugget, and then, more awake, I have something to meditate on and talk to Daddy about as I finish the coming conscious process before I do my readings. Often, this time with something someone tweeted grows into the day's Moment. Such was the case this morning.

As I scanned Twitter trying to ignore the many sports related posts, which would only serve as distraction and take me on a path away from the direction I need to go in the mornings, and the political tweets, which, well, just no, way too early for that mess which definitely doesn't fall under the lovely, true and of a good report category for meditation, I came across a post by someone that I neither follow nor am followed by.

Amanda‏ @a********** God knows everything that's wrong with me and why it's wrong. Yet, when God talks about who I am, he says things such as: I am fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. I am sealed with His promise. I am redeemed. #ThursdayThoughts #YouAreEnough.

This caught my attention and served  as a nitro boost to the neurons in my sluggish brain. I needed this reminder this morning without even realizing until I saw it. After the prison dreams I had last night, I needed that reminder that I am not who I say I am, not who society says I am, not who my past says I am,... you get the idea. I am who Daddy says I am, which is loved, forgiven, new and His child. Perhaps you need this reminder as well. I spent some time this morning thinking on the statement, praying, and thinking even more about the hashtags, which is where I had a little problem.

You may not have even noticed my issue. You may have been thinking more about #ThursdayThoughts and wondering if this was an older tweet. No, it was only minutes old when I read it. I write each Moment a day in advance whenever possible in order to be able to take as much time as needed and not have to rush to finish in time for the morning posting. The problem I had was without the other, #YouAreEnough.

I read through the latest of tweets with the tag to make sure that I was understanding it the way most people were using it. I was, and I understand that reason behind it. I even agree with the goal to an extent. People from all walks of life feel like they can not be enough and do not measure up. The expectations to be more, do more, do and be better, are crushing people. #youareenough says "No - you are enough, you already are, and nothing that you can do will make you more 'enough.'"

It's a good idea, or sounds like it. Except it's not true. Oh, it's true that we have an innate understanding that we aren't enough, that we don't have it within us to be what we should be, good enough, perfect enough, holy enough, righteous enough. The two most common responses to that understanding are to try harder or to lower the standard. Trying harder will kill you and destroy your soul. That striving is the beast that makes religion so nasty and brought about Pharisees. But the opposite approach is just another side of the same coin. Lowering the bar and saying, "I don't need to be perfect because I'm good enough as I am" will also lead to misery. This is because deep down we know it isn't any more true than a participation trophy is the same as the champion trophy and because God doesn't grade on a curve.

Perhaps you feel I am making a big deal out of a little thing. It's just something to motivate people and help them not kill themselves trying to be something they are not and can't be. I am all for that goal, but what we tell ourselves to motivate us matters. You don't need to try to be something you're not, and I pray that you are able to release the bondage of perfection and the need to be good enough. It'll kill you. The truest part of #youareenough is that nothing you can do will make you more "enough."

The truth is that we are not enough, can't be enough, and so yes, we might as well stop trying to be. In fact we must stop trying to be. We have to release the works philosophy of I need to do more, be more, fix and save myself. But simply realizing that we are powerless to be truly and completely loving, good, and enough will not get us to that place of rightness that we instinctively know we are made to be and need to be. It's hopeless. As long as we remain responsible to attain and measure up.

But there is good news. It isn't really hopeless, because that place of hopelessness and need is the starting point to freedom and transformation. The good news is that while we can never be enough, #JesusIsEnough. The good news is that Daddy loves me and He loves you as we are, not as we should be, but He loves us enough not to leave us as we are.

He does indeed say that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. He does declare that He has adopted us and made us His children whom He will never lose or discard or reject because He has sealed us with His Spirit. We have indeed been redeemed by the love and work of Jesus on the cross. We don't have to earn His love, attention and care. In fact we can't. He does indeed know us better than we know ourselves, every selfish and wrong thought, motive and deed, every failure, every rebellious moment, every broken bit. And still He loves us. There is nothing you have, can or will do that will make Daddy love you any less. But there is also nothing you can do to make Him love you  more. He loved us enough to send Jesus. Jesus loved us enough to wrap Himself in flesh and die for us. The Spirit loved us enough to make His very home within us and do the work Himself to make us new and transform us inside out from the mess that can never be enough into the likeness of the Son, a beautiful, perfect, unique reflection of the love and glory of God.

He is enough. You can lay down the burden and stop trying. He is all you need. He loves you and accepts you as you are. You don't have to measure up or achieve anything, because He already did it. Perhaps #youareenough is not so much wrong as it is incomplete. #YouAreEnoughInHim.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

- Colossians 2:8-10

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.

You Can Know

Even messages that are about the person of Jesus reveal the Daddy heart of God, and since nothing reveals and exhibits the Daddy heart of God better than Jesus, it is critical that we understand who  Jesus is. Dalyn Woodard shares on the testimonies John used to make it clear that Jesus is not just God pretending to be a man and not just a good man, but that He is The God Man. Knowing who Jesus is and having relationship with Him is the key to knowing we have life. The message, "You Can Know," is about 55 minutes long, and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on September 26, 2018. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen.

If you missed the first message in the series "The Daddy Heart Of God," entitled "Redirected By Love," it can be found here. The second message, "God Is Light," can be found here. The third message, "You Are Beloved," can be found here. The fourth message, "You Have Overcome," can be found here. The fifth message, "The Trouble Of Tribbles." can be found here. The sixth message, "Who's Your Jesus?," can be found here. The seventh message, "Truth Tattoo," can be found here. The eighth message, "Who's Your Daddy?," can be found here. The ninth message, "Responding To God And Others," can be found here. The tenth message, "Relationship, Religion Or Rebellion," can be found here. The eleventh message, "Follow The Yellow Brick Road," can be found here. The twelfth message, "Know Love No Fear," can be found here, and the thirteenth message, "The Father, Family And Freedom," 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 ~ September 26, 2018 ~ Service Is Mandatory

A lot of my ministry, writing, teaching and working with individuals is recovery oriented. Some is discipleship focused, but then, I basically feel that recovery runs parallel with discipleship. In order to be truly made free and restored we have to find relationship with the Truth that makes us free and surrender to the will and care of God, and in order to be a disciple we must deny self and follow Jesus. The two go hand in hand, because we can't deny self without God's help, and we can't be a disciple without being in recovery from the bondage of self. The alcohol, or drugs or whatever is  your  poison is only a symptom of the deeper spiritual problem.

I have been in the  rooms of recovery for nearly ten years now, and I still go. Not as often as I would like, but I still make meetings. To the question of how long will I be in recovery I answer always. There will never be a time when I am not learning how to surrender more, striving to connect more with Daddy and finding and dealing with areas of self that are yet to be denied. I haven't drank or drugged in over 8 years, but I have done my own thing, there are areas in my life that are still not right or totally healed and restored. I am not yet perfect and won't be on this side of eternity. So I will always be in recovery, in the process of being made free and following Jesus.

And even  if you have never been in bondage to chemicals or anything else that would typically be classified as an addiction, if you are a disciple of Jesus, you too will always be in recovery, always be progressing toward being free and connecting more with God.

And one of the main keys of recovery is service.  Recovery is a process of getting closer and closer to Jesus and learning more and more to let Daddy's will be done so that we walk free from the habitual sin and bondage of life without Him. But it is not only that. It is also service. Service is mandatory. Yes, mandatory. In order to keep what you have been given you have to give it away. In order to stay on the road to freedom, you must share your experience, strength, hope, time and talents with others. You can not follow Jesus without living a life of compassion and service, because that is the road He walked for us and the example He set.

I know some who have stayed in the rooms of recovery for decades, giving back what they have been given. This is so important, because there needs to be someone there for the newcomer, as they were there for us. Others have come in for a season and then moved on to other things. That can be OK too, as long as they are doing what God has for them and serving. In the rooms or out, service seals recovery and leads to deeper healing in ourselves and others. Even if the focus is discipleship, service is essential, laying down our lives for Him, feeding  the sheep, being the good Samaritan, these are all part of both recovery and discipleship, because essentially living free is living in love. And love don't mean a thing until you give it away.


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 ~ September 25, 2018 ~ If God Is Good Why...?

Which of these statements do you believe? God is good or nothing happens outside of God's will? I have heard so many times that both of these are true and yet, no. It's not even possible. Every proclaimed atheist knows and acknowledges that this can't be true. The real question is what are we going to do with these contradictory statements?

Those who become atheists would say that God isn't good because both can't be true.  What they're really saying is that they believe nothing happens outside of the will of God. Wait? Aren't they saying they don't believe in God? Yes and know. That's the conclusion they say they arrived at but then they say it's because they can't believe in a good God who would allow....

But what if instead of choosing to believe that nothing happens outside of God's will we choose to believe the other side? What are the implications then? Then, God is good but evil exists and is outside of His will. Still there is a problem. God is powerful, so why doesn't He do something about the problem of pain and evil?

Well, He did. Jesus came to destroy the works of evil. To demolish sin and the curse and the destruction that resulted when we chose to leave God's will and do our own thing. Sin is not God's will. Death is not God's will. Pain and suffering are not either. So Jesus took the results of these things and suffered the consequences of the curse so that we can choose not to. There will come a time when all will be restored and made right.  Where justice will completely prevail and the broken and misused will be healed and restored. He set it in motion on the cross. He will complete the work.Why did He suffer when He didn't have to? Wouldn't  it have been easier to just scrap it all  and start over? He did it because He is good and because He loves us as we are, not as we should be, but He loves us enough not to leave us the broken mess that we are. He is safe to turn to, to run to, because He does care and He does have the power to heal and to restore.

And saying that things happen outside of His will is not denying  the sovereignty of God.  God is sovereign. He does have the ultimate authority and will bring everything to a just and right and good end. But sovereignty does not keep subjects of that authority from going outside of the will and law of the authority. It just means that it is then up to the sovereign to make it right and bring about justice. Luckily for us, we have a God who is as merciful as He is holy and just. So before He makes it right and punishes evil, He made a way of escape for those of us (all of us) who deserve condemnation. What we justly deserve was poured out on Christ so that justice could be satisfied but we could receive mercy. Once again, this is because He is good and loving towards us, even though we don't deserve that goodness and love and could never earn it. But no one is getting away with anything. Justice is served. Jesus paid the price.

So, yes, things happen that anger and sicken God. Things happen that are exactly the opposite of His will. And somebody will pay the just price for every single one of those things. It will be made right. The only question is are we going to turn to Him and let Him pay our price and let Him heal and restore us where we have been wronged and broken or are we going to demand our right to stand on our own and remain broken until our bill comes due?


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 ~ September 24, 2018 ~ I Pray You Have A Tragedy

Yes, that title is correct. I pray you, Dear Reader, have a tragedy, unless you already have, in which case you will understand how wonderful and necessary they are. No, I'm neither a masochist nor a sadist. No, I am not being mean or uncaring, and, no, I am not joking. We all need at least one great tragedy in our lives.

According to Aristotle, a tragedy is that moment where the hero comes face to face with his true identity, and it is this that we must have to keep from coming to the end with our life wasted. The truest tragedy, defined as most of us understand it - an event or series of events causing great suffering, destruction and distress or a story with a sad and unhappy ending, is for anyone to go through and come to the end of their life either feeling and believing that they are worthless and don't deserve love and goodness or to believe and feel that they are OK and good enough as they are. These may sound  like contradictory statements, but they are two sides of the same coin, with the coin being our failure to see and understand our great need for relationship with Daddy.

First, for those on the trashy side of life, no matter what you've done or what has been done to you, you don't have to be hopeless and live life feeling abandoned and orphaned. You are not worthless, and the last thing He who created you wants is for you to discard yourself. I am not talking of suicide, but discarding ourselves as in seeing ourselves of so unworthy of anything that we reject love and go through life, empty, miserable, hopeless and victimized. You are a treasure, precious in God's sight, and His greatest desire is to adopt you and become your Daddy, to shelter you, heal you, restore you and give you a life worth living because He loves you as you are, not as you should be, but He loves you enough not to leave you as you are. He wants this so much that He did everything necessary to make that possible in the life, work, death and resurrection of Jesus so that we wouldn't be burdened by meeting the impossible requirements to be what we should be and can't.

Perhaps the easy part for the poor in spirit, the bankrupt who know that they can't fix themselves and aren't even sure that they are worth saving or fixing is seeing the need. The hard part is seeing and accepting the love of God for them, for us, as I am in this first group (or was before the critical tragedy). But on the other side of the coin we see the opposite. We see those who may think something along the lines of, "Of course God loves me and will accept me. I deserve it. I am a good person. I have done all of this and none of that evil trashy stuff." Because they have some, perhaps even quite a lot, of good in their character, morals, life, etc. they fail to see that they are far short of having enough to pay the final bill. They see themselves as worthy in themselves and so do not see the need they have to be ransomed. They are so comfortable in their gilded cage that they do not realize that they are not free.

At the core of our true nature and identity, all of us, on both sides of the coin, is that we are wonderfully made and have great significance and value to the One who made us, but that we also fall short of perfection and need Him to do the work that will bring us to our full potential of being a beautiful, perfect, complete and unique reflection of His love, beauty and glory. I don't know what it is that will bring you to that place where you see, understand and know that. Rock bottom is at different levels for each of us. Some of us had to walk through the gutters and stench of death and make our  beds in hell. Others may only have to see a sunset to glimpse how glorious God is and how much they need relationship with that loving Artist. Whatever it is, that is your tragedy, that moment when you come face to face with the truth of who you are, simultaneously wonderfully worthwhile and in great need of God, combined with the truth of who God is, the One who knows exactly how much you are worth and demonstrated that to us by dying in our place; the One who loves us and who desires and is able to save, heal and transform us into the best us and give us a life worth living. Yes, Dear Reader, I pray you have a tragedy, unless, like me, you already have. In that case, I pray that you have enough reminders, glimpses of tragedy, that you never forget that you are worthy and  you are loved, not because of nor in spite of who you are, but totally and completely because of who God is.


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.

Telling Fear To Run

We all have times when fear controls and dictates our actions. Dalyn Woodard shares on what it means to have a God we can trust and turn to in times of fear and how we don't have to be afraid of Him. The message, "Telling Fear To Run," is about 6 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Sunday, September 23, 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 ~ September 22, 2018 ~ Break The Chain! Ten People in Ten Minutes

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

March 30, 2015.

There is a phenomena on social media that I have seen so often I almost don't notice it anymore, as I usually scroll on by without paying it any attention. But in the last few weeks I have been inundated with today's modern equivalent to the religious chain letter. Basically the messages are some variation of "God wants to bless you, and if you pass this on to ten people in the next ten minutes He'll do something good for you." Some actually say that God will do us a favor if we'll show we're not ashamed of Him and post, and the worst include a negative consequence for breaking the chain.

Part of me feels like what's the big deal? Why even be concerned about this or address it? In a way it's encouraging, because the folks extending the chains have a desire to be blessed by God, and that's awesome! There's an understanding that God desires to bless us, and that's a good thing. But living an Unshackled Life is about breaking chains that keep us from relationship with the Father.

Wait, how is this preventing relationship? These chains play into the deception that the enemy wants us to believe, the untruth that in order to "get in good" with God we have to earn His acceptance and blessing. There is nothing you can do to make God love you any more than He already does. You can not earn His grace or favor. It's a gift. He is a friend, closer than a brother, who already did the biggest favor for all of us by dying for us. He doesn't want you to try to earn your way to Him, because He's already done it. He wants us to realize that we can come into His presence empty handed, like with a best friend.

We give Him all of us, and He gives us Him. Yeah, it's not close to a fair trade for Him. He's worth so much more than all of me comes close to, but that's what He wants. There's no ritual, no rite, no chain post, not going to church, not praying x amount every day that makes us OK, that qualifies us for favors from God, that earns us His attention. All He wants from us is us. He wants us to surrender our hearts, not just a part but the whole of it.

And when we surrender our self and will to Him, He brings us to Him, forgives us, blesses us with adoption, with relationship with the Creator of all, with purpose, peace and joy. We have all the grace needed to have relationship with and to walk with Him. So, surrender self to Him and give Him your will, and He will bless you! This is truth! God loves you as you are, not as you should be! You don't have to jump through hoops to make Him smile! All you have to do is want Him! How amazing is that?!

If you pass this on to ten people in the next ten minutes something good may or may not happen....you might help break someone else's chains and help them see that they are free to go to Jesus without performing tasks or accomplishing any feats of service. This isn't Greek mythology or a fantasy quest. There are no feats of strength or acts of loyalty that gain us an audience or show we're worthy of being helped. It's life, and God's already done everything necessary for us to be blessed and have relationship with 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.

Unshackled Moments ~ September 21, 2018 ~ I Won't....As Much

For years I deceived myself into believing that I wasn't in bondage, that I was the controller rather than the one controlled. Yes, I was doing things that made me despise myself and filled me with guilt, shame and condemnation, but it was because I wanted to. Sure, I had repented and determined to quit doing those things and get my life right on multiple occasions, but it's not just a woman's prerogative to change her mind. What's the point in having free will if you can't change your mind?

One day I heard a friend tell how she came to the understanding that she was powerless over her addictions. She said she would go to bed every night swearing that she would not drink or drug the next day, and then she would get up the next morning and say that she would not drink and drug as much. Light bulb moment. This woman had just told my story. I had done that for years. I had gotten up and swore not to indulge that day and then changed my mind before lunch.

Then I tried to think of a single day that I had said, "today I'm not going to use" and actually didn't. How many times did I not change my mind? I couldn't remember any. I couldn't pretend any more. If every time you make a certain decision you later go back on it, you're not changing your mind. You're a slave. That's not a choice. That's programming, an order to be obeyed or an instinct or drive that I can't overcome. I can make a show of fighting. I can argue against it. I can mask the failure by changing my mind, setting a quit date goal in the future, after all tomorrow is another day. I can find an excuse to give in without it being because I'm weak and powerless and in chains. And the beast does not care. I don't care what you tell yourself as you do my bidding, if you always do what I want you to instead of what you want, I'm the one in control.

For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

That's how Paul put it in Romans 7:19-20. It's sin in me doing it. But that's not an excuse that makes it OK. It's not just sin that makes us do things, like saying the Devil made me do it. It is sin that lives within us. It's living in us and making us do what we don't want to do, which is just a different way to say that he is powerless over his life and over those areas of his life that he finds himself incapable of willing himself to rightness. It's like me saying I'm a drunk and drunks drink, so there's nothing that can be done. I might as well get drunk today. No!

As long as I am fighting that battle, I am lost. As long as I keep changing my mind, I am a slave. Call it being a slave to sin or being an addict or tending toward dependency on the unhealthy and unhelpful or call it duck sauce ice cream for all I care. Nomenclature is not the issue. The issue is I'm killing myself and putting every good thing in my life on the funeral pyre because I can not will and determine myself to change. I need to be set free or made free.

I found that freedom, finally. Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life," and that, "you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sin and death. He came to conquer sin and destroy the works of the devil and the curse. If we submit ourselves to His care, and hide beneath His wings, we find that sin, our flesh, our old nature, what have you, has no power there. Sin can't make me. The devil can't make me. Old habits can't make me. Triggers can't make me. I can go through a day without changing my mind and picking the chains back up.

And the better news is that He didn't just come to set us free, to kick us from our prison and wish us peace and good luck as we stumble into the future. You're free but still helpless and black marked to boot. No. He came to heal the brokenhearted as well as to set the captives free. He's all about the healing and the restoration and the making new. So today, if you're struggling against changing your mind in some area where you always seem to flip flop, don't try to slip your shackles. Reach out to and get to know the One who holds the key and let Him free you and carry you to a place of refuge within where He can minister to your wounds and make beauty from the ashes of brokenness.


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.

The Father, Family And Freedom

The most important aspect of who we are is who we see God as. The amazing truth is that Jesus told us that God is our Father.. Dalyn Woodard shares on what it means to be born of God and how that gives us belonging and freedom. The message, "The Father, Family And Freedom," is about 48 minutes long, and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on September 19, 2018. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen.

If you missed the first message in the series "The Daddy Heart Of God," entitled "Redirected By Love," it can be found here. The second message, "God Is Light," can be found here. The third message, "You Are Beloved," can be found here. The fourth message, "You Have Overcome," can be found here. The fifth message, "The Trouble Of Tribbles." can be found here. The sixth message, "Who's Your Jesus?," can be found here. The seventh message, "Truth Tattoo," can be found here. The eighth message, "Who's Your Daddy?," can be found here. The ninth message, "Responding To God And Others," can be found here. The tenth message, "Relationship, Religion Or Rebellion," can be found here. The eleventh message, "Follow The Yellow Brick Road," can be found here, and the twelfth message, "Know Love No Fear," 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 ~ September 19, 2018 ~ Finding Our Muchness In His Alwaysness

You're not the same as you were before," he said. You were much more... muchier... you've lost your muchness.

This had always been one of my favorite quotes from Alice In Wonderland. I think it is because I often feel I have lost much muchness myself. Nor is this feeling anything new. I remember feeling this way from an early age. It happens. You get broken. You become damaged in some way and then compare yourself to how you remember being before, or how people say you were before, or how you imagine you were or would have been if the sky had not fallen.

I don't know about anyone else who has felt this way, but I tried desperately to get my muchness back. To regain exuberance and joy and wonder in living. I did everything within my power, and I failed miserably. I managed excitement here and there and some grand distraction. I found temproty escape from the crushing weight of emptiness, but I never managed to fill myself back up, to find my muchness. And that is because I was looking within myself, in the approval of others and in the comfort and pleasure of circumstance to provide my muchness.

But our significance and joy and, yes, muchness, are found  in being filled with the awareness of Daddy's  love for us and in relationship with Him.  It is in His love and faithfulness and goodness that I found a fountain that bubbled up within my soul to give me a life worth living, provided contentment and produced joy and wonder in life. In other words, I found my muchness in God.

Sometimes I still fail miserably to be and live how I know I should. Sometimes I still don't have approval from others. Sometimes my circumstances still stink. But I  have found that joy remains, hope continues and love leads me on as I remember that Daddy is always good, always loves me, always is merciful to me and is always faithful. I have learned that I can always count on the alwaysness of God. And all the ways He is always for me, He is also always for you. You too can always count on the alwaysness of God. So if you miss your muchness, I encourage you to draw near to God. He always has enough muchness to fill us up with all we need and more to spare, so that we can share our muchness with others.


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 ~ September 18, 2018 ~ The Scary Hallway

When I was a child, we lived in a house that most likely was not nearly as big as I remember it. But I remember it as being huge, with a long hall down the middle. Now the hallway really was long, at least it was long enough to practice shooting the BB gun and to play with the plastic bowling set in. Actually, the hallway was great for a lot of things, except at night. At night it scared me. It was long and dark and there were shadows, and my bedroom at the very end opposite the bathroom all the way down on the other end.

At night this  could lead to some not fun times, especially if I had been using the street light to stay up and read my Mom's Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mysteries. Yes, they sometimes scared me. I was in elementary school. Don't judge. Anyway, to continue, on nights when I had done something to increase my anxiety level or had had a bad dream, or for whatever reason felt afraid, then that hallway became my nemesis.

I would lay there in bed until the pain of needing to go to the bathroom drove me from the top bunk and into the dreaded hall. That hall was as scary as The Shinning hallway any night. And there were demons lurking in the shadows and killers and snakes and spiders. And sometimes the spiders were real. The point is that I was afraid, and the more I tried to stare into the dark until I could see, the more I saw movement and my imagination birthed more and more to fear. I learned that the only way that I could make myself go down that hall in times like that was to stop staring into the dark.

Instead of trying to see what was in the dark, I focused on the light from the bathroom at the other end and walked. OK, sometimes I ran it. It didn't make me less afraid. I feared something would reach out of the shadows and grab me at any second. But as long as I focused on the light I could make myself move forward. On the return trip I used the same technique, only with the street light. I don't remember the fear ever leaving until I was in the bathroom and then back in my room, but I was able to make the trip.

Forty years later I find I still have to do the same thing at times. It may work for some to face heir fears, but it usually only makes it worse for me.When the hall of life gets scary, the more I try to stare down my fear, the more I see movement and the more my imagination goes wild with all the ways things could go bad. What works for me now is what worked for me then. Looking at nothing but the light instead of the shadows I'm walking through. Sometimes I am still afraid, but I can move. I can do what I need to do despite the fear.

Jesus  said, "I am the light of the world," and so He is. He is the One that I remember is with me as I walk through the valley of shadows. No matter the situation, if I turn my attention from what is scaring me to the Light, I am able to go on. Sometimes I get through the situation and feel silly. In the bright light I see there was nothing to fear. Other times I get to the other side and feel so grateful He was with me and that I could only see the shadows, because if I had known how bad the trip would be I would never have had the courage to try.

Whether the danger is real or imagined, whether the trip is harmless or devastating, we can trust that we will make it through if we keep moving in the direction of the Light. Don't face your fear. Don't run from it either. Don't pretend it doesn't exist. Just keep your eyes on Jesus and run to 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.

Unshackled Moments ~ September 17, 2018 ~ The Beauty Of Love

"It made me think about sand," Sister told him. "That sand is about the most worthless stuff in the world, yet look what sand can become in the right hands. "She ran her fingers over the velvet surface of the glass. ?Even the most worthless things in the world can be beautiful," she said. "It just takes the right touch."

- from Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon

I love this quote, but my first thought when I came across it again recently as Leah and I listened to the audiobook together was that sand is not worthless. No, it doesn't cost as much as jewels and such, but it's still over $200 a cubic yard. And that's for unscreened who knows what else is mixed in with it sand. No, sand is not worthless, but then the analogy of the quote holds true, because neither are we worthless, even when we or others think and feel we are. The conversation the quote is taken from continues with Sister saying that it helps her not to see herself as worthless when she looks at the glass.

Sometimes we feel like dirt, worthless, insignificant and of no value, but it isn't true. And the reason it isn't true has nothing to do with our potential. As we are, at our worst moment, regardless of what we have done and what has been done to us, no matter what we or anyone else thinks of us we are precious and valuable to the One who created us. We don't have to act a certain way or do anything to get His attention, earn His acceptance or attain His love and make Him like us. He already does all of that. If we could only understand the truth of that, it would change everything about how we think and feel about ourselves.

But the better news is the hope that a fictional character received from understanding that the starting material is not the finished product in the  hands of the right touch. You can not look at the wonder of creation without seeing something about the Artist behind it. He loves and treasures us as we are, not as we should be, but He loves us enough not to leave us as we are. If we understand the depths of His love and care for us, then we can submit to His hands and work in our lives. And when we do that, He will do something amazing and beautiful in, with and through our lives. He will transform us into something far greater and more precious than we could ever make of ourselves. And that is the hope and beauty of love.

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.

Love Hate Relationship

Is religion a god thing or an instrument of misery and destruction, even death? Dalyn Woodard shares that while how religion effects us may depend on our definition, the burden of approaching God is not on us. There is a truth that our  Creator approaches us, wants relationship with us, and has done all that is needed so that we can be with Him, be healed and be restored. The message, "Love Hate Relationship," is about 13 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Sunday, September 16, 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 ~ September 15, 2018 ~ Where Were You God!?

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

March 29, 2015.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

- Matthew 27:46

For·sak·en (fərˌsākən) ~ past participle of forsake: abandon, cast aside, desert, disavow,  discard, disclaim, disown, drop, jilt, leave, leave high and dry, leave in the lurch, leave stranded, renounce, throw over, turn one's back on, walk out on, wash one's hands of.

Why?! God where are You!? Where were You!? How could You allow.....?! It hurts to feel forsaken, to feel like God Himself has rejected us and left us hanging. It makes us angry and confused. We've all been there. Even Jesus felt it. The most agonizing part of His death for you and me was not the stripes on His back or the nails through His body into the wood. It was the first and only time He felt the Father turn His back and leave Jesus alone, to literally leave Jesus hanging.

After C. S. Lewis lost his wife to cancer, he called out to God for comfort but sensed no reply. Confused, he asked, "What can this mean? Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?"

When the unthinkable happens, when evil things happen to good  people we cry out for help to an all powerful God. And when we've cried out with everything we have, with everything we are and the innocent child still dies, the accident victim never wakes, the disease slowly but surely wins, the rape is not stopped, the drought continues and the crops wither, the flood still takes the home, we are overwhelmed by the pain and the feeling of being forsaken.

We know that we are not perfect, but if we had the power to stop it, to fix it, if we were all powerful we would never allow such a thing. So if God is good how could He let this happen? We can't imagine sitting back and letting the innocent and good people suffer and die without doing something. And neither can God. He looked across time and saw every hurt, devastation and evil that would be done to me and every evil I would do and decided to do something about it. Out of perfect and unselfish love He determined to come, to become human like me, like you, and to suffer an excruciating death and to even feel forsaken for our sake. Jesus felt abandoned by everyone, including the Father, when He never came close to deserving it, because He loves us.

He made a way to fix the problem of evil that was a an unfortunate byproduct of the free will necessary for true relationship.  Jesus experienced feeling abandoned by the Father while He was on the cross so that when we feel isolated and forsaken we can run to God. He wants to heal our hurts and comfort our heart I can't explain why He doesn't always remove or repair the situations we face on this side of heaven, but I know from experience that if we go to Him rather than away, He is there to wrap His arms around us and hold us while we cry. He is there to comfort and love. We can grow closer to Him and discover His goodness and love in the aftermath of evil in a way that we can never know otherwise.

Abba, help me to run to You rather than away from You. Help me to remember that feeling abandoned doesn't mean that I have been. Be my comfort and my strength in face of fear and pain. Show me Your love and draw me to You, even when my anger and confusion make it hard to trust. I choose to believe that truth that You are good and that You care despite what I may sometimes feel. As I do this, heal my hurt, remove my anger and help me to see and experience the truth of Your goodness and love.

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 Echo ~ September 14, 2018 ~ Be Like The Lad

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

March 28, 2015.

“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

- John 6:9-12

There was a lad who had a sack lunch, some bread and a couple of small fish. There wasn't much there. Perhaps it was enough food to fill the boy up, perhaps not, but it wasn't enough to be sharing and still have enough to eat. And there was a need. Five thousand men, and countless women and children were hungry and in need of food. The disciples asked Jesus what was this little lunch worth in the face of such a great need. It's a logical and understandable question. The lunch was all the boy had, and how easy it would've been for the boy to say, this can't help much so I should keep it, and at least that way I won't be hungry. I don't have enough to help so I won't do anything. But instead he gave it all to Christ. The little he had he did not hold back, and as a result, everyone got fed, and there were left overs. God loves to give, and when we give without holding back, He always does something amazing with it.

Lord, I want You to do something amazing with and in my life. Help me to be like the lad who held nothing back. Let me not feel overwhelmed by the need that I am powerless to provide for but rather to trust that no problem is beyond the solution of Your power. 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.

Know Love No Fear

The most important aspect of who we are is who we see God as. If we are counting on our performance to gain God's love and acceptance than everything we do is motivated by fear of failure, rejection and consequences. Dalyn Woodard shares on Daddy's heart for us and what it means that God is love. The message, "Know Love No Fear," is about an hour and 13 minutes long, and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on September 12, 2018. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen.

If you missed the first message in the series "The Daddy Heart Of God," entitled "Redirected By Love," it can be found here. The second message, "God Is Light," can be found here. The third message, "You Are Beloved," can be found here. The fourth message, "You Have Overcome," can be found here. The fifth message, "The Trouble Of Tribbles." can be found here. The sixth message, "Who's Your Jesus?," can be found here. The seventh message, "Truth Tattoo," can be found here. The eighth message, "Who's Your Daddy?," can be found here. The ninth message, "Responding To God And Others," can be found here. The tenth message, "Relationship, Religion Or Rebellion," can be found here, and the eleventh message, "Follow The Yellow Brick Road," 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 ~ September 12, 2008 ~ You Can't Swim That Far

Imagine, if you will, that you are on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic about 1000 miles from land and the ship begins to sink. Now what? Are you getting on the radio and calling for help? Are you making ready one of the life boats? It really doesn't matter what you do at that point, you're in need of help. No one would argue that. I can't imagine even the world's greatest swimmer saying,, "No problem. I'll just swim it," as they dive into the ocean.

We all know that no matter how good of a swimmer you are, no matter how strong and determined or how much endurance you have, you can not swim 1000 miles in the ocean. You might last longer than the person who can't swim at all, but essentially you're in the same position. The non-swimmer and the great swimmer and everyone in between are dead without help in that situation..

What is true in the above illustration is also true for us spiritually. None of us can make it on our own. None of us can save ourselves. None of us are good enough, right enough, strong enough to make it from the sinking ship of life to the shores of heaven without help. Adrian Rogers has put it; this way,"There is no one so bad he cannot be saved, and no one so good he need not be saved." If our response to the idea that we need to have a relationship with Jesus is that we're OK because we're pretty good people, then we are in trouble. You may be the best person in the world. You may make Billy Graham and Mother Theresa look like criminals. But you're not good enough to do it on you own.

That's sad and scary if it stops there. The situation is hopeless. We're on a sinking ship too far from safety to swim. But the good news is that the rescue has already been sent out. Those who can't swim and know that are in no worse situation than those who can, because they are the ones who are helped first. Because before we can be saved we have to realize that we need to be saved, that we can't do it. If you think you're the worst person who ever lived, the Rescuer loves you and wants to save you from drowning in the sea of sin. And if you think you're the best person, the strongest spiritual swimmer, the Rescuer also loves you and wants to save you. As soon as you tire of the struggle and realize you can't make it, cry out for His help, He will lift you from the water and bring you to safety. And for the rest of us, who fall somewhere in the middle, we no longer have to wonder if we're good enough, strong enough or anything enough. We no longer have to try to be. We, like the exhausted strong and good and the helpless weak and horrible can simply accept the help that is freely offered in the work of Christ on our behalf.


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 ~ September 11, 2018 ~ God Is Greater Than Alexa

This past weekend Leah and I took a trip to visit family. Somewhat perfect timing came together so that we could see her son, help celebrate his girlfriend's birthday, see our grandson and also visit with her daughter who came into Texas for the weekend. The only downside was not being able to see her daughter's fiance, but it made us very happy to see everyone we could. It doesn't happen nearly often enough.  We spent the night with her son, and I got an object lesson from Alexa in the process.

Alexa, the Amazon wonder is not exactly new tot he world or us. One of our friends BETA tested it, and we had a few laughs asking silly questions, like "Alexa, what is the meaning of life?" We laughed as she responded, "The answer is 42." Douglass Adams fans will totally understand. Still, we had not experienced Alexa controlling things. Alexa, turn off living room light, etc. It was quite cool, potentially very helpful and perhaps a little frightening, depending on your viewpoint. Alexa, make my life more comfortable. Alexa meet my need.

Then came time to go to bed. A short while later I joked to Leah that we were now old, like the adults in the 80s who could never figure out how to program a VCR. If it weren't funny, I might have cried. We both tried multiple times over several minutes to get Alexa to turn off the bedroom light, without success. Finally, I got up and pulled the string on the ceiling fan to kill the light manually. Not long after, the television turned on without either of us doing anything. There was nothing on but static, much like the famous scene from Poltergeist.  I couldn't get Alexa to turn off the TV either, and we ended up sleeping with a blue static filled night light.

The next morning in a conversation I am sure my stepson found amusing we learned the problem was one word choice. Evidently articles mess everything up. For example, while, "Alexa turn off bedroom light," might work, telling Alexa to turn off the bedroom light will not. Saying "the" before the name of whatever it is you want to turn on or off produced failure.

It's a good thing that God is not like Alexa, but sometimes I think  that we act, feel, believe and approach Him as though He is. I am not just referring to the idea that God is only there to make our lives more convenient and to do what we want. Hey God, get me a better job. Hey God, keep me safe. Hey God, gimmie gimmie. No, I am referring to the way we sometimes enter into the act of communication with Daddy commonly called prayer. Sometimes it is hard to pray because we get it in our minds that we must somehow get in the right position, and say the right words in the right way or Daddy won't  hear us. Maybe He'll hear but not respond.

But God is not our assistant, virtual or otherwise. He is not a programmed genie or magic formula. He's our Daddy, and He hears us when we call. He's not concerned with formulas, or word choice. He's not listening and then deciding not to help us if we don't word something exactly right or if we aren't reverential enough or whatever superstitious limitation we may feel. Because of what Jesus did, we can become the adopted children of the Creator of all, and that means we can go to Him like a child can go to a loving parent. Daddy, I'm scared. Daddy, I need help. We don't have to figure out the proper way to express or quantify the issue. In fact when we don't know how to pray and can't do anything but groan in our soul, the Holy Spirit will pray with us and for us. So don't twist yourself into a spiritual pretzel trying to figure out how to talk to Daddy. Just talk to Him and know that He cares, loves and listens and isn't hindered by our inability to express ourselves.



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 Echo ~ September 10, 2018 ~ Waiting For Power

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

March 27, 2015.

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.

- Luke 24:49

The disciples had spent three years walking with Jesus, being taught by Him and seeing His miraculous work. They had been there, and fled, when it appeared all was lost, but had seen the power and plan of God overcome everything as Christ returned from the grave. They spent time with Jesus after the resurrection.

After the resurrection they had the greatest understanding of all the teachings of Christ that they'd ever had. The knew the prophecies regarding the Messiah had come true. They were inspired and excited to follow God and grateful for the access to the Father they had now that they'd been forgiven and the veil  had been torn. But even with the emotional boost that came from seeing and spending time with the Risen Lord and all the training and knowledge they had, they couldn't walk it on their own. Jesus told  them to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit.

No matter how close we are to God, no matter how much we have learned and understand about spiritual truth, no matter how grateful and excited we are about God's grace, we still can't walk with God, do what's right or walk in freedom on our own power. Each day we need to wait on the power of the Spirit. It's by His power that we can overcome, walk free and live in right relationship with our Creator. That's why we need to start each day by seeking God. That's why we need to begin anew every day with the understanding that we need His help to manage and control our lives. His power is what makes us clean and gives us the ability to live in a manner worthy of the calling to walk with Jesus.

Abba, help me to always remember that know matter how much I learn and grow in relationship  with You that it will never be me that is able to please You, but rather my surrender and submission to Your power within me. Help me to start each day in Your power so that I can live it throughout the day and end the day as close or closer to You than it began. 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.