Category: Movie Monday

Jesus Sacrifice Provides for More Than Salvation

What sacrifices are you willing to make for the gospel? Are you willing to sell all that you own and move half way around the world to share the good news. Thousands of missionaries have done just that. They have uprooted there families and moved across the planet to reach people groups that God has laid on their hearts.

Why are so many willing to make this kind of sacrifice. Because the good news changes us. It gives us a second chance and a third and a fourth. The good news is that Jesus came to sacrifice his life for us. So that everyone in all of humanity could be forgiven. We sacrifice because he sacrificed. The gift he gives is unmatched.

His forgiveness gives us the opportunity to have relationship with Father God every moment of every day. A line of He Lives by Nicole C. Mullen says “I talked with him this morning” because she did, because I did. Having a relationship with Jesus is more than accepting his sacrifice and forgiveness. It’s the opportunity to talk with God every moment of everyday. We just have to listen.

Sometimes he’ll just remind you of the little things in life like to stop and smell the roses. Sometimes the big things like asking you to move half way around the world. Whether it’s big or its small you have to talk to him to know. You can’t build a relationship without conversation. The faith to do the big things comes from the days of talking about the little things.

Start the conversation, read your bible and ask him to explain a verse you don’t understand. Watch a Christian movie (try “End of the Spear“) and ask him to teach you something through it. Take a walk and asks him about his creation. Watch your kids play and ask him to teach you something about them.

Talk to God you never know what he might say.

We’re Never Truly Lost

“Just because someone stumbles and loses their way doesn’t mean their lost forever” (Professor X, X-Men: Days of Future Past)

While cooking lunch I heard this quote from the movie my husband was watching. Reminding me that God never sees us as permanently lost.

We have all stumbled in our lives or we wouldn’t need God’s forgiveness. But we must remember that when we look at others they may be stumbling and lost now. But they don’t have to stay that way. We shouldn’t give up on each other. We all have friends or family that we ache for them to find freedom in Jesus.

Having been that person for several years I know both sides of it. What helped me the most was not people pointing out what I was doing wrong (I knew it was wrong, I didn’t care.) What helped was the people that were there for me when I was ready to make a change. It was that support system that helped me to stay committed to the changes I had chosen to make. When I was ready to give my life back to God.

We must remember. We can’t force anyone to change. But we can encourage and uplift them in their decisions to change.

A still small whisper

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.-1 Kings 19:11-12

God was in the gentle whisper. He speaks to us in many ways. Whenever I read this verse it reminds me of the scene in The Nativity Story. When one of the ladies in the village where Mary lives tells the kids in her village this story.

She’s teaching them the different ways God speaks.

God speaks to us through our surroundings, through nature, through visions and dreams, through others and he speaks directly to us. (more about how God speaks to us)

Often people think that God doesn’t speak to them because they didn’t hear a loud, booming audible voice. But don’t you think we would all be a little freaked out if that was the only way he spoke to us.

God desires a deep intimate relationship with each one of us and to do that he whispers to us. But we have to listen. Seek God through his word, ask him questions and expect answers. Often times he speaks just as a still small voice in our head. That may even sound like us. But his words are different than what we would tell ourselves. He wants to talk to us every day about everything. We need only ask and listen.

Photo by Caique Silva on Unsplash

True identity

God gives us our identity before we are even born. We are sons and daughter of him. Because of Jesus sacrifice he made us co-heirs with him.

But when we face problems in life. It’s often easier to run away from our problems. And to believe what others says about us. Instead of staying and fighting for what is ours.

Like in The Lion King. Simba lets Scar take his birth right of ruling Pride Rock. Because he believe the lies Scar says abut him. Simba runs away. He doesn’t fulfill his true purpose until he claims his birth right and stops believing the lies.

We are the same. We can try to find our identity in our work, our friends, our family. But we will never really be fulfilled until we find our identity in Jesus.

Photo by Ben Sweet on Unsplash

God is bigger than the boogie man

We teach our children that they have nothing to fear, there is no monster under the bed or in the closet. Because God is always with them. But do we use the same reasoning with ourselves?

God is always with us and that should make us fearless. But often we let our imaginations get the best of us.

In the those moment we need to change our focus to the reality of our situation instead of our fear of the possibilities.

The reality is that God is with us. That he does and will provide everything we need in every situation if we just look to him first.

Is it worth the sacrifice?

Is chasing your dream worth the sacrifices you have to make to achieve your goal? What compromises will you make to get there? Who will you be when you achieve your goal? Will your goal make you who you want to be? Or will chasing your goal change who you are?

When we chase our own goals, we often make compromises or sacrifice our integrity to take shortcuts to achieve it. Many times when we achieve that goal we may lose who we wanted to be by achieving that very goal.

When we let go of our goals and trust God. He surprises us with something beyond what we thought possible.

Every time I have tried to make my own goals or success it has not turned out as I have planned. The result of my goal has been less satisfactory then I had hoped for or I compromised who I was to achieve that goal. Nevertheless it has never left me feeling satisfied.

But when I follow God’s leading and look to the interest of others, I have never been disappointed.

It’s easy to get caught up in ourselves. But so much more rewarding to serve and achieve the goals that God has laid on our hearts. Seek Jesus and what he has laid on your heart. But follow his plan, method and timing. If He places something in you He will provide all you need.

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Prayer is a Conversation

The movie War Room is about the power of prayer. But what is prayer? And how do you do it? There are so many that think it has to be perfectly worded, like it was a magic spell or something.

But prayer is simply a conversation between you and God. It doesn’t have to be scary or intimidating, just a simple conversation.

So what is that conversation about or for? Prayer is to develop our relationship with God, as any conversation does. We can talk to Him about anything and everything. Prayer helps us to know God better so that we can see things through His perspective.

Prayer should be a constant in our lives just as we stay in communication with our closest loved ones. God wants to stay in constant communication with us.

We can pray in the line at the grocery store or at work or even while changing your kids diaper. The point is, you can have a conversation anywhere, anytime, while doing anything. He is always there, always wanting to talk. All we have to do is allow Him in. And listen for His answer!

 Rejoice always,  pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Don’t Wish Yourself Away

When we wish to be like someone else we dismiss who God made us to be. All that he planned us to be and do. When we try to follow someone else’s calling we miss who God made us to be and what he called us to do.

Like Lucy in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, wanting to be like Susan she wished herself away and all that resulted from her existence. Lucy wished to be just like her older sister Susan. But if she was Susan then the curious young girl that was Lucy who found Narnia would not have existed. Lucy and her siblings would not have found Narnia.

We are each unique none of us are exactly like the other. God made us that way and that’s what makes each of us special. We are all beautiful and valuable to him. He gave his very life for each one of us.

Next time you get discouraged. Seek God and let him show you the unique reasons he loves you.

For it was you who created my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I will praise you

because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.

Your works are wondrous,

and I know this very well -Psalm 139:13-14

Know Who You Are

God can speak to us in ways we may not expect If we look for him.

While watching a sci-fi TV show he brought this quote to my attention. “To resist the influence of others, knowledge of ones self is important.”~Tealc

It’s easy to be influenced by whatever is around us. If we don’t know who you are. But how do you know who you are?

First we are all God’s children. Each one of us is important, valued and loved by our Heavenly Father. We are his kids and heirs to his throne. Once we know who we are to him. He can begin to show us each how unique and special he has made each one of us.

That knowledge of who he made us to be. Is what we can stand on when our identity is attacked.


Don’t Believe Everything You’re Told

In the Lion King, Simba tries to run from his problems. Only to find out later that he didn’t even do what caused him to run. It easy for us to take what someone else says about us and let it influence us. But what if it’s not true? We should always take everything to God. He is our creator and he knows us best.

Simba allowed what Scar told him to dictate years of his life. Sure he had some fun with Timone and Pumba but the result was him abandoning his family, and not living as he was intended to; eating bugs when he was designed to eat meat.

If we believe what everyone tells us then we let them determine who we are. But if we take everything to God and let him tell us what’s true and what’s not; we will find our identity in him not the world.

Blessings in Disguise

The Christmas Candle movie illustrates how God wants to and will bless us. It may not be how or when we want it. But if we put our trust in God and look for him in everything. We can see past our expectations and find what he wants to bless us with.

God’s blessings may not be what we thought it would be or happen how we thought it should. But how, when and with what he does bless us will be better than if we had tried to get it on our own.

God is always there for us and he wants to bless us with the desires of our hearts. We may just not understand what he’s doing at the moment.

Christmas is a time of hope and tradition. But it also has discouragement and loss. It’s a time when we hope for the things we desire. Be it a gift, relationship restoration, new relationship formed or traditions that we hold dear to our hearts. But we can become discouraged when things don’t go as planned or we don’t get what we had hoped for.

Jesus didn’t come as the people expected. That’s why we should ask him for his perspective and let him change our view. What may seem like hopelessness may actually be his blessing right around the corner. Jesus is the greatest blessing to mankind that no one saw coming.

Photo by Gareth Harper on Unsplash

See the Possibility in People

It’s easy to know someone and hold their mistakes against them. But what if that’s how God saw us. But he doesn’t.

When we accepted Jesus sacrifice. God wiped our slate clean. He doesn’t see our mistakes. He sees Jesus and who we can be if we let Jesus live through us. We need to look at people like God does.

God can teach us through everything. Like the story of “The Grinch.” Cindy-Lou Who saw potential in the Grinch for good and brought it out. Someone who everyone else had written off. She saw hope for change and growth. That’s how God sees everyone. He sees them as redeemed through Jesus or as having the potential to be redeemed.

God doesn’t look at us and say we are beyond hope. So why would we ever do that to someone else. We need to see people the way God does with the potential for a change of heart.

Peace or Strife

God can teach us through anything if we let him. I love all the claymation Christmas movies and ‘The Year without a Santa Clause’ (1974) was running through my head the other day. In the story two brothers are quarreling too much to be generous enough to help Mrs. Claus. So she turns to their mother ‘mother nature,’ and the two brothers decide to compromise and help Mrs. Clause.

The Christmas season can easily become about the hustle and bustle of parties and getting gifts for everyone. Worrying if this family member will get along with that family member. Worrying about having the funds to provide gifts for everyone.

But that’s not what this season is truly about. Its about celebrating the King of Kings. So when you start to get caught up in your own stuff. Ask Jesus how he would handle it. How would he promote peace between family. How would he provide to bless people with a gift. I would even suggest you ask him what he would like to gift them with. Jesus knows us all and loves us all. So focus on him and he’ll guide you to get it all done with his peace and his wisdom.

Looking for a gift that shares your faith in Jesus check out Seeing God Designs!

Bless Others

The Christmas Shoes song and movie inspire putting others before yourself. Just as Jesus did when he came here to save us. He put others before his needs and desires.

In this season of gift exchange, look for opportunities to bless others. Pray and ask God what each person needs. He knows each one of us and the desires of our hearts. Trust him to provide for what he asks you to give, even if you don’t know how. Or give to a stranger or someone you barely know, it could make all the difference in the world to them.

Like the Christmas shoes. Even if we don’t understand why. Simple bless others because Jesus blessed others.


Photo by DiEtte Henderson on Unsplash

What binds your marriage?

A good marriage has to be worked at and fought for, it’s easy to take your spouse for granted because of the natural ease that brought you together in the first place.

Just because something is easy and comfortable, doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be cared for. The movie Fireproof is a great example of how going though the motions and taking advantage of a comfortable situation can result in collapse.

Marriage is a bond that makes the two, one. Your spouse is your other half and when you neglect them, it’s like not taking care of yourself.

I have to be honest, I don’t have a perfect marriage, and I don’t always put my husband first. But when I do, I never regret it. I have, regretted not putting him first and neglecting him.

A strong marriage has to be built and maintained. But it also has to have something that binds you together. God is that binder. Putting God at the center of your marriage draws you closer to Him and each other.


Photo by Gabby Orcutt on Unsplash

God’s not Dead, Part 1

Why do people want God to be dead? Because they don’t like him, they don’t agree with him, they think he doesn’t care about them or the people in their lives. It’s much easier to say someone is dead then to deal with the hurt they may have caused us. People say it all the time ‘your dead to me’ but saying it doesn’t make them any more dead then you or I.

Avoiding or ignoring someone does not make them not exist, but that avoidance can cause bitterness to grow in us that will affect those around us.

That’s why forgiveness is so powerful. forgiveness isn’t about saying what the other did was right, but about freeing ourselves from allowing that hurt to control us.

If we walk through life always mad and angry about what others have done to us. What kind of a life is that?

That’s why Jesus died AND rose back to life. So that he could pay the price for our mistakes so that we could be forgiven and we could forgive others.

There’s always HOPE

Imagine the world before Jesus was born.

I can’t imagine a world with out the ability to have a personal relationship with him.

As the celebration of his birth approaches there are a million things running through my mind, a million uncertainties so many unknowns that should worry and scare me. But the one constant is Jesus and my trust in him.

I am beyond grateful that no matter what happens in life the he is always there for me. No matter what I know that he has me. He will take care of my every need, worry and concern.

How do I know this? Because he’s done it before countless times. And I know he will again.

So no matter your thoughts. Thank Jesus for who is he.

Because we can always find hope in him. Just like when its hard to see because the skies are grey and cloudy and the outlook looks bleak. But when the sun comes out and sheds light on things. We can see the beauty where we may have missed it before.

Jesus is the light of the world, look for him to change your perspective.


Photo by Roman Trofimiuk on Unsplash

“When did we let evil become stronger then us?

In the Desolation of Smog, Tauriel asks Legolas “When did we let evil become stronger than us?

We should be asking ourselves this when we let fear or worry hold us back from doing what God has asked us to do.

We get to choose what we let have power over us. If we choose to trust God we can do amazing things for him. We can reach people we never imaged and find strength, peace and joy that we didn’t know that we had.

In 2014 my small group leader was taking a team to Uganda for a missions trip and he asked the group if any of us wanted to go.

I had been on several mission trips to others countries before but honestly Africa was the only place that I never wanted to go.

As the night continued I felt an overwhelming sense that God wanted me to go on this trip. I kept ignoring it but after our group ended as I was talking with my co-worker James who had been to Uganda before. I couldn’t ignore the promoting I felt from God any longer. I decided to go.

The trip changed my life and perspective on so many things more than any other mission trip I had been on.

By allowing God to direct my steps he grew our relationship in leaps and bounds on that trip and I haven’t been the same since.

What fear are you letting keep you from doing what God has asked you to do?

Take a step of faith and don’t let fear rule your decisions.

Pain or promise. Which one rules you?

“All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.” -Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

We all have moments and times in our lives that we wish hadn’t happened. But we can’t change the past. However we can choose how we react to it and what we do with what we have.

Its easy to say I’ve always been like this or you don’t know what I’ve been through. You’re right. I don’t but God does. And he’s the one that can heal all our wounds.

When we let our past dictate our future. We let our past have all the power. But when we choose to let God heal us from our past. We choose to no longer let it affect us. Instead we can look to the future that God has planed for us.

 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.  For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ -Jeremiah 29:10-14

How do you hear God?

Hearing God is something so many of us are looking for in our lives. What is he saying? Am I really hearing him? What does he sound like? How do I know when or if I’m hearing him?

A few pastor friends of mine produced a great documentary with real life testimony on how people hear God, how to know if it is him and if someone else is really hearing him.

We are all capable of hearing God if we listen, but we need to know what we are listing for.

God speaks in so many ways, through images, nature, others, audible, a still small voice within us, through emotions, feelings, impressions and so many other ways.

He is the creator of the universe and we cannot box him into just one way of speaking, we each hear him in different ways, but one thing is always the same the heart of his expression to us is always love.

God is love and he can never not be loving.

Test what you hear him saying against the bible. Talk to other believers and be willing to be wrong. But know that no matter what he will always be speaking in love.

*The Voice of God documentary is powerful and there is also an Activation Manuel check them both out here.

Warnings are there for a reason

Warnings are there for a reason. They keep us away from danger and help us to go the right direction.

In ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ Aslan warns Mr. Tumnus that he is going the wrong direction by following the orders of The White Witch. Mr. Tumnus had never meet a human before and didn’t know what they were like or if they were safe. But he did know the source of the request to kidnap Lucy.

When we are completely unaware about something we need to look at the source for the answer.

Mr. Tumnus knew the witch was not good and he knew that Aslan was nothing but good, even though he had not meet him yet. Mr. Tumnus knew that Aslan was good.

When we are unsure of things in life, we must look to the source for guidance. The Holy Spirit is that for us. He knows what is good for us and what is not. He keeps us safe from harm and looks to do nothing other than bring us closer to God.

In this world where new things arise everyday. Trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance and he will lead you to the feet of Jesus.

What would you do to avoid pain?

In the Silver Chair from the Chronicles of Narnia series Prince Rillian in pursuit of trying to heal from the lose of his mother. Allows himself to be seduced by the queen of the underworld. He gets so caught up trying to escape his pain that he lets her twist his perspective on the world and feed him lies about who he is.

We can do the same in our lives, if we look for the quick easy fix to cover up, ignore, or push away our pain instead of dealing with it we can be so caught up in the lies of others or even the lies we tell ourselves. That we can allow our whole environment to change right around us, till we begin to believe the lies are the truth.

We as humans will do almost anything to escape pain. But no matter where we are or what we’ve allowed ourselves to get into. Jesus is always there. We can always call on his name and he will be there for us. He will send others to help guide us out of the darkness and into the light. If you feel like you’ve fallen into something and you don’t know how to get out. Seek God and he will reveal the truth to you and set you free.

Why do we think we don’t belong in church?

In the movie I Can Only Imagine Bart Millard invites his dad to go to church with him and his dad replies that “he doesn’t belong in church.”

This broke my heart and began to make me think how often this is our reason for not inviting people to church or that we’ve given ourselves.

But this is a misconception. The church is not four walls or an organization. The people are the church. Jesus destroyed the temple and rebuilt it in us. We are the temple. Jesus is inside us.

Saying that we don’t belong in church is true. We don’t deserve to have Jesus live inside us, none of us do. But that is the beauty of his sacrifice we don’t deserve it but he gives us the free gift of having him live inside us. Not by earning it but by accepting nd believing in Jesus sacrifice for us he makes the way for us to be the church.

This means that when we encounter people we are bringing the church to them.

The next time you meet someone and think “I want to bring them to church.” Remember you already have. You’re right there in front of them (you are the church), tell them what Jesus has done for you and ask them if they would like Jesus to do the same for them.

Church is anywhere we are, we don’t have to wait for Sunday or the right service. Jesus is in us all day every day and he wants all his children to know him.

Once you have introduced them to Jesus, then invite them to the gathering of other Christians.

~May all your interactions with others reflect Jesus

What has self preservation cost you?

I find so much inspiration through movies. Different scenes and certain lines remind me of what Jesus did for us.

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Eustace is transformed into a dragon because of his greed, but it leaves him in a precarious situation where he can’t interact with others like he used. In the end Eustace tries to remove the scales to return to being human, but he can’t do it on his own. He needs Aslan to do it for him. To shed his tough outer shell created by the decisions that transformed him in the first place.

We all do this in life. We seek to take care of ourselves and in the process build up an armor to protect us from others. But does it really help us or hinder us from having relationships with others.

We may be protected but we are alone.

Even a dragon with his thick armor can fall prey to attack, but when we allow others in, to help us and protect us we aren’t alone anymore. Having a support system is so much better then doing it all on your own.

Jesus like Aslan wants to protect us, but we first have to be willing to let him in. To let him help us shed our old habits that got us where we are in the first place.


Photo by Troy Jarrell on Unsplash

Saul is a great example of this. He tried to achieve salvation through earning it. He followed ever rule but he was callus and hard, not allowing himself to see the truth of who Jesus was, the savior he had been waiting for his whole life. He was too wrapped up in trying to protect himself and others from who he thought was a false savior to see the truth. Until Jesus revealed himself to him. Paul was then humbled by his experience with Jesus as was Eustace, they both shed their old skin to find the truth in Jesus.

What façade have you put on to protect yourself? What has it cost you to keep your outer shell of protection? Are you willing to pay the cost or are you ready to let Jesus to pay the cost for you and be your protector? Are you ready to not be alone anymore?

The Secret Place

Our secret place time with God can be anywhere, anytime but it must be personal, intimate and a conversation. Not just meeting a reading requirement or time obligation, but an intimate time with God where we are excited to spend time with him. Where we are asking him questions and actually listening to receive answers.

Think about the person you are closest to. Is spending time with them something on a checklist or a requirement. No you want to spend time with them. It’s a joy and something you look forward to.

God can become our favorite person, if we let him. He’s the creator of the universe, a loving father and he can do anything. How can that be boring. Make time with him daily and I guarantee your day will be better for it.

Love is Putting Others Before Yourself

When you think your life is worth more then others, you do not know love. ~Tauriel, The Battle of Five Armies

Jesus expressed his love for us not only by sacrificing his life on the cross but by the sacrifice he showed everyday. He could of come down as a grown man, taken up an earthly governmental throne and demanded praise. But he didn’t. He came humbly, lived humbly and put others before himself. He modeled love by putting others before himself.

Jesus didn’t think his life was too valuable to sacrifice, so how can we?

Sharing God’s love with others is when we put others first, show them honor and respect. Show them they are valuable. Next time you encounter someone and you don’t know what to do. Ask ‘What does love look like?’ Loving people isn’t always about our words. Many times it’s in our actions. Love looks like caring groceries for someone, bringing them a meal, giving a shoulder to cry on. Love can be expressed in many ways but true love always puts others before ourselves.

That’s what Jesus did. He put our lives before his own, because we are valuable to Him.

Seek Jesus, Even in the Simple Things

In the movie Prince Caspian, while Peter, Lucy, Edmond and Susan are making their way through the much changed land of Narnia they become lost. They tried to rely on what they knew, instead of calling on Aslan to help even to the point of ignoring Lucy when she sees him.

We can become like this too. When we’ve done something for a long time or feel we know what we are doing we forget about Jesus. We forget to ask His guidance, help or even just his companionship. But in taking him for granted we can veer off the path he intended us to take.

If we have faith like Lucy and look for his guidance he will show us new things and new ways to accomplish what we are doing even if we have done it time and time again. His guidance should always be where we look first. He may only have the smallest change but it could make the biggest difference. He designed us for dependence on him. Trust his guidance.

Trusting when you can’t see

Trusting God when you can’t see the end can be scary. But when you trust His leading you never know what you can accomplish.

In the movie Facing the Giants, the coach challenges a player to do a death crawl to the fifty yard line blindfolded. The player couldn’t see where he was but he trusted his coach’s direction and as he made his way across the field as his coach encouraged him to keep going even though he was tired and couldn’t see and wanted to quit. In the end he ended up going double the distance he was supposed to and ended up in the end zone.

When we trust God even though we may not understand. We can do more than we ever thought we could on on our own and can end up further then we ever thought we could go.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:5-6

Depths of despair

One single moment can pull us from the depths of despair.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

I love Anne of Green Gables. One of the expressions Anne uses often is that she’s “in the depths of despair.”

I have to be honest, I’ve always thought she was being over dramatic, until one summer when I struggled with depression. I’m generally an optimistic, joyful, happy person, but I could not shake this funk. I tried talking to God but to be honest I was kind of mad at Him. Until one day when when I choose to forgive Him.

Yes forgive God.

It was not that God had done anything wrong, it was that I didn’t like the answer He had given regarding something I was asking for.

That single act pulled me from my depression, when I choose to let go of my expectations and trust God’s timing.

For many people, myself included. We can be angry or dis-enthralled with God because He doesn’t give us what we want, in the timing we expect it to happen. We do this more than I think any of us would like to admit. But the key to freedom is to let go of the things He asks us to let go of. It doesn’t mean He doesn’t want to bless us with the desires He’s placed in our heart. It means He has something better or maybe we aren’t ready for what that blessing entails.

Not giving our dreams over to Jesus is like staying in an old dilapidated house beyond repair because it has memories and nostalgia. When God is saying I have this perfect house over here, and we can build better, happier memories.

That’s the power of forgiveness, it can pull us from the depths of despair in one moment.

What are you holding on to that’s keeping you in the depths of despair?

Trust that God has something better for you, and let go.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Do you know God?

“Don’t you know me by now?” ~23 Blast

Sometimes God doesn’t answer our question because he already has, we just don’t realize it. Sometimes his answer is in what has done for us, more than in words. Knowing the character of God is crucial to our communication with him.

As I’ve mentioned before we have struggled in our finances before. But every time I bring it up to God he reminds me of his character. That he is our provider and that he doesn’t worry about it so why should we. Logically we should not have made it through those times. But God provided over and over again each month. I’m astonished at how he provides. But he does. Because that is who he is. He is all our providers and we have no reason to doubt him because he always provides when we put our trust in him.

What have you been asking God about? Ask him to show you if he’s already provided the answer in just being who he is.

If you’re not sure you know his character read Galatians 5:22-23 and look for his answer in his character.

True Perspective

Kindness and seeing people for who they can be. Not for who we judge them to be in a moment. Can change both peoples perspectives for the better.

In the movie the Blind Side the people around Michael see him for who he could be. We all have gifts and talents and many times it just takes that one person to believe in them to help us succeed.

That’s how God looks at us. He sees our full potential to do great things, he created each of us and he knows what we can do and its even more then we can image.

Its his kindness that he sent Jesus and its his kindness that he waits for us to be ready to receive all that he has for us.

Seeing people the way that God sees them changes our perspective of ourselves and of others. Next time you doubt God’s plan for you ask him how he sees you. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.

God provides what we need

When we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit we can accomplish things we never would think ourselves capable of. Holy Spirit gives us the confidence, the words and all we need to do what he calls us to.

Esther is a great example of this. She did what God asked of her and saved an entire people through a few dinners.

God calls us to do and be more then we could of ever think possible. In my life God has provided over and over again in ways I never expected. In the few years my husband I have faced the most financial instability we have ever faced since we got married ten years ago. But God has provided over and over again from people and places we never expected. Although we are still facing some challenges. We know that God will continue to provide because he always does.

We all need to trust him to provide what we need to accomplish what he ask of us.

You have to plant to see a harvest

Planting seeds takes a lot of faith. You never know what you’ll get, when they’ll grow or how much the plant will produce, or if it will grow at all. But we still plant seeds.

In the movie Faith Like Potatoes, Angus a farmer finds faith in God and follows the leading of the Holy Spirit to plant potatoes. Planting potatoes takes faith because you cant see what crop you’ve yielded until you’re ready to harvest.

Planting seeds of faith can be like this. We don’t know what will stick and what will not grow but we if we want to see a harvest. We still have to plant.

Sow seeds everywhere in everyone, you never know what will produce a harvest.

 “A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,  but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” –Matthew 13:3b-9

Love Changes Us

Trying to change people by nagging pestering and yelling never works. We may get them to do what we want in the moment but it doesn’t change their heart.  It doesn’t bring about real change.

Prayer is how we fight.  Prayer changes things. Prayer changes our perspective of others and prayer is what can change their hearts. See prayer is simply a conversation with God letting him show us how he sees things.

So often we think we can change someone. Or we’ll love them more if we just get them to be who we think they should be. But if we look to change ourselves instead, to love them no matter what, God’s love through us will change them.

Think back to when you gave your heart to Jesus. Did you do it because he was nagging you or because you came to know his love and forgiveness? When we give our heart to God we repent of our past mistakes and we choose to let God change us. We have to do the same with others. Allow God to bring about the change.

Gods love changed us and the expression of that love will change others.

Not Beyond Redemption

No one is past redemption if even Darth Vader can repents in the end so can anyone else. Yes it’s just a story but many stories resonate in truth. 

Repentance is about our deeds or our life. It’s about Jesus life and his sacrifice in our stead. We simply have to accept his forgiveness and invite him into our heart.

So it doesn’t matter if we are on our death bed or have finally decided to give our life to God. He is always there waiting for you to choose him.

Why do we push people away who try to help us?

In the movie I Can Only Imagine Bart Millard pushes away his high school girlfriend Shannon when she tries to help him. His knee jerk reaction is to push her away.

Our natural reaction when someone tries to help us when we’re hurting is to push back, because it hurts when someone pokes a wound. But we have to find the root cause of the pain if we want to heal and sometimes that means a painful conversation to find that root.

When the human body is severely burned you have to remove the dead tissue to get to the healthy tissue so that it can grow and heal, which is an extremely painful experience but the end result is healed healthy tissue. 

The same is true with our emotional wounds we have to remove the things in our life that are dead in order to allow new growth.

That may mean removing ourselves from certain people or circumstances that continue to hurt us.

But it also means we have to let those that are trying to help us heal, to help. Trust the people that have been there for you in a healthy way and lean on their experience to guide you through the healing process. And yes sometimes the the severest wounds scar but they don’t hurt anymore. Those scars can then be a testament to how God healed us.

Jesus Plan for Us is Worth the Wait

It’s easy to be seduced by getting what you want instantly, instead of waiting for it.

In The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Edmond is drawn in by the witch when she says that she will give him what he wants if he just brings her what she wants.

But if Edmond had waited just a little longer Aslan would have given him everything he had asked for and more.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we want and when we want it that we make compromises and sacrifices we never needed to if we would just wait.

Jesus has so much for us, to bless us, lift us up and love us. But it’s his love for us that makes us wait for the things we want sometimes, because he knows when each blessing is best for us.

If we get everything we want right when we want it, we will over indulge or use it all and still want more, like Edmond with the Turkish Delight the witch gave him. He ate it all quickly and wanted more, but later felt sick because he didn’t appreciate the gift.

Jesus knows what we need and when we need it. We just have to wait for his timing.


Photo by Max on Unsplash

Listening is Intimacy

Watching the movie Brave the other night reminded me of how important listening is in relationships. If we just talk at each other and never listen, we miss what the other person needs and who they are.

It’s the same with our relationship with God. We can talk at God all day but if we don’t listen for his response we will never know or understand him. Its in the listening that we really learn his character, his love and even his sense of humor. Often we are taught do this or say that and God will be pleased. But what if we just asked him what he wants. It may be simpler then we realize. It may to to smile at someone or had them some water. Or it may even be a simple as him asking us to just stop for a moment and enjoy his presence.

The more I seek God and ask him to share his interpretation of his word with me the simpler it is. Love God, love others. But we can’t skip the first part. Loving God is spending time with him. Even if it’s as simple as sitting in his presence and neither of you saying anything. Listening is the key to intimacy with God. So ask him what he wants and trust that no matter how small it seems it’s what is best for you and that all he wants. For his kids to feel loved and cared for.

Stop running

I love watching movies and having God teach me something through them. The Lion King has so many moments that are teachable. Simbas overall life lesson is what caught my attention this time.

He tried to run from his problems, only to find out later that he didn’t even do what caused him to run. Many of us do this especially when we are kids. We run and hide thinking the consequences will be worse then they actually are or that our parents couldn’t possible forgive us. But things always go so much better when we own up to our actions and deal with the consequences.

We often do this with God. We run and hide from Him. Thinking that He could never forgive us or that He doesn’t love us or want us, because we messed up.

But nothing could be further from the truth. He loves us no matter what, He knows that we will make mistakes and He has already forgiven us.

Once we realize this, we can find freedom and become who He made us to be and come in our inheritance like Simba because we are God’s kids and He has so much He wants to bless us with.

Photo by Ales Krivec on Unsplash

Don’t lift yourself up

I am always asking God to reveal new things to me; especially when I read or watch something for the umpteenth time. This time it was Prince Caspian the second book in The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

I never realized it before but Prince Caspian is symbolic of what happens to us when Jesus lives in us. Caspian is the son of the king and the rightful heir to the throne but he goes about obtaining the throne by seeking to restore peace between all and by not trying to do it all on his own. Instead he looks to Aslan, who represents Jesus for help and the counsel of others who have served Aslan.

We are the same. We are heirs to the throne of heaven with Jesus, because of his sacrifice. But the only way we can take our place with him is to believe in him and serve him.

When we serve God and others he lifts us up, higher then we could ever be if we tried to lift ourselves up.

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31


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Claim Your Identity

The enemy will taunt us with our worst fears to discourage us from becoming who God has intended us to be. The Return of the King movie depicts this when Aragon uses the seeing stone to fight Sauron by claiming his identity as the heir to the throne. Sauron replies by trying to scare him with the death of Arwen. The enemy’s biggest weapon is fear. Fear of what if, of what might happen. But you can’t put your trust or your faith in what if.

You can put your faith in Jesus and draw your strength from your identity in him. The enemy can’t have a hold on you, if you don’t let him. We fight fear with truth. The enemy says you are ugly, God says you are beautiful. The enemy says you are weak, God says he will be your strength. The truth of who God has made us to be is our strongest weapon, but we have to know it to use it.

Jesus modeled this in his forty days in the wilderness. The devil tried to temp him to take the shortcut, to compromise God’s plan to achieve his goals quicker. But Jesus used the word of God the truth to fight and reassert his identity.

When we die to our selfish desires and let Jesus live through us we become like him. Read the scriptures about Jesus, know who he is and what he said and did. Isaiah 61 is one of my favorite passage describing what Jesus came to do and be. Read it and let the Holy Spirit teach you who he made you to be in Jesus.

Hope in darkness

We can find hope in some of the worst circumstances, if we look for it.

Jesus is that hope. He can do anything, no matter how impossible we think a situation is.

Bart Millard of Mercy Me shares his story in the the movie I Can Only Imagine. His inspiration for the song that inspired the movie was his dad. Bart never believed his dad could change. But to his surprise, when he was at a low point, when his band looked like they had lost their chance at success, Bart went home to repair his relationship with his dad and found a changed man when he arrived. The one person he thought could never change, had come to believe in Jesus and become the father he had always hoped for.

God is always full of surprises and when we place our hope in him he does more then we can ever hope or imagine, even in the bleakest circumstances. What impossible thing are you asking God for?

To Take or to Give

I had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Henry Convington and his wife Annette of I Am My Brothers Keeper in Detroit, Mi years ago. So I was excited to learn more of their story when I saw the movie Have a Little Faith. 

Pastor Covington life was a great example of the complete transformation that Jesus makes in our life. He was a drug dealer and addict until he hit his rock bottom and surrendered his life to Jesus.

Jesus is always there for us and he wants to take care of us but we have a choice. We can choose to live however we want and ignore him or we can choose to follow him and trust him to take care of us.

Pastor Covington hustled for what he thought he wanted and it almost cost him his life. But when he turned his life to Jesus instead of taking from people, God gave him the opportunity to give to others.

Don’t be afraid to do what God has asked of you, trust that he has you taken care of and will never fail you.

God Answers Prayer

In the movie I Can Only Imagine Bart’s dad was horrible to him as he was growing up and he left as soon as he graduated high school, to pursue his career in Christian music but just before his band made it big, he went home to patch things up with his dad and God answered both their prayers. Bart returned home which was his fathers prayer and his father had accepted Jesus and he finally had the dad he always wanted. 

God answers our prayers  but sometimes the timeline doesn’t always happen when we think it should.

My mom raised me as a Christian but I decided to abandon God for 6six years in my early twenties and live life the way I wanted.

This broke my moms heart. She prayed years for me to return to my faith in God. She watched for years as I made stupid, selfish choices all in the name of finding what I thought would make me happy.

But what I found instead was disappointment and a constant longing to feel loved, accepted, valued and wanted.

By worldly standards I had what appeared to be a good life on the outside, a good job with consistent promotions and a long term relationship. But in reality I had a job that pulled me away from friends and family and an emotionally abusive relationship.

I was miserable trying to find happiness on my own.

Eventually I hit rock bottom and decided to give my life back to God.

Keep praying for your family and friends, continue to love and support them and always keep the door open for them. You never know when they will make the decision to change their life.

Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash

Seek to Know God

‘All I want is that you seek the lord and that you trust him.’ (Courageous 2011)

That’s all I ever want for anyone. Because in seeking Jesus we get to know his character, how much he loves us and that he can be trusted.

How many of us get our perception of God from others. We all have had our perception of God influenced by someone either in a good or bad way. But how many of us really seek to know him intimately, to learn his character for ourselves and make up our own minds instead of what others tell us.

That’s my hope with this devotional that we would see God for who he is and seek to know him more intimately and deeper then you even have before.

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Let Jesus be the change

‘Just because someone stumbles and loses their way doesn’t mean their lost forever’ (Charles Xavier X-Men Days of Future Past 2014)

I was that person that stumbled and lost their way. But I had friends and family that we’re there ready and waiting to help me find my way back when I was ready. But it had to be my decision, my choice.

We can’t force people to change; because if we try and even if they seem like they are changing, its not really change. Because its not their choice. I know its hard to watch others make bad choices, but we can’t force them. Forced change is always worse; because they are still going to be opposing you on the inside or resenting you.

But if we present options and support. When they are ready, they may make a change and they will know who to turn to.

Praying for them is also a big part but our prayers should not be God please change them or make them see that I am right. But God help me to see them as you see them, help me to love them as you love them.

Most of the time in order for someone to change we need to change too. None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes even with the best of intentions.

When we lived in Tennessee our Pastor would say ‘come as you are and let Jesus mess you up.’ Isn’t that what we all did? We came to Jesus with our junk and mess and let Him change us. So why don’t we encourage others to do the same?

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Nerves are good for leaders

“I don’t think I’m ready” ~Prince Caspian 

“It for that very reason you are” ~Aslan

Often when we don’t feel ready to do what God calls us to. It’s then that we are ready, because it’s that insecurity in ourselves that makes us dependent on God. So it’s God working through us, not our own abilities, so we cannot boast in ourselves but in him alone.

One of my teachers when I first started preaching, reminded me that nerves are good when preaching, because it keeps us conscious of God, his will, his words, his power and his direction. If we were completely confident in ourselves. We would have no need for him. But it’s because we know our own imperfection and instead find our confidence in him, that we can shine him best.

Don’t let nerves hold you back from what you know God has called you to, instead use those nerves to depend on him and REFLECT God to others, not ourselves.

Who are you?

If someone asked you, who you are? What would you say? Would it be your job title? Who you are in relationship to others? Or would it be something else? What if all of it was striped away; your job, your friends, your family, everything. Who would you be? What would define you? Would it be characteristics or attributes? Or would you not know?

If it was just you on an island by yourself alone with nothing to go back to, no home, no friends, no family, just you. What would you cling to? What would make you, you?

For me it’s God. I am his, no matter what. He’s where my identity comes from. I’m his kid and that where I draw strength, confidence, comfort and identity from. Because like Job in the Bible even if everything was stripped away from me. I’m still his, and no one and nothing can take that from me.

As believers in Jesus that’s what we get, an undeniable sense of identity and assurance of who we are, God’s children.

If we read Ephesians chapters 1 and 2; we can see who we are because of our identity in Jesus.

We are chosen, blessed, belonging, forgiven, loved, adopted, wanted, favored, showered with grace, a gift to God, delighted in, saved, lifted up, given new life, a member of God’s family, a citizen of God’s country.

And if you are not yet a believer you can be. You can have that same assurance in your identity by just believing in Jesus love and sacrifice and allowing him into your heart.

People make mistakes

Don’t let others misrepresentation of God deter you from knowing God yourself. Many people have walked away from their faith in God because they were hurt by other believers or believe that God betrayed them.

Just because others have represented God falsely, does not mean that is who he is. Don’t let others perception be your own. Seek the truth about God from God, only he can truly represent himself in His entirety.

People are human and we all make mistakes, I make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes.

I walked away from my faith when I was 18 because I felt at the time that my spiritual leaders were more concerned with bringing others to Jesus, then helping me through the things I was facing at the time.

I was WRONG. But that was my perception and interpretation at the time.

The truth is they didn’t help me because they didn’t know, I didn’t tell anyone. Instead I started looking to those outside the faith for solutions and they provided nothing other then distractions, rather then solutions

When I came back to my faith in God, I had more problems, not less. Life without God was miserable, I was always seeking the approval of others and digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole to do it.

Giving my life back to God gave me peace and freedom that I had not know during my time away from him. God surrounded me with his love and forgiveness and brought many people into my life to encourage me to grow in my faith.

If you are questioning God I encourage you to go to scripture, flip open your Bible and begin reading. Don’t have a bible visit Biblegateway.com and randomly pick a verse. Talk to someone you respect for how they represent God and ask the hard questions. Talk to God and give him your hard questions, but don’t forget to listen for the answer.

God is there and he loves you and he wants to talk to you. Give him a chance. Don’t let other be the reason you don’t make up your own mind, make your own choices.

Fight without Fear

In Prince Caspian, from The Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy gives a perfect example of how we as believers in Jesus should feel when we feel outnumbered and surrounded. Confident and unafraid.

Because it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when we focus on what is around us or even just in front of us. But when we remember God is always with us it changes our perspective.

We become like Lucy, a child facing an army with just a dagger, oh and of course the God of the universe to fight for us. We can have complete confidence because God loves us, he fights for us and if we trust him, he will take care of everything. Nothing should phase us, because God is with US!

You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’ Deuteronomy 3:22