Stop rushing

What do you do when you feel worried and overwhelmed, like the world is spinning faster and faster?

I wonder how Mary felt when she was carrying Jesus. She had all the reason in the world to feel like she wasn’t enough or that she couldn’t do it.

But she didn’t, she surrendered her life to bear Jesus in her womb and raise him.

God has a plan for our lives, he has chosen each of us for a specific task, a calling specific to be who he made us to be.

He knit us together in our mothers womb.

He made us to bear Jesus in us, to shine his light an his love.

Stop rushing around trying to do all that the world expects and take a moment listen to this song and ask God what he has for you.

Don’t hide your light

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

Everyone represents something. Their friends, family, company, beliefs, theology. We all represent something, whether it be our own thought process or someone else’s. No matter what you do, who you are and what makes you that way, will shine though eventually, even if you try to hide it.

God is like that in our lives, when we choose to follow him even if we try to hide it, he will shine through in our actions, our smile, the way we treat others.

We have to make a concise effort to hide his light. Even if we put it under a basket, light will shine out through the weaving or a bowl, light will shine out the edge.

There are many reason we hide our faith in God, worry, fear, anxiety, safety. The first three can be combated by knowing God more, knowing who he made you to be and allowing him to give you the words the confidence and the wisdom in shining his light.

Those that fear for there safety, literally for their lives, if they share their faith. These people are the ones who shine the brightest, like Brother Yun or David Hogan those that have had their life threatened multiple times and still shine for Jesus. They and others like them shine God’s light because they know who they are and the value, the power and the love of God and that gives them no fear.

Although I do not have to hide my faith daily, I have had moments on a mission trip when our teams life was threatened. And in that moment, not single one of us wavered, we knew the risk of sharing about Jesus where we were going and God gave us the boldness to shine for him without a moments hesitation.

That’s who God is he shines through us in ways we may never have imagined. Shine bright for him by knowing him.

Photo by Josh Boot on Unsplash

Marriage is about balance

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.  Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

Colossians 3:18-19

Some say this seems archaic but that’s a surface level answer.

Photo by Ryan Franco on Unsplash

There is a balance to this. Wives are to submit to their husband and husband are to love their wives. This is because men and women are different and we each need different things to feel loved. Women feel loved when they are protected, supported and encouraged. Men feel loved when they are respected, affirmed and appreciated

Marriage is about serving each other and putting the needs of the other above your own. God gave it to us as a model for his relationship with us. Jesus came to serve, not be served. He was not looking for what we could do for him, but what he could do for us. When we focus on fulfilling the needs of the other then our needs are then met by our spouse.

God first

Putting God first can seem overwhelming, but if we put him first we will find that he’s essential to our lives, like that first cup of coffee. Putting God first sets our day off right. Just shifting our focus to him can change our whole, mood, demeanor and mindset about the day. Even if it’s just a moment that shift can change our whole day if we let it.

He provides-

peace that surpasses understanding

love that trumps all love

joy that overflows our hopes

Who doesn’t need more love, joy and peace in their day.

So put him first and see how your days exceeds your expectations.

The Christmas Shoes

Is a great song and movie that inspire putting others before yourself. 

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.

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

The Birth of Jesus

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Luke 2:1-20

The angels said ‘fear not.’ Often we shy away from God because we feel we don’t measure up, but that’s the beauty of why he came, to make us free of shame and guilt and to know him deeply.

Jesus choose humble beginnings, lived humbly and counted not even his own life beyond sacrifice. He held back nothing so that we could have everything.

His gift to us is salvation and righteousness so that we could live a life filled with his love joy and peace.

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

the birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-7, 16-20

Can you imagine being born in a barn? Laying in hay to give birth and being surrounded by animals.

Jesus birth may seem humble to us and in a way it is. But he was surrounded and heralded by his creation, the very animals he spoke into existence and his birth was announced by angels and shepherds.

The Bible says that if we do not praise him the very rocks will cry out, and in many ways they do. Have you ever seen the majesty of a mountain. All creation cries out to praise Jesus and we being his creation are to do the same.

He created us, each one of us, he knit each of us together in our mothers womb. We are his creation.

As his creation, praise him for who he made you to be and praise him for who he is.

O Come let us adore him

As the Christmas season begins. Remember the reason for the season. Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed with the shopping, decorating, gift giving and parties.

Instead keep your focus on Jesus, he is the reason for the season. Make him the focus of all you do.

If your shopping for gifts ask him what gift that person really needs and trust him to help you. Ask God to give you opportunities to share about him to the store clerk or the people in line with you.  While decorating sing Christmas songs as worship songs.

Make him the focus this season, and ‘Adore Him’.

https://youtu.be/StjSsCbvavw

Count Blessing instead of Woes

It’s easy this year to get caught up in what we can’t do or can’t give during this Christmas but are our family traditions or gift giving really the purpose of Christmas? As wonderful as they are.

No. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus birth and it’s his life that we should celebrate. A man who was poor and even had times with no where to sleep, but was forever kind and generous. It’s he that we celebrate, one that loved all humanity so much that he came to serve us, not allowing selfish moments but letting his love for us guide him.

Even if we were have nothing this Christmas season we can always be grateful for our friends and family and for Jesus birth. 

So this Christmas no matter how different your celebration may be you can always count your blessings.

Blessings in disguise

The Christmas Candle is a timeless movie. It illustrates how God wants to and will bless us, just that 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.

It 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 more and better then if we had tried to do it or get it on our own.

He 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. Its a time when we hope for the things we desire, be it a gift, relationship restoration or a new relationship formed, and traditions that we hold dear to our hearts. But we can be come discouraged when things don’t go as planned or we don’t get what we had hoped for. That’s when we ask him for his perspective and let him change our view of what may seem like hopelessness, but in truth his blessing is right around the corner.

Photo by Gareth Harper on Unsplash

Peace be with you

Our God is truly amazing. He can change our whole attitude and mindset with a few words. You can go from irritated, rushed, anxious and frustrated to complete peace without a single change to your circumstances, surroundings or workload.

God gives us peace by dwelling in us. When we bring God into the situation he changes our perspective or view of our circumstances so that we see things in a different light. Sometimes he even tells us a solution we never would of thought of on our own.

Trust in him in all things to bring peace to your heart and soul. Because when you know who he has made you to be and what his promises are, you can stand on those promises.

Like Peter walking on water when Jesus told him to. Peter did the impossible he walked on water and during a storm no less. Something that seems impossible, but he did it because he was focused on Jesus. It wasn’t until he changed his focus to the storm around him that he began to sink.

When you feel overwhelmed and like there is no end in sight. Look to Jesus and let his peace fill you. Trust him to provide and guide you through anything.


Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash

the shepherds and the angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Luke 2:8-15

God always does what he says he will, but rarely is it how we would think he would or in the time that we think best.

Do you think that the people expected their savior to come as a baby. That he would grow up like them and wouldn’t start his ministry till he was thirty years old.

I sure most people thought he would come charging in on a cloud bold and strong, pushing all the kings and rulers out of the way and declaring his kingdom with thunder and lighting.

But God’s ways are not our ways.

He had a different plan. To show all of humanity love and compassion. To serve us and give us the opportunity to be made new in him.

What circumstance are you looking for God to move in? Are you only looking for him to do it as you expect, or in the timeline you prefer.

Stop looking for the answer and look for God instead. He’s there. You just have to look for him. Not the solution. Trust him to do what he promises.


Photo by Filip Bunkens on Unsplash

Do you know him?

The humility of Jesus birth speaks volumes to his character. Jesus is the very creator he is the word that was spoken that created us. And he choose to be born in a glorified cave surrounded by animals, by his creation not by man made structure.

He came to do his fathers work not what we thought he should do. He came to bring peace, joy and gentleness. So that all may know him.

Read about him, really study his words and actions, not what man says about him but he says.

People are fallible

Listening to the song Last Christmas by Wham reminds me that we as humans are fallible, we all make mistakes and disappointment each other.

But the one that we can always count on is God. He is love, joy, peace, patience, kind, good, faithful and gentle. He knows what we need and when; and he’s always ready to love us when we let him in.

We as humans have misrepresented him because we are not perfect and we make mistakes. So please don’t let people keep you from knowing him, let him prove who he is to you himself.

Give him your big questions, he can handle it, but make sure you listen for the answers.

This Christmas give him a chance to share his love for you with you.

Watch this movie to help you learn how to hear God’s voice.

Grace & Growth

We need to see people like Cindy-Lou Who from ‘The Grinch.’ She 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.

God is the same with us. He 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 grace and growth.

Mary’s Song

46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Luke 1:46-56

Mary rejoiced in her suffering. Yes she was blessed to carry the son of God but that didn’t come with welcome arms from her community. Having a baby out of wedlock during her time period was punishable by being stoned to death and at the least being considered an out cast.

Mary knew all this could happen when she said yes to the angel, but she considered it a greater honor to carry Jesus inside her and took the risk of being ridiculed.

Her faith was why she was chosen.

Photo by Arteida MjESHTRI on Unsplash

We are all blessed with the opportunity to carry Jesus in our hearts because of his sacrifice. If Mary was willing to endure ridicule and being outcast and the possibility of being stoned. Why can’t we risk being made fun of for our faith.

God gives us the endurance for the tasks he asks of us. Trust him when he asks you to speak to someone and take a risk on Jesus. I bet you’ll be surprised at the outcome.

Don’t rush, you’ll miss it

During this busy holiday season take the time to enjoy moments. Watch your kids decorate the tree or play in the snow.

Have family dinner with no distractions from media.

Read a verse of the Christmas story Matthew 1:18-25 each night before bed.

Look for moments to enjoy this season, not just rush through to get to the next.

Silent Night by Kelly Clarkston

Gift for Jesus

With all the gift giving this season. Don’t forget the reason for the season, Jesus.

What gift could you give him?

You may think you have nothing to give, but like the little drummer boy you give what you can, you give your gifts, your talents, your time, your life. Everyone has a life to give. And he deserves it because he gave his.

Even if you think you have nothing to give, Jesus says otherwise. He created you, he gave you gifts and talents you may not even know exist.

When you follow God’s plan for your life he uses those gifts and talents for him.

God gave me the calling to ministry ten years ago. And I didn’t start my blog till this September. He had to take me on a journey to teach me and grow and develop me into the woman that I am today. I am a very different person then I was ten years ago, because he had to mold me into who he made me to be and he’s still molding me.

That’s why I started this blog to use the gifts he’s given me to help others see God in their everyday lives.

The gift you can give him this Christmas is YOU!

Peace or Strife

God can teach us through anything if we let him.

During the Christmas season I focus on Jesus, but have some holiday classics I like to enjoy too. I love all the claymation Christmas movies and ‘The Year without a Santa Clause’ (1974) was running through my head this morning.

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.

Its easy to get caught up in our own stuff and the business of the season and let that influence us to spat with our family when things don’t go according to our plan.

But we can look to our heavenly father and ask him to help us to bring peace to our family instead of strife. Ask him to help you see life through his eyes and to fill you with his all surpassing peace.

Peace & JOY

You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalms 16:11

I’ve tried a lot and done a lot in my life. But nothing fulfills me as much as following God’s path for my life.

He called me to write and share about him and nothing makes me feel more alive then doing what he’s called me to do.

I cried tears of joy when he called me to ministry even though I had no idea how or in what capacity. That was over ten years ago and still to this day I get nervous before I have a speaking engagement, but that is what keeps me dependent on him.

Just because something God asks us to do is intimating or we are not sure if we can do it, doesn’t mean he won’t provide all we need and more to do what he has called us to do.

Find joy in him and he will provide all your needs

You don’t have to have all the answers

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Colossians 4:5-6

We are not meant to know everything or the answer to all of life’s questions. but we should know how to respond. even Jesus didn’t always respond with words. Sometimes all people need is someone to listen, a shoulder to cry on or someone to cheer them on and encourage them.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

We have the Holy Spirit with us at all times and he is the one with all the answers. But even his response is not always what to say but sometimes what to do or what not to do.

How to react to a situation usually makes a bigger impact then words. that’s why building a deep intimate relationship with God is so important. So that in the hardest and most influential situations we can hear him and follow his leading.

Next time your in a situation and you don’t know what to do, ask the Holy Spirit and trust that he knows how best to react.

Count your blessings instead

When we get down about our selves or our circumstances we have to remember to count our blessing instead.

God loves us and he wants the best for us.

If we allow ourselves to get lost in our sorrows we only make things worse and solve nothing.

But when we fix our eyes on Jesus he changes our perspective.

He reminds us of what we do have that he will provide all we need and more if we trust him and look to him.

He redeemed us from who we were and gave us freedom in his forgiveness, if he can do that he can do anything.

Game Changer

The Holy Spirit is an atmosphere changer.

When we yield ourselves to his leading things change. Our perspective changes, our attitude, our mood, all change to that of God.

Yielding to the Holy Spirit is a game changer!

That simple decision in each moment of each day can change our whole day if we stop for a second and listen.

If we take that moment to make him the most important thing in the room. We can change how we speak and act to our friends, our family, our co-workers and the world around us.

 

Find Joy in Thankfulness

Yesterday I talked about thankfulness being about perspective.

Today is a great day to put that into practice. As you go about your plans today look at your surroundings, at the people you are with and find new things to be thankful for.

You may find that you appreciate things or others more then you have in the past. Ask God to reveal to you how he see your friends and family, or if your alone ask him to show you what he would like you to do with the day.

Thankfulness is about perspective so change your perspective and let the joy of Jesus fill you.

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Would it kill you to dance?

Our worship should be ingrained in us, so much that everything within us cries out to God. Every fiber in our body should be yielded and shout out to him “you are HOLY.”

King David danced because he wanted everything within him to praise God. “Who decided that reservation is worship? God gave his everything for us. Why shouldn’t we do the same in our worship?

Photo by David Calderón on Unsplash

What will happen if you lift your arms. Will the world end?

If you jump for joy, will the ground fall out underneath you? No. God gives a firm foundation.

If you dance for joy. Will God turn from you in shame? No, he will dance with you!

So what’s stopping you? You?

God Loves YOU

Yesterday I talked about having the faith in God to make the big sacrifices and that, that starts with conversation, with talking to God.

But there is so much more, it’s more then taking to him its about knowing him. I have trusted God when he asks me to make big leaps of faith because I know him.

I know that he loves me and that he will not let harm come to me. I know that he has brought me through some crazy impossible situations and that he will continue to do so. Because I know him

I know that he is loving, kind and gentle, that he provides all my needs when I trust him and that he never leaves me.

Jesus made his acrifice because he loves us and wants us to know him.

Take a chance and give him a chance to show you just how much he loves you.

Let God do it

When we feel inadequate or less than, we just need more Jesus, because He is the best of us. His faith, His power, His love is enough, when we feel we are not. When God asks us to do something it’s not in our own strength, but in His and that makes all the difference.

So stop saying I can’t do it, I don’t know how, even I don’t want to, because He will give you the will, the wisdom and the passion to do what He has called you to do. We must simple do one thing.

Seek Him.

Spend time with Him, let Him fill us up.

Let Him work in and thru us to accomplish what He has called us to.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

How I Fight My Battles

Surrounded (fight my battles) by Michael W Smith may be the simplest lyrics ever written but they are powerful. The song talks about our times of struggle when we feel a heaviness, no way out, surrounded by nothing good or positive. We fight with praise. We fight by rejoicing in Jesus, the only one who is always constantly there for us, always fighting for us.

The simple repetition of theses lines

“It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You”

“This is how I fight my battles”

Over and over again has such power in it because it reminds us that we don’t fight with anger, hate, malice and judgment.

We fight with love, joy, peace and patience.

That’s why when we feel surrounded, we fight by giving praise to God.

We shift our focus to the one who fights for us, so that we can allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and to show us the true perspective.

When I was in Honduras, we were working at a Christian school that also hosted youth nights. One night when we were praying before one of the youth nights a mob came to both of the gates of the fenced in facility and tried to break down the gates.

Our pastor told us what was going on and our response was not panic or worry but to pray. We trusted that God had brought us there to make an impact for Him and that He would protect us and He did.

As we were praying the Holy Spirit showed showed me a vision of the compound surrounded by 30 foot angels guarding and protecting us.

Not for one moment did I feel fear or worry because I knew God would protect us. The mob eventually dispersed and we were able to have the youth night.

God always provides for His children when we turn to Him.

So no matter where you are, what your doing, or how hopeless you feel you can always count on God to be there for you.

Give out of Him

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,  of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,  the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.  For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Colossians 1:24-29

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

When you know God, sacrificing for him is easy. Putting others first, before yourself, giving of all you have and loving as he loved, comes easy because it’s him through us.

And we know that no matter how much we give or how empty we think we are he will fill us up and bless us all the more.

When we give out of him he fills us with his abundance and we lack nothing, because he always takes care of his kids.

Jesus is enough

When you love someone and they love you sometimes all you need, sometimes all you want is to just sit with them and enjoy their presence.

Jesus is like that.

His love is so pure, so true, so comforting that all I want to do sometimes is just sit in his presence and drink in his love, joy and peace.


Photo by Luis Alberto Sánchez Terrones on Unsplash

Sometimes that the best thing for us.

Just to sit and enjoy his presence, no talking necessary just drink him in.

No matter what is going on, when you don’t have the words or the strength you can just sit in his presence and that is enough. Because he is enough.

You are worth the sacrifice

Today marks the day Jesus sacrificed his life for us.

He endured beatings, ridicule, shame, false accusation and died the death of a murder to atone for the sins of the world. Because he loves us.

He loves all of us, each and every one of us and he would die for just you if you were the only person to ever live.

He loves you that much.

His sacrifice proves that. His sacrifice shows how much he loves you.

Don’t you want to know the one that would sacrifice everything just for you.


Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Unsplash

Find new life in death

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,  he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Colossians 1:21-23

Life and death reverberate throughout all creation. In creation the dead brings life to the living. Plants draw nutrients from the compost of the creation that has died and gone back into the earth.

If you look and listen God is always teaching us, echoing his message throughout all creation.

Death brings life.

Jesus died to bring us new life. His sacrifice paid for our mistakes and makes us new creation before God, so that we might have freedom from guilt and shame, so that we may have a pure, loving, deep, intimate connection with him.

Jesus’s death brings life and so does our own. When we die to our selfishness and let him live through us it’s like a light being turned on in dark room, we can finally see and find freedom from the darkness that once surrounded us.

Find freedom in him and let his love and sacrifice lead you to the light of forgiveness.

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worship is how we reflect God

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:19-27

DO your words and your actions reflect Jesus?

If you looked in  a mirror and a list of your characteristics appeared what would it say? Would you use those words to describe Jesus?

This may seem like a lot of pressure. No one’s perfect, right.

But God doesn’t ask us to reflect Jesus on our own, but to die to ourselves and let Jesus live through us by listening to the guiding of the Holy Spirit.

Reflecting Jesus to others is not meant to be following a list of rules in the Bible, but listening to the Holy Spirit and testing what he is saying against the word of God given in the Bible.

Following Jesus is not a list of Do’s and Don’t but a relationship built by spending time getting to know the character of God so that we know who he is, how he would react and what he would say.

Reflect Jesus by knowing him, not by trying to imitate him.

Baggage and Beautiful Messes

Why do we only see the flaws when we look in the mirror? Why do we carry around all the baggage of our past pains and hurts?

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 Beautiful Messes by Hilary Scott & the Scott family talks about laying down all our baggage at the foot of cross and giving it to Jesus, because to him we are never lost causes.

God doesn’t see us the way we see ourselves, he sees us as beautiful messes.  He see the beauty he created us to be, that is bogged down by the baggage we choose to carry with us. We are the ones that choose to walk around carrying all our hurts and pains, lugging around the baggage of our past.

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But his burden is light.

God doesn’t want us to carry all that around with us. He wants us to lay it all at his feet.

Baggage can be many things worry, anxiety, past hurts and pain. It’s anything that holds us back from exseding the joy, love and love that come from knowing Jesus.

One of the secrets of our marriage is that we don’t carry our baggage with us. My husband and I both go to God first before going to each other or anyone else, when we realize that something bothers us.

We ask God, why? Whether it is something someone said or did or even our own mode or attitude that we know is not from him. We go to God first and ask what the root cause of the pain is. Then after we’ve sorted it out with God we go to each other or the person that hurt us and talk it through, if necessary. Many times we’ve worked things out with God and don’t even need to talk to the other person.

We don’t have to walk around with all the hurt and pain of our past or even our present if we lay them at the foot of the cross. He is always with us, always accessible and always wants to help us.

Next time you feel someone poke an old wound or make a new one go to God first and find freedom.

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Prayer makes an Impact

We never know the impact our prayers may have. In Facing the Giants a faithful man prays over the lockers at the local school for years and doesn’t see the impact till revival hit the students. Another story is from the book Children and the Supernatural when prayers in the US impcat the life of missionaries on foreign soil.

Prayer makes an impact, whether we see the results immediately or never.

My friends and family prayed for me for years during the time in my life where I rejected God, but their prayers made an impact. There were key moments during that time when I know their prayers made an impact.

When I was in Uganda, speaking at a women’s conference, at the end myself and the others speakers prayed for many of the women there for healing and many other things. We each had a translator that gave us a quick snap shot of their requests for prayer. But there was still a language barrier. As I prayed, I prayed in English and in tongues.

I didn’t understand everything the ladies were saying to me and they didn’t understand what I was saying, but God understood it all; lady after lady came up and they were either healed or their prayer was answered. It wasn’t about the words, but about our hearts and the openness to allow the Holy Spirit to work through me and in them.

Prayer is a conversation with God and we may not always like or understand the answers, or we may be completely astounded and overwhelmed by the answers.

But the one thing I hold true, is that prayer is not something to be afraid.

Pray for those you love and pray for those you don’t, you never know the impact.


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You can always go to Him

The one thing I always know to be true, beyond a shadow of a doubt is that I can always come to God for anything.

No matter how bad my day is, or what I have done. I can always go to him.

We can always turn our hearts to God.

He is always there. He always wants to talk to us, be near us, comfort us and love us.

So no matter how your day is going just take a moment, close your eyes and listen to this song. Let his love melt over you and take moment to love him back.

Temporary fixes and gripping chains

Why do we keep trying the same temporary fixes to fill the holes inside us and expect different results?

We all have times when we want to escape, from work, school, home, kids spouse. Everyone needs a break sometime.

But is what we run to really helping? Or is it just a temporary fix, like putting tape on a busted pipe it may work for a moment but eventually the pipe is going to burst again, and if we keep using tape it’s never going to solve the issue.

The lyrics of the song Chain Breaker by Zach Williams describes the cycle we go through in life so often searching for the solution but never finding the answer in the same process.

But there is a better way, a better life.

God is a chain breaker he made a way for us to be free to not feel tied down but to find joy and peace in our homes, in our work and in our families.

He is the way.

When we go to him, when we need rest, he lifts us up, he takes our fears our worries and our frustrations when we give them over to him.

If we grip onto the chains that our strangling us he can’t remove them. We have to surrender them over to him so he can remove them. 

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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 fixes 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 believe they are the lies are truth.

We as human 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. You 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.


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What draws us together

We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,  since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel  which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;  just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,  and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

Colossians 1:3-8

When we hear of new believers there is an excitement and a joy that comes with knowing that others have found the same love and peace that we did when we surrendered our lives Jesus. Knowing that more people have found Jesus and are in turn sharing Him with others is something that over joys all believers.

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Often we divide ourselves by what church we go to or what denomination. But God never intended for us to be divided. We are all believers in Jesus and His grace and that is what brings us together.

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is how when we meet other believers our first responses is usually. ‘What church do you go to?’ And then we immediately begin to either bond or judge each other based on the answer to that question.

But what if our first question to other believer when we find out we share faith in Jesus is.

“What has God been doing in your life or teaching you recently?”

This question can direct our conversation to encourage and uplift each other by focusing instead on what draws us together, instead of what separates us.

Rest to walk upon the waters

Resting in the presence of God is what gives you the trust to walk on water.

How else to would you build that trust.

You wouldn’t do something deemed impossible without some sort of faith in the one who asked you. But where does that faith come from.

It comes from spending time with God, from resting in His presence, from just being content to be with Him. Because you know Him, and you know His character. You can trust Him when He asks you to take those big leaps of faith that to others seem impossible.

Listen to this song and take some time to rest in His presence, and let Him lead you to walk on water.

need you now

Everyone has a story to tell, everyone has a moment when they hit their rock bottom and cried out to God “I need you now.” 

My moment was in 2008. I was in a 6 year relationship that was going nowhere, when I had a pregnancy scare. This woke me up almost out of a slumber. I realized I didn’t want this man to be the father of my kids, but I knew I wanted to raise my kids in church.

So I decided to go back to church.

I was terrified and convinced that I would be met with glaring stares and rejection but I wasn’t. Instead I was welcomed with open arms. My friends from the church I grew up in, never gave up on me, they were always there for me during the years I intentionally choose to ignore God. But when I choose to come back to church they welcomed me back with open arms and no judgement.

That is how God is, when we choose to say “I need you now” He leaps for joy and runs to embrace us. He throws a party in heaven rejoicing over His child returning home.

Who or what do you turn to when you hit your rock bottom?

Why not, give God a chance to show you how much He loves you.

How we fight

How do we fight for our families? Prayer!

Sounds wimpy and ineffective. No.

Praying is the second best thing you can do. Loving them is first.

But if you love them you pray for them.

Prayer is what my friends and family did for me when I made bad life choices.

And prayer is what I do for my friends and family that I love and even for the people I can’t stand. I pray for them!

I pray for God to show them His love for them.

Prayer is a conversation with God.

Prayer is where I hand my friends and family over to God and say I can’t change them but you can.

Prayer is where God changes me and my view or perspective of those I am praying for. Prayer is where He shows me how He sees them.

Prayer is how God changes me

Prayer is how we fight


hangry for God

When we get hangry (angry, because we’re hungry) we get irritable and edgy, we snap at people for the littlest thing and react in ways we would not normally act.

But we are the same when we are starved for God, if we don’t get enough of God we get irritable, edgy and snap at people for the littlest thing.

We all have different degrees of hanger for God and we all display it a little different, but we all have the same issue we need more Holy Spirit in our life.

When you notice your not your self, realize that you just need more of God in your life and make a point of making him more a priority in your life. Take a moment and ask for his help, for more Holy Spirit in your life and surrender your self over to him.

In the same respect, when you encounter people that rub you the wrong way, look at them with a different perspective, that they just need Jesus in their life.

When we know God, who he’s made us to be and feel completely loved, accepted and valued by him, we don’t need others to show us our value because we know our value comes from him and its priceless.

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Cherish those who faithfully serve

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs.  For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.  Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.  So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 0because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.

Philippians 2:25-30

Ministry is so much more then the person with the microphone.

There are always others, working to make events, outreaches and ministry happen.

When was the last time you thanked the person who faithfully makes the coffee each Sunday or the person who cleans your church, how about the person who opens their home up for your small group. Ministry is a group activity, we can reach other on a one on one basis but to reach multitude is hard without a team that supports each other.

Paul acknowleded that in this passage. He appreciated the work and support of Epaphroditus.

If you are a leader remeber to thank those that make it possible for you to do what you do, if you serve encourage and lift up those who serve with you.

A simple thank you can go a long way.


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Why I worship

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.

Isaiah 44:3

The thing I love about worshiping God is that it’s an exchange. As you surrender yourself to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit envelope you; as you pour your life out as an offering he fills you up to overflowing more than you gave.

You can’t out give him; so stop worrying about what your giving up and starting focusing on what he’s doing in and through you.


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