The Spirit: Blog #1

There’s all sorts of references for ‘spirits’ in our world. There are see-through, white, hazy spirits in movies about old haunted houses—and a spirit of fear when you think you might have seen one of them in the darkness. (Even if you don’t believe they’re real). There’s a spirit of joy on Christmas day when you run around the corner to find Santa brought you what you secretly wanted, and a spirit of sorrow laying flowers on a casket at the funeral of a loved one. There’s neon-signs advertising spirits in liquor stores, aisles filled with names like Jack, Jim, & Jose.

For me to begin teaching you about your spirit, I guess I need to let you know what spirit I’m actually talking about, since there’s so many of them. (That might just help).

I believe we’re made up of 3 parts: Body, Soul, & Spirit.

The body and soul get the most attention. We feed the body, bathe it, pamper it, and unfortunately, abuse it. The soul gets about as much, or probably more, attention as the body. The soul is your mind (what you think), your will (what you choose to do), and your emotions (those roller coasters of feelings inside of you which we just love to hate). It’s your personality. It’s your character. It’s who people think about when they think about you.

And then, there’s your spirit. Ahhhh, your beautiful spirit.

This part of you—this fascinating, intricate part—is actually the MOST IMPORTANT of the 3. It’s the part of you that, when fed and cared for properly, can actually run, rule, fuel, inspire, dominate, and heal the soul and body that you happen to live in.

Your spirit is your secret weapon.

So to begin teaching you how to feed your spirit, I need to let you know what I absolutely believe. If you disagree with me, that’s perfectly fine, but you need to know the source of my teaching, and the only person that I allow to feed my spirit. You need to know that my heart has been eternally stolen by the most beautiful, loving, caring, kind, compassionate, enthusiastic, intentional, wonderful beings in the universe: My God, my Jesus, and my radical Holy Spirit.

Not the Jesus who stands outside the funerals for gay soldiers, picketing with disgusting signs about their supposed hellish fate. Not the God who stands outside of abortion clinics, screaming in condemnation at the young girls as they enter. Not the church who hates, judges, and turns their backs on Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Madonna, Katy Perry, and Hollywood. And definitely not the God who ever throws a stone of hatred, shame, or condemnation at the hearts of his beloved children.

I do not know that God, that Jesus, or that Holy Spirit.

I’m talking about the guy who has loved me more completely than anyone on earth ever could. I’m talking about the one who saved me from myself—who continues to love the ugly parts of my life until beauty rises from the ashes. I’m talking about the pure, lavish, unconditional love of the one who made me.

If you’re into THAT guy, then keep reading. If you’re into throwing your judgment at the world, hurling your condemnation of the broken, or slinging mud at those you disagree with, then this is definitely not the blog for you. I do not tolerate such things in my heart, or in my beliefs, and will never write from that perspective.

So, on that note….your spirit.

Last week, I was in a funk. (Shock, gasp, horror). In fact, you could smell the funk of my attitude all over the house, as Studhubs can unfortunately confirm. And let me tell you something, it was stanky. Hopelessness fed on my heart like a Louisiana swamp leech sucking the life-blood out of it’s prey.

Lucas and I love living in LA. It’s probably my favorite of all the places I’ve lived. But in February, we found out that our tenant was moving out of the loft we own in Nashville, so we decided to come back for the month of March to make sure it hadn’t been trashed, since we had rented it out fully pimped-out & furnished. I was overjoyed to see that my home was in impeccable shape, but not so overjoyed that it didn’t look like we’d be returning to LA anytime soon. One thing led to another. Michael W. Smith asked me to go on tour with him and wanted me to sing God Loves Ugly and speak about the book (I’d be a grade-A idiot to turn that down). I joined forces with Premier Speakers out of Nashville and was starting to get booked for speaking engagements. And publishers had started calling, wanting to talk about publishing my book, so we started to take meetings. All in Nashville. Definitely not the time to leave.

However, I want to. Everything in me wants to be back with our friends, back out in Venice beach 2 blocks from the ocean, back out where the weather is perfect and the food is divine. It’s enchanting out there. And I miss it.

I sat down on my grey flokati rug, buried my head in my arms, and just boo-hooed like a little toddler who had been told ‘no.’ I felt hopeless. I felt angry. I felt like there was no end in sight. (This is the surface of it. Nashville also represents a lot of things for me—like ‘not making it in the music industry as a solo artist’ and coming back makes me always feel a bit like a failure.) So I’m sitting there, stewing in the filth of my emotions, and then the light bulb goes on.

I can either sit here and be miserable, or I can feed my spirit with the truth and see if my emotions change.

And let me tell you something, you have to have a plan of action when ‘the resistance’ comes. When you find yourself trapped in the depths of despair, as Anne of Green Gables likes to call them, you don’t really feel like doing the right thing. It’s much easier if you have a plan of attack when you get there. A lifeline, so to speak.

So I got up, pressed play on one of my favorite CD’s by the fabulous Kristene Mueller, closed my eyes, (not feeling anything at first, and definitely not wanting to fight the despair), and I got STILL, letting the words wash over me like waves of cool healing onto an overheaded, sandy shore:

“It’s the sweetest thing to trust you.

Just to know, you’ve got everything under control.

It’s the sweetest thing to trust you.

Just to know, you’ve got everything.

You are making me a mountain, you’re making me a mountain that cannot be shaken

You are making me a mountain, you’re making me a mountain that cannot be moved

High up on a rock looking down on the horizon

Watching as the storm rolls in, wondering if my heart will survive it

As the waves crash all around me

And I can’t remember what it feels like to be free

I know you’re making me a mountain, you’re making me a mountain that cannot be shaken,

I know you’re making me a mountain that cannot be moved

You say, I’ve got you my baby, Oh, I’ve got you

It’s quite the mess you’re in but it’s nothing love can’t fix

So sit here upon my shoulders and watch as it all unwinds”

The air shifted. I could literally feel the hopelessness peel away as I stilled myself long enough to allow the truth of who God is, and how He holds me, keeps me, and has a plan for my life—washed away my fear.

I fed my spirit. I fed it with the truth. I stopped feeding it the fear, worry, anger, and hopelessness my soul had camped out on, and watched as all the darkness melted away like hot wax from a burning flame.

I felt like me again, able to see clearly, through the truth, instead of looking at life through the uncertainty of my emotions.

You can feed your spirit with a song. You can feed your spirit with a Bible verse. You can feed your spirit with a little note card you have that declares identity statements about who you are.

The only thing that’s required to feed your spirit is intentionality. You must intentionally still yourself, quiet yourself, tell yourself to STOP.

Take control.

YOUR TURN:

Take an inner inventory of your being. Body: check. Soul: check. Spirit:….is it in there? Have you ever paid attention to it? Have you ever acknowledged it before?

Tell it hello. It might have been neglected for a while. (:

You have a spirit for one reason—so it can be connected to the one who made you, to the God who bankrupted heaven by sending His son so that He can be with you forever. Your spirit is LONGING to be filled with the truth. It’s hungering for it, thirsting for it, starving for it.

You were made for truth. Feeding your spirit with truth will change you—from the inside out.

Take a moment and stop right now. Close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Ask the Spirit of God to come in and fill you, pouring peace, love, joy, life, and truth into you. Inhale it in—bask in it for a minute. You were made to be filled, so drink up!

Ask THE Spirit to fill your spirit with whatever you need. Do you need peace? He’s ready to give it. Do you need joy? He’s ready to pour it out. Love, hope, patience, favor? He’s a good God with good gifts—and there’s never short supply.

xx, Sista Christa