Starting Today...

It's been too long since I stretched my heart out on this page...

The Lord...stirring something in me...brings life and truth and vision to upcoming days...I anticipate...
Revival.

I wrote on the last page of a journal this morning...something so nostalgic for me in that feeling of seeing final words written there, and then the closing of the book.

  So I re-opened it and flipped through the recorded notes of my heart.  Happy to be passed some of the things I walked through on my journey but also intrigued by places that I was at, places that I want to hold on to and remember, that I don't want to forget.  Oh how the Lord meets us like no other.

So here it is...a prayer written from early summer...remembered today...re-spoken...whispered to the Lord again.

"Lord, will you continue to blow soft your Spirit on the embers of my heart, on my husband's heart, my kid's hearts...fanning a flame that hungers more and more of you...unsatisfied by the empty pleasures and temptations and illusions of happiness that this present world suggests.  No, Lord...would it be that our hunger runs raw and deep for You--a love that satisfies, a trust that defeats fear...pure and holy.  That our family...a home full of imperfect people, could love you, grow closer to you...not fazed by illusions, not distracted with mirage--but could see You and be steadfast, confident in what is sure, what is true, what is beautiful...trusting, fearless, Divine inspired, Spirit directed, Truth focused and Graced Lavished.
I want this.  I want it for my marriage.  I want it for my kids.  I want it for our family and multiplied by generations.
And fear says to me, "What pain will we have to endure to have what I want, what I ask?"
Is pain the only way?
It seems...you ask for growth and it comes only through pain...so fear talks and it seems easier and less frightening to just ask for blessings and peace.
But I want Joy too.
Joy in the present and joy in the Presence of my Beloved Saviour.  Joy in obedience.  Joy in trusting, even when I feel afraid.
I want sweetness in the moment, anticipation that when I look at you Jesus, and look into your precious eyes for the first time, that I can look at you without fear, without shame, without regret....just joy.
I want more of you Jesus.
Breathe your Spirit of Life into me today.
Can I take just one day at a time?
  It's hard to look sometimes beyond today when the fear of the unknown future in these circumstances seems to loom in darkness up ahead...but,
I think I can do just one day at a time...

Lavished in Grace
Focused on Truth
Inspired by your Heart
Directed by your Spirit
Choosing to Trust you in Confidence
Free from Fear

Starting Today.

More than I could ever ask or imagine...

This past Thursday, my grade got to lead the youth night. We had made plans the week before to do a more quiet, calm evening... with lots of worship and different people sharing. Then at the end, we decided to have some time for an open mic, where anyone could come up and share a story or something God had been teaching them.

On the actual night, I started to have doubts about the open mic time. I was expecting long, drawn-out pauses when no one would be willing to share. I was expecting awkward silence. But, boy, did God surprise me! The Holy Spirit was really working that night, and instead of no volunteers, we had people, youth and leaders, continuously coming up front to share something with the group. There wasn't even 30 seconds between each person! It was such a blessing to hear stories of God's blessing or teaching, especially from people who normally wouldn't share in a big group, but who felt God calling them to do so. We probably could have continued like that for a while longer, but the night had to end sometime, and some people had school the next day :)

As I look back, I realize that God really works in ways beyond anything we could ever dream of. The night was way more than expected, better than I could have ever dreamed. And it was nothing that we did. Sure, we played music and shared some of our own journeys, but God was the hero that night. He touched so many hearts, when I had been worried about silly things like how the band would sound and if we'd have enough time. So I guess my thought for this post is, don't put God in a box. He is far more than we can ever comprehend, and He loves to wow us!

A dose of Vitamin D-ivine

I guess I have a love/hate relationship with the month of June.  I've been a little worn down as of late.  It's a crazy month.  I'm sad to see somethings in my year go like being with my Contacts Bible Study Girls ( It's such an encouragement to meet with precious women seeking Jesus every week), school on the other hand....I can't wait to be over....I just want to relax with my kids....no more lunches and no more projects or homework.  I just want to go camping!  (In nice warm weather I might add).   I know that the cold, dreary rain hasn't helped my feelings much either.  A little vitamin D does the body some good you know.

Isn't it so amazing that Jesus calls Himself the Light of the world.  I love this verse from the book of John chapter 8 verse 12.  Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

I hope you can see where I am going here but I feel like I've been stumbling about a little in the dark.  My mind has been shadowed with some dark clouds lately.  I have grieved some things for others and grieved some things for myself.  I have struggled with letting those things go.  I have wrestled with the outcome of some circumstances.  I know and believe that the sun is still shining beyond those clouds and sometimes even through them...but I have to admit that I have been distracted lately by the rain and the dark clouds that bring it.  Knowing that it is the Truth that sets us free, (John 8:32 ..."and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.")  I have pondered the scriptures, rolling it's truth around in my mind.  Saying the words out loud and asking the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts so that I can see the truth in the situations before me.  I feel like my mind, will and emotions have been getting the best of me...and I have not been fully focused or surrendered to allowing the Holy Spirit to guide me through the darkness that can sometime surround us.  I'm trying to formulate this for you the best I can so I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say....it's like I've still been eating healthy (the pure spiritual food of God's word) but I'm needing a little vitamin D-ivine supplement.  It's not just enough to read God's word and say it....I need the divine outpouring of God's Holy Spirit in my life to give me life and direction and understanding and power to overcome darkness around me and to live victoriously in every situation and every circumstance.  On my own...I just can't do it.  It's exhausting.  So how do you get this life giving vitamin D-ivine supplement?  Well...the bible seems pretty clear on this...all we have to do is ask.

Jesus is our Sonshine.  No matter what we see or even don't see around us...He is still there, just like the sun on a cloudy day.  He says it himself....and I just love the words..."I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  Not just light, sister,  but the light of life!  The Holy Spirit is our power source.  Acts 1:8, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..."  If you have asked Jesus to be in your life, you have the Holy Spirit living within you, He will never leave you...but if you want to live victorious in the light, we must invite Him and choose Him to guide us, speak to us and fill us with his Divine power.

So give me the Son and give me some vitamin D-ivine, I'm tired of focusing on the clouds...I want to run and sing in the light of life!

An Extreme Home Make-Over

I'm sure most of you have seen the show. I can't even watch it without crying it seems...every time! Some family devastated by a tragedy of some sort, gets chosen to have their home completely made-over more wonderfully than they could ever imagine. I just can't help it....when the bus pulls away and they start screaming and crying, and running from room to room, blown away with gratefulness...I just start crying too.

Each one of us has been devastated by sin and hurts and pain in this life. But when we invite Jesus into our life....He comes and does more than an extreme make over. He moves in to our heart and builds in us a home that will last forever and never become outdated. His Spirit comes to live inside of us and can change us completely from the inside out! It is definitely an extreme home make-over.

1 Corinthians 6:19

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?

My young daughter and I were talking about the Holy Spirit the other night. She had heard me praying and inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to us, guide us and reveal more of God's truth to us. She wanted to know why I was inviting the Holy Spirit to teach us when He already lives inside of us. While I was thinking of how to explain it. The Holy Spirit himself spoke to her.

As we laid on our backs in her bed looking up at the dark ceiling...she answered her own question in a very matter of fact manner. "It's like the Holy Spirit already lives in the house, but when you invite Him to teach you, its like asking Him to come sit next to you."

"Yes, my daughter," I replied. And the truth was revealed to a child. I have heard that Augustine once said that the Gospel is deep enough for an elephant to swim and shallow enough for a child not to drown. I find that breathtakingly true.

Holy Spirit continue your work. Jesus, don't stop the renovations of my heart! Heal my hurts, build in me your grace and truth. I give you every room and every closet to clean out and remodel. Let your sweet freedom transform all of the old into the new. Thank you, Jesus.

Ephesians 3:14-19

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

A dose of Love and Joy

I've been studying the book of John.

If you haven't read your Bible in a while and don't know where to start back...I suggest you start back here. It's elemental. It's foundational. You may have heard these verses your whole life since sunday school and find that you're breezing over them like a book you already know the ending to....Don't.

Stop. Slow down. Soak it in. Read the same verse over a few times. Invite the Holy Spirit to teach you... to open God's word up to you in a new and fresh light. Ask Him to open your heart and mind to His truth and to reveal Himself to you through his words.

John 14:26

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to you remembrance all that I have said to you."

Here's something to meditate on today....

From the very precious mouth of Jesus:

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

Abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments,

you will abide in my love,

just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love."

(Want Joy?.....then keep reading and think about this....)

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you,

and that your joy may be full."

John 15:9-11

Dearest Jesus....Thank you for your love. Thank you for loving me in the same way that the Heavenly Father loves you. I want to rest and live every moment in the center of your love. Help me to keep your commandments...your words of truth...not out of some sense of christian duty, but out of love. Help me to keep them close to my heart and mind, as I live out each day and do my best to follow your example. I want your joy in me Jesus. I want it full and overflowing and complete. Thank you, thank you, thank you, so much for loving me.

Blessed be your Holy Name. Amen.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Luke 1:35

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God."

I can't deny it...I've thought of Mary in awe my whole life. I've tried to imagine what she must have been like and what kind of personality or character would have made her the young woman God chose to be the mother of his only Son. I don't think she was perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I do believe however, that one of the things that set her apart was her complete trust and submission to her Heavenly Father. She pretty much sums that up with her response to Gabriel's life changing news for her in verse 38. And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." I love that.

Another thing I love is that God is seriously the King of Gift Giving. You know that when He gave us Jesus, His precious and only Son....He gave us the gift that just keeps on giving. Our blessed Lord, Immanuel, Prince of Peace...with his birth brought hope...and with his death brought life.

What was available for only a select few, before his foretold coming, is now available, accessible and life changing for us as His sons and daughters...His precious ones.

That amazing gift given to Mary to help her do what God had called her to do...is yours and mine today...for the exact same reason. We have intimacy with our Saviour. We have His Spirit to help us grow and fulfill God's will in us. We are part of his purpose and part of his plan.

Thank you Jesus for your beautiful sacrifice. Thank you for sending us your Holy Spirit. Thank you Father for loving us that much.

For whatever seems impossible for you right now...remember what you have and what you have been given.

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you....."

Ponder the Path

With the beginning of the month of December, I'm reading the Proverb that correlates with each day. Since it's the 4th, I read Proverbs 4.

There's an interesting contrast that caught my attention in this chapter.
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know over what they stumble. vs. 19
For the wicked it's dark, and they don't know what tripped them up. They don't have a clue, and maybe they don't even bother to figure it out.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day. vs 18
Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. vs 26
Ponder the path of your feet; take heed to the path of your feet; watch the path of your feet; make level the path of your feet. These are all different translations of verse 26. Pondering the path of our feet is a conscious awareness and can lead to deliberate action. This is our responsibility. Since the path of the righteous - those who have received the righteousness of Christ - is full of light, we can be aware of our path.

We have the written word of God to bring light to our path.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105

We have the Holy Spirit living in us, teaching us and leading us into all truth.
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." John 14:16-17,26

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

Ponder the path and make level paths for your feet, my dear sisters. May His Word and His Spirit lead and guide you today in all you think, say and do.