2207 Smell Like Jesus

Something is happening within you as you surrender your life to God and grow more in Jesus – You are becoming so incredibly attractive. You have a certain glow about you. You stand out. There’s something magnetizing about you. There’s a deep joy within you and it just seeps out of your pours. Others are seeing it! Something supernatural happens when your life is lived in close relationship with God. You can’t explain it and you can’t duplicate it in any other way. Let me tell you a story … At our Redwood Forest Retreat this past weekend, there was a lady named Kayla. Kayla is a sold-out, bold and courageous follower of Jesus. She knows exactly what Jesus saved her from and she lives every moment of her life in loud praise of him for that rescue and redemption. Life hasn’t been easy for her, but God has done a radical work of redemption in her. Let me tell you, you don’t spend time with Kayla and walk away the same. The Holy Spirit she carries in her truly does shift the atmosphere. On the final morning of our retreat, everyone except for Kayla went down to the shore for a time or worship, cold plunge and baptisms. Kayla said the Holy Spirit had prompted her to stay behind in the retreat house to spend alone time with him. That’s rare for her because Kayla has 10 kids and is actively involved in a street ministry in Sacramento. Sitting with God in this glorious cottage in the redwoods was perfection for her. While we were all floating around in freezing cold water allowing God to breath into us, Kayla was singing and praising back at the retreat house. Without any of us knowing, she was specifically praying to be a Christ-like-fragrance. Hmmmm, have you ever prayed that? Well, me neither! 2 Corinthians 2:15, “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.” We returned to the retreat house within an hour to find the praise music blasting. And one of our retreat girls, Janiel, caught a whiff of the most beautiful perfume. It was coming from Kayla. In fact, the fragrance was so unique and beautiful, Janiel turned to Kayla’s sister and asked if she knew what perfume Kayla was wearing. Later we found out about her prayer that morning to be a Christ-like-fragrance. How wild is that? The Holy Spirit’s work in you makes you a beautiful fragrance!!!!!! Now, understand why. Why does a life surrendered to Jesus and lived in close relationship with him make you stand out with a glow? Why does it change your very fragrance? Well, this isn’t about you. This isn’t about you being noticed. This isn’t about you looking better. This isn’t about anyone admiring you. Trust me, this isn’t about you smelling good. This is about JESUS! Philippians 1:11 MSG, “Live a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.” There it is – the Holy Spirit’s work in us with the results of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control all growing in us – this makes Jesus Christ ATTRACTIVE! Our surrendered lives make Jesus look good to others! And yes, that makes us stand out, that makes people see us different, that can even make us smell different – to the point that they ask, “What’s up with her, what does she have, and how do I get some?” But we have a unique way of making everything about us. We forget this isn’t about YOU being attractive – this is about JESUS BEING ATTRACTIVE IN YOU! Come back to that, Sis. You don’t need anyone to give you glory or praise. If that’s what you’re seeking, this has gotten twisted. And really, that happens so easily – I know it got really twisted for me for a really long time. God has been so patient with me. His grace over me has been undeserved. He humbled me and continues to humble me so I untwist this – it was never about me – it was always about Jesus. MAKE JESUS ATTRACTIVE! Then what happens as we make Jesus attractive with the way we live our lives? Go back to the rest of that scripture – We get “everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.” I sat back and noticed exactly how this happens while at retreat. We sat around a firepit on opening night and each shared what God is doing in our lives right now. Many had praises of how God has worked things out for them. Some had stories of how God was still carrying them through a reality they would have never chosen, yet they could see his fingerprints in the details. With each shared story we could see God’s glory and participate in his praise. While our stories were different, we could relate to God’s faithfulness on our own journey and apply his promises to our own lives. Every time someone shared a piece of their story, we all got involved in the glory and praise of God! On a very practical level, that’s how it happens! And let me tell you, Jesus was so attractive in our circle around that firepit! The fragrance rising up was glorious! So, Sis, this is what I want you to remember: You don’t have to try to be attractive. You just have to stay close to Jesus. Stay surrendered. Stay in His Word. Stay in His presence. Let the Holy Spirit keep doing His beautiful, sometimes uncomfortable, always transformational work inside of you. Because when you spend enough time with Jesus, He starts showing up on you. His love starts coming out of your mouth. His joy starts showing up in your face. His peace starts changing the way you respond. His kindness starts changing the way you treat people. His goodness starts changing the way you live. His self-control starts changing what you say yes and no to. And suddenly, without trying to be impressive, you become a living invitation to Jesus. People see something different. They feel something different. They may not even know what it is at first, but they notice. They wonder. They ask. “What’s different about you?” “How are you so peaceful?” “How did you get through that?” “Why aren’t you bitter?” “What do you have that I don’t have?” And that’s your moment. It’s not me. It’s Jesus. That’s the fragrance. That’s the glow. That’s the attraction. Not so people will notice you, but so they will notice Him. Your life becomes a little window through which someone else gets a glimpse of Jesus. Your story gives someone else courage. Your peace gives someone else hope. Your praise reminds someone else that God is still faithful. Your surrendered heart becomes an invitation for someone else to know the One who changed you. All around you, Jesus is calling people to him, and he’s using you as the reflection of his love and life-changing power. Those whom he is calling to him will be attracted. Those who are not being called, well – they won’t like you at all. You need to know that so you’re not discouraged. After Paul tells us about being a sweet perfume and Christ-like-fragrance rising up to God, he prepares us for the 2 very different ways that is received in this world. 2 Corinthians 2: 15-16, “BUT this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.” Remember this – it’s not up to you who is invited into that life-saving relationship with Jesus. This isn’t about you. To those Jesus is inviting, you will help attract them to him. To those who are not, you will be repulsive. You won’t be liked. They will not be receptive to you. Can you be okay with that? Can you continue to show up has God’s sweet perfume in this world, even when some reject you, even while some ridicule you, even while some are hateful towards you? Or will you decide you’re too fragile for the criticism of a few so you stop showing up for the ones who are ready to respond to Jesus? I’m so grateful Jesus didn’t sit out his mission because of the ones who would ridicule him. I’m so grateful he didn’t cancel his coming because some would be ugly. He came anyway. He taught anyway. He loved anyway. And he gave his life anyway. Now he asks us to do the same. Stop being detoured by those who don’t like this Jesus in you. Stop playing little and hiding your fragrance and your glow because they don’t receive it well. It’s not about you – this is about Jesus! And there are people around you who desperately need it! Make Jesus attractive. Not with your perfection. Not with your performance. Not by pretending you’ve got it all together. Just live so close to Jesus that He can’t help but rub off on you. And then walk into the room. Carry His fragrance. Shift the atmosphere. And let everybody around you get involved in the glory and praise of God. Because the most beautiful thing about you should never be you. It should be Jesus. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Today, there are 100 days left in this year of life. Just 100 days, and we all know how quickly those final days go. As of yesterday, we stepped into the new season of Fall, next will come Winter and we will be in the Holidays, then boom … the whole year is over … again. It all goes by so fast now, doesn’t it? Have you noticed how the years are going faster and faster? Have you ever wondered why that is? There’s actually a reason. Each year of your life keeps going by faster because the older you get, the less one year of your life represents to your total life experience. When you were a little girl at 8 years old, it took a whole 1/8 of your life to get all the way back around to your next birthday. Now, if you’re 50, one year is only 1/50th of your life, so although the days are the same, they seem less. Imagine how fast time will speed up in the future. If a year already goes this fast, add 20 more years to the clock … girls, this is all going by so quickly. With 100 days left in this year, it’s important for us to pause and consider what these days could be. How could we use 100 days to grow and get better? I have an idea – LET’S ASK GOD!!!!! Lord, what do you want for us in the final 100 days of 2026? What do you want your girls to do? What do you want us to commit to? We are asking you – please show us. Now just sit in that for a moment. Listen. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you? The world has countless ideas for you. Run every day for the next 100 days. Eliminate soda. Do a social media fast. Wake up earlier. Read. Let go of one thing in your house every day to declutter. And all of those are fantastic. Great ideas! I’m a fan. Do it! But … what if God has something deeper for you? What if he has an invitation for you for the next 100 days, and accepting that invitation would be life-changing. I believe he does. This morning, I asked God what scripture he has for us as a guide to step into these final 100 days, and here’s what he gave me. Psalm 90:12 TPT, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” Number our days. Why? To make each one count. If they’re numbered, they’re singled out and separate. When days are lumped together they are not individually important, but our prayer for the final 100 days is to live each day as uniquely valuable. With the realization that these days are few, we will value each one more and spend them as we should. If you have massive amounts money, it’s easy to waste money. You buy new things without consideration – and honestly when you can do that, you simply don’t appreciate it as much. But, when you are on a tight budget, buying something new is a big deal. You will choose wisely and that one thing becomes more valuable to you. And so it is with the days of life. When you count them and recognize how few they are, you are less likely to waste days. You truly value a day and choose to spend it wisely. That is how God wants his girls to live! But I want to go a little deeper with this idea of numbering our days. Psalm 90 doesn’t say, “Teach us to fill our days.” Isn’t that what we often do? We just fill the days. We fill them with tasks and chores. Checklists and routines. One day, two days, three days, there’s a week, then another week, soon a month. Filled. Just so filled. Let’s stop filling our days. Scripture says, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to SPEND them as we should.” Spend them. Not fill them, spend them. Spend your days. Final 100 days – how will you spend them? That’s an interesting word, isn’t it? Spend your days. We spend money. We spend energy. We spend our attention. And every single day, we spend a little bit of our life. You are spending this day of your life right now. You are spending it whether you’re intentional about it or not. You can spend a day worrying. You can spend it scrolling. You can spend it being offended. You can spend it comparing yourself to someone else. You can spend it trying to prove something. You can spend it chasing something you think will finally make you happy. Or you can spend it loving someone. You can spend it serving. You can spend it laughing. You can spend it talking with God. You can spend it noticing God’s goodness. You can spend it doing the thing God has been asking you to do. Either way, the day gets spent. And you don’t get to put it back. That’s why I think numbering our days is actually meant to wake us up. This day is valuable and it’s limited – how will you SPEND IT? We’re not supposed to number our days so we become afraid of how little time we have. We’re supposed to number them so we finally realize how incredibly valuable today is. Maybe you’ve been living like someday is guaranteed.Someday I’ll get serious about my relationship with God.Someday I’ll forgive them.Someday I’ll make that phone call.Someday I’ll take the trip.Someday I’ll use the gift God gave me. Someday I’ll slow down and enjoy my life.Someday I’ll stop letting that thing control me. But girls, we don’t know how many somedays we have. We know we have today. And right now, we have 100 more days in 2026. (and even those aren’t guaranteed to us all.) Numbering our days isn’t about creating an anxious panic – it’s about waking us up to the gift of today. The truth is, we’ve been sleepwalking through entirely too many of our days. We’re little zombies looking at screens and routinely living days we won’t even remember. Really, how many days of this year do you distinctly remember? How many days REALLY MATTERED? We often live as though today is rehearsal for the real thing: I’ll start later. I’ll call her later. I’ll forgive later. I’ll serve later. I’ll slow down later. I’ll enjoy my kids later. I’ll do what God is asking me to do later. But eventually later becomes never. And that’s the urgency of Psalm 90:12. These days are numbered, limited, precious and few. Teach me to live them now as I should! So maybe the question isn’t, “What can I accomplish in 100 days?” Maybe the better question is: “Jesus, what do You want to do in me in these 100 days?” What do You want me to release? What do You want me to begin? What do You want me to stop? Who do You want me to love? Who do You want me to forgive? Where do You want me to obey? What part of my heart do You want to heal? What have I been putting off that You’re asking me to finally step into? Because I don’t want to simply have 100 more days. I want 100 days that matter. I don’t want to just get to December 31 and say, “Wow, that went fast.” I want to look back and say, “God was in those days.” I want to have grown. I want to have loved well. I want to have obeyed. I want to have noticed Him. I want to have made memories. I want to have helped somebody. I want to have become more like Jesus. Ephesians 5:16 TPT, “Take full advantage of every day as you spend your life for his purposes.” Take full advantage of every one of these final 100 days of 2026. Spend your life for HIS purposes. Well, what are his purposes for your life? His purposes for your life are to do the good things he has planned for you. (Ephesians 2:10). What if we just started asking him what good things he wants us to do each day? What if that became our daily ask of the Holy Spirit. “Holy Spirit, show me the good things You want me to do with You today. I’m available.” So let’s stop asking, “How much can I get done in 100 days?” And let’s ask a better question: “Lord, how do You want me to spend them?” This isn’t about productivity, this is about stewardship. Lord, who do you want me to become in these final 100 days of 2026? Give me wisdom about what actually matters here! This isn’t a self-improvement project. Let’s go deeper than losing 10 pounds or reading a few books or eliminating sugar – let’s see the invitation beneath that from God – the invitation the steward these precious days better. The goal isn’t to have a really impressive 100 days. The goal is to have 100 days that mattered to God. These days belong to God. They are gifts He has placed in our hands, and we don’t know how many more we will be given. So, Lord, teach us to number them. Teach us to recognize how precious they are. Teach us to spend them well. “Holy Spirit, show me the good things You want me to do with You today. I’m available.” Not tomorrow. Today. Because these 100 days are going to pass whether we pay attention or not. December 31 is coming. The days will disappear from the calendar one by one. But what if, when we get there, we don’t just say, “Wow, that went fast.” What if we can say: “God was in those days.” I loved people. I forgave. I obeyed. I noticed Him. I said yes. I made memories. I used what He gave me. I became more like Jesus. I did the good things He prepared for me to do. I didn’t just fill my days. I spent them well. So, girls, we have 100 days. Not 100 days to become perfect. Not 100 days to prove something. Not 100 days to accomplish some giant self-improvement project. 100 days to be awake. 100 days to be available. 100 days to walk with Jesus. 100 days to love well. 100 days to do good. 100 days to live on purpose. The clock is ticking. The days are numbered. And today is a gift. Let’s not just let these 100 days pass. Let’s live them. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Wherever you are, wherever you live, wherever you work, imagine how the atmosphere would shift if Jesus walked into the room. The energy, the conversations, the focus would be completely altered by his presence. There would be no complaining, no moping, no worry or fear, no gossip, no drama – everyone would be absolutely mesmerized by the presence of Jesus in the room. Now, understand this … YOU CARRY HIS PRESENCE! That’s what the Holy Spirit is. God, the Father – and Jesus, the son, IN YOU. As a follower of Jesus, you become a vessel for the Spirit of God, and you literally carry him into every room you enter. So, Sis, let’s be real clear – THE ATMOSPHERE SHOULD SHIFT WHEN YOU WALK IN!!!! The conversations shouldn’t be the same when you enter. Worry and fear should be banished. Hope and joy should fill the room. When the Spirit of God is present, there should be an energy, a peace, a hope that changes what happens next. Not because you walked in with all the answers, but because Jesus walked in with you. You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room. You don’t have to preach a sermon. You don’t have to fix everybody’s problems. You simply need to carry Jesus well. Your presence should bring peace where there is panic. Hope where there is heaviness. Kindness where there is criticism. Joy where there is complaining. Grace where there is judgment. Love where there is division. Sis, you are an atmosphere shifter. Not because you change people, but because God does. Not because you’re the fixer, but because you carry the fixer!!!!! If the atmosphere is not shifting when you walk in the room, it could be because you’re not declaring that power. It could be because you’re forgetting what you carry within you. It could be because you’re settling for what everyone else is doing and playing little. When your home is filled with chaos, when the office is nothing but division and tension, when the conversations are negative and hurtful, remember this – YOU ARE CARRYING THE PRESENCE OF GOD WITHIN YOU, AND THAT PRESENCE HAS THE POWER TO SHIFT THE ATMOSPHERE! Scripture tells us there are two realms – there is the physical realm we see and the invisible spiritual realm. You may not see the spiritual realm, but it is real. What is happening in the unseen is just as real as what is happening physically. The spiritual real is continually affecting your life. The atmosphere of every room you’re in is being shaped by the spiritual realm. You know this – you’ve experienced it. Sometimes there’s just a dark feeling. A weighted heaviness in the room. A tension. I’ve even been in some areas where the entire city has a dark oppression and you can feel it. I’ve walked into rooms and felt that total ‘ick’ feeling. That’s a spiritual atmosphere being created in the unseen. There’s something happening. The spiritual atmosphere has the power to shape our lives – to confuse or inspire, to lift up or suppress, to bring happiness or sadness, to overwhelm or empower. The difference is in who is ruling the atmosphere in that given place. Let’s look at the contrast. Romans 14:17 tells us the Kingdom of God is “goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” So this means when the Holy Spirit is in charge of your home or your office or the circle you sit in, there will be goodness and peace and joy. How? BECAUSE WE CARRY IT WITH US! We speak it. We share it. We shift the atmosphere with his Spirit! But, it’s up to us to remember what we have in us. If we’re not prayerfully aware of the Spirit we carry, then we may be allowing a radically different power to rule the room. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that our enemy the devil has come to “kill, steal and destroy.” When his dark forces are at work, you can feel it. The conversations are destructive. The energy is negative. Yeah – you want to know why? Because the presence in the room is there to kill our joy, steal our peace, and destroy our hope. And sadly, sometimes we just allow that! We allow it in our homes. We allow it in our work place. We allow it in our car. We allow it in our circles. HOW ABOUT WE STOP ALLOWING IT AND SHIFT THE ATMOSPHERE. Girl, the conversations shouldn’t be the same when you walk in the room. Why? Because you’re walking in with the power of God in you. The power to heal, the power to shift, the power to change, the power to restore, the power to create, the power to revive … That power now lives within you. So yes, the conversations should be different. Yes, the energy should be different. Yes, the atmosphere should shift. If it’s not, it’s because you’re forgetting what you have inside of you. Jesus said in Luke 10:19, “Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy.” Today, there’s a battle happening all around you. You may not see it, but you can probably feel it. It’s spiritual. Two spiritual forces at war. The battle of good and evil. The battle of light and darkness. Ultimately, this is a war over the presence of God – who will rule the atmosphere here. Will it be the Holy Spirit – or will it be something else? Well girl, you don’t have to depend on anyone else to determine that – you have the authority in prayer!!!!! You can prayerfully evict every presence of evil and darkness. Every demon sent from hell to discourage, depress, disrupt, overwhelm, scare, or paralyze – cast them out in the name of Jesus. Speak up – bring Jesus into the room! Why in the world would a girl like you, carrying the power of God in the Holy Spirit, ever play little? Why would you watch the chaos and not call on God to stop it. Why would you sit in that conversation and not shift it? You don’t have to yell. You don’t have to argue. You don’t have to prove a point. You don’t have to become the spiritual police of every room you enter. You just need to bring Jesus into the room. Pray. Speak life. Speak truth. Change the subject. Refuse to participate in gossip. Encourage the person who is struggling. Bring peace into the conflict. Remind someone of what is true. Love the person nobody else is loving. And sometimes, you won’t even have to say a word. The way you carry yourself will preach. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6–7: “God has made his light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” THIS IS YOU, SIS. A jar of clay carrying a treasure. You are ordinary. You are imperfect. You don’t have all the answers. You don’t have to be the strongest person in the room. But you are carrying something extraordinary. You are carrying the presence of God. So don’t underestimate what happens when you walk into a room surrendered to Jesus. Don’t underestimate what happens when you pray before you speak. Don’t underestimate what happens when you choose peace instead of panic. Don’t underestimate what happens when you answer anger with grace. Don’t underestimate what happens when you refuse to join the gossip. Don’t underestimate what happens when you bring hope into a hopeless conversation. Don’t underestimate what happens when you walk into darkness carrying LIGHT. Because you don’t have to become the atmosphere. You get to change it. The next time you walk into a room, don’t just walk in. Bring Jesus with you. Walk in carrying peace. Walk in carrying hope. Walk in carrying joy. Walk in carrying truth. Walk in carrying love. Walk in carrying the very presence of God. And then watch what happens. SHIFT THE ATMOSPHERE. Jesus put it this way: “Behold I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19 NKJV). This means that we don’t have to submit to our negative circumstances and environment, we can change the atmosphere wherever we go by walking in our God-given dominion. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

The book of Philippians is a letter written by Paul to the Church in Philippi. And there’s a few important things to know about that – this church was the very first church in Europe. It was started by Paul about 20 years after Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected. The church all started when Paul was traveling through the city of Phiippi and came across some women praying on a riverbank. They were praying to God, but didn’t know about Jesus. Then Paul tells this group of women about Jesus and one woman named Lydia listened. The Lord opened her heart and she accepted everything Paul was saying about Jesus. She and her household were baptized, and they became the beginning of the first church in Europe. The other key player in the start of this church was a prison guard in Philippi. This prison guard encounter Paul in one way – when Paul was thrown into prison. Why was Paul in prison? Because he cam across a girl who had a spirit enabling her to tell the future. She was enslaved by her owners making them money by telling the future. Paul commanded the demon to flee from her, and with that she was no longer able to be a fortune teller. The people who had been making money off her were so enraged now that there hopes of wealth were shattered and had Paul thrown into prison there. AND THAT’S HOW PAUL MEETS THE PRISON GUARD who would be a key player in the first church in Phiippi. While in prison Paul and his buddy Silas were singing praises to God at midnight and suddenly there was a massive earthquake and the prison was shaken. The doors flew open and the chains of every prisoner just fell off! When the jailer found all the prisoners had escaped, he grabs his sword and decides to kill himself. But that’s when Paul stops him, tells him about Jesus, and the prison guard and his entire family accept Jesus and are baptized. So, we have Lydia and her family, plus the prison guard and his family in the city of Philippi who are the beginning of the first church in Europe. That’s how God started the spread of his message across the entire country. One woman who was praying on a riverbank, and one man who had a really bad day at work. Funny how God works! So now the church has been going for about 10 years and Paul writes this letter to them. That letter is now our book of Philippians in our Bible. And … Paul is writing this letter from Rome while arrested AGAIN! With only 4 chapters, this is one of the shortest books in the Bible, and I believe one of the most powerful! If you’re looking for a place to start studying your Bible, may I suggest you start right there. Philippians – it’s almost at the very end. Reading this letter written by Paul while in prison in Rome, delivered to the church he started in Philippi with this woman named Lydia and the local prison guard, we read these words in verse 6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Let’s just sit right there today. GOD STARTS THE WORK IN US – NOT US! What work did God start in you, my sister? It’s his work. Your entire life is HIS WORK! He started it all. He gave you breath. He put dreams and desires in your heart. He filled you with purpose. He opened your heart to believe. You didn’t start any of that – that’s God’s work. And listen to this – GOD FINISHES WHAT HE STARTS!!!!! Look at creation. Do you see anything that God only did halfway? When he created the fish in the sea or the animals on the land, did he only do a little work, then get distracted and leave creation hanging? No. When God starts something, he finishes it. He didn’t create the ocean and forget to add the waves. He didn’t create the sky and forget the stars. He didn’t make a flower and decide halfway through that he was tired of it. When God creates, he completes. And Philippians 1:6 is telling us something just as powerful about you. God doesn’t start a work in you and then walk away. He doesn’t open your heart to him and then say, “Okay, you’re on your own now.” He doesn’t give you a purpose and then leave you to figure it all out. He doesn’t call you and then abandon you halfway through the calling. GOD FINISHES WHAT HE STARTS. Now, that doesn’t mean everything in your life will go the way you thought it would. It doesn’t mean there won’t be detours. There will be. It doesn’t mean there won’t be seasons when you wonder what in the world God is doing. There will be those, too. It doesn’t mean you won’t have moments when you feel like you’re going backward instead of forward. You probably will. But here’s what it does mean: Your unfinished doesn’t mean God’s finished. Let me say that again. Your unfinished doesn’t mean God’s finished. You may look at yourself and see what still needs to change. God sees what he is still doing. You may see the mess. God sees the masterpiece in progress. You may see how far you still have to go. God sees how far you’ve already come—and he knows exactly where he’s taking you. Think about the Philippian church itself. It started with a handful of people beside a river. A woman named Lydia. Her household. A jailer. His household. A few believers gathering together in Lydia’s home. That’s not exactly what we would call an impressive beginning. But God wasn’t finished. That little gathering became a church. That church became Paul’s partners in the gospel. And years later, Paul is writing to them from a prison cell in Rome, reminding them that the God who started this thing was still working. I wonder if somebody needed Philippians 1:6 because she feels like a Philippi right now. Small. Unfinished. In the middle. Not what she thought she would be by now. And I wonder if maybe that someone is YOU. Maybe you look at your life and think, “Surely this isn’t where I was supposed to end up.” Maybe there are things you thought God would have fixed by now. Maybe there are prayers you’ve been praying for years. Maybe there are dreams that haven’t happened. Maybe there are parts of your heart that still need healing. Maybe you look at yourself and think, “I should be farther along than this.” But listen, my sister: God is not finished with you. You are not a finished product. You are a work in progress—and the One doing the work is God. And here’s what I love about Paul’s words. He doesn’t say, “I’m confident that you will finish the work.” He says, “I am certain that God…will continue his work until it is finally finished.” The confidence isn’t in the Philippians. The confidence is in God. That’s a huge difference. Because if this were dependent on us, we would have plenty of reason to worry. We get distracted. We get tired. We lose our way. We make mistakes. We quit. We get afraid. We sometimes take two steps forward and three steps backward. But God? God is faithful. He started the work. He is continuing the work. And he will finish the work. This verse in TPT: “The one who began this gracious work in you will faithfully continue the PROCESS OF MATURING YOU.” That’s the season you’re in! You’re in the process of being matured! So maybe today you don’t need to figure out the entire rest of your life. Maybe you don’t need to know how every piece is going to come together. Maybe you don’t need to have the whole thing finished. Maybe you just need to trust the One who started it. Because the God who opened Lydia’s heart by a river… the God who met a desperate jailer in the middle of the worst night of his life… the God who took a tiny beginning in Philippi and turned it into a church… the God who took Paul from city to city spreading the gospel… the God who was still working while Paul sat chained up in Rome… that God is still working. And he’s working in you. So don’t give up on what God hasn’t finished. Don’t call it over because you can’t see what he’s doing. Don’t mistake unfinished for abandoned. Don’t mistake waiting for wasted. Don’t mistake a hard season for the end of the story. God started the work. God is doing the work. And God will finish the work. Philippians 1:6 isn’t just a nice verse to put on a coffee mug. It’s a promise to hold onto when you can’t see the finished picture. The God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished. He’s not done. Not even close. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Jesus says we will be known by our love, and our love is to make Him known. But let me ask you a question: Who is the hardest person for you to love? Oh, I know exactly who it is. It’s someone you live with. Someone you work with. Someone in every one of your circles. It’s YOU. You are the person you are hardest on. You know every flaw, every failure, every awkward quirk, every stupid thing you’ve ever said, and every way you think you should be doing better. And because you spend a whole lot of time with you, you’ve become really good at criticizing you. I’m a fan of long-distance relationships. Our time together is short and sweet. It is savored and precious, then you go home. I don’t have to deal with your quirky self on the daily, and let me tell you, girl, you are quirky! You’ve got some weird things you do. Some of y’all label stuff, then alphabetize it. Some of y’all can’t sit and keep your hands still. Some of y’all eat really loud. And some of y’all come up with the craziest cockamamie ideas that no one understands. Oh wait. That’s me. It’s cute for a short amount of time, but then it’s best if we have some space. And that’s the problem. Wherever you go, THERE YOU ARE! You can’t get space from you. You intimately know your struggles. You have to put up with your own darn quirkiness twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You had a front-row seat to every one of your failures. You don’t even like the sound of your own voice. And let’s not talk about looking in the mirror or seeing yourself in photos. Oh mercy. It’s a real issue. Do you have a hard time loving you? Let’s make this real clear: this is a problem. You will be known by your love, and your love is to make Him known, but you refuse to fully love the one person you can simply never get away from: YOU. I promise you this: you hating you is not an honorable representation of your Creator. You may cover it up as humility, but at its core, it’s hateful. You’re hateful toward you. And you being hateful toward you doesn’t make a single soul say, “Wow, I just gotta know what that girl is doing! I gotta know about the One who helps her hate herself so well. I just gotta know where she gets this deep critical spirit for herself, because I really want some of that too.” Nobody ever says that. In fact, what if your self-hatred is actually telling the world something about your God that isn’t true? Imagine something you own now that you really love. Maybe you love your Roomba. Maybe it’s your Sleep Number bed. How about your Lululemon workout pants? Or your Stanley cup, your Dyson hair dryer, your UGG winter boots, your jacked-up Jeep, your fancy Tesla, or your Dawn Dishwashing Spray (because that stuff is pure magic and gets a three-month-old stain out of your favorite shirt.) You have something you love. Now imagine that product you love started telling you all about how much it disliked itself. What if your UGG boots constantly told you how truly ugly they were? Because let’s face it, those boots are ugly. You know that’s why they’re called UGG, right? Ugg-ly! If every step you took in your UGG boots came with a little voice saying, “I’m so ugly. I hate how I look. I don’t deserve to be worn,” you would eventually start believing there was something wrong with them. ****And there’s certainly something wrong with whoever made those boots, because boots aren’t supposed to talk about how ugly they are. What if your Roomba roamed around on your floors, vacuuming up all that dog hair like she always does, but she started incessantly talking about her clumsiness and her tendency to bump into things? “Oh my gosh, I can never just get from the kitchen to the bedroom without running into everything. I always get stuck under the couch. Gosh, why do I do that? I hate that about my Roomba self. I’m always just wandering around lost, and then I start running low and run out of energy. I just can’t do it all.” If your Roomba started talking like this, you would think the insanely rich creator of the Roomba wasn’t so great after all. Dude, what you made hates itself! Here’s your ah-ha moment: Could that be your representation of God? “Oh, God is sooooo good. He is sooooo faithful. I loveeeeeee God, but I just can’t love me. I’m just messed up. I’m flawed. I’m never good enough. I’m unworthy. But everybody, you should really love the One who personally designed me. He’s great!” Do you see what you’re doing when you are unloving toward yourself? Do you see how it’s totally NOT humble, totally not honoring, and totally not God’s will for you? You see it, don’t you? So when are you going to get serious enough to do something about it? The Bible says in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Girl, you are God’s workmanship, his masterpiece. You are not an accident. You are not a mistake. You are not some random collection of flaws that happened to land on this planet. You were made by a Maker. And the Maker gets to decide the value of what He made. Psalm 139:14 says: “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it.” What if you started seeing yourself through the eyes of the One who made you? Not through the eyes of comparison. Not through the eyes of your worst day. Not through the eyes of the person who rejected you. Not through the eyes of the mirror. Not through the eyes of the scale. Through the eyes of your Maker. Because you know what? The person you have spent the most time criticizing is the person God has spent your entire life loving. You have been rehearsing your failures. God has been lavishing you with grace. You have been pointing out what’s wrong with you. God has been calling you His masterpiece. You have been disqualifying yourself. God has been inviting you closer. Romans 8:1 says, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” That little voice in your head that never stops reminding you that you’re not enough? That isn’t the voice of your Savior. Jesus convicts, but He doesn’t condemn. There is a difference between God lovingly showing you something He wants to change – and you continually beating yourself up for being human. One leads you toward Jesus. The other makes you hide from Him. Do you want to know why loving others exhausts you so much sometimes? Because you show up already worn out from the battle you’re fighting with yourself. Before you ever greet your family in the morning, you’ve already beat yourself up for how your body is aging, how your energy is never enough, and how you’ve secretly failed yourself. Maybe you put on a good show so no one else sees it, but you hear it. That little voice in your head just never stops. It’s why we struggle with relationships. We’re looking for someone to fill that empty hole within us, but no matter how much they pour into us, it’s never enough because, girl, you keep poking at the hole. God wants to heal that hole in you. He wants to help you calm the voices. He wants you to receive His love so deeply that you no longer need everybody else to convince you that you are worthy of being loved. He wants you to love yourself in a way that reflects the love He already has for you, so you can show up in this world in a way that glorifies your Creator. Jude 1:20–21 MSG: “Stay right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!” Stay right at the center of God’s love. That’s what we are supposed to do. And we do precisely the opposite of this. Us beloved girls of the Almighty, we tear ourselves down in comparison and shortcomings. We disqualify ourselves from the love of God. All while we are supposed to be building ourselves up in faith and keeping ourselves in the love of God. Instead, we shut down. We shrink and hide. We build walls. And we live on the outskirts of God’s love instead of staying right smack dab in the middle of it. God’s love for you hasn’t changed. But when you continually tear yourself down, you are living outside the reality of the love He is inviting you to receive. THIS IS A PROBLEM. A serious problem. And God wants to change that. What if you started practicing the mindset of being profusely loved by God? Think about that. The mindset of being profusely loved by God. If you knew how much your Creator loved you, you would find it easier to love you too. And if you loved you as you were created, you would represent your Creator in a magnificent way. But instead, sometimes you’re the Roomba, wandering around cleaning floors and blasting to the world about your low battery, your tendency to get stuck, and the corners you constantly miss. It’s hard for me to praise your Maker when you’re continually telling me what He made in you isn’t enough. Whew. Let that one sink in. Beloved, build yourself up and keep yourself in the love of God! Today, practice this mindset of being profusely loved by God. Invite your soul to plunge into His love like a dolphin romping in the sea. Go ahead and get that visual. The dolphin clearly doesn’t hate itself. It swims and jumps and celebrates everything it was created to do. And every single one of us absolutely LOVES watching a dolphin. We all literally delight in seeing a dolphin just being a dolphin and doing its dolphin things. A dolphin doesn’t make a lot of money. A dolphin doesn’t speak eloquently. A dolphin doesn’t run marathons. A dolphin doesn’t have a degree. A dolphin does dolphin-ing, and we love it for it! And I’m telling you, we need to see you living like that! We need to see you plunging into God’s love, building yourself up. We need to see you jumping up, unafraid to be seen, loving how your Creator created you. I need to see Catherine Catherine-ing. Rhonda, you honor your Creator when you are Rhonda-ing. Lynette, please bring your Lynette-ing today. Julie, get your Julie-ing on today. Kristin, girl, only you can Kristin like you Kristin. Jessica, your Jessica-ing and Stephanie, your Stephanie-ing shows me your Creator! You don’t glorify God by becoming somebody else. You glorify God by becoming fully who He created you to be. Actively engage in His unending, extravagant, no-strings-attached affection for you. That’s not bragging, boasting, or showing off. That’s saying, “Hey, I’m an UGG boot, and I’m showing up exactly as I was created to. I was designed to look like this, and the One who made me really likes me!” That’s saying, “I’m a Tesla Model 3, and I’m not going to beat a Porsche 911 GT2 RS in a race, but I’m going to get you where you’re going in my own way!” That’s saying, “I’m a Stanley cup. I can’t make my own water, but girl, I can keep your water cold and I can also keep that coffee hot! I’m magical in my own way!” I’m not like you, and you’re not like me. But we can each glorify our Maker when we adopt the mindset of being profusely loved by our Maker. We can glorify our Creator when, like a dolphin romping in the sea, we plunge into God’s love for us—totally enough, wholly chosen, and confidently placed in a time such as this. I’ll stop everything I’m doing to watch that dolphin naturally doing dolphin things, loving its dolphin life. In the same way, I’ll stop everything I’m doing to see YOU naturally doing your thing, loving your life. Ohhhhh, what a beautiful representation of your Creator you are when you keep yourself in His love! Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Today we’re living in the middle of a story that’s already promised an eternal ending, but we’re not there yet. We’re here – in the middle. In the middle of real life with real problems, real threats, real pain. Every day we are closer and closer to what is promised, but we’re not there yet. Within our Bibles is a story which so sweetly shows us our Jesus standing with us in our real life. He’s not just standing by in Heaven awaiting your arrival at the end of this life – no, he’s right here beside you, walking this out. Let’s read a familiar story with a new perspective. Jesus had a friend named Lazarus. Lazarus was sick, so his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent a message for Jesus to come. But, by the time Jesus gets there, Lazaraus is already dead. In fact, he had been in his grave for four days. Jesus meets with Lazarus’ sisters in their grief. John 11: 32-44, “When Mary saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. ‘Where have you put him?’ he asked them. They told him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ THEN JESUS WEPT. The people who were standing nearby said, ‘See how much he loved him!’ But some said, ‘This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?’ Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. ‘Roll the stone aside,’ Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, ‘Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.’ Jesus respond, ‘Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?’ So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.’ Then Jesus shouted, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, ‘Unwrap him and let him go!'” Question – Did Jesus go there that day knowing Lazarus was dead? Yes. Did Jesus already plan to heal him, even in death? Absolutely. Did Jesus already know how he was going to turn their weeping into sheer joy when he brought life back to this dead body? Yes! So, why did he still weep? Answer – because Jesus was still walking through every moment with them. He allowed himself to feel the pain, to know the loss, even while fully knowing the way he was going to work it all out. He already had a plan, but in the ‘not yet’ of the plan, he wept too. And my friends, that’s where we are – We’re living in the ‘not yet’, but never forget there is a already a plan. A plan which God promises is good. A plan where God will take every intended harm and use it for good. A plan which ends with an eternal paradise spent with Jesus. Why do some prayers feel unanswered? Why do good things get taken away? Why do we go through loss? Jesus stood at Lazarus’ tomb, with tears running down his face. He KNEW death wasn’t the ending, but he still entered into the pain. He stood there with his friends as they ached, as they grieved. It was already done, already made good in the hands of the Father, already answered, already healed, already restored – BUT NOT YET. Your prayers have already been answered – but today you’re in the not yet. God already holds those answers for you and he’s so lovingly guiding your every step on the path to those answers. You’re simply on the journey there. The things that have been taken away, the losses you’ve experienced – God holds them so perfectly, not in punishment, but in His hands. He is not standing at a distance watching you suffer, waiting for you to finally make it to the other side. He is right here in the middle of it with you. He knows what you don’t know. He sees what you cannot see. He knows what is coming when all you can see is what has already happened. Every broken thing will be made whole again. The battle has already been won. Today, you hold on to the promise. Already … but not yet. And sometimes the miracle isn’t that God keeps us from the tomb. Sometimes, like Lazarus, we find ourselves standing in the middle of something that looks completely dead. We don’t understand why He didn’t come sooner. We don’t understand why He allowed it. We don’t understand why the stone is still there. But Jesus is there. And if Jesus is there, the story is not over. That’s the hope of the “already, but not yet.” We don’t have to pretend the pain isn’t painful. We don’t have to force ourselves to smile when we’re grieving. We don’t have to act like we understand what God is doing. If Jesus wept, so can you. But we also don’t have to believe that what we can see is all there is. Lazarus was dead, but death wasn’t the end. The tomb was sealed, but the story wasn’t finished. Mary was grieving, but joy was already on its way. Jesus was standing in the “not yet” with them, while already knowing exactly what the Father was about to do. And He still does that for us. Maybe today you’re standing in front of your own “tomb.” Maybe you’re waiting for healing, restoration, provision, reconciliation, direction, or an answer to a prayer you’ve prayed so many times you don’t even know what to pray anymore. Don’t confuse “not yet” with “no.” Don’t confuse silence with absence. Don’t confuse what you can see with all that God is doing. You may be standing in the middle of a story that God has already written the ending to. So we can grieve AND have hope. We can weep AND believe. We can hurt AND trust. Because Jesus doesn’t ask us to skip over the “not yet.” He meets us right there. And one day, there will be no more “not yet.” There will be no more death, no more crying, no more pain, no more loss. Everything Jesus has promised will finally be fully realized. Until then, we walk with Him. We trust Him. We keep believing. And when the road gets hard, we remember: Jesus is already holding the ending, even when we’re still living in the middle. Already promised. Already held. Already His. But not yet. I don’t understand the waiting I don’t understand the pain But You came into our suffering You wept You bled You stayed So until You make it right, Lord I’ll keep whispering through the ache: Already… Not yet… But soon Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Did you know in Jesus’ time of walking this earth and preparing his disciples to spread the gospel and reach the ends of the world with his offer of salvation, he never once taught them how to preach. He didn’t teach them how to organize a mission. He taught them this one thing … HOW TO PRAY. In teaching how to pray, we learn how to surrender to the Father, how to grow in trust, how to ask for his healing, seek his will, and follow his plan. All from the power of prayer. If Jesus puts this level of importance on prayer, we should too! He even gives us a way to pray – not a magic formula, but a guide for approaching our Holy God as our Father in Heaven. “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ‘ ” Immediately after Jesus shared this prayer example with his disciples, he followed it up with a parable showing HOW TO APPROACH GOD. As we now hear this story from Jesus, remember that’s what we’re learning. This is how we approach God in prayer. Luke 11: 5-10: Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.'” Again, what is Jesus teaching us through this story? HOW TO APPROACH GOD. This story can be confusing if you focus on the reluctant sleepy friend who doesn’t want to answer the door. That’s not the focus. The focus is on the man beating on the door at midnight asking. Asking is the point. The man knocking is not worried about being a nuisance. He’s not worried about being rejected. His need outweighs his embarrassment. Why do we hesitate to ask God, thinking he might be annoyed by us. We tell ourselves God has so many other more important things to deal with that he can’t possibly have time for our prayers too. Girl – God doesn’t fit in your little box! He’s not limited, he’s not overwhelmed, he’s not stressed, and he’s not annoyed. He created you to need him – Now admit that you do – CONSTANTLY! Do other people have bigger things they’re dealing with – Perhaps. But this isn’t a competition for the one with the most urgent crisis and the winner receives God’s help. This is an invitation to bring your needs to the Father and be personally attended to every single time. The man knocking on the door was asking for bread to share with his house guest – it wasn’t a life or death situation, yet he asked. And because he asked, he returned home with bread to share that night. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus would use an example like that? It wasn’t a mother beating on the door of a doctor begging for help for her dying child. It wasn’t a desperate plea for a bucket of water as their house was on fire. It wasn’t a midnight run for safety. It was a midnight run for bread to feed a guest – like a late night trip to the Walmart for a welcome snack to put on the table. THIS IS THE EXAMPLE JESUS USES FOR PRAYER. Yes, you should ask God for help with what you’re dealing with. Yes, you should ask God to provide for that. Yes, you should ask God to intervene when the situation feels impossible. But don’t wait until your life is falling apart to talk to God. Don’t wait until you’re starving to come knocking – Knock when you only need a little bread for a guest. That’s a little deal. But if you have a big deal, you can still come knocking! Just realize you didn’t have to wait until the need got so big – you could have asked all along. Ask him about the big things AND the little things. Ask him for wisdom about the decision you’re making. Ask him to help you know what to say in that conversation. Ask him to give you patience with that person who is driving you absolutely bananas. Ask him to provide what you need, even when what you need seems small and insignificant compared to someone else’s crisis. If it matters to you, it matters to your Father. You don’t have to rank your problems before you bring them to God. You don’t have to clean up your request, make it sound spiritual, or prove that your need is important enough to bother him with. Just ask. Remember this, we’re not dealing with a reluctant God. The friend in this story was reluctant. He was sleeping. He didn’t want to answer the door. He was bothered. THAT IS NOT OUR GOD. God is not reluctant – because he’s not sleepy – he’s not busy – he’s not annoyed. God says in Isaiah 65:24, “While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” Does that sound like a reluctant God? NO – not at all. So the man keeps knocking, keeps asking, and his persistence finally works – the reluctant, sleepy, annoyed friend finally opens the door and gives him the bread. And here’s the point: IF PERSISTENCE WORKS WITH A RELUCTANT HUMAN, HOW CERTAIN CAN WE BE OF A WILLING GOD? Jesus shares this story to encourage us to approach God with honest, unashamed persistence. Don’t be distant. Don’t be hesitant. Don’t be ashamed to ask. Don’t wait until you think the time is right. Go to God and ask – then ask again – and again – and again. Jesus uses the term, “shameless persistence” – girl get you some of that in your conversations with God. Be absolutely shameless in going to Him again and again. Stop worrying about being too much. Stop worrying about bothering God. You know he has what you need – ASK HIM! That’s how Jesus is teaching us to approach God. Not timidly. Not reluctantly. Not wondering if we’ve bothered him enough already. We come boldly, persistently, confidently—not because God is reluctant to help us, but because he is our Father and he has invited us to ask. Prayer isn’t about convincing God to care. Prayer is about trusting the God who already does. Now, let’s read the final 3 verses as Jesus is teaching his disciples about prayer. Verses 11-13, “You fathers – if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” I’ve always focused on the snake and the scorpion here – completely overlooking what Jesus is telling me to ask the heavenly Father for. What does he say? “How much more will your heavenly Father give the HOLY SPIRIT to those who ask him.” Girl, ask God for his Holy Spirit! Ask him to fill you with his spirit. With his spirit, you begin to change from the inside out. You are filled with power and directed with purpose. You aren’t left trying to muster up the patience, the wisdom, or the strength on your own. He hands you the ultimate source of comfort and guidance. When you get the Holy Spirit, you don’t just get an answer to a prayer – you get the Answerer Himself living inside you!!!!! Think about it: Jesus shifted the whole conversation from a loaf of bread to the third person of the Trinity. He started with a guy asking for a midnight snack for a guest, and He ended with a Father overflowing with His very presence for you. Why? Because God knows that what we need most in this life isn’t just our physical requests met. What we need most is Him. When we ask for a little bit of bread to handle our immediate problems, God looks at us and says, “I will give you that, but I want to give you so much more. I want to give you My Spirit.” Do I need bread for today? YES, that would be great! Do I want the Holy Spirit for today? OH MY GOODNESS, YES!!!!!! I get God himself within me! I get supernatural peace, I get divine wisdom, I get the fruits of the Spirit growing within me, and I get this boldness to keep knocking on heaven’s door without an ounce of shame. So, stop overthinking your prayers. Stop holding back because you think your request is too small, or because you think you’ve asked too many times. Your Heavenly Father is sitting on the edge of His seat, waiting to hear your voice. He isn’t asleep, He isn’t annoyed, and He certainly isn’t going to hand you a scorpion. Go to Him today. Knock loudly. Ask boldly. And most of all, ask to be filled fresh with His Holy Spirit. He is ready and excited to open the floodgates. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

One day while Jesus is teaching, an expert in religious law asks a question – “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life.” Today we think of eternal life solely as life after death – heaven. But this word ‘eternal’ was used as a particular QUALITY of life that comes from God. Eternal life was a life that could be had living right here and right now when living God’s way. This man was asking Jesus, how do I get God’s quality of life? How do I live better? The answer was, “you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind – AND – Love your neighbor as yourself”. And then Jesus is asked an important question – WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? It’s an honest question. If I’m going to follow Jesus’ instructions to love my neighbor as myself, I first need to understand who my neighbor is – then I need to understand what it would mean to love them as myself. And that’s where our next parable comes in. To explain who our neighbor is and how we are supposed to love them, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. Luke 10: 30-37: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” So here we have a Jewish man who is attacked and left dying beside the road. The locals see him and walk by. They’re not only locals, but one is a priest and one is a temple assistant – they literally work for God – but they pass by the man in desperate need and don’t get involved. Then comes a “despised Samaritan”. To really understand this story, you have to understand why he would have been despised. A Samaritan was from the region of Samaria. Samaritans and Jews had a long history of hostility. They had deep religious and cultural differences, and there was tremendous prejudice and mistrust between them. They didn’t associate with one another the way you might expect neighbors to. So when Jesus tells a story about a Jewish man in need and makes a Samaritan the one who stops to help him, there is serious shock factor. The most unlikely one was the neighbor. The outsider was the neighbor. The one who was different and disliked was the neighbor. The one kept at a distance was the neighbor. And the people who saw the need, crossed to the other side of the road, and kept walking? They were not acting like neighbors. Remember, the original question was, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus turns that question completely upside down. The question isn’t simply, “Who qualifies to receive my love?” The better question is, “Am I willing to become a neighbor to the person in front of me?” And that brings us right back to the command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” My friends, how many times are we failing to love our neighbors as ourselves? And is it because we don’t know how to first love ourselves? Nope. That’s cheap. Don’t settle for that answer. This isn’t a self-love message. Quite honestly, most of us are so totally selfish, so completely wrapped up in our own feelings and desires that we only think of ourselves. Here’s the truth – you know how to care about yourself. You know how to make sure you have food to eat. You know how to protect yourself. You know how to make sure you’re comfortable. You know how to avoid things that inconvenience you. We really don’t have a problem loving ourselves. We have a unique way of making everything about ourselves. We take the command of loving others as ourselves and twist it into a self-love lesson on putting ourselves first so we can then love others better. Don’t twist this. Jesus is simply telling us to take that same concern we naturally have for ourselves and extend it outward. Loving our neighbor as ourself is having the same concern for others as we do for ourselves. We care about us eating dinner – we should care about them eating dinner. We care about us being warm – we should care about them being warm. The Samaritan didn’t just notice the man’s need. He allowed the man’s need to interrupt his own life. That’s the part that gets me. The Samaritan was traveling this road because he had somewhere to go. This wasn’t a road you just took a joy walk on. He wasn’t out getting in his steps. He had things to do. He had his own life. And yet, when he saw someone hurting, he stopped. He got close. He got involved. He gave his time. He gave his resources. He gave his attention. He gave what he had. He’s the neighbor. He’s caring. He’s loving. Love isn’t always convenient. In fact, sometimes love is wildly inconvenient. Sometimes loving your neighbor means crossing the road instead of crossing your arms. It means noticing instead of ignoring. It means stopping instead of rushing. It means getting involved when it would be easier to mind your own business. Imagine the excuses the first 2 people had walking by this man laying on the side of the road bleeding to death. Maybe justified excuses. It was dangerous. They weren’t medically trained to save a life. They didn’t know how to help. Wow – how many times is that our leading excuse for not stopping, for not getting involved – I just don’t know how to help. What – girl, you don’t know how to just CARE about someone else? Jesus knows better. And sometimes the person God is asking you to love isn’t the person you naturally like. That’s the whole point of the Samaritan. Jesus wasn’t impressed by proximity to God. The priest was close to the temple. The temple assistant worked in the temple. They knew the Scriptures. They knew the commands. But when love required something of them, they walked away. The Samaritan may have been the last person anyone expected Jesus to put in the hero role, but he understood something the religious insiders had missed: Love doesn’t just know what is right. Love does what is right. We get so hung up on “who is my neighbor” – here’s the better question – “Who is God putting in front of me that I am tempted to walk past?” Who is hurting that I’ve learned not to notice? Who is difficult that I’ve decided isn’t my responsibility? Who is different from me that I’ve kept at a distance? Who is inconvenient? Who requires more of me than I’m comfortable giving? Love your neighbor. Even when it’s inconvenient. Even when they’re different. Even when they wouldn’t be your first choice. Even when you don’t get anything back. I know we can’t help everyone. I know our job isn’t to save everyone. I know sometimes it’s even dangerous to get involved. So how do we know? Really, on a practical level, how do we get started with this? I read this quote by Spurgeon, “When we see innocent people suffering as the result of the sin of others, our pity should be excited.” Maybe this is a good way to start getting involved. Is that an innocent person suffering as a result of the sin of someone else – STOP AND CARE ABOUT THEM. We don’t have to run after every need we see. However, when we see the innocent suffering, we are supposed to get involved! And what do we receive as a result? Remember where this story started? It started with the question of eternal life. The word ‘eternal’ here meaning God’s kind of life – a God QUALITY life. Here it is! Care about your neighbor – the innocent one in need right in front of you. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Sometimes, to understand the meaning of a story Jesus told, you have to back up and understand the entire scene. For today’s parable, we can’t just jump into the story without looking at what happened right before it. The situation leading up to the parable is actually the key to understanding why Jesus told it in the first place. So, before we get to the story, let’s back up a little. What was happening? Who was Jesus talking to? What had just unfolded? And what was Jesus trying to teach them? Luke 7:36–50 has four parts: the setting, the problem, the parable, and the point. And when you put all four pieces together, you see that Jesus wasn’t simply telling a story about a sinful woman and a judgmental Pharisee. He was exposing something much deeper – the condition of the human heart. Let’s start with the setting. Jesus has been invited to dinner at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. While they are eating, a woman with a reputation for being sinful enters the room. In fact, scripture calls her a “certain immoral woman”. She brings an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, stands behind Jesus, and begins to weep. Her tears fall onto His feet, and she wipes them with her hair. Then she kisses His feet and pours the perfume over them. Can you imagine the scene? This woman walks into a room where she knows she is not exactly welcome, and she goes straight to Jesus. She isn’t concerned about what everyone else thinks. She isn’t trying to defend herself or explain her past. She simply comes to Jesus with a heart full of something – love, gratitude, repentance, desperation. And she pours it all out at His feet. But the Pharisee is watching. Here’s the problem: Instead of seeing a woman who has come to Jesus, the Pharisee sees a woman who doesn’t belong in the room. It says, “When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘if this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!'” He has elevated himself to be better than this woman. Not only that, he is critical of her worship. What comes next you can’t miss. Verse 40, “Then JESUS ANSWERED HIS THOUGHTS. ‘Simon,’ he said to the Pharisee, I have something to say to you.'” Notice the Simon hadn’t spoken a word about this woman, he had only been thinking these thoughts. But Jesus KNEW his thoughts and he addressed them. My friends, it really isn’t just about what you say, it is what you think and how you feel in your heart. Jesus knows – and he has something to say about it! Now, the parable, verses 41 & 42: “Then Jesus told him a story. ‘A man loaned money to two people – 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?’ Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.’ ‘That’s right,’ Jesus said. Now, the point: Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. I tell you, her sins – and they are many – have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.’ Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ ———— Want to dig deeper with me? This immoral woman with a reputation is believed to perhaps be Mary Magdalene, who was likely a prostitute. It took so much courage for her to show up at a Pharisee’s house where she knew she would be judged. But absolutely nothing could stop her love for Jesus. When the Pharisee saw her, all he could see was her sin. And while Jesus was fully aware of her sin, he saw her love, her repentance and her devotion. There’s a saying that Satan knows your name but calls you by your sin – God knows your sin but calls you by your name. What a reminder for our hearts – how are we calling people? Is it all about what they’ve done, or can we remember WHO they really are? Who they were created to be. How God sees them. Jesus knew this woman. He saw her heart, just as he saw the Pharisee’s heart. Why did she love Jesus so much? Well, think about this perspective for a moment – this likely wasn’t their first encounter. Before this dinner, Jesus had probably encountered her privately. We read in Luke 8 about the women who joined the 12 disciples in following Jesus – one of them was Mary Magdalene whom he had cast out seven demons. We never see the actual encounter of Jesus casting out these demons from Mary Magdalene, we just know it happened. So, wouldn’t it make sense if this immoral woman with a bad reputation at dinner that night was Mary Magdalene – a woman who had experienced forgiveness, a woman who had been set free from the torment of seven demons, a woman whose life had been radically changed by Jesus – now comes boldly to the Pharisee’s house to thank Jesus. Doesn’t it make sense that she wasn’t letting anyone get in the way of her worshiping the one who had forgiven her for so much? She was a humble sinner pouring out her love for Jesus, knowing she had been forgiven – and guess what – that was awkward for others. It was an awkward scene at the dinner table. Jesus is sitting there trying to eat and here she is crying all over his feet and wiping her tears up with her hair. My friends, she is worshiping with a heart that is truly aware of what Jesus has done for her. The debt he has forgiven her of. The absolute life change he has made for her. The freedom she now walks in only because of him. He welcomed her praise. Why are we so afraid to be real with what Jesus has done for us? Why would we tone down our praise or dial back our worship? Hey, if you haven’t saved my soul, then I’m not going to let you stand in the way of me praising the one who has! If it’s awkward for you, I’m sorry because this isn’t about you or anyone else in the room. It’s about Jesus. And here’s the thing: the woman wasn’t trying to impress anyone. She wasn’t putting on a show. She was responding to what Jesus had done for her. Her worship flowed from her awareness of her forgiveness. That is the point Jesus was making with Simon. The issue wasn’t that the woman was a really bad sinner and Simon was a pretty good guy. The issue was that the woman knew she needed forgiveness, and Simon the Pharisee didn’t seem to realize how much he needed it too. Simon looked at her and thought, She’s a sinner. Jesus looked at her and saw someone who had been forgiven. Simon looked at her past. Jesus saw her heart. Simon was focused on how much sin was in her life. Jesus was focused on how much love was flowing from her life. But what if, sometimes, we’re a little more like Simon than we’d like to admit? What if we have become so familiar with grace that we’ve forgotten what we’ve been forgiven of? What if we look at someone else’s mess and somehow forget that we have our own? What if we have quietly elevated ourselves – not because we would ever say, “I’m better than you,” but because somewhere in our hearts, we have started thinking it? That’s the danger of self-righteousness. It doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it just sits quietly at the dinner table. Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts, and He knows ours, too. He sees the thoughts we never say out loud. He sees the judgments we hide behind a smile. He sees the pride we don’t even recognize as pride. And He doesn’t expose our hearts to shame us. He exposes them because He wants to change them. The woman came to Jesus fully aware of her need. Simon was sitting inches away from Jesus and didn’t seem to realize his need at all. One walked away forgiven.The other was left to wrestle with what Jesus had just revealed about his heart. How aware are you of your need for Jesus? Because the more deeply we understand what we’ve been forgiven of, the more deeply we’ll love the One who forgave us. The woman didn’t worship Jesus because she was perfect. She worshiped Him because she knew she wasn’t. She knew her debt was great – and she knew her Savior was greater. And that’s us, too. We don’t come to Jesus because we’ve cleaned ourselves up enough to deserve Him. We come because we know we need Him. We don’t worship because we’ve earned His goodness. We worship because we’ve experienced His grace. So don’t let shame keep you from Jesus. Don’t let someone else’s opinion keep you from Jesus. And don’t let your own pride keep you from recognizing how much you need Jesus. Come to Him with your whole heart. Come with your gratitude. Come with your repentance. Come with your mess. Come with your worship. And when you really understand what He has forgiven you for, what He has rescued you from, and what He has done in your life, don’t be surprised if your worship gets a little awkward. Let it. Because sometimes the people who look the most ridiculous at the feet of Jesus are the ones who understand the most clearly just how much they have been forgiven. The story ends with verse 50. Reading from TPT, Jesus says to the woman, “Your faith in me has given you life. Now you may leave and walk in the ways of peace.” If this woman was indeed Mary Magdalene, she likely went from living a sinful life as a shameful prostitute, to walking closely with Jesus for the rest of his life, right up to the cross. Wow – if Jesus can change her life, can’t he change yours? Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Luke 13: 6-9, “Then Jesus told this story: ‘A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’ The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.'” This is a story about grace. But this is also a story about final chances. My friend, don’t waste God’s grace – you do have a role in this. Your role is fruit. God expects fruit. Just as a fig tree is expected to produce figs, as daughters of a good good Father, we are expected to grow good things in our lives. As girls who have received mercy, we are expected to be merciful. As girls who have been blessed, we are expected to become a blessing. Fruit is evidence of who you are and what you carry. Who you are is a girl who has been chosen and set apart by God. As a follower of Jesus, what you carry is the Holy Spirit. Yes, the same power that created the entire universe now lives within you, prompting you and willing you to do good things. His Spirit inside of us naturally grows good fruit in our lives called the fruits of the Holy Spirit: Peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If these fruits are not growing in your life, there’s a problem. Just as it would be a problem for a fig tree not to grow figs, there’s a problem when you’re not growing in these good things. So, what’s the problem here? God wants to give you time to help you grow. The owner is right to expect fruit. The whole purpose of having an orchard or a vineyard is for the fruit. He’s not ridiculous or demanding – he’s righteous. And he’ even patient. Notice Jesus tells the story and says the owner had waited three years, but there hadn’t been a single fig grow on this tree. Three years. Three full seasons with nothing growing. The owner had been patient, but there was still no fruit. And the owner notices. Think of the owner as God – think of that fig tree as you. God sees you. He knows precisely where you are – afterall honey, he planted you. He is the one who gave you life. He chose you. And it was all for a purpose. You are here in his garden for the purpose of growing and producing goodness. Peace should be growing in your life. Patience should be multiplying. Kindness should be increasing. Faithfulness should be seen in you. Gentleness should be covering you. And self-control should be growing more and more. But if you’re not – God is asking why? He’s been watching and waiting. Graciously giving you more time. Three years, Jesus says. Three full seasons with nothing growing. Why is that? So, the gardener gets involved personally. Who is this gardener? Think of him as Jesus. Jesus takes a personal interest in you. He says, “Give her another chance. I’ll give her special attention.” Imagine that for a moment – Jesus is personally involved in caring for you so that you grow and produce goodness in your life. Jesus interceeds for us – he speaks to the Father for us. He asks for more time to be allotted for us. Looking back, I see years I’ve wasted. Years I was self-absorbed in selfish pursuits and producing a whole lot of nothing good in my life. Years when my priorities were so out of alignment that the Holy Spirit had no space to grow anything in me. And yet, Jesus personally attended to me. He patiently worked with me. He gave me chance after chance, until finally I began to grow as I was created to. Can you see how patient God has been with you? Can you see the work Jesus has done for you personally? Can you see the seasons of stupidity Jesus has walked through with you, never giving up? Imagine the times Jesus must have interceeded for you – “Father, I know she doesn’t look like it right now, but with a little more time and care, she’s going to grow. Her fruit is coming. Let me work with her.” You and I have been covered in grace and mercy. For all the times we didn’t get it right, we were given another chance. For all the times we didn’t show up the way we were supposed to, we were given grace. For all the times we were trying to be something we were never created to be, we were gently reminded who we really are. But remember this, mercy doesn’t eliminate accountability. The gardener asks for more time for this struggling tree, but with time the tree is still expected to produce fruit. The tree isn’t offered this precious space forever. The gardener offers his extra effort, his personal care, his direct involvement – but it is limited. The final chance will come and then there will be accountability. But here’s where this gets real, girl what are you doing with your extra year? What are you doing with the grace you’ve been given? What are you doing with the second chances, the third chances, the fourth chances? What are you doing with all the times Jesus has stepped in and said, “Give her a little more time. Let Me work on her”? Don’t waste the grace. Don’t mistake God’s patience for permission to stay the same. If Jesus is tending to you, let Him tend to you. If He’s digging around some hard places in your heart, let Him dig. If He’s exposing something that needs to go, don’t cover it back up. If He’s pointing out an attitude, a habit, a wound, an offense, a selfish desire, or an area where you’ve been stubbornly doing things your own way – don’t argue with the Gardener. He really does know what’s good for you. Let Him work. Because here’s the thing about a gardener: he doesn’t just stare at the tree and hope it gets better. He gets his hands dirty. He digs around the roots. He breaks up the hard soil. He cuts away what is dead. He creates the conditions for life. And he adds fertilizer. Yes fertilizer. Do you know what fertilizer is? I grew up on a farm and I can tell you precisely what fertilizer is – it’s crap. Legit crap. When added to a field, the crops grow bigger, faster, stronger, and they produce more. Look around, Sis – are you dealing with some crap right now? Could it be fertilizer to help you grow? Could this be the gardener stepping in with his personal care to create an environment where you produce goodness? It’s so easy for us to assume the things that really stink in our life are punishment – but maybe they’re fertilizer. Looking back, I see nothing helped me grow more than those hard times. The times when we didn’t know how we were going to pay rent. The times when we had no answers, only prayer. The times when if God didn’t bring us through, we weren’t getting through. Those were some stinky, honestly pretty crappy times – but wow, did I ever grow. Okay, Jesus, was that my fertilizer? Was that you being patient with me? Was that actually helping me, not punishing me? And pruning – oh don’t even get me started. I bet he’s cut some things out of your life too, hasn’t he? Sometimes the uncomfortable thing He’s asking you to surrender is actually the very thing keeping you from becoming fruitful. Sometimes He has to disturb your comfortable little life so He can get down to the roots. Sometimes He has to expose what you’ve been hiding because He loves you too much to let it keep producing nothing. Don’t resist the Gardener. He’s not trying to hurt you. He’s trying to make you fruitful. And notice something else: the gardener doesn’t say, “Give her another year and I’ll make her look like a fig tree.” He says, essentially, I’ll give her what she needs to become what she was created to be. That’s the goal. God isn’t asking you to become someone else. He’s not asking you to manufacture a fake version of yourself that looks spiritual on the outside. He’s asking you to become the woman He created you to be—and to allow His Spirit to produce what only He can produce in you. You don’t have to force fruit. Let Jesus do his work in you. Let Him change the way you think. Let Him soften your heart. Let Him heal what has been wounded. Let Him confront what has been selfish. Let Him strengthen what has been weak. Let Him teach you patience when you’d rather lose your mind. Let Him grow kindness when somebody is being really, really annoying. Let Him develop self-control when everything in you wants to spin out of control. So maybe today you need to stop and ask the Gardener a question: “Jesus, what’s keeping me from being fruitful?” Not, “What’s wrong with everybody else?” Not, “Why is he so annoying?” Not, “Why can’t they just get their act together?” Nope. Start with you. “Jesus, what’s happening in my heart?” “Where have I become hard?” “Where am I resisting You?” “What needs to be dug up?” “What needs to be cut away?” “What are You trying to grow in me?” How do you want to use this fertilizer? And then—this is important—let Him answer. Because the beautiful thing about this parable is that the tree isn’t abandoned. The Gardener is still there. He’s still working. He’s still giving grace. He’s still tending. He’s still believing that something good can grow. But don’t waste the season. There is a point when the extra year is over. There is a point when grace gives way to accountability. There is a point when the question is no longer, “Will she produce fruit?” but “What did she do with everything she was given?” Girl, you have been given so much. You have been given grace upon grace. Mercy upon mercy. Another chance upon another chance. You have been planted intentionally, loved deeply, chosen completely, and given the very Spirit of God to live inside you. Don’t just take up space in the garden. Grow. Not so you can earn your place in His garden. You already belong there. Bear fruit because you are His girl. Bear fruit because you’ve been loved. Bear fruit because you’ve been forgiven. Bear fruit because you’ve been given another chance. Bear fruit because the Gardener didn’t give up on you. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com