When life covers you up with a little soot

Sometimes, there are those days when you are required to put your big girl pants on, gulp hard, and just hold it together.  My recent kitchen remodel taught me that.  But recently I have reinforced my bravery in holding it all together.    

It's good to prepare for times like these so you know how to respond when life ushers the opportunity to be brave at any time.  About six weeks ago, my daughter and her family suffered through a house fire...twice.  They were coming home from church on a bright Sunday afternoon to find the firemen working on their house, extinguishing a fire that started from a failed power strip.

No one was hurt and we are all grateful for that.  Absolutely, no question.  However, the same embers rekindled the fire again, the very next morning blazing more damage to the roof, it's structure and all of the upstairs living spaces.

Yes, they have home owners insurance.  One of the bedrooms affected belonged to 6-month old Clarke.  She will miss out on growing up in that nursery that held so much love for her.  The attic, all the bedrooms, two bathrooms, and everything included in them, are considered a total loss in this second story home.   As for the lower level, because of the water and smoke damage, those spaces are being restored.  What the fire didn't consume is either burned, melted, smoked like a Thanksgiving turkey or charred.

All their possessions were affected, and the safety of a three-year-old who wants to be a fireman, has been shaken.  In times like these, family circles up to help pick up the pieces.  Initially, I didn't want to go in to see the damage because I didn't want to remember it with all it's soot.  But my son-in-law, Billy the pilot, asked me help move some unaffected belongings to a new rental property.  I was afraid I would lose it right there in the rubble of their lives but I knew I had to be brave.

The smoke aroma immediately filled my nostrils, as the stench was unbearable, as soon as we opened the front door.  I cautiously walked up the staircase to the charred shell of the house.  The places where we made family memories, new ways to play pretend, to read nap-time books, and where my daughter momma learned to love her little babies...everything I could see was covered in black soot.

Everything....even little Clarke's pink shoes.  That's when everything I was holding together broke a little.  I shed a few tears when I saw their life as I knew it covered with life's soot.  My little Avery talks about the fire everyday, even though he doesn't know the extent of what was really lost.

There are new questions in his mind about the event that has completely robbed him of all his toys and life as he knows it.  It's understandable given the circumstances  his family has endured.

"Does Jesus love us less now that the fire happened?"

I gasped a little when I heard that big question slipping out.  I thought of all the times we must think that about God.  When life slaps, steals, or throws us curve balls, we wonder if God knows or cares about what is plaguing us at the moment.  And then we deal with the fact that everything about us is under God's omniscient presence.

But we still wonder where God is when a tragedy occurs.  And then we wonder...about the depths of God's love for us in spite of what life has presented us with on any given day.

We wonder...where is God in the middle of my cancer, or my marriage that is falling apart, or the debt that keeps pushing us into a dark hole, or the pit of depression our teenagers fight every day, or the bouts with illness after illness, the failing health of our parents, the failing strength of the national budget, or the threat of a pandemic, or the failures of our past that we can't shake.

And then we wonder...about God's love and we wonder why doesn't God intervene when He knew all about it first?  We find ourselves gasping that question when life brings storms, fires, and things not nice or hard.

I waited for Lindsay's answer and she said what a grown up momma could only say.  "Jesus proves His love for us through the people who have helped us so much.  He proved His love by keeping us at church and away from the fire, and how no one was hurt, and everyone is safe and sound.  He showed His love for us by many people who helped us get some new clothes, a safe place to life, and some new toys."

I was at the sink washing some dishes when peace flooded my soul.  She held it together to explain one of life's biggest moments for her family, even though she herself was dealing with the same silent question, just like we all do.  She was brave when she needed to be and that kind of brave could only come from what she knew and believed about the love of God over the soot that was currently covering their lives at the moment.

When life covers everything you know familiar, comfortable, and gives you a little sooty squeeze, or strips you of precious, know that bravery awaits you too.  It's one more opportunity where God proves His love for you by showing you where you put your big child-of-God bravery, gulping hard, and leaning on what you know about God versus what life circumstance is suffocating you right now.
God makes us brave.  Need a little extra bravery today?  Watch this.

If only for a little while to linger longer

Perhaps you are like me and wish you could turn back the hands of time.  I love how God brings back those family snapshots of thoughts at just the right time.  My daughter is a mom once again.  She is an awesome mom, I wasn't worried.  Like most moms she would do anything her children for the sake of loving them well.  

It's hard to see that you're nurturing and speaking life into young hearts at 2 a.m.  We do it because we love them so much.  We moms, just do.  It doesn't surprise me, that inner strength we get when we have to wipe one more bottom or clean up sticky lollipop goop out of daddy's nice dress shirt pocket.  It doesn't surprise me when life finds us on our bottoms mopping the floor for the fourth time today. 

It doesn't surprise me that when you put a little 3-year-old in the corner on his time out stool, and he responds with a "Mom, can we pray about this?"  (Okay, that one surprised me a little)   As a mom, we didn't sign up for a life of cleaning up after you and your dog.  We certainly didn't think that each and every time we went to the restroom we would find the toilet paper holder empty...again.  

There were many re-starts in our married lives too.  We gather our courage, our teddy bears and spend a wedding anniversary cleaning a rent house across from strangers.  We celebrate our love by cleaning spider webs out of the kitchen corners making new memories for sake of it. 

One year, as a young mom myself, I was driving down main memory lane.  I was feeling a little homesick for my mom that day, even with my two little kiddos in the car.  I looked in my rear view mirror and thanked God I wasn't alone in that strange and unfamiliar place.  Long love months of yearning brought a lot of restoration, that's what love does.  What surprises me was how love got me, our family through life's loveless days.  Loving each other as a family brought us through many of changes that year.

My son learned how to walk and eat cat food.  I learned mothering because my kids needed one all the while missing mine.  We all learned how to garden, moo at cows, love in play and how to swing outside.  My daughter learned how to color happiness for us. 

My husband learned to live without his dad.  I learned how to discipline and disciple love.  Sheer panic taught me peace in a playful round of hide and seek, only to find my son content inside the pot and pans cabinet.  Urgent Care clinic doesn't take holidays.  A cut doesn't always require stitches when an iron accidentally falls.  Don’t be surprised that when a child spills out of a crib, he bounces.

What surprises me, when I recall all these memories of adversity, even though they we some of the most difficult, we learned to love and how to be a loving family.  Mothering is hard to see in those lack luster, mundane Mondays. 

God always speaks to my heart a little love messages like this..."They're only yours for a little while, " His message would only mother them a short time until He brought them their own families to love.

It was in those difficult days, in teaching love, and I learned family love, a deep endearing love.  Love is like that, it binds us together … still.  After many years of more loving through change, crisis, cancer, and more love-cares than I can shake a stick at, I consider how our lives are only ours to have in our hands for a little while, until it's time to sing love songs to our Savior. 

If only for a little while, can we so love each other in today like it’s our last?  If I had the chance to love differently, well, I would do it all again, and let love win bigger and linger more in it.  Our lives are too short to walk away from moments that make you smile more, sing louder and learn to love well.

It's puzzling picture

It's comforting to know that even the relatives of Jesus had questions and doubts.

In the perfect world, doubt and faith would not hold hands.  But we don't live in the perfect world.  And many days our doubts suffocate our faith.  We need fresh hope to cling to.

So did John, the Baptist.  I find great comfort that even he, who had walked with the Messiah, seen the outreach of Jesus' ministry, even witnessed Him heal the sick and blind, had questions about Jesus.  From his view behind bars, it was a puzzling situation.  

He doubted Jesus. He asked Him are you the "One" while he was in prison.

That comforts me in some strange way.  When he asked this question and sent it to Jesus, he was behind bars.  From his perspective, I wonder if he just needed a little reassurance that Jesus hadn't forgotten him.  

We all have doubts that we deal with.  On some days it's some days it's hard to quiet the questions.  

I learned to leverage doubt to the point of ignoring them and keep them at arms length.  Doubt only lulls my faith into a case of the Monday blues.  And my heart sinks a little to think that God would disappoint.

Doubt contradicts my faith, and I have to guard my heart and mind from anything choking my faith.

God can't disappoint us because it contradicts His character of faith, hope and love. 

People disappoint, but God never will. 

There are certainly situations we face that throw some hard hitting hurts our way.  I try to look at the bright side of those situations.  But it is hard when it's cancer and it side effects.  We have traveled through that storm a couple of times, and we have lived to tell about it.  God is faithful to never leave us in our storms alone.

I look for God in the middle of chronic pain.  He's there holding our hands on the hard days and provides rest and medicine that helps.  God is faithful to never leave us in our pain parties either.

I look for God in the sad and happy times of celebrating life moments when someone meets Jesus before us.  Their bodies have been restored to wholeness now.  That's certainly praiseworthy.

It's hard to see God's plan in tough life-altering situations from the lens of death, cancer and pain.  But there are reasons, and many times there is a bigger purpose than what is seen from a hurting perspective.

I am so thankful that God's sovereignty doesn't depend on my life circumstances because if there is anyone who DOES know what He is doing...it's God.

He has proven that I can trust Him with His faithfulness through ALL my days.  I just love Him for who He is and that He sticks with me when the going gets tough.

I couldn't do life on my own and so glad God planned that in advance.  

“Our faith is in God and not the outcome we want.”-Craig Groeschel

It is well with my soul.  

How has God used pain for your benefit?

Talk about practice!

How do you do live a life that really matters?  How can our faith outlive our physical years?  

I can relate this discipline to my maintaining a weight loss of 132 lbs.  Now that I have succeeded at my goal, I want to maintain my goal weight.  So how do I do that?  I continue to make healthy lifestyle choices regarding food and exercise.  Now that I know have lived the difference, I want to practice what I know.  Even if there is still a part of me that just wants to cave to the comfort of a slice of cake, a heapin' scoop of ice cream, or a combination of both.  I have to practice healthy and right choices in my life every day.  

So it is with our faith, to live a life that will outlast we have to practice faith, live in the messiness of it it, and practice truth daily.  Day in, day out.  

The church that lives by faith, must be the church that lives, practices, and works the muscle of faith.  We work the muscle of our faith by living by faith that impacts the next generation, based on the principles of God's word.  

"We are called to unleash Christ-centered, Biblically anchored, world changers."  ~ Craig Groeschel.

How do we manage today's generation when we have so much information at our fingertips?  We have to measure the exposure of what the world teaches against what God's Word teaches.

"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." Proverbs 13:20

I decided long ago to daily partake of study God's word, but I also have to let God's word study me.  That's how I apply my faith to my daily living.  I also have to act on what I know and practice what I read.  I choose to muscle my faith.  Living in a godly manner, applying God's truth to our lives, and letting the truth change our behavior is faith at work.  When faith makes a difference in our own world, it will spill out to impact the world around us.  It's intentional faithful living by practicing a surrendered faith-filled life God's way.

As we practice the disciplines of truth, we practice living a life of faith.  We become more consistent in worship, prayer, and can practice the power of the gospel so that we can pass more empowered faith to others we meet, and influence our family, our friends, and our communities.

We must be intentional in our faith, to live what we believe is true and practice what we believe from our faith in our forever faithful God.  His faithfulness outlasts, and His Spirit empowers an intentional faith in us.

You can hear a message on this here.

How have you seen your faith make a difference in the lives of those around you?

What you should say to her dreams

Do you know you have the power of speaking life into her dreams?

Look up and how many "hers" do you see?  Count them.

Now go over to them, touch them, and say..."I believe in your dreams too."

That's it.

You will speak life and hope ...seriously.

She has dreams of being a great wife, and a woman of God.

She has dreams of being a great daughter of the King now.

She has dreams of adopting, nurturing, and growing.

She has dreams of being somebody someday just like you.

She has dreams.

Believe in her for just dreaming.

Cheer her on.  It means so much.  Just once speak"You can do it!" cheer into her.

She wants to be skinny, the best, the most awesome dreamer you know...

How do I know??...because I am her.

I've been stuck in her dreams.  We need your life giving words to propel us forward.

Her dreams need you.  They matter to her.

Words matter to her dreams.  Give life to them.

Stand back and watch her grow.

What you should never say to her

My daughter is pregnant with her second child.  We laughed recently about the inappropriate social comments of well meaning individuals that say stupid stuff to pregnant people.

Yes, I said the word stupid.

Can I just say that if you want to comment  to a pregnant person, that you would please say it in a way that compliments and not tears down her self-worth?

When you see a pregnant person, say they look glowing with life.  Tell her she looks beautiful.  Tell her she is radiant with holy expectation.

Don't say..."Haven't you had that baby yet?"  That was said to me in the ninth month of my first pregnancy.

Or "Go get your own ice cream buddha."  My only response....blank stare.

An even better comment..."I had a shower curtain made from that same fabric."  And response was ....*tears*....

Seriously, don't you know we already feel as big as a house?  Yeah, we do.

This is your official warning to watch your words, think before you speak..... always.

Speak life.  Be kind.

She's growing life, bearing the pains of childbirth, and giving birth to new life.

Stop speaking negatives to a positive.

Stop it.

Can I just say that if you want to comment to an another person, that you would please say it in a way that encourages and not tears down her self-worth for the sake of your need to be funny or heard?

1 Thessalonians 5:11  "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up...."

...and that's the way I want it

tobyMac has a song that reminds of what I learned to do waaayyyy back when...  It's called "Speak Life".  And from the first time I heard it, it's reminded me of my victory of when I started to give myself some grace.  It has literally spoken life...to my heart and it has changed the way I feel about me, and life in general.

Why do these lyrics mean so much?  

..."Well it's crazy to imagine,
Words from our lips as the arms of compassion,
Mountains crumble with every syllable.
Hope can live or die."
I began to put them into practice by speaking life to myself.  One of my all time-blue-medal-life-time achievement awards goes to?  

God.  

With God's help I have kicked the habit of the negative talk in my heart and mind.  

...and that's the way I like it!

I can honestly say I don't do it anymore.  And wow...what freedom I have since the day I ditched that bad habit.

It has literally poured days of God's blessing in our house and in my own life.  When you speak life to yourself, you will speak it to others.  When you harness your tongue and mind to speak kindness, God's Holy Spirit speaks life to you.

You can change your world and the world around you just by being kind to yourself.

Believe me I know.  

I used to carry a big word stick around with me, beating myself up for my bad behavior.  I carried the weight of my own extra weight in the form of shame, guilt and just plain 'ole trouble with me on a daily basis.

I wasn't smart enough...or good enough, or ...well you get the picture.

Perhaps you have been doing this in your own life.  Here's what God's word says...

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."  Proverbs 12:18

"The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushed the spirit."  Proverbs 15:4

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."  Ephesians 4:29

God made us in His own image, that includes our tongues.  Jesus dwells inside of our hearts when you accept Christ as Savior, and when you say negative things to yourself, you are saying them back to God.  

What a slap in the face of Perfect, when the imperfect says God's "workmanship" is not good enough.  There's freedom in the proclamation that we aren't enough.  We aren't supposed to be enough without God.  We are only complete with the identity in Jesus Christ.  So therefore we will never measure up to be enough without Jesus. 

...and that's the way I want it.

So how do you kick the bad habit of negative self-talk?  Speak life to yourself as well as others.

It's the small things that no one sees that result in the big things everyone wants.  If you can't say something helpful, skip it.  Make a list of 100 compliments about you.  Do it...it's so freeing.  And then carry it with you wherever you go.  You will be surprised how God will write those on your heart.

Now that you have those 100 good things about yourself, say those 100 good things to yourself everyday if you have to.

We are God's children.  It's time to encourage ourselves and the world around us.  We can't encourage if we are busy sowing seeds of discouragement to ourselves.  Even David encouraged himself...

..."but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God."  1Samuel 30:6

One of my sticky statements for this year is to speak life to me.....and that's the way I want it.

God in your stormy days

Another killer storms roll through our lives, and we watch.  We wait.  We cry.  "Not again God."

These storms don't seem to stop.  And I am not talking about severe weather storms that turn deadly.  I am talking about life storms where sorrow shapes our faith.

If there is one thing that storms bring is a community or a platform to share how God is good.  I don't understand these storms any better than you.  I don't have a special connection like you would think.   

Here is one thing I have learned from the storms of life.  God is God and He will never stop loving us, no matter how far the storms take us.  He doesn't give up on us nor does he turn His back on us.  Each and every storm gives God the opportunity to bring something good.  

There are good things that I can embrace in each storm, but I have stopped asking the "why" questions.

There are those stormy days I don't allow my heart and mind to wonder or wander through the doubting Thomas moments.  God is good and that is a fact.  So when others are asking the whys of God, I am saying...."shhhhh" in my heart.  God has silenced the mysteries of storms in my heart.  I have to be honest, here ...I wish I had an answer for you...

I don't feel qualified to say why God doesn't stop your storms.  Why He doesn't put an end to them or divert them.  I don't know. 

I don't want to put blame on a Holy God for something that nature caused.  Or some life storming event caused by evil, or worse yet my own deceitful desires.  At the end of the day, when I hold God in one hand and the world in the other, I come out with the same result every time.

God is God.  God is Good.  God is greater than me.  

When storms hit us up and down and unaware, when pain invades our lives, when sorrow shapes our faith, God is still God and that is that.  I believe that what breaks His heart sometimes is the blame we place on God with our stormy laments and that we didn't allow Him to help us through.

We try to stop our own storms.

Who am I to question God about being God?  I am not qualified, nor will I ask that.

What I can do is question myself about why am I looking for a explanation.    

It's not about what I understand or don't understand.  

It's about who God is in my storm.  

It's about God's greater purpose that overrides my need to understand.  

It's about keeping my eyes open to the good that God can bring through my storms.  

It's about believing that these heart-hitting storms are God's refining my faith.    

It's about who God brings alongside my community with whom I can share my splintered spirit.  It's about the deep growth of faith that encourages along the storm ravaged path.  

I can ask God about that stuff and for the healing and restoration that comes from storms.

The Lord our God is ever faithful.  He never changes in my storms.  

When our souls are flooded with His Grace, it becomes apparent that He weathers the storms of this life with us.  We are not alone.  He is close to the things that break us.  He is close to the brokenhearted.

He is God and that is that.  He helps us through our storms.

When questions of "why" flood your soul, don't let them distract you from God's great purpose in what you can learn and encourage through this believer community.  The doubt that comes, loves to isolate and bring fear, leaving us lonely and rejected.  Alone.  Those emotions chip away at our resolve.  Those negatives erode our confidence in the God who "we know that in all things HE works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28.

Who said that storms in life can't be included in God's good plan for us?    

"Every flood of trouble remakes the landscape of your souls – making you better or bitter." ~ Ann Voskamp.

When God shows Himself in your storm...well don't ask the hard questions....just embrace His goodness.  He has every good thing that will get you through to the next storm.  He is every good thing that hovers over our life with His Grace.

He weathered a deadly storm on the Cross.  For you and for me.  Not for a moment has He left me in my storms.  He will not leave you alone in yours either.  Not for a moment will He forsake you. It's comforting to know that He is in the middle of whatever storm you are going through right now.  God will not leave this turmoil, even when it gets intense or hopeless.

God is Good and that is that.  This truth is enough to silence wondering questions in my heart.

Are we there yet?

You hear it from the backseat on a long road trip: "Are we there yet?"

My heart sometimes asks that same dividing question as I reflect about the miracle of Easter morning. The news of death always makes me drift off to my Heavenly and eternal destination.

"Am I there yet?" There are some days where my heart longs for it, mostly in those trouble-filled days.

Do you ever dream of Heaven? Do you gaze upon the beauty of the empty cross and wonder when you will pass into glory?

On those type of days, my foot edges towards the grave when God gently nudges my fragility in this is life. Last week, a sweet sister told me one of her dear family members had arrived at his final resting place. The pain of his passing has left empty places on the inside. Honestly, are we ever really ready to leave this earth?

Let Hope rise your empty faith when it nudges against death. Hope is the only thing that comforts us in our losses and in the suddenness of death. If one arrives in Heaven before us then, they won the race to the feet of Jesus.

Arrival of death reminds me that Jesus has won.

Easter morning shouts that Jesus wins over death. Jesus is hope, and His Hope bumps around in our echoing hearts to bring us comfort and peace. It dries our tears when He reminds us that we will see our dear ones again. So when death steals suddenly, or leaves you with an emptiness that only Jesus can fill, remember the only Hope that heals.

Jesus has won. Jesus welcomes new arrivals. Heaven waits for those who long to arrive.

Upon arrival into our eternal Hope, there are no more...
...tears
...struggles
...surgeries
...problems
...unrest
...hurts
...pains
...rejection
...abuse

So, are we there yet? Not quite...

We try to find heaven on earth. We want to get to our happy places, where all of our problems melt away. But there’s no such thing. There is only the next step God has for us.

That dream job.
That hard relationship.
That difficult move across country.
That hard to love spouse.
The death of a child.
Life for today with all your problems.

The next steps. They’re not the be-all-end-all you want them to be. I’ll confess, this journey sometimes makes me whine like the little kid in the back seat on the road trip. Sometimes I just want to bail out of the stinkin’ car already.

Lean back into your seat for a moment. Roll down the window. Feel the wind of Hope in your hair and the Son on your face. And if you dare, take your eyes off of your problems, your worries, your doubts, your loss that makes your heart ache, and look Heavenward.

Look at Hope.

You’ll get there one day, my friend, if you have accepted Jesus as your welcoming Host. Maybe not today. Or tomorrow. But eventually you will arrive.

And in the meantime, there’s so much in store for you along the way. Don't miss the journey of Hope that Jesus has for you today.

I Want to Say No to Change

Anything worth doing is hard.

There are times in life where God calls us to do hard things.  I am not writing to define what your hard things are.  I know that life is full of hard things.

Peter, of Jesus' disciples,  had to do a hard thing just fifty days after he denied Jesus.  

It seemed easy for him that day.

On the day of Pentecost he did a hard thing.  

He stood up.

He raised his voice.

He addressed the crowd.

Where was the timid and fear-filled Peter of fifty days ago?  Did he come out of hiding once the enemy authorities retreated?

Did Peter stand up by himself?  Read Acts 2:14.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter said no.  He said, "Not this time!"  Peter took a stand and said no to fear.

When you think about it....fear is what gets in the way of change.  Fear paralyzes.  Fear captures our hearts into thinking we can't change.  Fear binds our minds into longing for easy things.

Every day presents opportunities to do hard things.  And every day brings opportunities to change.  The problem is that we are sold out to comfort, fear, and our failures.

I think I can't change, and fear loves to remind me of my failures.  

Today, I am standing up and telling fear in the face that I will not be devoted to it anymore.

To make changes, you have to do just that.  Do hard things.  We want what comes easy.  

We want comfort, we want things our way.  

We want what is comfortable.  

I want to say "no" to wanting.  I want to change to make the hard things the way things are. 

Will anyone stand up with me?  

I promise I will fail you.  I promise to be devoted to truth.  I promise that fear will come.  But when...

....fear comes, when failures remind me that I am not perfect, when hard things have to be done, I will stand.

Standing up for truth and righteousness is the highest calling.  I want to be like Peter in the hard days, in my weak days.  In my weekdays.  

I want to say "no" to wanting the easy life.  I want to say "no" to doing things the easy way.  

I want to live this life that is brimming with fearful opportunities with boldness.  Like Peter.

On that one day, he stood.  I am standing on the promises of God.

It's a hard thing but may I always say yes to it.  Always.  Even when.... I want to give up on change. 

Anyone Need Balance? Step Forward Please!

Balance Rock

This rock is legit. It's the perfect picture of balance. It is called Balance Rock and it's found in the National Monument in the Rockies in western Colorado. 

From a distance it appears that one big gust of wind could knock that large boulder into next week. The boulder is perfectly perched on a rock pedestal.  One long Oklahoma gust of southern wind that we experience on every other day is all it would take to send it landsliding. It seems it wouldn't take much to make it tilt or teeter.

It's ironic.

Upon closer inspection it seems to be pretty established, very stable atop the thin hardened layers of rock, forming it's base for years and years.  It appears stable, and it an old formation according to the pamphlet.

Will all those who need more balance in your life please raise a hand? I need to hear from you desperately. I need to know that I am not the only one who suffers from the wild pendulum swings of crazy-go-nuts days filled with a "to-do-list" the size of Texas. 

One thing I do know is that I need more of it. And it took God a couple times of knocking me off balance to realize it. I tend to topple a lot. In fact, in the past month I have fallen twice.

No...not on purpose. I was doing something I shouldn't have or was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But God reminded me that balance is a good thing, and a needed component that I can be use to maintain a consistent schedule, and the stability needed in my emotions, commitments and priorities. When things get out of whack I overcompensate. I get heavy brained and feel guilty, so I launch into a "I must try harder or I am not doing enough" campaign to win all the hearts of America. 

It is hard to find balance in one's life when so many things are tugging at us with commitments to family, friends and others; guilt when we believe we do not do enough; our perceived ideas about what others think about us; caring too much; feeling inadequate when we cannot make wrongs right; the burdens of the day; and on and on and on....

Guess what happens? I fall down. I dust myself off and try again....and again. Thinking surely I will get it right...one day. And then I hit the wall...and fall flat....exhausted and out of energy and come to a dead stop.

There is no easy formula to create perfect balance in your life. But I have come across a few ideas that might help a little:

1. Take time and energy to your feed spiritual needs or time with Jesus.

2. Get more sleep, in our go-go lives, don't we all need a nap?

3. Get yourself a hobby...even if it's looking at Pinterest for just for five minutes a day, do something that brings you joy. Everyone needs some kind of outlet for all that emotional stuff that tends to pile up in our heart's corners.

God didn't program us to be so busy or work 24/7, but he did call us to be stewards of our time, talent, and resources. So I am thinking twice about what plates I am spinning at the moment. 

This verse helps me find balance: John 3:18-19 "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence."

God's truth stabilizes my heart to God's heart and aligns my truth with His love. His Love anchors me in His truth. His Love anchors my hope. His Love anchors deep.  If I stay anchored to God's love and act on His truth that will keep me in a state of dynamic stability. 

When you take a closer look at the rock formation up above it's not really a boulder sitting on a rock pedestal.  The elements of time have shaped the rock to appear that way. The top boulder part is really anchored to the bottom pedestal. There is a deep rock bed that anchors this natural masterpiece. It is in a state of dynamic stability.

Tell me how you have found balance?

This Is Mission Trip Season

Hope Smiles

When preparing for a mission trip, I start praying towards the destination the day I understand that I am supposed to go. My list of prayers covers a variety of topics from safe travel, to providing enough funding, to bringing the right team together, and to being used by God. There are so many details that need to be in place before one steps foot out the door. 

The one of the biggest prayer circles I present before the Father is to accomplish His work in my heart. I don't want to wait until I get on foreign soil for Him to prepare it.

God always brings back my first mission trip experience in the Dominican Republic.  It was a hot day, on that little hill, when God burned the call of missions on my heart.  It was an unforgettably tender moment when He showed me His hope spoken by the hopeless.  He also showed me how my life was filled with distractions in the worldly life I was living.  That trip was a game-changer. 


My American dream was quickly cast aside when it collided with wide-spread poverty, and buried with the disadvantaged. That message was life-changing, not only for me but for most my team members.

I believe there are lessons that can only be taught on the mission field outside the church pew.  God always prepares you as you pray to prepare.

If you ask, He will move you  
to see their needs...
to humbly serve...
to love them as He loves.

Isn't that the point of going and being Christ to the nations?  

It's in missions that I can see my-God purpose.  

Once I see His heart...how can I say no?

Music Monday [This Is The Day]

Today's post is brought you by Phil Wickham.  Phil has simply put my daily "to-do" list to lyrics.

Everyday, I must surrender to God's grace and mercy.  Every day I must reset.  

I am not perfect, I can't be.  There is only one who is and His name is Jesus.


Everyday, when I read God's words to me, I am reminded of His mercy and grace that flows from each syllable.   "Can you hear it?"  Yes, it oozes from what I read, it's the gentle voice of the Spirit speaking straight to me.  And indeed it does call me to life, to His life of who I am and what I am called to do.  I need that so desperately each and every day.


So in prayer I surrender...as I run into the arms of my Savior.  And he is faithful to always be there, each and every time.  He doesn't move or relocate when he sees me coming.  Nor does He play hide and seek.  When I seek Him, I find Him.  I need that so desperately each and every day.  

As I move towards God, His glorious light makes my heart shine.  

Each day, I want it experience a new beginning.  Each day, as I bask in His mercy and grace, new each morning, it's good to be embraced in the arms of lavish love.  It brings hope to my day, it brings hope to my life.  I need hope every day. 


Not only is there a light that shines in my heart but there is a light that shines in the darkness that illuminates truth, so that when I align my heart with truth I am gently reminded where I need to change or put my focus. I need that reminder of purpose everyday.

I can see that Isaiah had the same ideas about meeting God...

To open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. Is. 42:7 

Can you see it?
A light shines into the darkness
Bringing hope to the hopeless
It's leading you to life


God's word illuminates my darkness to reveal His light.  That's is where my hope comes from.  And for me....I believe every word I read.  I so desperately need truth each day.

"You cannot expect to be victorious, if the day begins only in your own strength. Face the work of every day with the influence of a few thoughtful, quiet moments with your heart and God. Do not meet other people, even those of your own home, until you have first met the great Guest and honored Companion of your life–Jesus Christ.  Meet Him alone. Meet Him regularly. Meet Him with His open Book of counsel before you; and face the regular and the irregular duties of each day with the influence of His personality definitely controlling your every action." ~ Streams From The Desert

Do you meet with God everyday?  Do you give Him your first part of your day?  What part of God's word is speaking to you right now?

Sunday Scripture [John 15:5]

Remaining

In the spring, vines often produce flowers.  Some vines produce fruit or vegetables.  If you look at the same vines in the winter season, however, it often looks like there is no growth.  It's essential for the vine to stay connected in the the down times of growth to maintain a constant source of nurtrition for the spring. Once cut, the vines will not flourish.  The joint must not be broken.  

With Jesus' words recorded in John, He was giving the disciples a word picture about spiritual growth.  Jesus is the Vine, our Life source.  Our Only Source.  We, as believers, are the branches.  It is essential to stay connected to our only source of Life.  If we remove ourselves, we will not bear fruit, we will not grow, we will shrivel.  Jesus gives life, maintains growth and bears fruit in us IF we remain connected to Him.  We must stay grafted to Jesus.  Jesus must remain our source of life.  Without him we will shrivel, dry up and be unproductive.

We are not designed to do this life alone.  You have heard of the saying "a God-sized hole" in your heart, I believe that to be true.  Part of God's intimate design for each of us is a need that can only be filled by him.  So when we try to fill our lives with everything but God, we will get a false sense of security and satisfaction.  No one wants that!

Remain.Connect.Stay.Grow  

Music Monday [Don't Wait]

This Music Monday is brought to you by Addison Road, compliments of their song "Don't Wait".


Basically this song is a reminder of how temporary our lives are, and while we are here on earth, we need to make the most of every moment.  My favorite line is "Our lives, unpredictable....It can turn on a dime."  I know about that.  One day everything is fine....the next minute everything is falling apart.  Tornadoes destroy, cancer strikes, death haunts, hearts turn away.



The lyrics also remind me that we are to be more "Heaven-minded".  What does that look like?  Praying for the lost, being broken for the things that break God's heart, always being ready to explain why you believe what you believe.


God brings people to their deepest need many times through tough life circumstances.  God redeems these times by bringing those unto Himself and by revealing His character.  When life deals a unpredictable hand, I want to make the most of every opportunity of God's grace by my witness.  I know how God has helped my family through our unanswered questions, and because of those holy moments, I can offer personal lessons learned to help other fragile hearts.  In life's brokenness we gain understanding of who God is.  


Life is uncertain, but death is sure.  Don't delay in making a difference.  


Don't Wait
Today I lost a friend of mine
I never even got to say goodbye
I thought we had time to burn
But life is short
You only get one turn

Whoa, gone before you know
Whoa, so make the most

(Chorus)
We're not indestructible
Our lives, unpredictable
It can turn on a dime
So now is the time
Don't wait
Don't wait
Gotta live today
Gotta live today, today

So here I am wide awake
Blinded by a brand new day
Every breath given to me
Is a gift I want to redeem

Whoa, the minutes they unwind
Whoa, so I gotta make the time

Chorus X2

In the blink of an eye
You snap and time goes by
Time goes by

We'll wonder where it all went
If we forget
So don't forget

What does this song say to you?

Music Monday

As I sit here and listen to the wind blowing so hard around our house, it reminds me of how life is such a swirl sometimes, at least it is at our house. The constant squeak of the loose tin flopping in the Oklahoma wind on our already-broken-down

garage tells me there is repair needed outside as well as inside this joint. I often sigh at the work that needs to be done. I know that God often sighs at the work that needs to be done....in my heart.

Life swirls with life. Life circles with pain, sadness, darkness, happiness, joy, peace, good times, and bad times. I could go on and on about this. I have years of experience living these crazy life circles. I have given up on asking the "Why me?" question. Here's why...I know my Savior and He has the best in store for me....always. Even when it appears that everything in my current life circle is against me.

The swirling circles that surround me are for His purpose. The valleys, the hills, the crags, the precipices (oh yeah, that's a big word...look it up!) the cliffs, the smooth garden paths, the thin places, the thick places, and the silent and long journeys in the desert. All those are carefully crafted at the hand of my Savior.

Life is so hard to take right? Yes, it is, but one thing we can take away from these situations, circumstances and potential growth opportunities is that God is. God is our refuge. God is our salvation, God is our hope. This is what I cling to when life doesn't make sense.

The lyrics of Stronger by Mandisa mean a lot to me right now.

"Thinking about how your world ain't right
And you wonder if things will ever get better
And you're asking why is it always raining on you
When all you want is just a little good news
Instead of standing there stuck out in the weather

Oh, don't hang your head
It's gonna end
God's right there
Even if it's hard to see Him
I promise you that He still cares

(Chorus)
When the waves are taking you under
Hold on just a little bit longer
He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger
The pain ain't gonna last forever
And things can only get better
Believe me, this is gonna make you stronger
Gonna make you stronger, stronger, stronger
Believe me, this is gonna make you ...

Try and do the best you can
Hold on and let Him hold your hand
And go on and fall into the arms of Jesus
Oh, lift your head it's gonna end
God's right there
Even when you just can't feel Him
I promise you that He still cares"

These are some good words to focus on when life doesn't make sense. When you are hit with illness, financial strain, car repairs, denial by insurance for medical claims, $2000 blood tests and EF-4 tornado's. When life slaps you hard in the face....you have to cling to something. My lifeline is God. I don't know the whys, but I know the Who. I am God's, His, and He is my Refuge. Psalm 119:114 "You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my only source of hope."

I could use a little good news, how about you? What life circle is slapping you hard right now?