Unshackled Echo ~ July 8, 2018 ~ Priming The Pump

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

March 15, 2015.

Dalyn Woodard shares on putting ourselves in position to be led by the power of the Spirit. The sermon, "Priming The Pump," is about 48 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. 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, 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 ~ July 7, 2018 ~ The Message

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

March 15, 2015.

Early on in my journey down Recovery Road, I learned something important, two somethings, in a way, Maybe I should say that I learned two truths that turned out to be two opposite sides of the exact same coin. First, came devastation when a human being made a mistake, hurt me and let me down. Imagine that happening if you can. This person seemed to have it all together, whatever it is, to have the kind of recovery I wanted to have and to know how to get it, to know the Book backwards and forwards and to have the answers. This was a person who was qualified and good at carrying the message. Forget E.F. Hutton, when this  Elder Statesman spoke, everyone in the room listened.

Then one day, this messenger got it wrong. And not just a little wrong either. Way wrong. A quote from the book was explained in a way that meant the exact opposite of what the book said. The Messenger had misquoted the Message and taken it totally out of context. Suddenly everything from the Messenger I had soaked up like a sponge became suspect. I went in private to the Messenger and shared with them what appeared to be  a mistake. The Messenger agreed they'd missed it on that message and thanked me! Then within a couple of months politely invited me to attend a different meeting. It broke my heart. In truth the two instances were probably not related at all, and the invitation was revoked with tears and apologies. This person is a dear friend of mine today, but I test the message against the Book and the Spirit of Truth whenever this messenger speaks. The best, most together, wisest, most experienced messengers make mistakes. The Message is pure, the vessels are not. That's why we are told to test everything we are told and taught against the book and by the Standard of the Spirit of Truth (Yes, that includes any and every Unshackled Moment).

Lesson two came in the same place but with a different messenger. This person didn't have anything anyone wanted. More people wished the poor person would move on than even wanted to help and be of service to this sap. When the person opened their mouth, the members of the group cringed, people tuned out, whispers of conversations began here and there, and the timing finally felt right to get up and go to the bathroom. I was as guilty as anyone of ignoring the words spoken by this would be messenger, until one day during a meeting I couldn't seem to get anything out of, no matter which of and how many of the "good" messengers shared. I hurt so much, and nothing seemed to get through that wall of pain in around my mind. Then this person no one really listened to, including me, began to babble about something. I don't remember. I do remember almost getting up and leaving. This meeting, this day was shot, or so it seemed. Why suffer through any more of it?

As I collected my keys and things to leave, the person said something similar to what they usually said, but this time it was slightly different and for whatever reason I was able to hear. The donkey in my eyes had become a Messenger of Truth in an instant. I didn't get up or leave. I teared up and spent the rest of the meeting thinking about that Message I'd received. I left changed. I left a little more healed. The lesson remains with me years later as true and as powerful as anything given to me by any of the respected few I honored with my attention and trust.

Lord, help me to remember that it's all about my ability to hear and receive Your Message, regardless of where or when it comes. Remind me that you can use the driver who cuts me off, the donkey whose braying bounces off the walls with annoyance, the friend and the respected example all equally well if I keep my heart right and open to You. May I never over trust the trusted or reject the despised so that I accept falsehood or miss truth. Let me get what You need to me to get wherever the place and whoever the source, and may I be protected from error as well, as I put every message through the Truth test. Amen

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

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

Unshackled Echo ~ July 6,2018 ~ Reacting To Wasps

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

March 13, 2015.

I straddled my motorcycle and rode to work on a morning with the air thick with moisture. Although it wasn't raining, my clothes were damp by my arrival at work due to the high humidity that hung heavy like a light fog. I parked my bike in my normal spot under the shade of a tree and out of the way. I removed my helmet and "do-rag." I immediately felt pain on the top of my head, almost as if someone had grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked it out. But that's not what had happened. A red wasp had fallen from the tree above me onto my head and had promptly stung me before falling on to the ground. It appeared to be struggling to fly for the few seconds that it took for me to react to the unexpected sting and to stomp the wasp into the mud.

I hadn't gone near any of the areas where we'd already spotted wasps becoming active. I wasn't near anything that would normally be a wasp hang out and inspire caution. I have never seen any wasps near where I park. I didn't do anything wrong or differently than normal, but none of that mattered as I had to deal with the itching, burning and pain of the sting for the next several hours.

Life can be like that. Sometimes without provoking or causing anything ourselves we suffer the effects of a fallen world. We don't stray from our path, we're not outside of God's will for us, and yet, without warning we feel the pain of sin and evil fall on us, stinging our soul. People exercise their free will all over us, and it hurts. But people aren't wasps. When they sting and hurt us, we aren't to stomp them into the mud. We are instructed to pray for those who hurt us and bless those who curse us. Sometimes the hurts and attacks we suffer at the hands of others truly have nothing to do with us. We have no part in the instigation or cause. We simply parked in the drop zone of their pain, frustration and anger. Our part is our reaction.

If we react with love, only possible by the grace of God and the presence of the Spirit within us, we keep ourselves free from a spiritual allergic reaction that  can make us sick. Sure it may still hurt for a while, but the poison doesn't have to become a part of us. We can let it go, and we can heal. And we may just find that a Godly reaction helps bring healing to the one who hurt us.

We should also remember that being hurt doesn't mean that God doesn't love us, it isn't always a case of what goes around comes around. We don't have to beat ourselves up or lose faith because it seems evil had a chance to hurt us. We're going to have trouble and pain as part of life in a fallen world. Sometimes we bring it on ourselves, and sometimes life just happens all over us. But whether we have some minor irritation and pain that heals and fades quickly or a wound that goes deep and festers and nearly kills us is not dependent upon the poison but on our reaction to it. If we can get out of the way and let God control our reaction, it will never be severe and sickening, but if we act out in the power of our own nature, the resulting pain can cause horrible pain, bitterness and misery for us even more than the one we stomp in retaliation.

Abba, help me to respond to life's difficulties and the pain others cause with the stings of their brokenness as You would have me. Soothe my wounds with Your balm and comfort me with Your love and peace. 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.

God Is Light

Sometimes we tend to believe that God is both good and bad, loving and angry. God is not angry with you or out to get you. Dalyn Woodard shares that we don't have to be afraid of approaching our Daddy in our need or stumbling as we walk, because God never intends us harm, His heart is always to heal and restore us. The message, "God Is Light," is about an hour, and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on July 5, 2018. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen.

The first message in the series "The Daddy Heart Of God" 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 Echo ~ July 4, 2018 Fireworks Frustration

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

July 4, 2016.

Here in the United States July 4 is a day of remembering the beginning of our nation. It represents and reminds us to cherish our freedoms and the great history of the country. It's a time of celebration, family and fireworks. For many, fireworks are more a part of the Fourth than anything else. It's like a decorated tree at Christmas. The holiday just seems a little less complete without them.

Our dogs, and apparently pretty much every dog within earshot of our house, do not like fireworks. They get frightened and agitated. And they bark. They bark and bark, refusing to obey commands to quiet until the popping and explosions cease. This used to bother me a lot. I hated the dogs being stupid and barking every evening from shortly after dark till after midnight during the holiday. This year the Fourth landed on a Monday, which meant the explosions started three nights ago, on the weekend, and will likely be the worst tonight. But they don't bother me, and it doesn't bother me that dogs get upset and bark anymore either.

For me, the agitated baying has become a call to prayer. A couple of years ago, as I became frustrated with the dogs, the Spirit spoke to my spirit and showed me that I was the one being foolish, not the dogs. They can't help the way they feel and react to the noise. It's an unnatural situation for them that they don't understand. The noise puts them in a panic and state of fear that they have little to no control over. Then I felt reminded of all the situations that most people do every day with no problem that can put me in a state of severe agitation and fear, can cause panic attacks because of my past and what I experienced in the years I spent incarcerated. Logically I understand I'm no longer in that place and the situations are different. I understand that I am safe and free, and the nightmare is over. But emotionally I can't stop the feelings once triggered. Others on the outside, who do not have my triggers may even think it no big deal what I am going through, or they may think I just need to realize the situation is different and control my emotions. I can't. It takes grace for me to make it through those times.

Now, the dogs do not have PTSD, and they don't need grace. But there are men and women all over this country this weekend, tonight, and every Fourth, who will not be able to enjoy this holiday with their families. They cannot relax and celebrate and light up the night sky with their children, who cannot fully understand that the noise we associate with festivity fills them with fear and triggers violent reactions as it takes them back to a place of war. Fireworks are not fun for everyone. For some who have spent time away from home to help ensure the freedoms of the rest of us, they are memory triggers of battles they can never forget.


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 ~ July 3, 2018 ~ Self-Indulgence Can't Restore Us

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

- Psalm 23:1-3

I am beyond tired. Seriously, I am exhausted. I have been running on reserves and fumes and have reached a point where my brain is barely functioning. I've noticed also, that in addition to struggling to think well, to remember and complete my responsibilities, the more tired I get, the more the heathen in me begins to claw his way from the grave. As my reserves dwindle so do the fruits of the Spirit, things like love, mercy, compassion, gentleness, self-control.

Oh my goodness. I am harsh and critical of others. I am not a nice person. I'm just not. Christ in me loves people and gives me love for people. I on the other hand want to ban warning labels and let the stupid weed themselves out. Jesus loves us all as we are, not as we should be, and says that we have great significance and value to the One who made us. And when I get tired I have a tendency to think things like, pull the plug, you're just taking up space, about people. I get frustrated more quickly. I get selfish about my time, of which I am forgetting that I have none, because I and all that I am, including my time, is His. I have little patience and tolerance for people, myself included. I called myself an idiot three times today.

I am grateful that there is one person who seems to be shielded from my bad attitude. That's Leah. She doesn't annoy me. I am starting to wonder if maybe it wasn't so much an unloving attitude that made John the beloved volunteer to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans as much as it was just they had been walking and ministering for a long time without enough rest and he was exhausted. I preach things like "it takes grace to love God and love others as we should," but even so, admitting that I am an unloving jerk when I get tired is a bit embarrassing. I just want to blow off everything and do nothing but chill and take care of Leah, who is every bit as exhausted as I am, perhaps more so.

There is a part of me that wants to skimp out on the spiritual stuff too. Praying is hard to do when you're exhausted. Reading seems like a waste of time when you keep reading the same paragraph over because you're too tired And doing things like writing and preparing for sermons? It takes much more time and effort to prepare, and then you just pray that you can manage to get it out and make sense or remember what you studied. I am not saying poor pitiful me. I am admitting that the more tired I get, the less I want to do the things I need to do to have relationship with my Shepherd. I just want to go find a shady spot and sleep. I don't want to be led by still waters or righteous paths or anywhere else, because being led means moving and moving makes me tired. Did I mention that I get selfish and self-centered when I get tired?

But that tendency to run and hide, to do our own thing when the effort it takes to do what we need to increase is the exact opposite of what we need to do. For one thing, I have a 24-hour reprieve from my bondage that is contingent upon the maintenance of my spiritual condition. So blowing off my relationship with God because I'm tired is a good way to loose my footing and slip into dangerous places. Scripture says it this way, if we walk by the power of the Spirit, we won't fulfill the lusts of the flesh. So if we stop fellowshipping with the Spirit, how do we have any hope of resisting the rise of self-will and selfishness?

Self-indulgence is not the answer to exhaustion. Living for self and blowing off responsibilities and others only makes a mess that takes even more effort to clean up later. Let's be honest. Self-indulgence never served me well. As my self-will ran riot, I reaped destruction in my life and the lives of others. Self-indulgence never restores. It only destroys. It is the Lord who restores our soul and gives rest. So, it is in my best self-interest, to continue to deny self and seek Him, even when it seems to take more effort. I will continue to let Him lead me where He needs me to go, even though I'm so tired I keep thinking I can't take another step.  I will lean on Him and His grace to keep me going until I have made it to the pasture and the writing is all done, the sermon is given, the people are ministered to, the animals are all fed and the house is in the neighborhood of clean. I will try to get closer to Daddy, so I can keep loving and caring for the annoying people, including me. I may sleep all day Thursday though.


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 ~ July 2, 2018 ~ Dealing With The Past

One of the most difficult aspects of recovery, after detox and breaking that initial instinct to reach for that drink or drug, or place that bet, or eat that gallon of ice cream, or go on that shopping spree, or log onto that adult site, or whatever it is that has been used to fill the God-shaped hole in our lives, is dealing with the past. After all, our pain and mistakes of the past are often what drove us into our individual areas of bondage and helped to keep us there in the first place. We wanted, no, needed, to change the way we felt, to distract from, numb, or cover up our fears, feelings and frustrations. Some of us ran from reality for years. Now as we enter recovery and travel the road of discipleship to freedom, suddenly we find ourselves feeling and having to face things we always fled.

The most important aspect of a life worth living and freedom is a relationship with Jesus.A few things are necessary for a true and life-producing walk with God. We have to understand our need and the absolute impossibility to meet it on our own. We have to see that we have fallen short of being good enough to stand before our Creator without fear and shame but that because of the grace of His love and forgiveness we can become His adopted children. Our Daddy loves us and has done all that is needed to restore us to Himself.

Still, before we can have success in recovery and life, we must be able to see the necessity of that restoration and how amazing it is. The first step in that process is to see our past as it really is, not as we wish it to be, not excused or justified through the twisting of truth or shifting of blame. To find freedom from the power of the past over us, we have to understand the past. We have to be able to see where we let self-will, fear and resentment dictate our responses and actions in our relationships and circumstances and the ways those reactions attributed to our misery, pain and bondage, no matter the part others played.

Seeing this truth is the purpose of the inventory, the Fourth Step. Facing honestly the good and the bad of what has happened in our lives enables us to see the patterns of our behavior and the situations where we tend to turn to something other than Daddy as our solution. This enables us to see our need and face those thoughts, feelings and attitudes that have wrecked havoc and kept us in states of fear, pain and misery. Once we do this, we can begin to move into the life Daddy wants to give us, a life worth living and worth sharing with others. The past can become our greatest asset in service and sharing with others the power and way of life available through Daddy's love instead of a source of shame and condemnation.

What is the one thing you dread anyone finding out? How wonderful would it be to have the teeth of that monster pulled so that it can't cause dread in the dark any longer? What are the ghosts that haunt your life? How much better would life be with them exorcised? What if the pain that you hid and ran from could be healed so that there was no  longer a need to distract or numb those feelings? These are some of the blessings of healing the past that come from facing the truth of our history and accepting Daddy's provision, the Spirit's comfort and Christ's forgiveness that heals our wounds and restores us to health.

We may feel it's impossible to stop running, but with God, all things are possible that are possible. And we don't have to face it alone. Daddy loves you as you are, not as you should be. In the midst of what has become the past, He loved you, and He will continue to love you as you look at it honestly. What you discover about yourself will not come as a surprise to Him. The Spirit will guide you through the process and provide strength and comfort as you deal with all those things you refused to deal with before.


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.