I sat with my little girl today looking out the window into a rainy, very windy storm.  It was early in the morning and everything was quiet outside.  I looked around and noticed the tree in front of our house.  There it stood, just a bunch of leafless branches blowing in the wind.  I thought about that for a bit and how it is so like us, our life and experiences. 

There are different types of trees and they are all out there, open to the environment, harsh weather and all.  Some keep their leaves in certain seasons and lose them in others.  They go through different processes just as we all do in life.  What I always seem to notice when I see a tree blowing in a strong wind is how it shakes and sways.  Some of them bending in one direction almost touching the ground yet still staying in tact.  My eyes are always drawn to the bottom of the tree to examine what it is that is holding it in place and how it is withstanding the torment of the weather.  Even these small trees with not much to them still seem to withstand the wind.  And what is at the bottom of a tree?  As you well know, it is the bottom of the trunk.  At what is at the bottom of the trunk that we cannot see is deep underground.  Yeah, I know….you are fully aware of this but just humor me for a bit longer….

You’ve figured it out by now…I’m talking about the trees root system.  When you get to the bottom of it all, you know that in order for a tree to survive, it must dig deep through the mud and muck and keep on growing into this massive root system in order to survive.  It literally grounds itself so that it can grow, prosper, beautiful at times and just twigs blowing in the wind at others.  Sounds kind of like us huh?  We experience a lot of ugly in our lives because that is what this world consists of.  We have to dig our way through the mud and muck in order to develop our root system.  Along the way, we find that certain things make our root system stronger and others make it weaker.  Some of us eventually figure out on what we need in order to keep growing and digging in to survive, others of us end up stunting in our growth and we struggle to survive.  

We can easily identify in most cases what it is that is stunting our growth.  Perhaps it’s that really awful relationship you just can’t seem to let go of for fear of never being loved again.  Maybe it started with the abuse from a parent, friend or relative early on in life and you’ve never been able to let go of the question in your mind…What did I do to deserve this?  Perhaps it’s the addiction that you have been using to run away from the pain of a situation in your life.  Maybe it’s the feeling of being worthless regardless of how hard you try…never being able to please others.  Maybe it’s feeling like you don’t deserve this sickness or disease that you struggle with day-to-day. Maybe you feel like you are a good person, you do the right moral things, treat people well and yet there is just still a void that leaves you feeling that it is all for not…nobody else ever seems to return the favor or notice how good you are so why bother if I’m doing all I can and still not fulfilled….

So, if you can identify what it is that is stunting your growth, what is it that is needed to make it stronger?  Deeply rooted so that when the storms blow in, you can hang on and survive?  It is experience, success and a willingness to allow the help of another to ground you.  It is the hope that there is something to live for.  If all I had in this life was messes and mistakes, I’d be pretty apt to be stunted in my growth and just do what I had to get by.  Who wants to live with a constant feeling of failure, never feeling valued because you are always messing up your own life or someone else’s?  I have your answer.  There IS more to this life, beyond this life, an eternal life if you so accept what was done for you!  Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive all of your mistakes, past, present and future.  If you just accept Him and what He has done for you, if you can accept the grace He has planned for your life, you can be rooted in Christ.  He will be your strength to grow and set your root system in place.  He wants you to accept that you are forgiven.  To let go of all the thought that you can ever be perfect and do everything right.  To be able to grant you forgiveness and forgive yourself and others when there is wrong done. To live each day feeling free from all of those unworthy, not good enough feelings.  To live each day free, not second guessing yourself, just being yourself and being the best you that you can be.  Good or bad days, you have a hope of eternal life to hold onto.  The eternal life that comes after the death of your human life here on earth.  The life you will have in Heaven with Jesus.  No pain, no fear, no tears, no death, no hopelessness, no worries, no sickness, disease, addiction, abuse or anything related to anything negative we feel on this earth!  Why the heck would you NOT want that in your life here on earth?  Why would you NOT want that eternal life in Heaven with Jesus, your Creator, the One who loves you more than any you will ever have in your life.  Stop doubting there is a God, stop doubting there could actually be someone out there that created you with purpose and there is a reason why you are here.  Do you really think so little of yourself that you wouldn’t want more?  Accept Him today, allow His love and grace to penetrate and change your life.  Be free!

Psalms 52: 7-9 Common English Bible says “Look at them!  They didn’t make God their refuge.  Instead they trusted in their own great wealth.  They sought refuge in it- to their own destruction!”  But I am like a green olive tree in God’s house; I trust in God’s faithful love forever and always.  I will give thanks to you, God, forever, because you have acted, in the presence of your faithful people, I will hope in your name because it’s so good.

Proverbs 12:3 The Message says “You can’t find firm footing in a swamp, but life rooted in God stands firm.”

If this is your first interaction with me, I’m sure you are wondering what Unchained is all about and why I named this blog Unchained Bracelets…
Here’s the story. I created a bracelet in March or April of 2011. I thought it was cool and so did a few of my friends. I wanted to go ahead and see about making some available for sale. However, I didn’t follow through with the plan.
Why you ask? It all has to do with me and who I am…Who the God of the Universe and all mankind created me to be. I was not made to simply create and sell without further purpose. God did not give me passion to simply create. He gave me a small gifting to create with a huge passion to impact others! But…(and I know you should never start a sentence with the word but) not just others…specific others. Others who are hurting, others who are living in deep burdened lives, others who may still need God in their lives, or even others who have found God but still don’t have the peace of living free.
So, which category of “others” do you fit in? All of you reading this fit in a category…be it addiction, abuse, sickness or disease. Perhaps your monster is a little less obvious. You deal with not being able to be yourself. Being trapped by always needing to have others approval. Being smothered with the freedom to have approval before making a decision. Or perhaps you live so out loud, going against the grain to try to meet those needs in your life. Maybe you are chained to your past, unable to forgive yourself or others. There are so many situations and terms that I could add but the truth is, you’ve already pinned down one or more issues just reading this. I’ve already hit the nail on the head….
So, where do I go from here? Getting back to the bracelet. I woke up one night with this passion and the Lord put the puzzle together for me so I could move on with His plan. We all need freedom in areas of our lives. So what does this bracelet represent? It is a bracelet made of linked chain. This chain represents whatever came to your mind in the previous paragraph. However, that’s not all the bracelet is made of. Each side of this chain is linked to a washer in the center which has words on it. What words? You choose! It can say a word of your burden on one side and a word of freedom on the other. Or it can say simply Unchained on one side and the freedom word of your choice on the other. What this washer signifies is a never-ending circle of you freedom for eternity if you so choose!
The truth is, we don’t have to live in chains! We can choose to get free from what chains us in many different ways. That is why I write. I help pinpoint some issues and things to help you along the way to living free. It’s not all about the bracelet and making a sale! I genuinely care about you and helping you learn and live the same things I’ve discovered in life!
I will tell you that I also serve a very real Jesus! A Jesus who you may or may not know. A jesus who before I was born was beaten and more than battered and bruised on a cross. My Jesus was nailed to a cross to die. And with every ounce of wrong I have ever done … You have ever done. Past. Present. Future. As He was nailed to that cross and DIED on that cross…it ALL DIED with Him! But wait! There’s more! This same Jesus also came back to life 3 days later and still LIVES in Heaven today. He was REBORN and because I accepted what He did for me by believing its Truth and Power. I am forgiven…I am REBORN and I have the power of the cross in my life that grants me access if I so choose to live FREE. My friends, this is the greatest story I will ever tell and this is the reason I live Unchained!!

I just want to take a minute to thank all of you who have stopped by and read my blog so far.  Obviously this is very new to me and so it is very exciting!  I don’t know how often I will write and where this blog will lead but please help me in getting this out there to your friends and family.  I also want to let you know that you have the opportunity to receive this via email if you want to be notified each time I post.  All you need to do is look to the right of this post and see where it tells you to sign up…well, go ahead and click and you can sign up!  I am so thankful to have all of you already interested in this and so excited to see where it goes!  Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!