22 Aug 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Awakening
Oh friends, I am so excited! I am going to attempt to put this feeling into words and give you a glimpse into the work of God in my life right now. We’ll just see how this goes…
I have lived much of my life so afraid. Afraid of what? I wish I could pinpoint an answer. Silly things, big things, common things- most of it comes back to being so concerned with the opinions of others. Insecurity is a plague. You can hardly help but to be consumed with how you are perceived, accepted (or not), the level of your success, your capabilities- especially in comparison to those around you. What a prison I’ve lived in! My identity locked in a dungeon of dying dreams.
So afraid to be me.
Just. Simply. Me.
I’ll be honest. I never thought I would see the end of fear in my life. I felt like all the dreams I’d hidden would be carried to my grave. I never dreamed today would come. But it’s come. And I want to share it with you because I feel I’m not alone.
“Faith is the antidote to fear.” Reinhard Bonnke said this in a message that changed my life at Jesus Culture Awakening in Chicago a few weeks ago. Faith is walking in consistent, immediate obedience to the Holy Spirit. And the most important words in that definition are “consistent” and “walking.” Faith is not a destination. It’s a journey. You won’t reach the end until you see eternity.
The Holy Spirit lives within believers to empower them to live a supernatural life. He may whisper directives like, “Pray for that man in the wheelchair ” or “Share your testimony with that woman.” Or He may give you life directives like, “Stay where you are instead of taking the better job offer.” When you walk in immediate obedience to His voice, you gain victory- step by step- over fear. It would only be from a place of fear that you would disobey! It’s just like God to use such a simple weapon to defeat such a giant.
When I walk in obedience to His voice, I connect with His plan.
“When I connect with God’s plans, I will not fail because God’s plans will not fail!” -Reinhard Bonnke
There is much more I want to share with you as I begin this faith-filled journey, but motherhood calls. I love you all. I’m excited to find out what life looks like without fear. I hope you’ll find yourself on the journey with me.
20 Jul 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Uncategorized
If you’ve not heard Damon’s series on “The Finishing Season,” I highly recommend you listen (you can hear the 7th installment here). That series along with Mike Bickle’s teaching, “The Power of a Focused Life,” has challenged me over the last few weeks. This is what I’m getting out of it… This season, which Damon has defined through the end of September, is the time to tie up the loose ends, bring things into order, and focus on what lies ahead. This means a lot of things for me. Primarily, I have to gain control over my time. Mike Bickle sheds light on a huge enemy to this: the tyranny of the urgent- or in other words, going day by day according to the flow of what happens to happen. I love John Maxwell’s quote, and honestly I don’t remember if it’s concerning time or money because it can go either way.
“If you don’t tell your time where to go, you’ll wonder where it went.”
I am finished living life this way. One of my favorite quotes from Mike Bickle’s teaching is “To squander hours is to squander your prophetic destiny.” I cannot stand before the Judgement seat of God and be guilty of squandering my destiny! I have to get control of my time!
Now, I’m going somewhere with all of this that involves you. My busyness lately has come with a great price… I’ve (obviously) not been writing and many other things that I feel God has called me to has been placed on the back burner for quite some time now. So, all of that is changing in this finishing season. I’m doing a lot of cleaning out of my life and time that will make room for me to do what I’m supposed to be doing. All of this to say, hang in there with me for a bit. I know it’s been up and down, but I want to reinvent the blog, bring consistency, organization, and make it a place to encourage and build relationship. Thank you so much for reading. I love you all. I really, really do.
P.S. Bobby, we need to get together soon! We have a lot to talk about!
19 Jun 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Love
I know it’s been almost a month since my last post. I sincerely apologize. The two biggest reasons why are Father’s Day related, so it seems like a perfect time to share.
Many of you already know about my father-in-law’s accident on June 1st. He was on the roof of his lakehouse changing a floodlight, was electrocuted, and fell/jumped off the roof to break the current. He fell about 30 feet onto concrete. John Bentley is a living miracle. He broke 6 ribs, fractured his L2, punctured his lung, and burned his hand. The doctor may let him come home tomorrow, but he will be in the healing process for some time. How can I complain? God spared his life, and I am more thankful for that than I could ever express.
John is to my children what my grandfather was to me. Last December, a couple of my posts were about my Paw Paw Bill. I know how irreplaceable a grandfather is to a child. We all need John Bentley for different reasons, but I have to believe my children need him more than anyone.
My grandfather is in ICU today. Since his sickness in December, the dementia & Alzheimer’s has become much worse. It’s been really difficult to watch someone I love so much suffer, and I know many of you can relate to that. This year’s Father’s Day is a bit more somber than before.
I’m so thankful that I married a wonderful father. We’ve celebrated Samuel this morning with egg & bacon muffins and chocolate chip pancakes… okay, the chocolate chip pancakes were for me. We’re walking through all of these things together and one day at a time. I’m so thankful for all the fathers in my life. God gave me many- Samuel, Papaw (my dad), Paw Paw Bill, Hoot (Rick, my stepdad), Pepaw (John, Samuel’s dad). A very Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful dads. Your role is irreplaceable. I hope you soak up every second you have with your children and grandchildren. We all need you.
27 May 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Life
Chicken Satay.
It’s a favorite in the Bentley household. And just as a warning, it’s no small task. This one takes some time, elbow grease, and maybe a few more bucks than the average weeknight dinner. Or maybe that’s only because I’m usually cooking this meal to feed 20 people. I once made it to feed 60. And the most important word in that sentence was “once.”
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12 May 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Life
The Alabama tornados have left the news spotlight now (for the most part), but life is far from back to normal around here. Everything is so different. Last week, Samuel and I were in Wal-Mart and saw a little boy with gauze around his head. Samuel told him he really liked his hat and struck up a conversation with the grandmother. Turns out that the injury was from the storm, and the little boy had lost his twin brother. His mother is in the hospital with a broken neck. Just a random happenstance in the store. We walked away with our stomachs in knots. How do you respond to something like that?
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02 May 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Awakening
Last Wednesday changed everything. When I look at the destruction and hurt and think about the questions that so many of us have, it just changes everything.
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26 Apr 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Life
Ten of my childhood years I lived in Decatur, Alabama. but every summer, we would stay in Hamilton for what then seemed like weeks at a time. I’m sure now it was probably just a few weekends every summer. My aunt lived in a farmhouse just north of Hamilton (but before Hackleburg or Hodges).
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20 Apr 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Life
We spent all of last week in St. John in the Virgin Islands. I can honestly say, it was one of the two most beautiful places I have ever seen.
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11 Apr 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Life
Dearly beloved readers,
My life has been so crazy this week. This is why I have not written you until today. Please accept my apology and know that it’s not because I don’t love you. I do. I really, really do! Your life is probably busy too, so I know you understand those weeks that you really don’t even talk much- you just buckle down and do everything you have to.
So, men’s conference was last weekend. Incredible… Now, you know not to believe everything you hear, right? We would NEVER stay in the green room and watch the rest of the service on the monitor! NEVER!! We just aren’t interested in what men have to talk about when women aren’t around. It’s just not in us to do something so terrible and sneaky.
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30 Mar 2011
by Lauren Wheaton Bentleyin Life, Uncategorized
Spring is my favorite season. And somehow it fools me every single year. The sun shines, it’s 70 degrees outside, and I start putting long sleeves in storage. For about a week, I go on a gardening frenzy, pull out bright spring skirts & flip flops, and cut fresh flowers. Then, Blackberry Winter growls in. It was 40 degrees yesterday morning. Today, I am reminding myself that better, warmer days are surely coming. These are some of the things we enjoy during spring. I hope you enjoy them too…
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