Minda Seagraves – NorthStar Church Blog

Digging Deeper: A Royal Priesthood

Minda Seagraves on September 27, 2024

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession…

1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

Last year, I watched the Netflix drama series The Crown, which tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II. Although I’m not usually fascinated by the royal family, this series gave me a newfound respect for them. It illuminated the intentionality and discipline that Queen Elizabeth adhered to in her daily life. She took her role not just as the Queen very seriously; she understood that her actions and demeanor were a reflection of the crown and what it represented. She set a standard by embodying what was considered good, proper, and acceptable.

Just as Queen Elizabeth took her earthly role of royalty seriously, we, too, have a significant role as a “royal priesthood” in God’s kingdom. Others are observing us to see what is good and right. We might be the only representation of Jesus that some people will ever encounter.

The description of believers as a “royal priesthood” and a “holy nation” highlights our unique role and identity. As priests, we have the privilege of representing God to others and offering spiritual sacrifices. This identity calls us to live with integrity and purpose, reflecting God’s holiness and engaging in His mission.

Lord, I am grateful for my identity as part of Your royal priesthood. Help me to live up to this responsibility by representing You well and offering my life as a spiritual sacrifice. Guide me to serve others with love and to reflect Your holiness in all that I do.

Consider what it means to be part of a royal priesthood. How does this identity influence your actions and relationships?

Minda Seagraves has been married to her best friend, Russell, for 17 years and is mom to Carson and Maddie. She is also a full-time missionary with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, serving as a chaplain to local female high school teams and supports 380 staff across four states in the U.S. and 20 countries in East Africa as the Regional Director of Talent Advancement with FCA. Minda and her family live in Acworth and have been attending NorthStar Church since 2020.

Digging Deeper: Called Out of Darkness

Minda Seagraves on September 26, 2024

…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS

A few years ago, a friend introduced me to the world of backpacking. She had just begun section-hiking the Appalachian Trail, and her plan didn’t involve camping out, but rather hiking to different cabins each night. Intrigued and excited, I decided to join her. It was far more challenging than I had anticipated, but I loved it so much that I soon invested in all the necessary gear to continue on my own.

Day hiking, where you return to a cabin with running water and electricity, is quite different from backpacking. Backpacking means carrying everything you need, including your sleeping arrangements, on your back. I thought I was well-prepared for my first overnight trip on the trail. Common sense told me it would be dark at night, but nothing could have prepared me for the sheer depth of darkness. Out there, with only a headlamp or a few stars to light the way, the darkness is profound.

During those first hours on the trail, I could think only of the moment when dawn would break. There’s a precious hour in the morning when the first hints of light begin to emerge over the landscape. It’s in those moments that fear subsides and hope is renewed.

We are naturally drawn to the light.

This verse reminds us of the profound transformation that comes with God’s call. We have been called out of spiritual darkness into His marvelous light, signifying a radical change in our lives. Our new position in this light brings with it the responsibility to declare God’s praises and share the hope we’ve found in Him with others.

Father, thank You for calling me out of darkness and into Your light. Help me to live in a way that reflects Your light and to boldly share the story of Your grace and salvation with those around me. May my life stand as a testimony to Your goodness.

Reflect on your personal journey from darkness to light. How can you be a beacon of light to others? In what ways can you share the transformative power of God’s grace in your daily interactions?

Digging Deeper: Living Stones in God’s House

Minda Seagraves on September 25, 2024

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house…

1 Peter 2:5 (NIV)

LIVING STONES IN GOD’S HOUSE

Building a house from the ground up is a significant task. We’ve done it twice, and each time taught me valuable lessons. During our first build, I made plenty of mistakes—mostly with picking colors, tiles, and countertops. The options were overwhelming, and my choices reflected that. The second time, I enlisted help from a brilliant designer friend. I created a few Pinterest boards to share my vision, and she transformed those ideas into a beautifully designed home. Despite the differences in style and size between the two homes, one thing remained consistent: neither could truly take shape until the foundation was laid.

Christ is our firm foundation. Peter describes us as “living stones” being built into a spiritual house, highlighting our role within God’s community. Just as a house needs a strong foundation, the Church needs each of us to contribute to its structure. Every living stone plays a vital role, adding to the strength and beauty of this spiritual house. Our actions and lives impact the collective witness of the Church. By living out our faith, we help build and strengthen God’s spiritual house.

Lord, help me recognize my role as a living stone in Your spiritual house. Guide me to use my gifts and talents to contribute positively to Your Church. May my life reflect Your glory and strengthen the community of believers.

Reflect on how you can actively contribute to the spiritual growth and unity of your church community. What unique qualities or gifts has God given you that you can offer to build up His house?

Digging Deeper: The Living Stone and Our Identity

Minda Seagraves on September 24, 2024

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him…

1 Peter 2:4 (NIV)

THE LIVING STONE AND OUR IDENTITY

Nobody likes rejection. I vividly remember my own experience with it from when I was a young girl. I was awkward and desperately wanted to fit in. Unfortunately, my stature and style did me no favors. Add a bad perm and braces to the mix, and you get a clearer picture of my struggles. Despite my efforts, I never quite made it into the “in crowd” throughout elementary and middle school.

Raised outside the church, I didn’t understand then what I know now: that my worth, value, and acceptance come not from others but from the Lord. A wise life coach once told me that no one else gets to determine my worth—and neither do I. Only Christ has the authority to define it. Those words were a sweet reminder that, despite what the world or even I might think or say about myself, there is One who created me and considers me amazing. He loves me not for what I do, have done, or could do in the future, but simply because I am His creation.

Jesus is described as the “living Stone”—foundational and essential to our faith, even though He was rejected by the world. Our identity is deeply connected to this living Stone. Just as Jesus is chosen and precious to God, we too are chosen and valued. Our true meaning and stability come from our relationship with Christ, the cornerstone of our faith.

Jesus, thank You for being the living Stone upon which my faith is built. Help me to remember my worth and identity in You, even in the face of rejection or challenges. May I find my strength and stability in You alone.

Reflect on how your identity is shaped by your relationship with Jesus. How does being built on the living Stone influence the way you see yourself and understand your life’s purpose?

Digging Deeper: Desiring Pure Spiritual Milk

Minda Seagraves on September 23, 2024

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation…

1 Peter 2:2 (NIV)

DESIRING PURE SPIRITUAL MILK

Last month, I had the joy of visiting my sister just a week after the birth of my precious baby niece, Elliana. I spent the entire weekend marveling at her tiny, sleeping face, holding her close, and watching the regular routine of feeding. Every two hours, little Ellie, weighing just 5.5 pounds, would remind us it was time for her next meal. This brought back memories of when my own son was a newborn. I recalled those long days and nights of feeding him every two hours, with each feeding sometimes taking over an hour to get just a few small ounces of milk.

Watching Ellie, I was struck by how a newborn’s needs are so small yet so frequent. She would eagerly drink her milk, and despite consuming just two ounces, she was completely satisfied. Now, a month later, she’s drinking much more as she grows, which contrasts sharply with my teenage son. Starting from those same small beginnings, he now has an insatiable appetite, consuming more calories in a day than I do in a week!

Peter uses the imagery of a newborn’s craving for milk to illustrate our need for spiritual nourishment. Just as infants depend on milk for their growth, we need the Word of God for our spiritual development. Regular engagement with Scripture, prayer, and worship is crucial for our growth and maturity in Christ. Just as my son’s appetite grew from those early feedings to a voracious hunger, our desire for God’s Word should also deepen as we mature in our faith.

In our early days as believers, we might find it challenging to consume and fully understand large portions of Scripture. But as we grow, our spiritual appetite should expand, allowing us to digest more of God’s Word and find greater nourishment for our souls.

May our hunger for God’s Word continue to grow as we are daily fed by Him!

Lord, cultivate in me a deep hunger for Your Word and a thirst for spiritual nourishment. Help me to crave the truth of Scripture with the same eagerness as a newborn craves milk. May Your Word guide and sustain me as I grow in my relationship with You.

Reflect on your current spiritual habits. How can you develop a deeper desire for God’s Word? What steps can you take to ensure that you are regularly feeding on the spiritual milk that sustains your faith?

Digging Deeper: Confessions of a Planner

Minda Seagraves on June 28, 2024

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

CONFESSIONS OF A PLANNER

I love a good plan, and the farther out into the future I can put plans down, the better. I kid you not, I have things on my calendar for NEXT July at this very moment. I realize this is where people split into one of two camps. You’re either with me screaming, “Amen these are my people” or scratching your head wondering how on earth its possible to live in such a suffocating manner.

Regardless of which camp you find yourself in, one thing is true: God is a planner and His plans are not only guaranteed to work out, they are always good!

Mark Batterson, one of my favorite Christian authors said in his book The Circle Maker, that we should “plan like it depends on us but pray like it depends on God.” I found a lot of comfort in that line of thinking because it allows me to map things out as I feel and believe they should go, but it also forces me to plan with hands open, holding loosely to the things on my schedule. It’s not an easy thing to do, living life knowing all that prep work could be for not; but I don’t believe any of it is ever wasted! Even if it is just the experience we gain from the preparation, God grows us in the process.

The older I have gotten the more I have realized that it is a huge relief, a weight lifted, that while God wants to use me to work out His Kingdom plans, in the end I’m really not needed. It’s a matter of “get to” versus “have to.” If God can speak creation into existence, hold the Earth and the planets in place, cause the rising and falling of the sun, and tell the ocean where to stop, am I really so arrogant to believe that he NEEDS me and my five-year plan laid out in a color-coded Excel spreadsheet to work out other Kingdom matters? I think not.

Praise God that I get to be part of His plan. Praise God that I get to be a tool in His hands. Praise God that I get to see Him do the impossible and watch miracles unfold in real time. But most of all Praise God that it’s not up to me and my planning. Praise the one who knows us, sees us, values us, loves us and holds all the plans down to the smallest detail in his hands – plans that are so good, and infinitely better than anything we could imagine, and give us a future and a hope!

Digging Deeper: When Things Don’t Go As Planned

Minda Seagraves on June 27, 2024

And I will lead the blind
    in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
    I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
    the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
    and I do not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:16 (ESV)

WHEN THINGS DON’T GO AS PLANNED

I had it all mapped out. First, I would knock out my core classes, then dive into the major requirements that were needed to apply for pharmacy school. By Junior Year, I would apply and be accepted to an in-state pharmacy school. In five years, one more in undergraduate and four of graduate, I would earn my PharmD and have a career that I loved that would provide a steady solid income for my one-day, would-be family. Then classes started and I found out very quickly that things can look great on paper but go very differently in reality. It didn’t take long for me to realize I was in WAY over my head. I dropped all my classes and went back to the drawing board. It was a difficult time of disappointment watching the dreams and plans I had for my life dissolve, having no clue what to do next.

At this point in my life I was not walking with the Lord. I was on my schedule, my way, chasing down my dreams. I had a salvation experience with Jesus several years earlier, but without any Christian community to disciple me I quickly fell away from the tiny understanding of faith that I had and turned to the world for advice.

I was walking blind as a bat through the darkness, fumbling my way as best as I could toward what I thought was a good and noble plan. And while there was absolutely nothing fundamentally wrong with what I had mapped out for my life there was one BIG problem- it was my plan and not God’s. It would take more than a decade for me to come around and finally be walking in the plan he created for my life.

Through many ups and downs, attempts and failures I learned both what it meant to let Christ be my guide and how to hold my plans loosely.

I realized that my plans seem good, but His plans are great! Good is the enemy of great!! How often do we miss out on God’s best because we are content in our good enough?

Life rarely, if ever, goes as planned and weathering disappointments is part of the deal. Looking back, I am so thankful that the Lord didn’t forsake me, that he was willing to lead me in my blindness, turning the dark to light and the rough ground to the level places I stand on today!

Digging Deeper: Endurance

Minda Seagraves on June 26, 2024

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

Hebrews 10:36 (NLT)

ENDURANCE

Running used to be my jam! Nothing beats being able to lace up a pair of shoes and just GO for miles on end without any limitations. I found out early in my running days that the gift of a long run is just that, a gift. It’s something you have to wait for and cannot rush, because a lack of patience results in injury. That’s why it is no longer my jam – after a while the injuries add up and your body no longer can weather the strain.

I remember the first time I realized that the name of the game was distance, not speed. It was perfectly acceptable to run slow if the end goal was to run long. It’s not like I was planning to compete in and sort of event; I simply wanted to enjoy being outside and improve my cardiovascular fitness. Once I conquered the initial battle of no longer dredging through the first couple miles as though I had on ankle weights while traversing through quicksand, it didn’t take long for me to feel that rush of wanting to push just a little further. That’s exactly what I did. I took my planned three-mile run and turned it into an eight-mile run. Only after I got home and the endorphins wore off did I realize that something was not right with my foot. A trip to the orthopedic doctor and an x-ray quickly revealed that my lack of patience had resulted in a stress fracture in my foot. Not only could I not go as far as I wanted, but I was sidelined until I healed to then slowly start over from square one.

We do the same exact thing in our faith journey! Instead of having the patience to wait on God to lay out the next step, we decide he’s not moving fast enough. Sound familiar? Waiting takes endurance! We want to rush ahead and get to the good while skipping over all the hard. Just like we talked about on Sunday, we must be willing to wait until God answers- and there is no way to know how long that waiting period will be. Each time God asks us to wait on Him the ask comes at a slightly increased measure of difficulty. The thing or outcome on the other side has slightly higher stakes than the time before and feels a little more out of our reach. We get lost in the minutia of getting there and lose sight of the one who spoke the promise into our hearts in the first place. If only we would be willing to slow down and look back at all the ways He has been faithful to keep the promises of the past, then we would have the endurance to wait on Him to get us there instead of rushing ahead of him and winding up weary and wounded.

I learned early on that as a distance runner I had to endure in and through conditioning. I had to slowly increase milage to avoid injury to all the bones, ligaments, and muscles that fire, enabling me to propel myself forward. In the same way God conditions us, He conditions our faith muscle slowly and over time the initial limitations and fatigue that happened at the one-mile marker are a distant memory, as we effortlessly glide through the finish line of the marathon.

Digging Deeper: While I Am Waiting

Minda Seagraves on June 25, 2024

so that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises.

Hebrews 6:12 (AMP)

WHILE I AM WAITING

As I was contemplating this devo, two words came into the focus of my mind’s eye: “faith fatigue.” I ran a quick Google search and sure enough, I’m not the first one to ever put these words together. In fact, my search yielded this definition from 3armedmonster.net: “faith fatigue is characterized by discouragement, disconnection, and weariness in the midst of your Christian journey. You’re not burnt out on Christ. You’re exhausted from the never-ending journey of having faith in God’s plans for your life and the world around you.” For me, that definition simultaneously nails it and makes me feel like a wimp. We don’t want to admit that the faith waiting asks of us takes a toll. But if we’re willing to get real and be vulnerable with ourselves and each other about our true feelings related to waiting, we can experience growth in those seasons of in-between that easily exceeds that which happens in the regular day-to-day.

We can be certain God is good all the time, but as Mike Linch often says, it has to “travel that 18 inches from our head to our heart.” Knowing God keeps his promises and believing that he will do the same again for us in the specific situation and circumstances we are in are two completely different things. So, how do we keep on keeping on in the faith journey when we are bone tired with fatigue?

Today’s reminder from Paul to the Hebrews is a great place to start! When we are feeling spiritually sluggish, we can look to those faithful giants in the past for reassurance that God can and WILL come through for us just like He did for them. Sometimes we need to lean on the faith of others who have gone before us, and ask trusted friends and family to believe for us because we lack the energy required to breathe one more syllable in prayer. Letting them stand in the gap not only strengthens you and your faith but theirs as well! As they get a front row seat to your circumstance, walking with you in the weary and worn out, they also get a front row seat to the miracle and seeing God do what he does best – make the impossible possible! It doesn’t stop there, because before they know it they will be leaning on the faith journey they walked with you as they traverse their own season of waiting on God’s promises to unfold. And so it goes on and on, over and over, as we faithfully bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2).

Paul also reminds us that patience leads to the promise. Bottom line friends, if He says he will do it you can take it to the bank! It will almost never happen how or when you wanted or planned, but you can be sure that it is in His exact perfect timing. We often forget how intricately creation works together. No one thing happens in a silo; it all reverberates off each other. If God operated like the genie we often wished he was, giving us exactly what we want when we want it like an Amazon Prime order, things would be a disaster! We grow in the waiting, and we often recognize that when it all pans out His timing is far better than ours.

So how do we overcome faith fatigue? Simply put, we don’t go at it – whatever “it” is – alone!

Digging Deeper: Waiting is Hard

Minda Seagraves on June 24, 2024

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

WAITING IS HARD

Waiting is hard. I know that does not come as a complete surprise, right? Never have you once thought to yourself “I sure hope I have something important and life changing that I get to wait on soon.” No matter how many times we have done it, how old we get, how good or bad we weathered the last season of waiting, it never gets easier. But why is that, and how can we grow our waiting muscle?

Back in the “olden days,” the 1900’s, when it was time to try out for a sports team at the school you had to do one of two things after tryouts: 1. You waited for a congratulatory call from the coach welcoming you to the team, or 2. You waited until the appointed time to drive to the school and search feverishly for your name on the team roster that had been posted on the gym window. I have sat in the waiting room of both those scenarios when time passed excruciatingly slowly. Knowing that I had a good relationship and history with the coaches, as well as the desired skill set they were looking for, did little to nothing to settle the “what ifs” and doubt from swarming through my head in the hours and minutes that ticked waiting for the outcome. I knew in my head, without reason to doubt, that I had what it took to make the team, but until my name was on that piece of paper there was still a chance for something to get squirrely.

Sarah had a lot more on the line than making the Canaan cheer team. She was waiting for the promised child with her husband, and she had been waiting for quite some time. Logically, she could look back and see how the Lord had taken care of them, and she could trace his track record of goodness; but, this was different, wasn’t it? After all, she was old, HE was old, and that ship of possibility had long since sailed. So, she may as well find a way to silence the desire of her heart and that nagging inability to just let it go and live in reality. I have been there, having that self-dialogue rationalizing that yes, God is good and keeps his promises, but I must have just misunderstood.

Why do we do that? Why is it in the waiting that, instead of doubling down on the divine we have witnessed time and again, we become dismissive?

In another season of waiting, I walked through something much harder than cheer tryouts. I, like Sarah, was longing to be a mother to a child I would carry. It was during that time that the Lord gave me my life verse- Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Every doctor appointment, every test, every scan I spoke those words and let them be the foundation for my feet. I forced my fears to conform to the faith that came not from my understanding but the Lord and the Lord alone. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the Lord was growing my faith muscle and giving me the first of what would become many tools to cling to in seasons of waiting.

So how do we get better at waiting? We get more of His promises buried in our hearts. We “meditate on it day and night” so that, when the hard happens and we are asked to wait, we lean not on the ‘what ifs,’ traveling down every rabbit trail or possibility, but sit securely in the unknown trusting that whatever the outcome is, our good good Father planned that outcome in advance for our good and His glory!