Testimonies are everywhere, but do we walk in them? Hearing and receiving are different, yet both yield to a posture. Our willingness to pause and be present in the midst of our “ordinary” is key. It is often where purpose unfolds. In Luke 2, the shepherds paint a picture of how to embrace the moments entrusted to us.
Read MoreIn the face of the hard, He is there.
Faithful every moment, cast Him every care.
While we cannot see everything, God does. In the midst of our own limited sight, we must lean onto the One who sees and knows it all. From our own blind spots to the times we are blindsided by another person, God is not. He sees. He knows and He loves us through it.
In the clutter of what we carry, we may miss the beauty in the surrender. We may simply forget to look or we may become blinded by the excuses. Still, excuses do not eliminate the true Truth; they often avoid it. However, there is a better way…
Look to God and for Him.
Read MoreChange is not easy…
While change is normal, it is often uncomfortable and challenging. Therefore, our perception matters and our focus does too. We are not meant to stay the same. Evolving and growing is a beautiful gift. That is also true with relationships too.
We must not stay in our Egypt when God calls us out. We must also not go back…
Read More
Ruminating to rest
Running to rest
It sounds contradictory and yet, it is quite the opposite. It is about that firm foundation we must sit on, stand on and walk from, remembering to always go back to it too. So let’s run back now and begin here…
Where are we running? Where are we resting? And what does that have to do with the Book of Jonah?
When we think of the Book of Jonah, we probably think of a fish. However, there is so much more to learn from these pages. We must be careful to not become so fascinated by a fish that will lose sight of the foundation, and a message for all ages. And yes, that does have to do with our focus as well as our running and resting routines and rhythms…
Read MoreThose were the first words I heard on my heart as my eyes greeted 2024. It is also what prompted this message.
It is a message encouraging us all to walk in love, to be bold in prayer and to approach each day not just with a list of resolutions…
but instead with a resolute heart.
Lord, please fill my cup
with what I need.
Soften my heart to hear,
to live in love, and not greed.
Can you relate?
Recently, I had a week of feeling frustrated and drained about a few things in my life. In recognizing them, I knew it was either an opportunity to sit in frustrating emotions or to use those emotions as opportunities and necessities to lean into God.
In asking Him what to do, I heard Him tell me…
God is good;
our Hope from above.
A hope anchored in Christ,
that knows God is love.
I grew up thinking that God was punishing me every time something bad happened. I remember clearly asking about this in my journal to Him growing up and yet I did not pause to listen much back then. My conversations were often one-sided. Venting, pleading or praising Him…
As I continue to read the Bible as an adult, I find more and more of God’s faithful and loving character and see that I had this wrong.
God, what do I need to let go of?
There is so much we carry
so much we hold.
But it’s in the surrender
that we begin to live fearlessly bold.
Lord, tame my tongue but fuel my heart.
Fueled by faith…
Recently, I heard a song I’ve heard many times before and yet, I listened differently. While the lyrics sang about riptides, I sat, reflecting on those currents in life. First of all, I thought about the leaps of faith despite the fears. And how, no matter what we face, a new relationship or the ending of one, a new opportunity or the return of a familiar one, or whatever it is…
We don’t need to be pulled into the ways of the world. We don’t need to be pulled by the fears or the cycles of negativity. We don’t need spiral in the tides that will keep us stuck or spinning. Instead, God is our rescue. ♡
“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (Isaiah 46:4)
But like many things in life… often it is a choice. Do we want to be rescued?
Let’s talk about emotions and start by recapping last week’s blog post…
It’s not enough to know we must do it. We must be mindful of our emotions and how anger can open the door for sin. As I was walking through some anger myself and feelings a whole bunch of emotions, I was also in God’s Word, reading through the Gospel of John again and learning more about Jesus. That was when the following verse stopped me…
“The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.” (John 13:2 NIV)
Read part 2 of this two-part post here and stay tuned for an episode about it too on the podcast.
Let’s talk about emotions…
The ones that do not feel good, the ones that we know are not good for us and yet they can come up time and time again.
Let’s discuss how they often also lead us to forgiveness, time and time again.
Let’s chat about anger and even frustration.
I don’t know who needs of hear this but keep seeking God through ALL the moments and ALL the feelings. Because even in the midst of many emotions, God can grow such beauty.
Still, we need to seek God time and time again, leaning into Him in order to see it and receive it.
It is about the moments.
Sometimes, the simplest days and moments make for the best memories… if our eyes are not overshadowed by the emotions that are not good for our souls.
Read part 1 of this two-part post here and stay tuned for an episode about it too on the podcast.
How will I Find the Time?
Let’s transform time from excuse to friend!
Read the full post here and listen in episode #9 on the podcast.
How do I regroup when life gets messy? Join me in this week’s episode and blog as I share about how to recover from the clutter or after a week where the “laundry,” or whatever it may be, piles up. How do we recover? How do we regroup and refocus? We are not meant to do everything. We are not capable of doing everything. Success is not how much we cross off the list, instead it is doing what the Lord has called us to do each day. Life does not happen staring down at the list but staring up at the Lord. Therefore, we can prioritize based on Him, living on mission every day. That is the topic of this week’s episode that is packed with tips even if it gets a bit messy.
♡ That is the theme and topic of this week’sTruth Seeking devotional.
♡ It is about prioritizing with the Lord and seeking Him first.
Read MoreAre you like me?
I have never really liked decision making. Yet, choices need to be made all the time. So how do we ensure we are leaning into God’s wisdom and not allowing worldly fear to decide?
♡ That is the theme and topic of this week’sTruth Seeking devotional.
♡ It is about making decisions that honor God.
Have you ever been tempted to hold back in praising God just in case or for another reason?
Maybe it’s with thoughts like…
Let me make sure I’m not getting ahead of this… or I don’t want to speak too soon…
I remember growing up and being afraid to allow happiness for fear that it would go away. Wow! What chains to carry.
Still, I share because I pray that I use God’s Word to bring His hope to anyone who may fear that right now. Here is the thing… being happy is a feeling. Happiness is a choice. We can’t always control circumstances but we decide how we react and what we focus on. Fear can try to have such a hold on us BUT that is not the way the Lord wants us to live.
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:10 NLT)
God has more for us! So much MORE!
♡ And that is the theme and topic of this week’sTruth Seeking devotional.
♡ It is all about fixing our FOCUS and fighting away the fears with praise!
When we feel unpeaceful
and unrest,
let’s remember: testimonies come
from the test.
GOD BREAKS CHAINS, NOT PROMISES. He promises peace, a peace He gives to us that is not like the world.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV)
♡ That is the theme and topic of this week’s Truth Seeking devotional.
♡ It is all about fixing our FOCUS and standing on God’s promises, including His perfect peace.
Keep believing in what God can do!
Pray like Nehemiah, and carry through.
♡ That is the theme and topic of this week’s Truth Seeking devotional.
♡ It is all about looking back and rejoicing in the journey and accomplishments as well as using key principles from the Book of Nehemiah to go forward and carry through.
♡ It encourages us to not only dream big but also discusses how to focus on God’s will for us as we practice our “faith stepping”…
… pray-step, pray-step, pray-step…
I hope you’ll step with me through this week’s devotional right here right now. ♡
Read MoreMaybe my mess is really part of His masterpiece.
This is just a friendly reminder...to myself, and anyone else who may need to hear it, that it’s okay to lay aside the mess... TO REST. There will always be more to do and more “messes” to clean up, but still God’s Word calls us to rest. It calls us to trust.
♡ That is the theme and topic of this week’s Truth Seeking devotional. It discusses how to make rest, a lifestyle. It shares a moment as mom as well as a lesson from the Bible from Exodus about availability and obedience.
For I continue to learn, God can do so much more with 6 days, than we alone can do with 7. And that every single moment has a choice: to hurry and worry, or TO REST and trust in God. ♡
Read MoreI was once blinded by shame until I learned the Truth: God knew and knows my name!
♡ That is the theme and topic of this week’s Truth Seeking devotional. It discusses how to walk in God’s Truth and speak life over our lives even during those challenging times.
It shares part of my testimony as well as a powerful one from the Bible, the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis.
For God is with us always
and He is working! ♡
Read MoreIt’s the start of a new year, which means new goals, new resolutions, new plans… right?
Well, what if I told you that I was packing them away, pausing their hurry and my rush to reach… to rest instead?
But how do we do that?
How we do rest? How do we trust deeper? How do we pause first to make sure our plans, are aligned with the Lord’s?
♡ That is the topic of this week’s Truth Seeking devotional. It discusses how to think outside the box that we so often create and lean into our limitless Lord instead.
For His plans are always greater…
so let’s pray that it is on His path we are led.♡
Read More
