May we look TO God and FOR Him in the mundane, the daily needs, the deep longing of our souls, and the pauses, too. The more I slow down, the more I see the beauty of the present season instead of asking the infamous question of children on car rides: “Are we there yet?”
How often can we be like that? How frequently can our vision become foggy if we do not intentionally slow down to defrost our windshields?
Read MoreTestimonies 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.
Who is feeling exhausted lately?
I mean I am on so many levels, mainly because of having an infant but also because of the hustle and bustle, the hurry and the worry… Wait! Hold up. What is this season about?
Presents upon presents upon draining bank accounts and … Wait! Press the brakes and pause into PRESENCE. As much as this season is about giving, isn't it really about receiving? Hear me out in this week’s Truth Seeking Right Here Right Now devotional… TIS’ THE SEASON.
Read MoreNo matter how it may seem or feel…
Jesus is by our side.
Then, why do we fear? Why do we doubt? Why do we question the quiet times or even the times that rage? Why do we question why God sends us places where we may feel inferior or like it’s too big for us? Why do we entertain the feelings when God's promises are true?
Honestly, I question myself on this and this is what I find time and time again… it is because we are human. We are walking through a journey, a real-not-perfect one.
Still there is so much to learn during the storms of life like the disciples learned in Mark 4:35-41. That’s the topic of this week’s Truth Seeking Right Here Right Now devotional… JESUS IS STILL IN THE BOAT.
Focus, focus, focus…
These days everything seems to be fighting for my focus. And while I am a very focused person, the reality is my focus is sometimes flawed and even tangled up in confusion. That is why I must first turn to to Jesus time and time again. Jesus knows the course. He guides us so graciously to stay the course.
What helps you focus? What do you do to keep yourself focused on Jesus FIRST?
For this week’s devotional, let’s go back to the Book of Revelations when Jesus instructed John to write to the seven churches in Asia Minor. Let’s focus on Sardis and how its present didn't match its past yet it was a powerhouse at the time. You see they were content with their past encounters with the Lord but not moving forward in their relationship with Him.
Can we get like that too? Focused on what God has already done and not in growing our relationship with Him deeper? Well that is the focus of this week’s Truth Seeking Right Here Right Now devotional called… Fix our Focus.
Read MoreBusyness can be a distraction. It can make us feel like we are being productive but busy does not always mean productive.
I think of Eve, Martha and David and how they all faltered in their distractions. But I think of Nehemiah and how despite soooo many distractions he continued on what he was called to do, rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. I want to be like Nehemiah even now as I write this and I see the notifications on my phone competing for my attention. I need to keep my eyes fixed on what matters, on what I don’t necessarily see, on eternity…
Check it out in this week’s Truth Seeking Right Here Right Now devotional called… Eyes on the Prize.
Read MoreI was healed from anxiety in my thirties after decades. Then, flash forward 5.5 years later… I was blessed to be pregnant again at the age of 39 free of anxiety for the first time.
Praise God!
But that didn’t make me invisible to the enemy. He tried at me again and I do plan to continue to share more about this.
The devil tried to steal my joy and peace.
But no one can do that!
You see the devil has no new tricks.
Check it out in this week’s Truth Seeking Right Here Right Now devotional called… No New Tricks.
Read MoreLife is full of experiences, good and bad. It is full of choices too. Often it involves the choice of how we respond to and through those experiences.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have faced this with many situations including one with my daughter. It required me to make a conscious decision in how I would respond and what my outlook would be despite the situation.
Check it out in this week’s Truth Seeking Right Here Right Now devotional called… The Choice is Mine.
Read MoreHave you ever reached a place you felt stuck?
Like you were growing and improving on something or even a dream or goal was unfolding and then it came to what “seemed” like a standstill? I know that feeling and situation in more ways than one. But today let’s focus on how it relates to my son’s allergies.
If you know us, you know his testimony. He had 21 as an infant and then around the age of four or five, it went down to 3! Now, at the age of eight…
We are still at 3!
At our appointment this month, his allergist who we love told us what the data and blood showed for the past 3 years, “TJ’s allergies seem to have ‘hit that plateau.’”
Wait, that couldn’t be right…
We are praying and believing for a shift.
And yet, we know what the numbers show. It’s easy to see those numbers as facts because they are what are before us in plain sight. Still… there is more because there is God! BUT GOD…
God is why I’m over here dancing on that very plateau, which leads us to the topic of this week’s Truth Seeking Right Here Right Now devotional… Dancing on the Plateau.
