Happy Mother's Day

If it weren't for you, who would we be? 

Happy Mother's Day to all of the woman who have raised us, nurtured us, and strengthened us just by being who God called you to be. 

Our lunches were always made, our clothes cleaned, our friends welcomed, and you did it so often without a thank you. So thanks. 

If you aren't a mom, honor one today. Give a widowed mom a hug, give a single mom a hand, and call your mom if you haven't already.

Proverbs 31:28-29

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises he 

“Many women have done excellently,

but you surpass them all.”

If you grew up without a mother, God will and probably has brought a mother figure in your life. Call her and honor her today for all she has poured into you over the years. 

Be blessed, be a blessing, and remember that honor is a verb.  

Can you share one memory of your mom today? 

Sunday Reflection April 1, 2012

It is time to reflect on what we shared during the week, and this means it is Sunday once again. Today is also my cousin Bradley's birthday so I want to send a shout out to him! Happy Birthday Bradley. Hugs and Kisses to you and yours!


So this week was a little strange for me since I seemed to get on a couple of themes. The first was "gardening", and you can read more about that in Gardening 101 which explores getting our hearts ready for what God has for us and Four Gardens which explores God's plan for redemption via four "gardens" in the Bible.


Then, for all you married women out there, I shared my ideas on the three things we can do as wives to help our husbands spiritually. It was a lot of fun to write and you can catch up on that by clicking here. Warning, the title is very cheeky, but I thought it was funny. Hope you get a giggle out of it.


In "Do We Really Appreciate God's Word" I made a visceral cry to read and appreciate the word of God more after watching a very moving and compelling video clip. It is only 10 minutes long and is so worth it to watch. My heart got poured out on that post and I have to say, I have watched it over and over this week, to get that embedded down into my heart, and to rejoice with the people in the video. Please, feel free to share that on Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter, and/or email the link to your friends and family. It should span the globe over and over.


That sparked something in me that carried over into "A Walk in the Park" and I explore the two things that are most important to any Christian. There are pictures from a walk in the park I recently took with my 13 year old daughter, and I have to say, it is one of my favorites for that reason.


By Friday, it seemed my brain was a little fried and I really wanted to seek you out and get to know you more. You, my dear gypsy, are so important to me, and I want to get to know you more. Plus, I was having major writer's block. To see what that looked like, click here.


Yesterday I wrote about disappointment and overcoming it. Recently we received some disappointing news and I could have been really devastated by it. Almost immediately God took me to 1 Kings 19 and began showing me some amazing things, and I had to share them with you.


In the last month this blog has seen a 62% INCREASE IN READERSHIP! Thank you so much for sharing this page via Facebook by hitting the "Like" button at the bottom of each post, Tweeting about what you read, and by +1ing it on Google Chrome! Remember you can always e-mail a post by clicking the icon at the bottom that looks like a little envelope.


A special thanks to http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/  and author of The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex; Shelia Wray Gregoire for letting me link to her page and for tweeting about the blog and my writing this month. You have been such a blessing to me, I cannot say enough good things!


That is the week in a nutshell. I have been working on my latest project I hope to bring to you soon: my first eBook. I want to make that available by the end of the month. I am done with the writing, I am just working on resources to publish, and when those things line up, it should come together really quickly after that.


I look forward to this week and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us.


Be blessed and be a blessing and remember that reflect is a verb. 

Developing Your Automatic Truth Response!

My Heart Broke

Recently I spoke to someone who described themselves as unhappy. This was a believer, and a strong woman of faith. She is more than unhappy, she is depressed. I heard her pain, and that is real, but I believe there is a way through. After all, we serve a BIG God! 

I Understand 

My husband and I both have battled depression. This is something that I can spend quite a bit of time talking about. I believe that  depression for the Christian does occur, but there is a way to conquer it and never have to deal with it again.

We get depressed when circumstances and fear exalt themselves above our trust in God. Our doubt allows us to become overwhelmed and over-taken. When this happens, we often do not see any way out. 

A Matter of Perspective 

Let’s look at the 12 spies that went into the Promised Land. (Numbers 13-14) Per God’s instructions Moses sent out 12 spies and they all saw the same things: giants, and milk and honey. In other words they all saw obstacles/circumstance and they all saw God’s promises, but 10 came back choosing to focus only on the circumstances and 2 came choosing to focus on God’s promises. The fate of a nation was delayed 40 years because they had their focus in the wrong place.

We are three parts. God likes threes. God - The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit. See? Three. We are a spirit, we live in a body and we have a soul which is made up of our mind, will, and emotions. 

Depression is a soul issue.

Dictionary-Online defines depression as this: ‘sadness, gloom, dejection’ and goes onto define it as a ‘condition of general emotional withdrawal’. All of these things are a part of the soul, our mind, will, and emotions. (Remember, that we have talked about condition versus position before, and for more on that click here.)

Romans 12:2 says we must renew our mind. We must think and dwell on the things God says, not the lies we allow in our lives, those lies we tell ourselves, and that the enemy, Satan, the father of lies, tells us. Meditate day and night.

The Practical Application of the Spiritual Message

So let’s talk about how we do that. First, get the word in you. Read and listen to the Word daily. Faith comes by hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing…..get the point? Then we must remind ourselves what the Word says throughout our day to day walking around life: our feed the baby, shop for groceries, and drop kids off at the mall- life. This is how you meditate on the Word day and night.

For me it is like a vitamin I take daily to build up my immunity. We boost our immunity physically by feeding our bodies good things and taking care of it regularly, right? And when our body is in working order and a foreign virus enters we have an automatic response to get rid of the thing that does not belong. We must be the same when we have encounters with lies. I call it an Automatic Truth Response  or ATR. 

LIE or CIRCUMSTANCE	WHAT GOD SAYS- the ATR
YOU ARE SICK	GOD IS HEALER
YOU ARE UNABLE	GOD IS MORE THAN ABLE
YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH	GOD IS MORE THAN ENOUGH

What God says is what we should say, believe, act on, and walk out in our lives daily. It should become our ATR. Focus on God more and the problems less.

Let’s look at what happens when we DON’T develop this ATR.

A thought (idea) becomes a high thought (something we think about with regularity) then we begin day dreaming about the thought, playing out scenarios in our heads (Imaginations) and before you know it we are in a strong hold of the enemy, all brought on by a little thought we did not take captive in the first place. We have given a foothold to the devil. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Now we feel like we are helpless in our circumstances. We would rather disobey God’s will for us and wander in a desert for 40 years, barely existing, than battling through our circumstances and enjoying the milk and honey. Now we are depressed and taking a pill to get through the day and we don’t seem to know how we got here.

We need to WAKE UP! For a lack of knowledge God’s people perish (die!!!!).

2^nd Corinthians 10 is clear! We must cast down anything that exalts itself above God.  Proverbs 23:7 says as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.  “Cast down” in Strong’s Concordance (2507) means pull down, lower, and to take authority over!

A Real-time Example of Authority

Recently a friend of mine told her six year old about authority. After having a bad dream that scared the child, his mother wanted not just to comfort him, but to teach him to overcome fear and the enemy. So she reminded him about the times she gave him instructions to tell his little brother something on her behalf. It could have been something as simple as clean up a mess, or to stop throwing a toy, but what was said was not as important as the authority behind it. “Mom said!” It is the same with the enemy. Any lie or circumstance that exalts itself above God, that brings fear or doubt into your life - you must take authority over it and tell it “Daddy says!”

Our authority comes because we are the righteousness of God in Christ. We are the head and not the tail. Our authority comes because THE SAME SPIRIT that raised Christ from the dead lives in us!

The Physicality of A Mind and Heart Battle

When I was a smoker, quitting was not easy. Sometimes I still remember the temporary satisfaction I got from a cigarette. When I do I cast it down. I remind myself that God is my refuge, not a pack of Marlboros. I remind myself that I am the temple of the Holy Spirit, not a blackened lung from a health class poster circa 1990. I say that I am bigger and better than that cigarette because the God of the universe made me and that cigarettes were made by man. THIS WORKS!

What Christ did on the cross is freely given and we can freely receive that, but real freedom from strongholds like I am talking about comes after a battle FOUGHT AND WON! That is freedom that will not be wasted. That is freedom that reflects in our everyday life and shines like a beacon on a hill and draws the lost toward Jesus!

I do not mean to sound so strident. I only want you to find freedom from depression and anxiety. Do not believe the lies. Do not be overwhelmed. Rest in God’s authority and cast down anything that tries to make itself bigger than God in your life and you will OVERCOME! You will have a Breakthrough! Depression will no longer hold you in its talons. 

Join the Conversation: 

I mentioned my husband and I have battled depression before. My husband still does. What get's you through every day? 

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A Charge to Pray!

When perfect strangers start asking you to pray and speak into their lives you know you are doing something right.

It is so humbling to be asked to pray for someone, but when someone you have never met, asks for your help, your advice, your prayers, what is your response? 

For me it is to pray immediately. Why not? We serve an awesome God, who is looking to and fro on the earth for His children and ready to reward our faithfulness with His favor.

We are supposed to share the gospel. Gospel means truth. What better way to share the truth than to lay hands on the sick, to pray the word over someone’s life and then step back and watch God honor it? His word does not return to Him void, but does what He intends it to.

His word brings Life. His word brings healing, His word brings joy. His word is Jesus. John 1:1.

One thing that disappoints me is when I hear someone ask for prayer, and they get an “I will be praying for you” rather than a prayer RIGHT THEN! 

Our words are powerful. They are the rudder of our lives. When we submit to God, knowing that He is our covering and our shelter, our provider and our refuge, there is nothing He cannot do! 

He opens the windows of heaven and bestows favor. So stretch out your tent! Get ready for God to move in your life when you pray!

Jesus said when we pray, do so in faith believing. “Be thou removed and thrown into the sea!”

What has changed for us as Christians that we do not believe what God has said to be true? What lie have we believed?

Did God not say, IF my people, who are called by my name (CHRISTians) will humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways, that I will hear them, and heal their land?

So when someone on Facebook asks for prayer, give it- then and there! And share it. Hit the comment button and write it down. 

How can we add our faith in prayer, if we don’t know what is being prayed? 

One can put 1000 to flight; two can put 10,000 to flight. In the grocery store when you bump into someone who asks for prayer, pray right then! 

When God brings someone to your mind that you have not thought about in years, pray for them- there is a reason they are on your heart.

Prayer is talking to God, but it is so much more when our faith is added and we get out of the way and let God be glorified in it. When He is the focus of our prayers He is always the answer to them!

Be it according to your faith.

Remember that pray is a verb and verbs are action words!

Have you got something you want to pray about? Ask in the comments below. 

Child of Divorce, Child of God- My story

I was between three and five when my parents began the road to divorce. My mother, when she was alive, would say they began the road to divorce the minute they decided to get married. 

Unfortunately there are bits and pieces of our life leading up to and around the divorce that are seared into my memory. Life then was not pretty. I am not putting my parents on blast here: the past is the past, but it doesn’t mean bad things didn’t go down.

I remember the yelling, the violence, and the screaming tires as one parent or another would leave afterwards. But you know what I remember the most? I remember my dad. My dad was always my hero as a kid. I loved him more than anyone, though my Uncle Bruce ran a very close second place. Daddy was so young then. I didn’t know it of course, but now I see he was just a boy, with two small girls, trying to make it right.

I don’t know if this was during the separation or after the divorce, but Daddy moved us into a trailer just down the road from our babysitter, “Aunt Ethel”. I remember he kept working and trying to make things as normal as possible for us while my mom came around only sporadically to see us.

Once she came and got me with a “friend” of hers and took me to the mall to get my ears pierced. When I returned home, my dad was furious because I wouldn’t know how to take care of my ears at such a young age. Later, when they inevitably became infected, he took the earrings out and flushed them down the toilet. TRA-MA-TIC for a little girl, but it totally makes sense to me now that I have two girls who have had ears infected because of earrings.

I tell that story to say one thing: my mother was a drive-by parent. Come by, pick us up, buy us something to assuage her guilt and then drop us back off at home with daddy who was left to deal with our heartache and abandonment issues. Poor man had no clue. He did try, but I realize now that in his early twenties (I told you he was basically a boy) he did not have the tools to deal with two girls missing their mommy and wondering why they were not good enough. Why didn’t mommy love them?

Those mixed up feelings plus the limited ability to understand adult situations caused me to become angry at my father and made me think he took me from my mother. He kept me from seeing her. The truth is, he dreaded visits from my mom, because she wrecked me emotionally, she caused pain that he did not know how to deal with and that caused him to become angry. By the time he was ready to remarry, we had moved to a new state, had been on our own for three years, and he had been saved, which turned his life in a whole new direction.

I was eight when my dad remarried. My step mother was nineteen, and she was getting an emotionally damaged, head-strong, angry kid when she got me. In my eyes she wasn’t just replacing my mother, but she was replacing me, because in those three years I had become my dad’s “Big girl” helper, reminding him that we needed to go to the store, or pay a bill, and now I could not fill that role anymore. I was not a happy camper and now, as an adult, I feel for her. Throughout the subsequent years, I made her life miserable. The patterns we fell into have not really changed that much over nearly thirty years and that is in a very large part due to me.

I held onto the pain of divorce and I caused rifts where there should have been none. Yes, I was a kid. My parents could have made some different choices that might have changed some things, but ultimately, I have to take responsibility for me: especially when these attitudes followed me into adulthood. By holding onto the anger and unforgiveness, I altered the course of my whole family’s lives. Where there should have been peace, there was more hurt and more pain, and more separation.

Why am I telling you this? I guess because somewhere out there are kids who wonder “what did I do?” and “why am I not good enough?” and “Why doesn’t my parent love me?” These emotional questions are normal for kids, but they need to be addressed as often and as quickly as can be by parents who are divorced. Kids learn by example too. When divorced parents harbor animosity and hurt, rather than walking in forgiveness kids learn to harbor animosity and hurt.

Now, as an adult I have forgiven my parents, and I feel immense compassion for what my dad and step-mom had to go through with me. I realize all the sacrifices my dad gave up to raise his girls on his own barely into his twenties. If anything, forgiveness has given me perspective.

If you are a child of divorce, forgive. Give your hurts and pains over to God. He is Father to the fatherless. He is our comforter, our buckler, the lifter of our head. He is our healing balm. People make mistakes, but do not let someone else’s mistake become your chains. Do not be weighed down by this any longer. Shake it off, give it to God, and look to Him.

Divorce is something you mourn, but joy comes after a season. Are things perfect in my life? No, they are not; but I know who my Father is, and I trust in Him that He will make my paths straight, and He will restore relationships and bring healing.

Do not let unforgiveness take you off track. Do not let bitterness alter your course. Let God heal these things in you.

Look, I struggle when I share things so personal. I overthink things and worry about fall-out. When it comes down to it, I cannot shy away from my story because it is all I have to draw on. As I write this tears fall. Not because of hurts, but because of compassion. Compassion for the people who have felt the pain that comes from divorce and compassion for the boys and girls whose lives are turned upside down because of divorce. I feel compassion for those step parents that feel lost and ill-equipped to cope with their new family’s pain. There is a way through, and that way is God.

So I share my story, in hopes that it will resonate with just one person, and it will bring healing and peace.  What is your story?

Are you a child of divorce? Are you in a blended family? Have you had struggles with forgiveness and divorce?

Be blessed and be a blessing. Remember, forgiveness is a noun.

Sunday Reflections March 04, 2012

Well, this week has seen a few changes to the page, and maybe in me a little too. I hope the overall tweeking I have done to the content has not scared you away. There will be more Bible Study, but I am "discovering my voice" as a writer (thanks Jeff Goins) and I never know what is going to come of that. 


This week I feel like there were so many things different that I am almost a little embarrassed to talk about them. For one thing, I was extremely personal this week. First I shared my prayer for this blog. Then to give you a little something extra I added a post on the Names of God where we examined who God is. 


Then we looked at God's love manifested through Dream's and Plans. I know this is something that God has been showing me on a very personal level, so I cannot seem to do anything BUT share it. Then to make up for being so personal, I wanted to do a character study on Mary and Martha and still somehow, that boiled down to God completing His plans in us. Told you it was on my mind. 


Now we get to the REALLY different. This Writer's Manifesto was actually going to be just a writing exercise for me but after I was done I really felt like there was some truth there for anyone, and felt compelled to share it. It also was a declaration of what I am, what God has made me, how He is using me and it built me up in ways I did not expect. This blog is named "A Year in the Spiritual Life" and as of tomorrow I will have written this blog for only two months. (I know it seems longer....sorry bout that) In that two months there has been so much growth in me, and changes, internally and outwardly. I am so stoked to see what God will do next. 


Now, as I mentioned before, this week has been different, and this post: The Gardener and the Sapling  was perhaps one of the biggest differences there has been so far. This short story, or modern parable, was actually based on a story I first made up when I was only 15 for my little brother, Aaron, who was four at the time. I have always loved it, as he did when he was small, and when I was completely blocked on what to write, this was the only thing that dropped in my spirit. Since I had never written it down before, I was concerned it may not turn out well, but overall, I think it was pretty good. The scary thing for me was hitting the publish button and sharing it with you guys, because it is such a personal story for me. 


Weirder still was yesterday's post Psalms 151- My song. First of all, you may not realize this, but there are only 150 chapters in the book of Psalms. I was attempting to be cheeky with the title but I am not sure if anyone got my sense of humor... it is a little wacky I know. This was a new song I felt God was giving to me and I wanted to share it with you. This new song was something that I wrote, re-wrote, and one day, may re-write again, because I always want to reach for better, though perfection this side of Heaven is impossible. The sentiment in the song comes from my desire to do all I can to express my love for my Father and worship Him in all the ways He deserves. But I am no dancer, and I am not a great singer. It is a good thing God sees the thoughts and intentions of the heart, because there,  in the deepness of my heart and the loony places in my head I dance like Melanie Moore or Sasha Mallory of So You Think You Can Dance fame. 


This week also saw five more countries visiting the blog, bringing the total to 54. They are Barbados, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Brunei Darussalam, and Argentina. Welcome to the readers in those countries and hope that they are blessed by what they find here, though I am not sure how well my humor translates to all these different languages. I am not sure it translates in English most of the time. 


This week did open up some wonderful opportunities and soon I will be writing a guest blog on http://www.alanknox.net/. That will be coming on March 19 as it stands now and I am very excited about it. I will of course link that for all of you when it happens. 


So that is the week, like I said, I feel a little awkward about it, because it is all so new and different than I thought this blog was supposed to be. This is a stretching time for me, so when you think of me, please pray: I need it. I am always praying for you. 


Be blessed and be a blessing and remember that stretch is a verb. 

Mary and Martha, a Study in Choice, Envy and Time with God!

Today, I will delve into a study about Mary and Martha. You can find the story of Mary and Martha in three places in the Bible, Luke 10, John 11, and John 12. Please read these to see the larger picture of this family.

The Back Story

Mary and Martha were sisters, from the same gene pool, but cut from different cloth. Mary was the younger sister, and it seems the thinker in the family rather than the doer Martha was. Martha was known as the woman of the house, and her name even means lady of the house. Mary, whose name means Lady or wise woman is known for sitting at the Master’s feet.

Now somewhere along Jesus’ ministry, He became good friend with these two sisters, and their brother Lazarus. He ate with them regularly, and this was one of the places He stayed when ministering in Jerusalem. We know this because of the familiarity with which Martha speaks to Jesus and Lazarus’ place at the table. “Lord, tell her…” We also know that there were no parents in the home, that neither Mary nor Martha were married and they seemed to be independently wealthy (Those oils Mary used on Jesus were extremely expensive and only the wealthy could afford them).

We also know that Jesus had a special love for them, and the emotions He felt toward them moved Him to risk entering the city when it was both extremely dangerous for Him to do so and those same emotions moved Him to weep when He heard Mary’s grief over her brother’s death. Let’s list out what we know so far.

A Closer Look

Mary	Martha
Student of Jesus	Student of Jesus
Younger	Older
Focused on learning	Focused on serving
Anointed Jesus’ feet as an act of love and prophecy which glorified God.	Proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah and her faith brought God glory
Attitude of worship	An attitude

There are ways in which these two are different, but in most ways they are very similar.  The main thing that separates them is an attitude of worship vs. an attitude.

When Mary and Martha were in Jesus’ presence (the three times recorded in the Bible) twice Mary worshipped and Martha, only the once, when she declared her faith in who Jesus was, the Messiah, and even then she first had an attitude. She seemed to want to spend more time with Jesus, and the subtext I read in Luke is that she was frustrated not that the housework and serving wasn't getting done, but that she could sit at Jesus’ feet, and thought Mary shouldn't be allowed to either.  

Mary anointing Jesus' feet

It seems that the “it’s not fair, she got more than me” syndrome was alive and well between these two sisters. But whose fault was it that Martha did not get a larger portion? Martha’s. Jesus was clear: Mary chose the better part.

So when we see other people at church and think they have “more Jesus” than us, whose problem is that? The problem is ours! I know that when I have compared myself to others spiritually, I never seemed to hit the mark. Somehow, I did not seem to get a “fair” portion of God’s presence, or favor, like others did. 

This was not true of course, but my miss-perception. 

This is why the 10 commandments say “Thou shalt not covet”. 

The heart issue of envy is one that gets in the way of God actively working in our lives and in fact the Bible says where there is envy and strife, there is every evil work. So stop comparing yourself to others. This practice will only bring dissatisfaction and strife and this is not the will of the Father for you. His will (plan) is full of hope and peace.  

Martha did not have peace because she envied her sister’s time with Jesus, and she could have had that same time. The chores could have waited for an hour. Her guests would not have starved. When we prioritize our time with God above all the other things in our life, a funny thing happens: we begin to grow. That is what was needed: Time with God!

Stop comparing yourself with other people and get in God’s presence and let Him work on you. He is faithful to complete the good work He started. So Mary or Martha, CHOOSE to spend time with God. CHOOSE to let go of envy, and prioritize your life to worship Him.

Join the Conversation: 

Which one are you: Mary or Martha? 

Dreams and Plans- Just one way God shows His love!

I am continually amazed by God. 

First that He loves us. He cares on the deepest levels for you and I: so much so that He sacrificed His son to make a way for you and I to gain relationship with Him when we had no chance of one before. This Love of His even includes the small things too; like what job you take, or where you attend church, or even what you are meant to do with your life. - (No, this is NOT an ad for E-Harmony.) 

Jeremiah 29:11-14 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW) 

11 I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster plans to give you a future filled with hope. 12 Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 When you look for me, you will find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me, 14 I will let you find me, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I’ve scattered you, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from the place where you are being held captive. 

Now most of the time when someone uses this reference as a scripture to study, you hear a lot about the first three verses. And I must admit, I was tempted to just put only those three in this study, but God stopped me. There is something here you and I need to hear. I will break it down by verse. 

11- God is not a man that He can lie, so if He says He has plans He has Plans. Capital P. He has things for you to do, places for you to be, divine appointments to make and all of this is good: filled with HOPE and PEACE. If you are living life without hope and without peace right now, there is a way to get those things. 

12- We get peace and hope when we cry out to God, because He hears us and answers us. He is faithful to perform His word, and to complete the works He has started in us! 

13- When we search for Him He is there. Ask, seek, and knock. The right door will open: the one that Jesus designed for you in the first place. We must seek Him first though. That is one of the ways I have messed up before. I have put the cart before the horse and sought the dream before the Dream Giver, and God is the Dream Giver. Seek Him First. 

14- He will let you find Him. He is not hiding His face from you. He longs to receive you and I into His presence. When we are out of His will for our lives, and we are not seeking Him and the things He has for us, then it is as if we are captive in lives that go nowhere. We circle the same old mountains, and we feel like nothing will ever bring us back to where we wanted to be. Feeling derailed and off the tracks, we feel like there is no way to go back to what God designed us for, because we have waited too long, or missed the boat. WE HAVE BEEN TAKEN CAPTIVE BY A LIE and He wants to bring us out of that captivity! 

Romans 8 28-30 says Amplified Bible (AMP) 

28 We are assured and know that [[a] God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was [b]aware and [c]loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren. 30 And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being]. 

You are so important to God, that when you truly love Him and are called by Him, (and YOU are) He takes everything, and works it! He works the good for our good; He works the bad for our good: God works for you! 

There is a real life example in the word of Jesus working for the disciples. He washed their feet. He served them. He showed us His heart that day, scrubbing the dirt and dust of life from their feet. He showed us He longs for us to accept His love in all its forms, even something as simple as a pedicure. 

When we walk around with the dust of life caked on our feet, it weighs us down. How can we walk out this beautiful salvation with dust caked on? Let Jesus wash you clean: let Him show you His love for you. Then as you begin to really seek Him, and walk after Him, then you will begin to see that His plans for you are good. 

Now I want to share something with you- I had dreams as a child, and as I grew I thought there was no way that any of them would come true. I listened to outside voices and the voice of the enemy. Some dreams were just childhood fantasy and some were what I call “Design Dreams”. God designed me to dream that way, He put those dreams in my heart. So when He says He has Plans for me, I think back to those "Design Dreams". 

When we are honest with ourselves, we can see those with more clarity because they are the things that have always been there. For me, the desire to be heard and the desire to teach have always been there. No matter what stage of life I have been in, I always seem to come back to those things. So now, when I really seek God, get serious about figuring out my walk with Him, He starts showing me what He intended with my life in the first place. So I ask you this: 

Do you have something that you keep returning to in your mind and saying ‘if only I had done ____’? 

Do you feel like you have too much in your past to ever reasonably reach for those dreams? 

Do you want that to change? 

If the answer is yes to those three things then you must seek God FIRST. Then as you seek Him, He will direct your paths, work on your behalf and accomplish what He designed just for you. 

HOW? That is for Him to know and you to find out. He says His ways are higher, His thoughts are higher. This does not mean we cannot know, it means we must CLIMB! 

I am amazed by God, first that He loves us, and second that He works for us. He is so good! 

Be blessed and be a blessing and remember seek is a verb!

They will Know only if we Go!

Discipleship is key! Photo Credit: Creative Commons

Recently I shared with you about my daughter coming to a relationship with Jesus! I thought nothing could make me happier. Oh how wrong I was. Getting to teach and disciple my daughter brings me more joy than I have ever felt before.

Discipleship is key to growth as a Christian. 

We should be getting discipled and we should disciple others.

Matthew 28:19 (GNT)

Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

This great commission was not just to be missionaries in far off places, but to reach all the people around you. We should teach by example. We should preach with our actions and we have been promised answers when we are asked questions.

We should always be teachable too. 

Before Paul was Paul he was Saul, a Christian hating, law loving, killer of Christ followers. When he had his encounter with Jesus, he repented and was saved, but he was taken under the discipleship of Ananias to learn more about Jesus, before he ever became the man who wrote so much of the New Testament and taught the gospel around the known world.

So stay teachable. Paul was trained as a scholar, and knew the law, but with all the knowledge he had of the Torah, he needed to learn what grace was and how Jesus was the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. Then he could in turn teach others, and write letters to the churches that grace the pages of your Bible today.

Don’t get hung up on the little things. 

Are you thinking? "I can’t teach, I don’t know all the answers, I am not sure I am good enough." 

Look- Peter messed up big time: cut off a man’s ear in the Garden, denied Jesus three times before the crucifixion, yet still Jesus told Peter; if you love me feed my sheep. 

 We all mess up. We all fall short. But we are the hands and the feet of the body of Christ. So, go, do, and say, and just be faithful to obey what God has said. He will used you in ways you never imagine, as long as you obey. 

As we share our faith, as we walk out the love of Christ in our lives, the people around us see that. That genuine love is what draws others to Christ. That is what we teach, this is how we disciple. There is a song I love, written by a Catholic priest and it says this: “They will know we are Christians by our love.”

So look around you. Are you affecting the people around you for Christ? Examine yourself. If you love Him, feed his sheep. Make disciples of all people. Walk your faith, don’t just talk it, and you will see changes: both in you and in others.

Be blessed and be a blessing and remember that teach is a verb.

Who disciples you? Do you have a mentor you turn to about matters of faith? Leave a comment below. 

Tell Me Your Story

"I came for your story, I came for your wounds, to show you what love sees when I see you." 


These are the words that so moved me from this song. As a writer, I love that Jesus came for my story. I love that He sees me, all my brokenness and lack and He loves me anyway. Not only does He love me, but He wants to make me whole and fill the emptiness in my life. 


God loves you just as you are too. Maybe you thought Jesus was just another fairy tale or fictional character like Santa or the Easter Bunny, but He is real! 


The Son of God, made flesh, came to be the atonement of our sins. He laid His life down, so that we could have life. If you don't know Jesus, and you stumbled upon this page, won't you ask Him to make Himself real to you right now and to come into your life today! 


Each person's story may be different, but each story needs Jesus! 



Don't know how to pray? Just talk to God. Like you would a friend or a parent. Something like this would be fine: 


"Lord, I know I am a sinner, a real mess, and I cannot continue to live my life on my own. I need You in my life. Please, Jesus, come into my heart. Take my broken pieces and make them into what you meant me to be. Fill me, and help me live my new story with YOU. Amen."


If you prayed this you are now a Christian. Welcome to the family! Two things you should know. First, your new life has begun. Like a baby needs milk to live, you need the Bible, the Word of God to grow. So read. It can be with or without a Bible Study, like this one, but not necessarily. 


Secondly, you need to pray. Just talk to God. Communication is important in any relationship. If you want to read more about prayer, click here. These two things will change your life tremendously  and I would love to hear about it. Tell me your story.  Leave a comment below. Already a Christian? Then share with us a part of your story and let's get to know each other, as brothers and sisters in Christ. 



Be blessed and be a blessing and remember God showed us His love through the gift of His Son Jesus! God's love in verb form. 

The Importance of a Friend!

We all have bad days. I know this. I have been there, done that, and had a kid throw up on the tee-shirt. I never want to be accused of living with my head in the clouds and my feet not planted in reality. (I just know in whom I have believed and know that He is able to do above and beyond all I could ask or think and am persuaded that He is good, and He is God. In Him is the final authority for all things and therefore my reality! - MAN! What a mash up of scripture, but so true!) 

As a matter of circumstance, (I say circumstance not fact, because the fact is that I should not be moved so easily by the things that beset me) I had a bad day yesterday: a really bad day. That is until I talked with a friend.

The type of friends you have in your life is extremely important. They can lead you to death or to life. Let’s look at Job 16:20. Job’s friends laughed at him when he was in his weakest emotional, physical and financial state all because He chose to trust in God. If he had followed his friend’s horrible advice, he would have cursed God and died a spiritual death (because God would not allow him to die in the natural at this time). Not the kind of friends I want to surround myself with.

Proverbs 11:30 says “A wise person wins friends.” And Proverbs 12:26 says “godly friends give good advice to one another” and that the “wicked lead them away”.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (Amplified) says

Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.  

Edify in the Strong’s Concordance (3618) is build a house, build up from the foundation, establish, to promote growth, wisdom and grace in one another. Encourage (Comfort in the King James Strong’s 3870) means to call to one’s side to speak to with the intent to edify, to exhort, to comfort, to instruct.

These are the traits of a real friend. They promote growth in us. They challenge us when we are wrong to repent, to dig into the word, and to question why we believe the way we believe. A real friend, when they see us do wrong, does not turn a blind eye, but calls us on it. 2 Corinthians 13:11 says “be joyful, grow to maturity, encourage one another, live in harmony and peace, THEN the God of love and peace will be with you.” Having Godly friends that encourage you is a sign of growth and maturity in us. It teaches us to walk in harmony and peace.

Colossians 3:16 says we are supposed to teach one another and admonish one another in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, and singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Look, I don’t expect your life to be filled with your friends bursting into song like the Christian version of “Glee” (For me that would be fine, but I am weird as my friends know and tell me - often) but I believe that God expects us to encourage one another by worshipping together, sharing our personal revelations and urging one another to acts of faith.

Despite the many times I have been accused of this, I do not know it all, and I need someone to teach me. So today, in the midst of my “bad” day, I went to a friend. She understood my frustrations and she even let me ramble for a while about my “problems”, but then she cut me off, and was a godly friend. She admonished me to love, to understand, to pray, and to reclaim the territory I gave the enemy today in my wrongdoing. She instructed, she admonished, and she loved.

By the time I left, I was laughing, full of the Joy of the Lord, and ready to face today. She inspired this post. If the JOY of the Lord is our strength, then good friends are the “work-out partners” that help us ‘bulk up’ in our faith.

To have a friend, we must be friendly. Be a godly friend, and you will find godly friends.  

Be blessed and be a blessing, and remember that friend is a noun!