Unshackled Moments ~ July 13 ~ Let It Burn

What we have freely received, we are to freely give. In fact, there are things that we are given for the sole purpose of giving them away. Almost like we are not the receivers as much as the carriers. Sometimes this concept can be a little hard to take from the standpoint of our humanness, born in selfishness and clothed in what's in it for me. That's because we see the gifts of God as ours in a way that a discovered treasure is ours. If I found a million dollars and gave a million dollars away I would be as broke as before I found it. No thank you.

But that's not the way it works with spiritual gifts and treasure. Spiritual treasure is not like gold which can be held by only one person at a time, but rather it is like a fire, which does not diminish when offered from one candle to another but gives us even more light and is twice what it was before it was shared. When I found the wonder and truth of God's grace in Jesus Christ for me, I became a blessed and rich person, a spiritual heir of God. But I don't lessen that by giving it away. It can only be lessened by hoarding it. When I find Jesus and the treasure He brings to life, I find something more valuable than gold. When I give the Jesus I have found to a hundred others, my portion is not diminished. Now a hundred and one people have Jesus, and like with a flame to a candle, each have a full portion. In fact, as you give His love away, your flame grows brighter than before, you actually get closer to Jesus, a little more of the Spirit, your portion increases as it is released.

I have been given spiritual gifts that make me able to be of service to God and others. So have you. Those gifts are ours, but they are not directly for us. We use them to bless and help others and to bring glory to God, to make the light of God burn brighter and in more hearts. So what's in it for us? When we light a fire, it is not really the fire that we burn for ourselves and our purposes. We set a fire for the effects of that fire, for the by-products and the results. We are after the energy, heat and light that a fire gives off when it burns.The gifts and things of God are like fire. They do us no good if not used, because it is not them but the effects of using them that we are after.

Using the things of God and sharing them with others doesn't diminish them. It increases their effects and multiplies their by-products of Light to see truth, Warmth to comfort and heal, Energy to endure and excel and spreads love, joy and peace. These things are found and multiplied to us, and through us to others, when we give everything away and are consumed by the fire of God in our hearts. They are only lessened by holding back and tying to prevent some of our self from being burnt, reduced to ash in the transfer. From the ashes of what we give of ourselves to God something beautiful and alive spreads through our lives, and in the end, we are left with more life, more contentment and more reason to live than we had before we were exposed to the fire.



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 ~ July 12 ~ Fix The Leak

My wife and I have dogs. There are 11 canine units ranging from the tiny poodle Katie Bug, to the overgrown puppy Luna, who weighs well over 100 lbs. The majority of them are small and medium sized, the Cavaliers and the Brittanys, but the two Great Danes and the hound are larger. Keeping them all fed and watered can be expensive and time consuming...and frustrating.

For quite a while the largest source of frustration has been Luna, the largest of them. Luna is a beautiful Great Dane who still acts like an energetic puppy despite her hugeness.. She bounces around, knocking things over, and is in no way graceful or lady-like. Luna is short for Lunatic, and she  lives up to the name. Part of me knows we should let her go to another family who can more easily afford to feed her, since she eats more every day than the six smaller dogs in the yard. But I love her and selfishly want to keep her, especially since she is literally a huge deterrent to unwelcome guests. But one thing I didn't love or even like about her is how her exuberance made it impossible to keep her watered.

In all her scampering and bouncing around it never failed that no matter what I did in an attempt to prevent it, she would manage to dump her water. No matter where her water was placed, she would spill it, even when I tied a bucket to a tree, she still managed to waste it, making me have to work harder to make sure she didn't dehydrate, not to mention wasting gallons and gallons of water.

As the weather grew warmer and having water constantly available for all the dogs became more important, Leah conceived a great idea that would work for eight of the dogs at once. I bought a small kids wading pool, placed it where both of the Danes and six of the smaller dogs had easy access to it, filled it up and hoped that would solve the problem. It seemed to work for a short time, but soon our crazy Luna made it clear that she could manage to splash out most of the water in a day. The ground around the pool stayed wet and muddy, even more water was wasted than before, and it took even more time to water in the evening.

Frustrated that she just couldn't keep from wasting water and making meeting her needs more difficult, I finally moved the pool out of her reach, replaced her old water bowl and prepared to have to water her more often. Today the water is almost gone again and the ground around the pool is still wet. It appears that there is a small leak in the pool. I guess one of the dogs must have made a small puncture with their claws. I may have been blaming Luna for something that she wasn't doing. Even though it very well may have been her heavy paw that made the hole, it's possible that she wasn't splashing the water out after all.

No matter where I move the pool, it's going to leak. I can't keep the water level up and keep from wasting water as long as the hole exists. To simply keep adding water is an exercise in futility. Being frustrated with the dog won't help or solve anything. I need to find and patch the leak.

Life can be like this situation. Sometimes, no  matter what we do we keep getting drained. Drained of of our awareness of the presence of God, drained of faith, drained of energy, drained of hope, just drained and exhausted from the effort of trying to fill ourselves back up. We may scramble to attempt to prevent it, which uses more energy and resources and simply emphasizes the truth that we are drained and continuing to drain. The obvious cause, the things that once caused the majority of our problems may not even be the issue any more. But we continue to spend frustration and resources attempting to control the craziness we blame for the situation.

But if we can step back and see the situation for what it really is rather than reacting, the Spirit can show us that it isn't the old issue but something else. It's not the external at all, but rather we have a leak. There is only one thing that can keep us from being drained, and that is to let God repair the leak in our soul. We can change the external, change location, eliminate the access that crazy has, and other things, but regardless of how we react or what we do, until the hole is fixed, our life will be a constant battle to fill a leaky vessel.

Being drained and losing the water of life is an internal problem. The external changes we make and the things we try to deny access won't solve the problem and keep us filled. One reason we can find our rest in God is that He dwells within us. He is the internal solution that can keep us filled with what gives life regardless of the crazy externals.



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 ~ July 11 ~ Good Intentions

I went to tweet a verse of encouragement this morning and saw a tweet from my sister-in-law. She was having to deal with a company that had let her down by not correctly handling their auto billing service. It happens. Companies fail to live up to their advertisement, to their promised service. They may or may not care about the customer, but they do care about the customer's cash. Still they make mistakes and fall short of doing what they say they will always do for us.

Sometimes we get upset when a company's service us not up to the standards they themselves have set. We take it personally as a slight and as evidence that we don't really matter to them. But love is not even enough to ensure proper service. I can remember more than one time that I told Leah I would do something and then got busy with something else and forgot until too late. There have been times when I went to the store for her and got home only to realize then that I forgot to pick up something she needed. I love her so much, and it brings me joy to help her and to be of service to her, and yet, as much as I may intend to remember and keep my commitments of service, there are times I fail.

I even fail myself. I plan to call someone who has been on my mind, to be a better friend, but let yet another day or week go by as I go about my own work and schedule and forget to make room for a friend. I commit to sacrificing a couple of hours a week to set up something that will be a blessing to my wife, my mother and myself next year, and six weeks later have put no time in the project. They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I don't know about that, but I can say from personal experience that the roads to hurt and disappointment are.

None of us live up to the standard of faithful service. We all fall short of perfection in keeping our word and caring for others, from large corporate levels down to even failing our self and every level of relationship in between. That can make it hard for us to trust that we have a Heavenly Daddy that really always and every time keeps His word and never fails us. We can't be totally trusted not to let ourselves or anyone else down. We have never had a relationship with a person the didn't fall at least a little short at times. So how can we truly trust God?

But while being able to rely on each other does come with a certain amount of disappointment and a margin of error, even when the service is being paid for or the person loves us, we actually can trust God to keep His word. He is higher than we, and He is always faithful. When we put our trust in Him, we will never be let down. We may not always get what we want, but we will always get what  we need. He will always be true to His promise, His commitments are always carried out. His timing is perfect, and He will always do what He sets out to do to be of service to us, even to the point of dying for  us.

Today, let us remember that we can rely on Daddy to love and care for us. Let us trust Him to keep His word and hold up His end of the bargain, even when we can't return the same level of faithfulness. When there seems to be nothing  and no one in the world that we can always and completely rely on, let us turn to the One who can be trusted. Let us remember that God doesn't have good intentions. He just does what He says He will do. He just loves us with a perfect and ever lasting love.  



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 ~ July 10 ~ Terminally Unique - The Rest Of The Story

In yesterday's UM, Terminally Unique,  the thought of the day was about what it means to feel terminally unique and basically how we aren't. But since all those unique emotions aren't all that uncommon after all, why is it that the feeling of being different and set apart, of being terminally unique is so common? The answer is because those feelings, although fueled by self pity and inaccurate, have a basis of truth. They are a lie from the enemy, the lie that no one could understand and that our situation is different from all other human experience, but Satan's favorite lies, and the ones that are easiest for us to believe, are lies which are born from a seed of truth.

The truth that has been twisted to alienate and isolate us is the rest of the story. The root of truth is that we are indeed unique. No matter what boxes we fit into, no matter how much we have conformed to society, no matter how average our lives may be or how common our reactions and actions are in given situations, the truth is that we are all unique. There is no one who is living, has ever lived or will ever live exactly like me, or you. And if we get back to the truth of the how and why of that, then being terminally unique can take on an entirely new meaning and can become a beautiful and glorious thing.

To be terminal is to be dying, so there may not seem to be an upside to that condition. The truth though goes against our reason and says that we must be terminal, we must die to find life. Our lives are so much better after we die. I'm not talking about heaven, although there is that. I'm talking about the here and now and dying to self and living in Christ. And once we have died and been reborn as a child of God and learn to stay terminal, to die daily to self and follow Him, our uniqueness becomes a treasure. We each have a unique assortment of spiritual gifts and characteristics that are ours with our birth in Christ. While there are similarities with our brothers and sisters, no one else is exactly like us.

We have a calling that enables us to serve in a unique way that uniquely reflects an aspect of our Creator No one else can show and reflect His glory in quite the same way and degree as I can. No one else can take your place in that glory puzzle either. When we refuse to die to self and insist on walking in our own way, then the world misses out on seeing some of the beauty and wonder of the Father. Others fit the puzzle in their own unique ways and can not do more than what they were made to do.

Today, let us not wait for someone else to try to fill in the gap for us. Let us be gloriously and wonderfully terminally unique. Let us die to self, live in Him, and let our lives give Him the glory that only our love, service and praise can.

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.

Receive One Another

Dalyn Woodard continues the study of Romans with a look at chapter 14: 1-12 and the differences and diversity of believers and how we are to respond to them. The message, "Receive One Another" is about 52 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Wednesday, July 6, 2016. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen. May God bless and keep you.

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 ~ July 9 ~ Terminally Unique

I can remember the first time that I heard the words terminally unique. Someone helping me with my early days of recovery used them to turn the volume down on the pity party I was throwing. She couldn't make me stop feeling sorry for myself, but she could kill the soundtrack. "Dalyn, you are seriously not terminally unique." She went on to tell me that in all the years that she'd been in the rooms of recovery she had never talked to anyone who hadn't expressed feeling the feelings I was whining about, especially in the start of the process.

But it's different for me. If you just understood what I have been through, what has been done, you'd drink/drug too, or at least you would see why I do. If you just understood what they did to me you would understand why I have to hold on to this particular resentment. I know Jesus said to forgive, but He wasn't talking about this kind of situation. You just don't get it. Etc., etc., blah, blah, Nobody understands me and what I'm feeling. I'm dying inside, and nobody sees why but me. I'm alone. I'm different than everybody else. The pity party anthem of the terminally unique echoes out of tune.

Like many teens, when I was younger I put up posters in my room, mostly of bands and cars I'd never drive, much less own. But I had one poster of a tiger looking like an overgrown depressed kitten. The caption on the poster consisted of three words. Nobody Understands Me. My father hated that poster. I know because he told me so. I didn't take it down though. If he had only understood how I was feeling he would understand why I loved that poster. But he did understand. He saw and understood me reacting to pain, confusion, disappointment, rejection and fear by isolating and playing the victim, and he saw the danger of it.

I just didn't get that the truth that there is nothing new under the sun includes emotions and the way I feel. Of course we all have unique experiences. No one has lived the exact same life as anyone else. Even the friends I strolled through hell with all did so from a slightly different angle and perspective. But our fears and emotions and reactions are far more mundanely average than we would like to believe. Being used and abused and treated wrong means we have at some point been victimized, but it takes wallowing in self pity and, yes, pride over it to play the victim. To take advantage of another, to have brought destruction into someone else's life means we have at some point played the victimizer, but it takes pride in being predator rather than prey and, yes, self pity to revel in killing before we can be killed. And the feelings and motivations of both extremes and the states between are predictable and boring and anything but unique.

Even if we could come up with some situation that absolutely no one we know could possibly understand and empathize with, Christ can and does understand how and why we feel what we do. In fact, He not only volunteered to  experience our hell, but He gets it and understands it even better than we do. From our perspective at the center of our own universe we may indeed seem terminally unique, but in truth our actions, reactions and emotions are common and shared by millions.

Rather than taking our pain and fear as an excuse to hide and wail that no one could possibly understand, we can run to the One who understands us even better than we do, who can help us, heal us and transform us, and then we can courageously share our experiences and what we felt with others so that they can see that they too are not alone and that there is indeed a solution.

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 ~ July 8 ~ Feeling Discouraged

There is a fine line between wallowing in self pity and venting, acknowledging the truth of how we feel and releasing it rather than stuffing it down and pretending that everything is OK when it's not. Selfishness and self centeredness is the root of all our problems, and the pity party is one event that we always need to refuse to attend. Because of that we may feel like we need to keep a large distance from that fine line. We deny ourselves the freedom to complain or express that we are not OK lest we slip into self pity.

We're like someone who is afraid of sharks refusing to stand on the beach. We feel guilty for complaining. After all, we are supposed to give thanks in all things at all times. But denying the truth of where we are emotionally and mentally is not healthy. Sometimes what we need to give thanks for is that God loves us and cares about our hurts and our discouragement. He knows even better than we how we feel and why. We are not sinning by being honest with Him and with ourselves about it. If we spend a little time in Psalms we will see many times where David expressed his concern over the times of struggle and how long adverse situations lasted. He quickly acknowledged his dismay and discouragement, and yet, he was called a man after God's own heart.

David wasn't afraid to say God, it doesn't look like You're helping me. If doesn't feel like I am going to survive this struggle. It doesn't feel like things are getting any better. In fact, it feels like they're getting worse by the minute. Yet, I will choose to remember that no matter how it feels I know that You are good and care for me.

If you are struggling through a time of difficulty and discouragement don't put on a mask and try to pretend that it's all good. Don't fall for the lie that being discouraged is a failure or lack off faith. Have enough faith to believe that God loves us, even when we want to give up. When we are honest about our fears and our weaknesses we make ourselves open for the God of all comfort to help us, to care for us and to give us the grace to keep going past our own endurance. It is when we try to pretend, to push away the truth of how we feel, that we are forced to try to keep going on our own strength. That never works well, and we end up even more discouraged.

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.