Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

Is Manifestation A Worthwhile Pursuit?

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In a recent edition of The Culture Translator,

I read that as of June 2, #manifestation sits at 36 billion views on Tik Tok.  36 Billion!  That’s proof of the far-reaching influence of Tik Tok, but also the desperate need people have for hope.

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 Hope that they can change their lives.  Hope for fulfilling their dreams.  (As an aside, I highly recommend subscribing to The Culture Translator.  The weekly email keeps me up to date on current trends in pop culture and looks at them through a Biblical lens.  So helpful.)  But back to manifestation.

 

The idea of manifestation is the thought that something theoretical becomes real.  Researching manifestation I found things like this quote from an Elle magazine article on January 5th.  “Manifesting is a practice that benefits literally every area of your life because it empowers you to become the very best version of yourself that exists, embody the person you most want to become, and help you to unlock the infinite potential that you have to create the life of your dreams.”  And  a blog post called “9 Steps to Manifest What You Really Want in Life”.  Those steps are:

  1. Understand yourself
  2. Remove limiting thoughts
  3. Be clear about what you want
  4. Get your ask out there
  5. Make consistent efforts
  6. Believe in yourself
  7. Practice positive affirmations
  8. Acknowledge and appreciate small wins
  9. Remain patient

 

What’s Manifestation All About?

 

We are being told that there is a formula for making things turn out just like you want the too.  And that, my friends, is a steaming pile of excrement.  There are things within our control (as must as anything can be), and things we will NEVER be able to influence.  To believe anything different is to give ourselves false hope.  God tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

 

There is pretty compelling evidence that maintaining a positive attitude and working hard benefits us and others.  But we can’t pretend that we can control other people in our lives, much less the God of the Universe.  To believe in our power to manifest anything into being is to believe that we always know best.  That what we want supersedes what others want and what God wills.  That’s an incredibly arrogant position from which to live.

 

In addition, Lydia Sohn writes in The Atlantic that manifestation has a “fragile ethical foundation” because it can imply that when bad things happen, it’s somehow due to negligence on the part of the victim.  In other words, if we can bring something good into being, then it must be our fault when bad things happen to us.  We can’t have it both ways.

 

So What Can We Do?

 

Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross brought grace into our world.  It abolished the need to strive in our own power to make things happen.  Although God gives us gifts and talents to use, they are ultimately for His glory.  And that should always be our main goal.  Any thoughts of self-advancement should fall under the desire to point to Christ.

 

Sohn continued, “The practice of prayer presupposes that while we can express and pursue our preferences, we ultimately hand them over to someone with a perspective much broader and a love more generous than any of us can fathom.”  This type of prayer takes a lot of trust in God as it feels like releasing any control we have.  But the truth is, we only imagine we have any real control.  There is a bigger power, a bigger plan and a greater love waiting to blanket you in peace.  The peace that comes from the cessation of striving.

 

Trust of this magnitude is not easy.  It is something I pursue every day.  But there is peace and joy in the pursuit.  Because I know I’m not in control.  And that’s more freeing than you can imagine.  I’m praying for you in this.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Barbara Lee Harper has written a beautiful explanation of the gospel message and why it matters so much in Do You Want to Be Free?

 

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
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 Now Let’s Link Up!

 

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If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

First Friday Prayers: Prayers for Forgiveness

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prayers for forgiveness

Today is Global Forgiveness Day!  The topic of forgiveness can be challenging for some and even triggering for others.  In our humanity, it can be hard to wrap our brains around.  Especially when the offense is great.  But if you will indulge me, I would like to look at prayers for forgiveness from two different angles.

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“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  Colossians 3:13 NIV

 

It’s easy to forget at times that our offenses against the God of the universe are great.  Any sin is too much for our Heavenly Father to associate with.  Without His forgiveness through the saving work of Jesus on the cross, we would be destined for an eternity separated from God – whether we killed someone or told a little white lie.  And most of us will fall somewhere in between, with many shortcomings both big and small.  Remembering this gives me a different lens through which to view others who’ve hurt me.

 

Easy for Me to Say

 

That doesn’t mean forgiveness comes easy.  And it certainly doesn’t mean that we should leave ourselves in dangerous or abusive situations.  Forgiving someone does not necessarily mean that person gets to hold a place at our table.  Setting healthy boundaries is important, and sometimes we need to seek the counsel of clergy or a trained therapist to help.

 

In light of God’s forgiveness and our command to forgive others, I want to offer two prayers for forgiveness.  If you aren’t sure you have received God’s forgiveness and understand that Jesus died as a perfect substitution for our sins so that we can receive forgiveness and live in community with God, please pray the following prayer:

 

Take Time to Take This In

 

This is the most important prayer you will ever utter.  And it doesn’t have to be in my words.  If you prayed this prayer while reading this article or you didn’t pray it because you don’t understand it, I would love to visit with you further.  Shoot me an email at [email protected].  Or hit the contact me tab at the top of this site.  What you send will be confidential and I would be happy to communicate with you by email, zoom or whatever we can come up with.  Or find a Bible believing church in your area and make an appointment to talk with a minister there.  No matter what you do, don’t let it be nothing.  Seek deeper knowledge and understanding for yourself and don’t keep such good news quiet!

 

If you have previously offered a prayer like the one above and are struggling to forgive someone in your life, here is a prayer for you:

 

I know this is tough, but I’m praying for you in your prayers for forgiveness. Don’t forget to share on social media or with a friend who could benefit.  It would mean so much to me.  And if you don’t want to miss a First Friday Prayers post, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.  And if I can pray for you in more specific ways, drop me a message.  It would be an honor.

Lauren

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Just a couple of days ago I had a conversation with friends that was very similar to what Lois Flowers is trying to say in How to Stop Being Too Easily Pleased by Distractions.

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

A Very Quiet June

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Wednesday the 28th was the National Day of Joy (also National Lauren, Day but that’s neither here nor there).  If you didn’t know, I say it’s not too late to celebrate!  And as joy is my Word of the Year, I would love to hear what brings you joy (or what you would do to celebrate)!

In the Sparks’ house we are having a very quiet start to the summer, but not a bad one!

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Our songbird Allie has been at Camp Blessing working with special needs kids and adults all month so it has been very quiet at our house.  Seriously.  Anyone want to come over occasionally and break into song?  We miss it.  We do get to catch up with her a bit on weekends. She turns in her phone on Monday morning and doesn’t get it back until midday Saturday each week.  It’s a little tough on this mama bear, but I’m so grateful she can experience such quality unplugged time and for all the other experiences she’s having.

 

We did manage to do her zoom advising appointment together from two different locations to get her registered for her first semester of college classes.  So exciting!  But everything else has been kinda left up to me to take care of since she’s off the grid.  It’s been a little stressful and a little counter intuitive since this is the time I should really be handing responsibility over to my little adult, but we live and learn.  When the hubs and I signed off on her working the first half of the summer, I had no idea how much college planning would be expected of her by the university so soon!

 

Not Very Quiet About Our Love for Camp Blessing!

 

Shelby got to join Allie at Camp Blessing for one of those weeks.  We were so ready to see Birdie (her camp name) and get one of her signature aggressive hugs.  Fun time for both of my girls and nice respite for the hubs and me.  On pick up day Birdie let us take her and some of her new staffer friends to dinner.  We enjoyed visiting with these compassionate, funny world-changers.

 

I had the unique opportunity to do a contract gig for a large pharmaceutical company this month.  At a big conference for their staff, I gave a parent’s perspective on what it’s like to transition a medically complex patient from pediatric to adult care.  I was so delighted for the kind attention they gave me as well as questions they wanted answered.  We hear so much negative in the news about big pharma, so to see how much this one cares about the patient and even family experience touched my heart.  And after hearing a lot of good feedback from my presentation, it’s got my wheels turning about future job possibilities for me.  I look forward to seeing what God has in store as I look for my next thing.

 

The rest of the month was pretty routine, but nice (except for this Texas heat, which makes me so cranky…every year).  Doctor’s appointments, work, a fun game night with one set of friends and dinner and a movie with another.  Also I started mentoring a young girl from church and we are studying the book of John together.  I also tried a low-cost vet clinic for the first time to update vaccines on our two dogs.  It saved us a lot of money, but felt like a rodeo with these ill-behaved hooligans (the dogs, not my children).

 

In Our Very Quiet Down Time

 

For entertainment, Chuck and I went on a little documentary binge.  Brooke Shield’s Pretty Baby was heartbreaking.  Same with Shiny Happy People, an expose on the IBLP and the Duggar Family.  And the one on The Secrets of Hillsong.  Why do I keep watching these?  I guess I have to admit I have a little voyeur in me.  And I always think the best stories are true stories.  Mercury 13 – the film about the 13 pilots who could have been the first female astronauts in the 60’s if their training program hadn’t been discontinued – was not very interesting.  There are much better books and articles about them.

 

We ventured to a theater with friends after trying a new slider bar to see Asteroid City.  Save your money.  I feel like it was strange even for a Wes Anderson film.  How he attracted to many big name stars to appear is a mystery to me.  I feel like the movie was trying to say something, but I have no idea what it was!

 

Literary Pursuits

 

I read The Record Keeper, the 3rd book in the Murphy Shepherd series by Charles Martin.  Having read mostly novels from female authors, I’ve enjoyed this fiction with a masculine twist.  Then I sank my teeth into For Such a Time by Kate Breslin.  I have been mesmerized by this retelling of the book of Esther set in WWII.  And for my Word of the Year, I picked up Choose Joy:  Inspiration for Your Heart by Ellie Claire.  It’s an easy read full of quotes and scriptures.  Lastly, on our drives to and from Camp Blessing, Chuck and I listened to Taste:  My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci.  The actor’s cancer and treatment, similar to my husband’s, drew us in.  Parts of it failed to hold our attention and I can always do without a sprinkling of F-bombs.

 

And now I shall close this out to go get ready for a visit from my best friend and her son.  Yay!  I hope you have nice plans for the holiday weekend.  And as always, I love you, I thank you, and I hope July treats you well!

 

Now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Grace and Truth’s own Maree Dee dropped some wisdom I needed to hear when contemplating Will You Run Out of Resilience…?  Thank you, Maree.

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

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