I'm amazed at how my Savior can take any and every circumstance around me to show me more about him. My prayer has always been that this journey of life I'm on would continually bring honor and glory to him, so by using every opportunity; my mistakes, my successes, and my day-to-day adventures, he teaches me how to use it for his glory. This life he blessed me with is ALL about him! So, these are my thoughts, my heart cries, and my lessons from his glorious Word. These are the teachable moments from my Savior!

Psalm 25:4-5 "Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

Friday, June 26, 2015

Extra! Extra!...Read All About It!

I sat in my quiet little spot at the bookstore/coffee house one day just so excited that I had about two hours of uninterrupted time in the Word. It was one of those days when I had several things to keep me in town but there was a nice long break in between appointments where I had a couple of hours of “free” time. Yes, “free” time! What is that you ask?

Well, I had to look up the definition as well because “free” time doesn’t come by my way very often. Haha! Anyway, two hours to do what I wanted to do!

Even though the store was quite busy, I nestled myself at a quiet table, opened my Bible, and bowed my head to thank my sweet Lord for that precious time.  As I lifted my head and glanced around the room, my heart was drawn to the people sitting all around me. After all, it was a bookstore so everyone had chosen their reading material as they sat and sipped their iced beverages. Most people were catching up on the gossip magazines. You know the magazines that are laced with who is cheating on who? Who has the best celebrity beach body? what fashion do you need to wear to be “hip”?...you know the reading material that really feeds your mind. Lol!

But a short moment later, my focus was drawn to a little lady in the corner with a stack of books on her table. She had a book in her hand and she was reading so intently that she was even making strong facial expressions and hand gestures with her free hand. She would laugh, she would speak aloud when she agreed with what she had just read, and she, at one time, even began to cry.  Wow! What in the world was she reading? It must have been powerful to get that kind of reaction out of her in a public place. Well, I couldn’t tell because it was in Spanish so that remains a mystery to me but she was so engrossed in that book and passionate about its message.

That spoke volumes to me!  Reading evokes so many emotions in us. Have you ever read a book that you just couldn’t put down…a book that you kept talking about for days? I have! The written word can be such a powerful thing. But today, my heart was stirred about that amazing Book I had in my very hands!

I quickly bowed my head again and asked God to prepare my heart as I opened His Word. No other book can ever be as powerful or life altering as God’s Holy Word.  After all, no other book was written under the direct inspiration of God’s mighty hand and I was about to dig my heart and soul in!  I prayed that God would give me the passion and excitement as I read the beautiful promises He wrote for me. I prayed that my heart would be stirred in such a way that I would leave that bookstore with a renewed passion to tell others about Him.

Oh, the precious Word of God! Life altering, divinely inspired, full of grace and truth! 

Read the Word today!  Pick up those beautiful pages of scripture and read what God has for YOU!

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

“Your word is a lamp to my feet 
and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105


“Open my eyes that I may see 
wonderful things in your law.” Psalm 119:18

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Home Sweet Home


Lord, today I thank you for my home! I thank you for the happiness that I find here and for the comfort it brings when I drive in my driveway. I thank you for the voices I hear as I walk from room to room, my husband and precious children. I thank you for the rest that my soul finds here as I break away from the world.  I thank you for the reminders of sweet life that dwell here as I see the nicks on the wall and markers of my children's growth on the doorframe. I thank you for the dinners around our family table where memories are shared and days are hashed out. I thank you for our beds that comfort our weary bodies at night. I thank you for our living room where we welcome guests, have family worship time, and do life. I thank you for my kitchen where many memories are shared like cooking meals, heart-to-heart talks, sweet embraces from my husband, and random dance parties with the family. I thank you for our little schoolroom where I get the honor of teaching my kids and watching them learn. I thank you for my laundry room to clean the clothes that we do life in. I thank you for my front door where I watch my husband pull in the driveway from work and welcome him with a hug and kiss. I thank you for our backyard where I watch my kids play ball and our crazy dog run around. I thank you for my front porch where I spend those weekend and summer mornings in your Word and watch the deer across the field. I thank you for our garage where my husband and son do chores with K-LOVE blaring in the background. I thank you for bathrooms where we can shower and brush our teeth.  I thank you for each bedroom and the rest and comfort there. I thank you for the stairwell, top and bottom, where hugs and “I love yous” are shared with each family member.  I thank you for your Word that covers each wall whether by framed print or by handwritten notes.  I thank you for each nook and cranny because it is where precious life is done.

Lord, I thank you for this home…our home! It may not be perfect because it inhabits imperfect people and it may not be perfectly clean but it is HOME. It is the place our family dwells and life lessons are learned. It is the place where we cry together, laugh together, pray together, and grow together. It is the place where you have blessed us immensely and, today Lord, I want to give YOU praise for it all!

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15b














HOME! 

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Today's Choice...

Today we have a choice...

We can camp out in fear and despair for all our struggles and uncertainties and let the enemy steal our joy,

Or...

We can walk in the fullness, comfort, peace, and healing grace of Jesus with JOY unspeakable and let HIS glory shine!

I choose the latter! Fill me to overflowing, Holy Spirit, and let others see Christ in me! Help us be YOUR light to a dark world! Wrap your loving arms around us and bring comfort!

Who will join me this day in proclaiming hope through the mighty name of Jesus?

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (NLT)

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

John 10:10 (NKJV)

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

For God so LOVED!

The Creator of the universe....the God of creation, sent his ONE and ONLY Son down to this crazy, messed up earth to die a very painful and agonizing death on cruel cross for an ordinary girl from North Carolina who is a sinner and makes a total mess of things sometimes.

Why???

Because He loves her (ME) that much!

Wow! What an incredibly humbling reality this morning! He took my sin and filth and died for ME! I don't deserve his grace but it's never ending. I don't deserve his love but He loves me unconditionally. I don't deserve heaven for all eternity with Him but He's preparing my place even now!

And you know what??

He did that for YOU too!!!

If you don't KNOW my Jesus you can TODAY! Right this minute, surrender your life to HIM. Turn from your sin and make Jesus the Lord of your life and follow HIM! Don't delay! The greatest journey is that with Jesus! HE is the ONLY way!

"Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 10:9-11 (ESV)

Today, I have a heart overflowing in gratitude for HIS huge sacrifice for me and I look forward to the day when I see my Jesus face to face! Whether He calls me home or returns for me, one day I will see HIS beautiful face and rest in my Father's arms for all eternity!

But until then....I will serve and love him with all my heart and will proclaim HIS message for all the world to hear! Hallelujah!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16 (NIV)

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Opportunities All Around!

Don't you just love those first minutes in the morning when you realize God as gifted you with breath in your lungs for another day and the opportunities to praise him are endless?

Oh, thank you, Father, for the gift of life!

"The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life."
Job 33:4 (NIV)

I praise him for these few minutes out on my porch before the heat index rises to craziness and for an air conditioning system that is holding out so far. I praise him for safety for my husband who is another country working hard, for my teenagers who had an amazing first day of church camp, and my sweet 11-year-old son who had to hang with his mom through a day of work and ladies Bible study only to go to bed last night and say what a great week it is spending time with me!
So many things to praise my God for today! When you look at the world through anything other than the lens of the Savior then it look bleak and of no hope. But when you put things in a heavenly perspective and realize that this world is not our home and we are just passing through, it gives such hope to push forward and press on in Christ.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (NIV)

Opportunities are all around us this day to share hope to a lost world. The question is;
Will we share this hope to a lost world? Will we be the ones who live purposefully in reaching others for Christ?
What a day this can be!!
This morning, I reached for my Bible and got so excited! As soon as my hands wrap around that precious Book, my heart swells and I stand in awe that the God of the universe...my God...my Savior, gave this Book to me. His love letter to me...His blessed Word! Flipping through those beautiful pages, one by one, and reading how He feels about me, what He has done for me and continues to do for me, and knowing that He has given me everything I need, right there through those pages, on how to live this life leave me humbled and grateful. My God...He is the Word! Oh, hallelujah!
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:1 (NKJV)

If you haven't done it yet, go grab your Bible. Hold that precious Book in your hands and just take a moment to soak in the blessing it is. Then open it and feast on His Word! Get nourishment to sustain you today. Get direction on what to do. Get hope that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do! Praise HIM!
Now, go out and share that hope with someone else today! Live life on purpose!
Blessings for YOU this day!
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Romans 15:13 (NIV)

Sunday, June 14, 2015

What if...

This morning I sit on my front porch before church, Bible on my lap, coffee in hand and bask in this beautiful sunshine God has blessed us with. I sit, and rock, and pray, and read, and pray some more, and then I sit in silence and just be still before my Lord. No other place I would rather be than in the presence of my Lord!
On my heart today, I ponder some "what if's":

What if we truly lived each day with lives surrendered to the will of God? Matthew 16:24-25

What if we woke up every morning, laid down our "wants" and asked God to make our desires HIS desires? Psalm 37:4

What if we set out to live this day by "your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path"? Psalm 119:105

What if we truly lived "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind & strength and love your neighbor as yourself"? Matthew 22:37-39

What if we lived our lives as praise offerings to Jesus instead of ourselves? Hebrews 13:15
What if we woke up each day with a burning passion to tell others the gospel message? Matthew 28:18-20

What if we surrendered our "entitlement attitude" and replaced it with a genuine humility that we are blessed with another breath on this earth to praise and serve the ONE TRUE GOD? Philippians 2:3-11

What if...…..

Yes, that's a lot to ponder this morning. I think I'll make another cup of coffee. Lol! Then I'll take these "what if's" on my face before my God and know that it starts with me.

Lord, change my heart and make it beat in tune with yours. Wipe away the dirt and grime so my life shines brightly for YOU. May the beautiful aroma that is YOU seep out of every pore of my body so that others don't see me but see YOU in me. Help me love as YOU love. Let my life be a pleasing sacrifice to YOU, precious Lord. I thank YOU for your mercy and your grace. I praise YOU, Father, because YOU are worthy and I lift my heart and hands in surrender, today, to YOUR will. I will walk in your Word as it guides and corrects my path. Let every breath from my mouth echo your goodness and ignite a passion in me like never before to share the good news to all around me. This life belongs to YOU, Lord! I surrender ALL to YOU! Have YOUR way in me!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Remembering the Journey and Pressing on in Christ

This was me (and my lovely sister, Leslie) exactly 4 years ago today. I have this app on my phone called “Timehop”. You may have heard of it. It takes a look back at your photos and your social media posts over the years and allows you to take a walk down memory lane. This one hit me hard! You see, I had worked extremely hard in the years before this photo at losing a lot of weight and getting healthier and the day this photo was taken, Leslie and I had run a 5K in honor of our sister, Amy, who had beaten breast cancer. Several years before this I was not a runner (unless someone was chasing me! Lol!) and had a lot of weight on me that needed to come off. Well, through a lot of prayer and hard work, I got it off. But then…..

What you also don’t know is that the day this photo was taken was also toward the beginning of another journey; a journey that would take me through a lot, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Things would get harder and more difficult to understand. Physically and mentally I struggled through hardships and not knowing exactly what was going on but I was so thankful for a wonderful Christian doctor and family and friends that kept me encouraged and prayed for. Over the next couple of years, my health issues got resolved but through it all, the weight would come back on and with a vengeance I might add. So, looking at this picture, it wells up a lot of emotions. I look back and realize how difficult that time was and was getting ready to get and though my waistline has expanded (and every other area of my body. Ha!) my heart for God took on new growth as well. He grew me in ways that stretched my faith and trust like never before. He was the Rock that I clung to in dark times. He began showing me just how strong He is and how He is all I need!

He began opening new doors and closing others that had been opened for years. Life was changing but He was at the lead and I was a willing vessel ready to go where He wanted me to go. The more I feasted on Him, the more I desired. I was ready to step out and go…

Then came more detours and trials, though not physically this time, still challenging all the same. So, I put things aside and began to focus on the task at hand, still trusting that all things are in His hands and His time.

Over the last several months, Matt and I have been praying as God has been challenging us to dig deep and keep trusting. There are not enough spaces on the internet for me to put into words what an amazing, godly husband I have. Matt has been my encourager, my prayer warrior, my godly counsel and my biggest supporter in all things. Through it all, he has loved me unconditionally. He has loved me at my thinnest and at my biggest…again, and also at the times when I’m not lovable. I am eternally grateful to God for the partner and husband he so graciously gave me.

Well, the day came, or should I say late night came when we took the next step. God whispered, “Come”, and I got out of the boat and began heading toward Him.

There have been roadblocks along the way over the last few months, testing our faith to continue. But we will continue! Please be in prayer for me over the next couple of months as I take some huge leaps of faith to follow God’s leading. I just want to be obedient! Plain and simple…well, we all know obedience isn’t always simple but you know what I mean. Haha!

Even this morning as I was contemplating some decisions in the next few days, I was dealing with self-doubt. Then an email comes out of the blue from my wonderful mom with such godly wisdom and scripture to encourage me to press on.  She was reminding me of the journey God has had me on and this is just a continuation of that. It’s not about me! Well, the floodgates were opened, the tears poured and God reminded me again that He will provide the manna needed for the journey. Every piece, every morsel, every bite…He will provide! Praise HIM!

Sometimes we have only enough light for the step we are on but when that Light is Jesus…it is ALL we need!

So, here I go…trusting, praying, believing and praising my GOD!


“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

 Proverbs 3:5-6

** And for those wondering, NO, I am not leaving my job and NO, we are not moving! ;) ** 





Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Trust!

A little front porch rocking, singing, praying, reading and praising this morning to get this day started. O, how I love my Jesus! Here is a little treasure from scripture to encourage you this day.

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock."
Isaiah 26:3-4 (NLT)