Welcome to the Art of a Messy House

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?

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. 

In the face of hurt, look to the Healer.

In 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.

Sometimes, the answer we are longing for is in the change we are resisting.

Change 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…

How do we take those negative ruminating thoughts and running routines and turn them into REST?

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…

“Don’t wait for the blessing, be the blessing”

Those 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…

“Love Louder.”

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 is love.

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?