As I was standing in my kitchen this morning exchanging texts with my sister in law who happens to live in Texas about 30 minutes from Houston, I was just struck with overwhelming emotion for the people there. I have lived in Texas and traveled to Houston many times as a child and to see it in its present state is just bewildering.
Because it is my nature to fix things I immediately began to think “what can I do?”. My sister in law is volunteering at the shelters close to her but I live over 600 miles away. In moments like these I feel small and insignificant. In the Godfather, we hear the phrase “take it to the mattresses,” meaning war is about to ensue, I heard a voice say to me take it to prayer and don’t say “all I can do is pray.” Why? Because it reduces prayer to be inconsequential and prayer is anything but minor or frivolous.
Prayer is powerful, Prayer is war, Prayer gives strength and brings courage we see that clearly with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, He prays and is empowered for the inhumane treatment He is about to endure on the cross for our behalf.

We know prayer is powerful because Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 17:21 that what they were facing and trying to overcome (helping the small boy possessed) could only be conquered through prayer accompanied by fasting. PRAYER is meant to be our POWER HOUSE MOVEMENT, not some wimpy kid on the bench, not some play that never got on the ball field to the players!

As I went into prayer this morning, tears were falling, my heart breaking for all those people and animals, I was brought to Genesis 18:14 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”

Abraham could not comprehend the totality of God’s power, the magnitude of God’s unlimited abilities to triumph over any and all situations. God asks Abraham- is anything too great for Me?! It was a rhetoric question, not to be answered because the answer was within the question itself… NO, nothing is too great for God!
Abraham could not process that his wife of around 90 years of age would actually be able to give birth. FAITH DEFIES LOGIC! Stop trying to use logic to understand the Lord’s abilities, He is not bound to our limited reasoning skills. God would defy the logic of the human body by Sarah having a baby at the end of her life instead of at the beginning of her life. Mind blowing! God can’t help but to shock our feeble minds with His love and power.

Again I was brought to Jeremiah 32 where God declares who He is and the totality of His power: 32: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me.” Jeremiah at this point in his life is basically in a cistern of mud and muck (literally) because Israel is in a state of war with the Babylonians and about to be conquered. The King was not too keen on Jeremiah’s prophesy against his efforts. Faith will at times try us… calling us into situations where our faith is stretched and walking in daring faith means we may not be liked very much, remain faithful to the Lord and stand your ground through prayer and faith knowing He has your back.

Remember there is nothing too great for the Lord to overcome, subdue, or rule over… NOTHING… I don’t know what you are trying to overcome but I do know if you invite God into your situation He will recede the flood waters and you will once again see dry land. I hope you join with me as I pray for the people of Texas, that God moves in a mighty way and that they see His unconditional love and enormity of His power to use this crisis to display His goodness and glory bringing unity where there was once separation… God brings harmony to the discord of our life should we seek Him… Seek Him today and every day.

Good Morning Ladies….

PS. We tend to focus on the worst of humanity because the media likes to feed us garbage and a diet of non-stop garbage is going to lead to bad health… We may be a nation that at times is disgruntled with each other, families are like that but we also ban together and help raise each other up during a crisis. If only we could live like that every day; sadly, seldom do families live like that on a daily basis. We focus on the worst of humanity but let’s not over-look the best of humanity too. We will raise each other up out of the devastation and rebuild on new ground… better ground.

A walk down memory lane today…

For so long I identified strength as the ability to belt out profanity, to stand on my own, to be independent, and to be hard around the edges. When I got into a relationship with the Lord I learned that my concept of strength was wrong. I found the closer I got to the Lord the more I came to understand that what makes me strong is my ability to forgive, my ability to dole out mercy, and my ability to love especially the unlovable. I needed to be soft… it was a hard transition and still is.

I was raised most of my life by a single mother just trying to survive. She came from horrific abuse as child and in return was a child-bride, trying to out run past trauma, she came from such a religious background her perception of God was completely skewed. She had been hurt by the people that were supposed to protect  her the most by giving her shelter, physically, emotionally, and spiritually- that did not happen. You can’t out-run your past trauma but you can heal from it eventually.

Because of such wounds she raised me with a concept to be fiercely independent which lead to the idea that I should never need anybody. This did not serve me well as I kept most people at least two arm lengths away. In fact, there were many times during the first years of my marriage I told my husband I didn’t need him and to not let the door hit his butt on the way out. Bless him, he endured me as the Lord was reshaping me and it was hard!

The truth is we are created and designed to need people in our lives. Our strength lies in how we are able to let people in (despite the scars of past wounds) and love them. The ability to continue to love and need people is the part of us that extends and reflects the Lord’s image in our life (as we were created in the image of God).
It took me a long time to realize my strength did not come from myself but the Lord. He gives me the strength I need to be an overcomer. I can do nothing by myself but my help comes from the Lord.
In 2 Kings 11 there is a woman name Jehosheba, her part is small and there is not a lot written about her but there doesn’t need to be, what is written speaks loud enough. She comes from a family that is completely dysfunctional. We are talking about a family that was part of a religious system that believed in child sacrifice, a grandmother that killed all her grandsons except one, and the definition of horrendousness… And yet out of that chaos, out of that horrible mess rose a woman with courageous faith.
She did not let her family history deter her from God. She refused to be a victim of bitterness and she refused to stay in dysfunction or to be defined by her family. She walked in grace and mercy. Through all of that ugliness she was still receptive to the Lord. I don’t know about you but that makes my heart sing a little bit. Why? Because even in an environment that is hostile to God’s goodness, an atmosphere of murder, revenge, evil deeds, self-plotting… God can raise a conqueror!

I don’t know what your family background is and I don’t know what you consider strength to be, I can only tell you my story and how the Lord has opened my eyes. I am not perfect but God is… And no matter what you have faced or are facing right now God’s plans for you are good and His desires are to endow you with strength to rise above. When life leaves you stranded in the desert God will provide you with wings.

God never abandons us but cultivates within us the ability to fly and overcome the highest mountains… It is my hope and prayer that you receive those wings and overcome whatever you are facing.

Good Afternoon Ladies…

Psalms 121:1 I look up to the mountains—
Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
3 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.
5 The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.
7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever. (NLT)

Ya’ll, I wasn’t even on the road for 15 minutes this afternoon (picking kids up from school) and I thought nope, I am done with people today. Yesterday as we took the kids to lunch I couldn’t help but notice the lack of manners from people of all ages, children not saying thank you to the waiter, to grown women not acknowledging the kindness of someone holding the door open for them. Sigh, really?

Yes, there are days when I am done with people. Regardless if you live under the same moral compass as me teach your children to be mindful of other people and educate them in manners. I fear we have become a self-centered world not even aware of the decline and yet there is hope!
I am in the process of re-reading 1 Kings and it never ceases to amaze me the shape the leaders were in over Israel at the time. The Old Testament is an exciting but also a difficult read not for the faint of heart. There was a lot happening during that epoch of time that is hard to digest emotionally and intellectually. And still through this historical story God is trying to tell us something.

So when I read of leaders like King Solomon that purposely diverted from God’s plans for his life or worse his son Rehoboam that completely lived with no moral boundaries, I think hmm what can I learn from this story? The main thing over and over that I take away is God desires to be more than a crisis call or emergency management.

Can I tell you God desires to be more than your last ditch effort for a miracle? His desire is to live a life with you not be your last minute effort to get a prayer answered. I think we have reduced God to “last minute efforts” that is after we have exhausted all other resources we will begrudgingly out of our desperation call on the Lord (instead of making Him center of everything). Center is the focal point, the core, the root.
It’s easy to get lost in all the hustle n bustle of today’s fast pace lifestyle and forget about God. It’s easy for life to drown out God’s voice or better yet it’s easy for life to distract you from God’s voice. Sometimes (in fact most times) I need to just get still and quiet before the Lord. I have to admit with all the gadgets of today’s modern world it is not as easy as it used to be.

Learning to be still with the Lord allows us to saturate in His presence; Infusing with His will that is allowing Him to impart Himself to us. We marinade food but we don’t marinade ourselves… Marinade means several things: to soak, to immerse, to submerge, to saturate but it also means to preserve. Preserve is a verb it’s an action that means reserve. We will marinade food to preserve the flavor but we will neglect to marinade ourselves so we can absorb God’s essence. Incredible isn’t it?

When we learn to be still with the Lord we steep in His love which actually reserves us and leads us to His sanctuary. Sanctuary is a refuge of protection.
I don’t know about you but it’s tiring day after day trying to make it on my own. I need a little help. There are days I am desperate for a refuge where I can just soak under the protection of God’s mercy and I can become saturated with His love. His love is transformational even on days I don’t want to love people, on days I want to quit, on days when nobody has manners. Psalm 46:10 10 Be still, and know that I am God…

I hope this week you will marinade yourself in God’s mercy and love knowing it’s a refuge of protection specifically for you!
Good Afternoon Ladies!

I have been sick this week as I stated in my last blog I have been dealing with a late summer cold. I don’t get sick very often and when I do I really hate it. The only upswing is that it forces me to slow down and be still. This week is my son’s last week before he starts college and I’ve had a lot of time to reflect. He is always talking to me about some music group or world event and they are not limited to present, he loves history too.

We had a debate about whether or not the 80s was the best decade I am an 80s kid so for me it is. I look at his generation and see a lot of chaos in the world, truthfully it saddens my heart. Times are very different than when I grew up some for the better some for the worst. You gotta take the bad with the good so the saying goes (I think that is hogwash).

Chaos is a word I have used several times this week. I have a dear friend of mine that is traveling and she is about to enter into what I call chaos, that is a lack of order. I reminded her to represent order in her travels. We serve a God that calls forth order out of chaos, that is He stabilizes and gives peace no matter the atmosphere (should we seek His assistance). 2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. I love this scripture and I remind myself of it on a regular basis because I need the reminder. Fear has a way of settling into my thoughts.

Sometimes chaos is born from fear and confusion and a gross ignorance. God did not create us to have a spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-control. Power to endure hard times and persevre, love to display great compassion and mercy extending it even to those that are underserving, and self-control because we are created to live with discipline, to self-restrain when needed.

There are times in life it just seems as though chaos follows us but we are not meant to be victims of chaos; we were created to be conquers through Jesus Christ. Romans 8:37 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

No matter what kind of mayhem (confusion or mess) you confront or what type of confusion that surrounds you remember, you are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ, He empowers you to be so much more than a wounded person or victim but a victor in every regard to life. His love trumps all chaos that may follow us.

Good Afternoon Ladies… 😊

PS. We have to be locomotion through commotion.

Today I felt like Chicken Little running around yelling the “sky is falling.” While most people were enjoying the eclipse I was running around like a chicken with no head. Sigh, it’s been a Monday for sure. All that grace I preached about yesterday morning from the pulpit flew out my window when I couldn’t drive down the street due to people parked in a no parking zone, getting their lawn chairs out to gawk at the solar movement of the century (I’m a bit sarcastic tonight). My husband told me I was an eclipse Grinch. I told him we were done talking… lol

It’s just one of those days. I spent an hour grocery shopping (least me children starve or so they say), forty minutes getting my teeth cleaned (always a fun time), two hours at the vet with a sick cat (this doesn’t include the visit last week for my bulldog), my work computer is in the shop (my sermon notes for next week are on that computer), I am fighting a late summer cold, and I can’t seem to stay within budget to save my life! Today is not the best of days, I’ve displaced grace. I am not hording grace I just misplaced it. On days like this I just want to run away, I have had the urge to cry most of the day, and all I want to do is sleep on my heating pad. I am at the moment waiting on my soup to be done (cabbage soup, I love it).
Oh, on days like this I need God to remind me how blessed I really am despite all the small obstacles that life is throwing my way. I live in a country that affords me the freedom to live the way I deem fit, I have food in the kitchen, I have a roof over my head, clothing aglore, a steady income, medical and dental coverage, and healthy children, I really have no right to complain.

Yet, I still feel like running around as if I’m chicken little screaming the “sky is falling, the sky is falling!” Because that is what it feels like to me. Do you ever have days like that? The song Rise Up by Rita Springer keeps popping in my head some of the lyrics are: I am blessed among the people, And I am blessed among the nations, I am blessed because I am loved by You, yeah I am loved and highly favored I am loved and highly favored Saved by the grace of a Mighty Savior
I am blessed because I am loved by You…

I don’t know how your Monday went or if you got to watch the solar eclipse today but if you ever have a day where your sky is falling remember you are loved by a Mighty Savior no matter if your sky is actually falling or you’re just having a bad day…
Jeremiah 17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me… I do trust the Lord and later I will go into prayer; sitting in His soothing presence… a calm that only He can bring me… and He will renew this weary heart and restore my sky for another day.
Good Evening Ladies!

Yesterday I served as a volunteer at a free event for all people. I was not a lead pastor, I was not on the teaching staff, I was nothing really important, I was a gopher of sorts and I loved it. I love serving others. When you serve other people you tell them they matter to you and I think people need to hear that especially in today’s society.
I watch the team of youth kids I brought serve from trash duty to praying with their peers, kids they had never met. I watch them do this with excitement and joy. There was enthusiasm in the air. I believe investing in the next generation is of the utmost importance; teaching them to love somebody other than themselves.

This was not a “religious” event, I don’t serve at “religious” events. Religion has the propensity to be one sided and hard around the edges. This was a melting pot of sorts where people from all different backgrounds in faith came together to serve and facilitate a safe atmosphere of love and redemption. We were building people up, raising them high so they could receive the love that Jesus has for them.

John 3:16 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. This is the cornerstone of Christianity. Maybe you don’t believe there is a God because of all the bad things in the world, maybe you’ve been burned by “Christians,” maybe you’ve been hurt by a “church,” maybe you feel God didn’t answer your prayer, I don’t know… I want to apologize to you… people are imperfect and God doesn’t answer all prayers, (that faith thing is hard, trusting He knows best). I don’t know much But I do know that God loves YOU despite your skepticism.

I do what I do in ministry because I want people to know there is no perfect person, let alone a perfect Christian. I want to bridge the gap between people and the Word of God and make it easier for them to understand and apply. I do not want to throw a bible at them in condemnation. Maybe that makes me a little strange as a Christian but I believe in lending a hand to help people up not keeping them down. I am desperate to extend God’s love to people because I am desperate for God’s love in my own life. I want people to know they are not alone in their desperation.

In the book of Jeremiah- I love Jeremiah, I love him because he was minding his own business and one-day God showed up and said Jeremiah I have other plans for you, my plans will be tough, my plans will be difficult but I know you can do it and I will help you. Jeremiah tried to get out of the work, he cried, through a fit, told God he wasn’t good enough, he wasn’t old enough but none of that matter to God, He knew Jeremiah was capable of the work (and it was really rough too). He placed within Jeremiah a strength to continue on regardless of the difficulties that he encountered (and there were many). God tells us in Jeremiah 31:3 I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.

God’s love is faithful to you no matter what your emotions tell you or what people tell you, never lose sight of that. God places within each of us a strength to rise above what life has handed us and be different. Maybe you won’t win the lottery, maybe you won’t be the richest person but you have the strength and power within you to extend a helping hand, a smile at the grocery store, and soft whisper of encouragement to somebody. That is rising above your circumstances by not letting your life experiences make you harsh and bitter. I want that for you, I don’t know you but I want that for your life, it’s not utopia but its a better place to be.

It is my hope that you will push through the difficulties of your life and reach out to God at some point, knowing His plans for you are bigger than you can imagine. It is my prayer you will encounter God’s great love, compassion, and mercy this week and in return you will be those things for someone else. Pay it forward. Serve those that don’t deserve… step out of your comfort zone…
Good Afternoon Ladies…

PS. It took me a long time before I could serve at an event like yesterday (my anxiety was too great) but it doesn’t take much to invest love, compassion, and mercy into someone… just takes a little deliberate effort, I challenge you to pay it forward.

I was listening to a podcast this morning and the pastor was talking about regret among other things but how regret is a snare to us, keeping us chained to the past; a past that Jesus forgives freely (no matter what). Got me thinking about all the “greats” in the bible such as King David and his adultery, the Apostle Peter and his denial of Christ, or the Apostle Paul and his slaughter of Christians…and the list could on.

Yet, each of those people went on to do remarkable things and be known for great acts of faith. Forgiveness means we don’t have to walk around in regret nonstop. We confess, ask for forgiveness, and we move onto something better. I try to live a very transparent life because I never want to appear to be something I am not. The truth is there are a lot of religious circles that would not have me, a lot churches that would reject me, and a lot of self-righteous people that would sneer at me. I have had two babies out of wed-lock, committed adultery (yes, when you marry too young and you are both miserable, mistakes happen), fornicated, and the list could go on… sigh, They are not my finest moments but they make me human…some of those moments broke me, some of those moments threw me into the gutter.

And yet, God still called to me. I did not call to Him, I was not in a state of mind to call to Him, He ever-lovingly called to me and offered His hand to help me up out of my pit. Truth is during some of those moments I didn’t have anybody directing me to call on His name, I just felt shame and guilt surround me which fed the regret I so overwhelmingly had.

God took one look at me in that trench I got myself into, the gutter of pain and sorrow AND said “that is not what I have planned for you, get on your feet and I will lift you up, then walk with me.” It took me a while to get the walking with Him down on a consistent basis but I did (that doesn’t mean I am perfect far from that!).

Exodus 6:7…I’ll set you free with great power and with momentous events of justice. ⁷ I’ll take you as my people, and I’ll be your God. You will know that I, the Lord, am your God… (CEB) God is telling the Israelite people He will take them as His own, despite they were a broken, confused, worn-out, stubborn, tiny group of people, He wanted them. I love that!

Jeremiah 30:22 You will be my people, and I will be your God. God was not and is not a quitter on people, He pursues us into the sewer of addiction, depression, adultery, regret, guilt, bitterness, rebellion, unbelief, etc… His love is encompassing and desires to restore us right where we are. I aspire to love like that.

(And yes it transfers to the New Testament 2 Corinthian’s 2:16…I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” That means God desires YOU to part of HIS circle, HIS Kingdom, HE wants to live with you, imperfection and all!)

I don’t know what you are dealing with but I hope you learn to live a life not tethered to regret… that is not God’s desire for your life. I am a walking example of that… I have no right to be in ministry and yet that is where God has placed me… I never stop being amazed at God’s love me.

Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. This was written by a man that was quite imperfect and yet still called a man after God’s own heart… (King David)   Good Day, Ladies!

PS. Romans 8: ³⁸ I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers ³⁹ or height or depth, or any other thing that is created. Nothing can stop God from loving you, His love for you is infinite, He may not like your behavior, but His love remains. I hope you soak in God’s love today…

I am standing here at my kitchen counter eating a late afternoon snack- it’s a bowl of kale salad with some olives. I’ve been trying to avoid snacking between meals, this has proved more difficult than easy. My husband is on this new lifestyle kick (I approve it) of cutting the garbage out of his diet and eating more un-processed whole foods, basically eating more clean and green. As a woman, I’ve been trying to do that for years, it’s taken him a while to catch up. So he keeps using words like processed, unbleached, whole, etc…The word “unprocessed” caught my attention. What does that mean anyway? It means unaltered from an original or natural state; not processed.

That speaks to me (not just about food) but about our authenticity of origin. In Genesis 1:27 So God created man(kind) in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

I don’t know about you but there are days I feel “processed.” I feel like I am not in the state that God desires me to be. Society and the people around us not to mention our life experiences have a way of “processing” us to be something other than God’s original intention. In fact my feeling of “processed” does not necessarily have to do with anything particular I have done wrong (sin).

I think we are encouraged too often to meet a standard that was never intended for us. We measure our self-worth by so many things, things that process our way of thinking into something negative and destructive. We measure our self-worth by the bathroom scales (I have to constantly fight this urge), by the size of clothing we can fit into, or how other people see us, etc… Sigh, that is like processed food- it’s bad for you and yet it becomes addictive, doesn’t it? Being processed by the world drops our self-esteem, our confidence, our self-worth, even our love for ourselves and it increases our depression, irritation, and temper while lowering our patience and compassion for others.

And yet the bible says we are created in the image of God, you weren’t just made in any old image but God’s image, that’s a powerful image!  God does not make things that need to be processed, that is things that need to be altered by the measurements this world suggests.

This brings me (back) to the Apostle Paul in one of my favorite all time bible scriptures: Ephesians 2:10 ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. (NET) I also love how the CEB words it Ephesians 2: ¹⁰ Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.

There is something about being God’s workmanship that really tugs at my heart. We were not fused together with leftovers or old worn out pieces, we were created with the best of ingredients, in the image of God. He used the best qualities, the best characteristics, the best virtues and placed them within each of us. Sometimes we don’t see those traits because the world has told us we need to be processed into something we were never intended for, telling us we need a modification, we need adjusting, and revising. And sometimes we don’t see those features within ourselves because the world has unapologetically distorted our vision (of ourselves).

I don’t know what you are eating these days but I hope your spiritual and emotional food is basing in the knowledge that you are created in the image of God, not some evolving leftover… food for thought… be mindful of what you are putting in your spirit, mind, and heart… remember you are God’s workmanship created for good works… Put good things in your mind, spirit, and heart… (things that will build you up not tear you down by revising you)

Good Afternoon Ladies!

It is Sunday night and it is my ritual to plan out the weeks menu, so I as I sit here trying to think about the different dishes I want on my “menu” (and it’s a limited menu because my kids have limited taste buds) I am reminded that God loves variety among His creation. Religion likes to paint God as a stuffy old man that never has any fun and has no creativity but that is just not true.

God is full of creativity and loves variety, that is obvious when you take a look around at the wonders of the world but God’s creativeness is not limited to the wonders of the world, it is revealed within us. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12 that we each have our own gifting’s we get to use for different things but each one brings God glory when we use them to lift each other up (it’s kind of a team mentality). Romans 12:6  And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us… (NET)

I meet a lot of people that are trying to figure out what their gifting is because they feel like they have nothing to offer but that is not true. Each person has something to offer and no gifting or talent is too small or simple; the simplest gifts are the best.

I love that God is creative and takes pleasure in having a variety in His creation. There is a misperception that in order to be part of God’s Kingdom, to have redemption you have to look and act like a droid. God does not want an army of droids but a family of people and with that family, variety with different talents, experiences, and perceptions.

We are called to lift each other up with our strengths of talents, experiences, and perceptions but far too often we keep each other down with them or judge each other by them. We are each created for a specific purpose and uniquely endowed with talents and gifting’s to accomplish the task of giving God glory and helping one another.

In the book of Jeremiah God says two particular things in different chapters in Jeremiah 1:5 Before I created you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart… I love that verse. God is infinite and His goodness for us is the same (soak in that for a minute). His knowledge of us is incomprehensible, just like His love for us. Why did He set us apart? Out of love and confidence that we are capable of the tasks He places in front of us.

In Jeremiah 29: ¹¹ For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. God desires good things for us and part of that is creating each of us with unique abilities that only we have. Your finger prints are one of a kind and so is what God has placed within you. I think it is safe to say God likes variety, a buffet of sorts. His object is never to bring us harm but for us to thrive. (Don’t confuse God’s correction for harm, God corrects those He loves because He longs to be near us.)

What an incredible palate God has to desire and create such a range of things and people. I don’t know what you see when you look in the mirror but I hope you see the incredible unique creation that you are because there is only one of you and God has loved you since before you were in the womb! (don’t try to understand that just bask in the sweetness of God’s affection for you)

I am grateful to be part of the great buffet God has set out before Himself. I hope that you know you have something to offer that this world needs, I hope that inspires and encourages you to figure that “something” out… it does me. I am most grateful that God still looks at me despite all my heavy baggage and still sees my unique capabilities and my value. I am happy to be part of God’s buffet… Good Evening Ladies!

PS. Happy Menu Planning to all those that create menus (to be honest I forget if I don’t have a menu written down, distracted thinker, ADD, and over active brain)

Do you ever dream about the future? Make future plans? In my house the last couple of days have been spent talking about the future and what it holds, where we want to be and what we want to be doing. I don’t know about you but I am a hopeless daydreamer. I love to daydream and escape reality: fleeing the demands of children, my work, my dogs, extended family needs, etc… I know that God has plans for my future and I happily give Him my hopes and dreams along with my ambitions.

In 2 Kings 3 we learn that King Solomon loved the Lord and the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, in that dream He told Solomon to ask Him for anything he wanted… Can you imagine? Unlike most people Solomon asked for wisdom (a wise choice) but God in His love gave Solomon more than just what he asked for. God gave Solomon unimaginable wealth, fame, and long life. God’s giving far exceeds what we can comprehend.

I love stories like that because I grew up not hearing about God’s love but God’s judgment and in return I was terrified of the Lord. That kind of mindset and teaching makes God out to be unapproachable but He is anything but unapproachable. In fact, He seeks us out because He knows we often times won’t seek Him out ourselves. It was God that sought King Solomon and God that told King Solomon to ask Him for anything he wanted… ANYTHING means literally anything; there was no limit nor stipulation put on that.

I love stories like that because it gives us an insight into the Lord’s character even in the Old Testament where He is most misunderstood. God’s goodness knows no bounds, it is immeasurable, and its depth cannot be reached. God always has our best interest at heart- especially when we don’t see or understand that. I am teaching over the book of Ruth Sunday and I refer to one of God’s anthems as Cheap Tricks “I Want You to Want Me.” It’s not very religious, is it? I am not a religious girl, I am a relationship girl and I know that God’s biggest desire is for us to want Him, to desire a relationship with Him, religion is not necessary for relationship. God’s religion would not be found in mainstream because it involves carrying for those that are over-looked and forgotten about, God’s religion is loving the unlovable.

I don’t know what you dream about or what your future holds but I know that if you invite the Lord to be part of them it will be better. Why? Because God always has your best interest at heart and wants the best for you…

Psalm 16:5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity; you make my future secure…venture out and take a risk and trust God with your dreams… food for thought… Good Night Ladies…

PS. Another quote: “There is no discovery without risk and what you risk reveals what you value.” – Jeanette Winterson