Has the enemy been working overtime on you with discouragement? Do you feel like nothing is working, and nothing will ever work? Did you wake up this morning feeling a little more hopeless than you did yesterday because there are absolutely no signs of change, no signs of improvement, and no proof of God’s power at work here?

Satan cannot diminish God’s power. He can’t block it in any way in your life. However, he can create chaos to distract you. He can bring darkness to discourage you. And he can play in your emotions, picking at old wounds and scabs, to make you feel there’s just no hope in this. Is that what’s been happening to you? Has the enemy been poking? Has he been distracting? Has he been successful in his sleezy ways of discouraging you?

He doesn’t want you to see the way God has made for you. He doesn’t want you to tap into the power God has placed within you. He doesn’t want your spirit to be renewed with hope again. Because, honey, if you do, you won’t be stuck here! You won’t be overwhelmed not knowing what to do. You won’t give up so easily. You won’t walk away defeated again by the facade the enemy has orchestrated.

This is just a facade. It looks hopeless, but it’s not. It looks impossible, but Sis, when you bring God with you onto the scene, nothing shall be impossible. It sounds real bad, but it’s a bunch of hype Satan and his demons have been building to make you turn away from what God has for you next. It’s a facade.

This is the exact word God gave me this morning. He’s revealing to his girls what has been holding us back.

A facade is an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less creditable reality. It looks a certain way from the front, but it’s hiding a reality that is totally different.

There are things that look so bad and so hopeless on the outside, but behind that front, there’s a way being made. Satan will block you, discourage you, and convince you there’s just no way through, so you give up and walk away. How many times have you walked away thinking it was impossible when it was just a facade to discourage you? How many times have you given up when God had made a way through it, you just weren’t willing to give that effort.

Remember the story of the friends who refused to give up on their buddy who needed healing? Do you remember what they did when they faced a problem that blocked them from getting to Jesus?

Mark 2: 1-5, “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Y’all, they tore the darn roof off! They were determined to get their friend in front of Jesus. When there wasn’t a way through the door, they tried the window. When there wasn’t a way through the window, they started climbing. And Jesus was impressed by their faith. Faith that didn’t settle for the facade that there was no way. Faith that didn’t grow discouraged over the facade that Jesus was unavailable.

Jesus is available to you! That’s what the devil doesn’t want you to know! He doesn’t want you to know that there is a way for you.

On this Friday Rewind, we go back to the story of the 10 leapers being healed, and we dig deeper to see how entitlement blocks our praise.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamelaOr Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crimFind out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Every morning when we wake up, we get to choose our attitude. Any attitude we wish is available for the taking. We can put it on and wear it the entire day, and just like the right pair of shoes can change the outfit, the right attitude can change your experience.

Most days we wake up unaware of this choice. We wait and see how our jeans fit, how our hair looks, and what the weather is.

Good day, good attitude.Bad day, bad attitude.Average day, average attitude.

We allow our experience to dictate and determine our perspective. But within us is the power to change our entire experience, regardless of circumstances.

Today we have the extreme gift of waking up to a day when the preferred attitude is predetermined. It’s Thanksgiving, and what do we do on Thanksgiving besides eat a feast … we give thanks. Yes, we knew to wake up with an attitude of gratitude today. The calendar tells us today is the day to wake up to thanksgiving.

What would your life look like if you continually gave thanks? I mean in the presence of real life, less than perfect scenarios, would things begin to look and feel different if they were covered in the gravy of gratitude?

You know how butter makes everything taste better … or in my family it was bacon grease. That was my mama’s secret to everything … a little bit of bacon grease. If you’re not from where I’m from and you didn’t grow up eating what I ate, maybe you’re wondering where you buy bacon grease. Oh no honey, you don’t buy that, you save that. You drain it right out of your pan of bacon into a coffee can, and you spoon it out like gold.

Where do you get gratitude? Well I assure you it’s not on the shelves. You can’t buy it. You may think once you have this or that you would be truly grateful, but you’re wrong. You won’t. You’ll only want more or different.

Gratitude is drained off what you already have and stored within you. Like bacon grease, it comes from what you already have.

Melody Beattie said “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”

I don’t know who you might be missing around the table this year, but I’m truly sorry. I’m deeply sorry for your loss. I’m sorry for the division. I’m sorry for the dysfunction. I’m sorry for the distance. For whatever has caused the empty seats around your table, I’m so sorry.

I’m missing important people too. I only have my husband today. No kids. No family. No friends. But God has given me so much bacon in my life already, that I have all this leftover bacon grease from what he has given me before, and now I can pour it out on what I do have and dang, it makes everything better!

Today, may you see what is here over what isn’t.

Unlock the fullness of life today with your thanksgiving. We truly have so much to be grateful for.

Let me throw my favorite absolutely overwhelming statistics at you, like I do every year on Thanksgiving:

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world. (Is that you? Do you have food in your refrigerator? Do you have clothes on your back? Do you have a roof over your head and a place to sleep? You are wildly rich, my sister!)

If you have any amount of money in the bank,

Prayer. Are you doing it right? Do you know the right prayers? Are your prayers getting through?

As a little girl, I was raised in a home that knew nothing of God. Prayer was reserved for before our family meal on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Church was Easter only. One year, I specifically remember being told it was my turn to pray before the holiday meal. I didn’t know how to pray, but I had a little book that included a prayer, so I packed it to Grandma’s house that day to be prepared. When all the family had gathered for our feast, they said, “Pam, we want you to pray.”

I was so excited to lead my family in my very first prayer. I whipped out my little book, and I read: “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”

It was noon. Clearly, I didn’t know the right prayer for the right time. Looking back, I realize I was much like the Aunt Bethany on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation praying the Pledge of Allegiance before their Christmas meal of overcooked turkey and jello with cat food.

Sometimes I still feel like that little girl who doesn’t know the right prayer. I don’t know the right words. I don’t know what to ask. I just don’t know.

Do you ever feel that way? You’re not alone.

Yesterday, I learned a new prayer and I feel it’s the perfect prayer for those times when you just don’t know what to say. Those times when you’re hurting and you don’t understand why. Those times when it’s all falling apart and you don’t know how to fix it. Those times when you’re lost and you don’t know the way. It’s a quite formal prayer officially called “The I Don’t Know” Prayer, and it goes like this:

God, I don’t know.

Yes, this is the prayer. It’s the right prayer when you simply don’t know what else to pray. It’s the right prayer when you’re aching and don’t know how to make it stop. I’s the right prayer when absolutely nothing makes sense and you don’t know how it ever will. God, I don’t know.

Romans 8:26, “We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.”

Isn’t that precisely what is happening when we stand in the shower and we cry, and we say, “God, I don’t know.” Isn’t the Spirit of God interceding for us with words we can’t even speak? We cry, we sigh, deep aches come from our heart, and the Spirit translates it all into prayer to God. Honey, all you have to say here is, “God, I don’t know.”

This is the most spiritual prayer you could pray. It’s a prayer that goes straight to the heart of God.

I don’t know where to go from here.I don’t know what is happening.I don’t know how to do this.I don’t know what to do next.I don’t know how to heal.I don’t know how to handle it.I don’t know how to fix it.I don’t know how this is going to ever be okay again.

Whatever it is you don’t know, you just bring it to God and the Spirit will intercede for you. In ways you can’t understand. In sighs and groanings too deep for words.

And then, with whatever tiny bit of faith and strength you have left, you say, “But you know.”

And you leave it there.

What if this doesn’t work out the way you hoped it would? What if God doesn’t do for you what you asked him to do? What if you end up looking like a fool with this faith? Let me tell you, Sis, God is calling you to a place where you’re willing to look like a fool. Where you’re willing to believe if he doesn’t do what you asked him to do, he’s doing something better. If it doesn’t work out the way you hoped it would, all that disappointment is being worked together for goodness in your future.

Here’s how I know … because God is for you, not against you. He’s not out to destroy you. He’s not scheming to defeat you. He’s not concocting twisted plans of darkness to steal your hope and rob your joy. That’s not God … that’s Satan. Satan is against you. Satan is out to destroy you. Satan is scheming to defeat you. Satan has very specific twisted plans to overwhelm you with darkness where you have no hope or joy remaining. But Satan has not, and will not, win. He is a defeated foe cast down to the pits of hell. He sits in misery and only wants you to join his misery. Don’t accept that invitation. God is calling you to come to him instead!

To come to God, you can’t hold on to what has been holding you back. To experience the fullness of the life God is offering you, you have to let it all go. Yes, let it go not knowing how it’s all going to work out. Let it go before you see the next step. Let it go, fully trusting God will meet you here and guide your next steps. No matter if it goes how you hoped it would or not, you let go and trust.

Blind faith. Full surrender. All-in trust.

We see the example of this blind faith, full surrender and all-in trust in Mark 10: 36-52:

“As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”

Bartimaeus was not only blind, but he was a beggar. Every day, he would sit along the road in Jericho, using his blindness for people’s pity. We’re not judging Bartimaeus, it was all he could do in his situation. In their culture, any sort of physical ailment alienated you from others. You were unable to work, therefore, you depended on the pity of those who wouldn’t really help you, but they might throw a coin your way.

Within this short telling of Bartimaeus’ story is one verse that changes everything. One verse that applies to you and I today. Verse 50, “Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.”

A cloak isn’t just a coat, but it was such a valuable garment, most could only afford to buy one in their lifetime. It was the only thing to keep you warm. And for Bartimaeus, it was likely the only thing of value he had. He not only wore it, but he also would have used it as a blanket to cover up with. And even more than that, his cloak became his rug where he would sit throughout the day and beg. His cloak collected the coins of pity people would throw at him.

Bartimaeus’ cloak was his identity.

What is it that you want? It’s a desire of your heart, not a need in your life. You don’t need it. You don’t absolutely have to have it. But, you want it. Have you talked to God about it?

This past weekend at our BIG Life Retreat in San Antonio, we each shared our stories. One story was a beautiful woman named Emily who had found herself in a position she never dreamed she would be. She was a young single mom of a little boy. She felt unwanted and unworthy. Who would ever want her? She then read a devotional which encouraged her to ask God for something she wanted. Not something she needed. Not something she had to have, but something she just wanted.

Questioning her right to ask God for what she would want, and totally uncertain of her worthiness to attract what she wanted, she eventually asked. God, I want Ben Briscoe. He is who I want. I want a father for my son. I want a man to share my life with. And actually, I want it to be this specific guy. I want Ben.

She brought this request to God, and she laid it at his feet. She asked him for what she wanted, and she surrendered this desire to his will. She said, God this is what I want, but I only want it if it’s your best. I only want it if it’s right. I don’t need it, I’m okay without it. But I’m asking you because it’s what I want.

Hearing her share this story, I grew in excitement, because I have the benefit of knowing her last name. I know she’s now a Briscoe! I know how this story ends.

Over 30 years later, this woman sat in a beautiful retreat house with us this weekend, and shared how God gave her precisely what she wanted. She married that single man she asked God for. Not because she had to have someone. Not because she was desperate. Not because she needed him. But, she simply asked God for what she wanted, and he graciously said yes. He not only said yes to that one request, but he gave her so much more. Ben became her husband, and he adopted her little boy. Then, they had two more boys, to make a total of three. Now, that has grown with 3 daughter in laws and 5 beautiful grand babies.

She asked God for what she wanted. God said yes … and so much more!

Can we do that? Can we ask God for a want when it’s not really a need? Can we ask God for a desire when it’s not a desperation?

Well, let me ask you, if you’re a mama, do you want your children to only ask you for what they absolutely need? Have you instructed them to only ask out of desperation, not out of desire? Don’t you want your children to talk to you about their desires? Wouldn’t you want them to tell you what they want, and aren’t you excited to make it happen if you can? Doesn’t it bring you great joy to give your children what they want? It’s your duty to give them what they need, but it’s your delight to give them what they want!

And wouldn’t it break your heart if your child felt they couldn’t come to you with what they want? Wouldn’t that feel like a lack of trust?

Sooooo, tell me again why you’re so hesitant to ask God for what you want.

Matthew 7:11, “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

He is your Heavenly Father. He actually WANTS you to ask him for what you want. It brings him great delight to have a relationship with his girl grounded in this trust. Do you trust him enough to bring the desires of your heart to him?

Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything,

In today’s episode, we return for a double dip on two lesson’s God taught us earlier in the week. Let’s go back and see how God gets us out of our Egypt, and how God keeps us from creating our next Egypt ourselves.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamelaOr Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crimFind out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

What could an ordinary girl like you possibly do for an extraordinary God like ours? How could he ever use you when you feel like you have absolutely nothing special to offer. Let me tell you something, God has chosen you. You are the one he wants to use.

Why? Because you have precisely what God needs to do his work.

What do you have? An empty space for his power to reside. When you’re not full of who you are and what you can do, there’s space for God’s power to do what only he can do. That’s all he needs. Space.

Girl, give him space today and watch him use you for his purposes!

This morning I heard the story of a 19 year old girl named Florrie Evans. You may not know her name, and you’ll never meet her, because she died 56 years ago. Her name won’t likely show up in any history books, yet she changed hundreds of thousands of lives when she was just a teenager.

Florrie was an incredibly ordinary and shy girl living in Wales, an island just west of England. One Sunday evening in 1904 at Church, she was so moved by the power of the Holy Spirit prompting her, that she stood up and boldly said these 8 words: “I love Jesus Christ with all my heart.” She hadn’t planned it. It wasn’t scripted. It wasn’t eloquent. It was simply filled with joy. And these 8 words, spoken in faith and joy by an ordinary 19 year old girl, started a revival. A revival that swept through the entire country, bringing over 100,000 people to Jesus in the first 6 months.

During the time of revival the police were left with virtually nothing to do and the courts were empty. Saloons and bars shut down for lack of business. Old debts, many long forgotten, were paid off in full. Profanity disappeared. It was said that horses everywhere were in complete confusion. They had become accustomed to responding to their master’s profane shouts and kicks and cursing, but when their masters stopped yelling and cussing at them, the horses didn’t know what to do.

Hmmm, makes me wonder, would your car know how to drive down the interstate if you weren’t yelling at the idiots on the road with you? Would your husband know what to do if you didn’t give him the side eye, cold shoulder, or snarky attitude? Would Facebook even be in business if we all stopped scrolling and started living?

In 1904, lives radically changed. How people talked changed. What they did changed. Where they went changed. God was in every detail of this change. And where did it all start? One 19 year old ordinary girl who had an empty space for the power of God to fill. And when he filled that space, she simply responded in joy. The rest … well God did it all.

God’s power changes people, not us. But he sure loves to use ordinary people with space for his power.

Digging a little deeper into the story of Florrie, I found an account that she had just accepted Jesus the week before. She had been hesitatnt to submit her life to God, because she was afraid of what God would ask her to do. The pastor told her to go home, shut herself in her room, accept Jesus as her savior, and commit to responding to any prompting she received from the Holy Spirit. And it ends up, God would only ask her to stand up and share her love of God with complete joy. He would do everything from there.

It’s been 119 years since Florrie Evans spoke those 8 words that started a revival. And think about the generations that have been impacted since. Think of the children today who know about Jesus simply because their great, great, great-grandparents were overcome with the love of Jesus at a revival that changed an entire country.

Have you seen the latest trend in tattoos flying around social media? It’s a fork. Yes, the eating utensil. No additional wording or detail, just a fork. The moment I saw it, I knew exactly what it was. I had heard the story behind the fork. In fact, it was one of the first devotionals I ever wrote myself (not plagiarized from a little devotional book) nearly 10 years ago. If you’ve heard the story of the fork, you know exactly where I’m going. If this is your first time hearing it, you will never forget it.

The story goes like this: A woman who was nearing death requested that she be buried with a fork in her hand. A fork? How strange. Why would anyone want to be buried with a fork? She went on to share that her favorite moment after eating a big meal was when someone would say, ‘hold on to your fork’. What did that mean? That meant dessert was on its way. That meant the best was yet to come. And when the best is yet to come, you hold on to your fork.

The best is yet to come. That’s exciting. But does anyone else have an ache in their heart that feels like the best has already passed?

I’m going to be completely honest with you, there’s one place I don’t like to be at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. That’s in the school zone in front of the elementary school. The speed limit is 20, cars are backed up for blocks, and the police there aren’t playing. But it’s not the slow traffic that bothers me. What absolutely slays me is to see all those mamas sitting in their cars, waiting for their little backpack wearing ball of energy to come bouncing out of the school and jump in to go home.

You know why it slays me? Because it used to be me. I used to be that mom picking up kids from school. I used to be that mom hearing all about their day and rushing home to get them their after school snack. And now, it’s not me. My babies are all grown. That time in my life is over. And dang, do I wish I could have it back.

Looking back, I would say those were the best days of my life. I didn’t know it then, but those were the good ol’ days. Isn’t it funny how when you’re living the good ‘ol days, they just feel like long ordinary days.

There’s a song by Macklemore called Good Ol’ Days. They lyrics hit hard. It says:

Never thought we’d get old, maybe we’re still youngMaybe we always look back and think it was better than it wasMaybe these are the momentsMaybe I’ve been missing what it’s aboutBeen scared of the future, thinking about the pastWhile missing out on nowYou don’t know, what you’ve gotTill it goes, till it’s goneI wish somebody would have told meSome day, these will be the good old daysSomeday soon, your whole life’s gonna changeYou’ll miss the magic of these good old days

What are your good ol’ days? Do you have a mountaintop season where you were at your peak, and now it’s over and you’re left wondering if it will ever be that good again? Looking back it creates a longing within your soul that kinda aches, doesn’t it? You know you can’t go back. You know it will never be the same again. Yeah, me too.

But, Sis, hold on to your fork! We haven’t seen the best yet. We haven’t seen anything even close to the best yet! As the daughters of God and followers of Jesus Christ, we are promised the best is yet to come.

1 Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love him.” Dream up all you could possibly imagine eternity in paradise to be, and God says, “No,

So you have some bright ideas and good plans, and you’re desperately trying to get God to co-sign on the whole deal. We’re like, “God, if you’ll just jump in on this, it will all work out.” You need a co-signer on your crazy, and girl, you’re just crazy enough to think God can be tricked into it.

You know what we’re like? We’re like a wild little chihuahua on a leash, kicking up dirt pulling their own way. We run hard after what we want, then we hit the end of that leash and we do a back flip. And we don’t land on our feet. We face plant. And we sit there dazed and confused, wondering why it always feels like God is against us. Why won’t God just let me go here? Why won’t he let me do this? Why does he keep pulling on my leash and holding me back?

But wild little chihuahuas don’t give up easily. They get drug sideways, fixated on what they think they want, rarely agreeing to walk in obedience. Isn’t that us?

Girl, God really doesn’t want to drag your butt through life, but you’re making it really hard on yourself. God has been trying to show you his good plans, but you’re so focused on what’s going on over there that you don’t even realize where he is leading you.

What’s happening for each of us is we’re in obedience school. We’re learning how to obey. And the biggest key to obedience is the one thing we sometimes struggle with the most … TRUST. It’s trusting the one who is in charge knows things we don’t know, things we’re not capable of understanding, and he is only trying to lead us where is best. We simply can’t be obedient to God until we trust him.

Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” And I feel like the psalmist left out three final words there … and a leash. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you and a leash. Why? Because you’re a wild chihuahua hell bent on chasing crap you don’t need to chase. The leash is there to protect you.

Our dog Tank is a beautiful, massive yellow lab. In his prime he was 130 pounds of pure muscle, and a little too much snacks. For the first 2 years of his life he grew up on a ranch. Ranch life meant the absence of a leash. He ran wild. He swam in the river. He chased squirrels. He rolled around in dead stuff. He occasionally got lost. It’s a miracle he survived. Then, we took him on his first roadtrip and vacation with us. Country boy went to the beach in Southern California. There, he had to have a leash. But Tank wasn’t leash trained yet, and Tank really loved chasing seagulls and inappropriately smelling every dog within 50 feet of him. That vacation, he spent the majority of his time choking and barely able to breathe because he was pulling so hard. That vacation, he also dislocated my husband’s shoulder.

And isn’t that us sometimes? We’re wondering why we’re so stressed and having trouble breathing … girl, how hard are you pulling? How desperately are you trying to do this your way? Don’t you understand your master holds the leash and he knows what you do not know? You can twist and contort this any way you want, but God knows it’s crazy and he’s not going to be tricked into co-signing crazy. He’s not going there. He’s not letting go. He’s not giving up.

Megan, calm down.Whitney, chill out.Kimberly, just stop.You, wild little chihuahua, God is teaching you the way you should go. TRUST HIM.

Obedience school can feel like punishment,