God has blessed us with some incredible treasures here on Earth. I am so thankful for every gift He has given me. However, I have to be extremely careful not to make these gifts a kingdom that I worship instead of God. That includes my spouse and my children. I know that stings, but it’s a fact. We can add to the list:

Our job

Our talents 

Our hobbies

Exercise

Money

All these things are good as long as they don’t become more important than God. I’ve had this conversation with my friends several times- the devil is sneaky. He is sly. He can use these wonderful blessings to take our focus off God and His kingdom. We can become so consumed with these “good” things that we push God to the back burner, and that’s not good. At all. 

If we are indeed focused on God, then He will take care of all the other details. He will help us be the wife, mom, teacher, sister, daughter, and friend that we need to be – all while pointing the people that we love toward Heaven. We just need to ask ourselves – what kingdom are we serving today? Ours or His? 

“In the times of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” – Daniel 2:44

Pray more. 

Seek Him more. 

Worship more. 

Lean on Him more. 

Wait on Him more. 

The more you cultivate this relationship – the deeper the roots will become. Then when life does decide to bombard you with winds of hurricane proportions, you will remain grounded. 

You may be shaken – you may end up weathered – but you will not be moved. 

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” – James 4:8

Without a doubt we are our worst critic. We see the bad, the ugly, and the flaws that we think can’t be fixed. Not only do we see these things in ourself, we tend to magnify them to exorbitant proportions. 

We need to remember that we are a work in progress. Instead of me trying to “fix” me, my prayer is for God to show me what He needs me to work on. That should be my real focus; however, we all know that the devil would rather us be self absorbed with non-existent shortcomings and imperfections. 

Remember, we are beautifully flawed for a reason. God uses our blemishes to transform us into a beautiful testimony that only He could bring to fruition. 

“Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” – Psalm 139:24

Y’all, I’ve been broken lately. 

I look around and see pain. I see cancer. I see devastation. Sunday morning as I sat drinking my coffee and feeling defeated, God kinda got in my business. He gently pointed out that I have been so focused on the bad that I haven’t been able to see the good. 

It’s easy to get caught up and focus only on situations that we need God to fix – but don’t forget to take time to thank God for your blessings. Don’t forget to give him the praise He deserves. 
It’s ok to be broken, but don’t let your burdens nullify your blessings. Life gets tough, but God is still on the throne – and He is a good, good God. 
My dear friend Cherie had a great idea. She is writing down her blessings daily. Here are mine:

1. A blue-eyed little girl that is beyond witty and constantly keeping me on my toes. 

2. A thirteen year old boy who is seriously the sweetest human ever created. 

3. A husband that is a man of integrity. Leading my family day in and day out. 

4. My sisters. There is no greater friendship. 

5. 3 parents that are always there for me. 

6. A stinky, fat bulldog that makes me mad and glad all within one second. 

Guys, God is good. All the time. Don’t forget to acknowledge that. 

If you feel led to do so, please share your blessings in the comments below. I would love to read them, smile about them, and thank God with you for them. 

Without God you will never be complete. You will be in a continuous cycle of reaching and grasping for – fill in the blank with your vice. 

You can keep striving. You can keep obtaining, but it will never be enough. New cars, new degrees, a new status. You can crawl your way to what you think is the top – but without God as your number one you are merely a hamster on the wheel of life. You will be forever crawling in an endless circle – getting nowhere. 

Let’s choose to be complete today. Complete in God. Be so full of God that you are in fact always on top – because He will never let you fall down. 

“May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together – spirit, soul, and body – and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Fear. 

It’s brutal, man

Shear panic can take over your thoughts in the blink of an eye. One minute you’re breathing normally and the next you are gasping for air. It can literally grab you by the throat and choke the life out of you. 

With fear comes the lies. You can’t think clearly because you are in panic mode, so the lies become reality. Every awful scenario that could happen bounces back and forth in your brain like a ping pong ball. 

Fear is real, and it happens to all of us. The only Being more powerful, the only Being with the authority to cast fear out, is God. He can calm your breathing, clear your mind, and put your feet back on solid ground. When you find yourself in the midst of fear call out God’s name. 

Call out His name over –

And over.

And over. 

Until His name becomes your heartbeat. 

Yah-Weh.

Yah-Weh.

Yah-Weh.

“When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”
‭‭[Psalm‬ ‭94:18-19‬]

Y’all, people are hurting. 

Harvey has left a dismal fog hovering over Southeast Texas like nothing I’ve ever seen. Harvey is still here, and I believe he will be sticking around for a while. Then there’s other things. 
Broken hearts. 

Broken dreams. 

Broken promises.
 
Let’s just pray. Let’s agree to pray for one another. Really pray. The kind of prayer my daddy taught me how to do. Uninterrupted, intentional, unceasing -cry out to God down on your knees- prayer. 

Let’s pray, y’all.
 
“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew.” 6:6

Ladies – the truth is that when the alarm clock dings and our eyes pop open, we hit the ground running. Even if it’s a day of rest. Even if we get up early to relax before all the day’s shenanigans begin. Our mind tends to have other plans, and you know that’s the truth. 

Our to-do list is a mile long, and once we check one task off five more decide to join the party. However, God should be number one on that list. No matter what. Somewhere in the middle of the crazy we have got to ground ourself in God’s word. We have got to slow down enough to give God the time and worship that He deserves. 

Learning to separate ourself from this world’s demands and give God our undivided attention shouldn’t be hard- but we know that’s not the case. Let’s be intentional in giving God our heart, our mind, and our soul first. Let’s put God on the top of our priority list and NEVER check Him off. 

“6 In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” – Proverbs 3:6 

Some people think I’m radical. I don’t think I’m radical enough. 
Some people think I post about God too much. I don’t think I post enough. 
Some people think my world centered around God is peculiar. Different. I would have to ask, what else do you have to focus on?
 
Some people think I’m blinded by positivity and faith in a world that’s falling apart. I would have to ask, what else do you have to hold on to?
If you don’t have God what else do you have? I don’t want to know. I don’t want to live in that world. 

I’m on a mission. I’m on a mission to get my family, friends, and everyone else to Heaven. I don’t want anyone left behind. I don’t want anyone to go to that….. other place. 
I’m on a mission. 

I’m radical. 

God-centered. 

Jesus-focused. 

He is my world. 

And He can be yours, too. 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” – Romans 1:16 

This is your story. Not anyone else’s.

You are holding the pen and get to decide how each chapter ends. You are writing your own script. 

Oh, there are going to be hard times. In fact, some days are going to be just downright awful. But the power you hold is in how you decide to handle the ugly. Your power is in your reaction. 

We can easily engage in the war that is raging all around us, or we can choose to hold our tongues and gracefully walk away with our heads held high. 

Choose God. Choose grace. Choose for your story to be so beautifully scripted that God’s very own spirit pours out of every single fiber within you. 
This is your story. Make it a good one. 

“So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” – Colossians 1:10