Unexpected circumstances do not constitute a bad day. This is something I have to repeat to myself over and over again. It’s easy to be so set in a schedule that unforeseen glitches in our day can rattle us to the core. We let these snags dictate our entire world. 

Jesus, help me to be a more go with the flow type of person. Help me to remember that it is all going to be ok. That it’s all going to get done. And that there are far more worse things then a glitch in my to do list. 

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” -1 Peter 5:7 

Ruth could have easily been discouraged. 

Her husband passed away

Her father in law passed away

She was an outsider in a foreign land

She was poor

She was a woman 

However, if you look closely at her story you will see an intricately woven web of events that remind us how powerful God’s hand upon us is. 

She was a Moabite, a nation founded in sin. God still used her. She was displaced from her family. God still used her. She was a woman. God still used her. 

No matter how small and insignificant you feel right now, God is using you. You can’t see the big picture, but God can. You just have to trust that God’s powerful hand is working in your life just like It was working in Ruth’s. 
After all, Ruth ended up being the grandmother of King David. That’s a pretty important detail in this beautiful story that is still being written today. 

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” – 2 Chronicles 15:7 

Hate is formed when a human being has a missing link within their soul. That link is Jesus. Until Christians reach out and saturate their brothers and sisters with the love of Christ -this world will continue to be bombarded with hateful acts targeting innocent people. 

Wake up and look around. Everything that God has touched is beautiful. This includes people that are different than ourselves. This includes people that you don’t agree with. They may not even believe in God, but He still created them. They are still His, and they are still beautiful. The true beauty within their heart just hasn’t been discovered yet. 

You could be the catalyst that sparks change within someone. 

With a smile.

With a kind word.

With open and understanding arms. 
Be the person that makes other people want to be better. Be Jesus here on Earth. 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.In the same way, let your light shine before others,that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” -Matthew 5:14-16

You don’t have to carry that burden all by yourself. In fact, you don’t have to carry it all. I know someone personally that will take the weight of the world off your shoulders, and in the words of Maggie Marino, “He has big mus-cools.” 

He spoke the world into existence

He formed man in His own image 

He raised the dead

Gave sight to the blind

Healed the sick

Parted the Red Sea 

Y’all. I can keep going and going. We know all of these things, but we tend to mess up big time in the “application of our faith department”.

God is just as big now as He was then. 

God wants to do big things in your life. 

You are worth it to Him. 

God wants you be be joyful not joyless. 
Give it to Him and trust Him. 

Let God do His thing. 

“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.” – Psalm 90:17

There is a song on AirOne that says, “Who you love I’ll love.” That means everyone. We are to love everyone. Just like Jesus did. Even if we don’t want to. 

What is love?

Love is patient

Love is kind

It does not envy

It does not boast

It’s not easily angered 

It keeps no record of wrongs 

It does not delight in evil

It rejoices in the truth

It always protects

Always trusts

Always hopes

Always perseveres

Some of these are often times hard to come by – like keeping no record of wrongs. Like patience. Like not becoming angry. But God has called us to be Jesus-minded. To keep walking in His shoes while He isn’t physically here. So — love everyone. It’s that simple. 

We always have the best of intentions. It’s a new day, and we are going to have a new attitude. Then the devil starts throwing bullets, or “shade” as my Cheerleaders would say. 

Spilt coffee

Burned toast

A Facebook post that rubs you the wrong way 

Your kid won’t get out of the bed 

Or halfway to school your kid announces they forgot something

Get to work and the WiFi’s down
 
I could keep going and going. 

Ladies, y’all know what I’m talking about. In those moments we have a choice to make. We can twist off like a busted can of biscuits, –or– we can take a deep breath, say a prayer, and hold on to our composure. 

Let’s work on keeping it together, ladies. We don’t want our kids remembering us as “Mad Mommy”. We want them to remember us as a lady of God. 

One with a smile. 

One with grace. 

Lots of grace. 

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” – James 1:19-20

Back to school. 

Back to work. 

Back to life. 

Back to reality.

(Are you singing that song in your head now?)

With all of this creeping up on us, it is extremely easy for stress to start creeping in as well. Supplies, clothes, and schedules (and one million other things) can become our main focus instead of God’s mission for us. 
Don’t let these things steal your joy. God has given us blessing after blessing after blessing. 

Focus on the happy. Focus on the magic of this crazy, exciting life we’ve been given. Focus on God. And for all of my educator friends, let’s focus on the fact that we are lucky enough to work in one of the best mission fields God created -the school. Our children. Our future. 

“But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.” – Acts 26:16

🎼Come. Now is the time to worship 🎼

God doesn’t care who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done. He can wipe that slate clean anyway. 
He just wants your undivided attention. He wants your entire heart. 

Come to him. 

With all your sins. 

With all your hurt. 

Your scars. 

Your brokenness. 

Come to Him and worship Him with your whole being. Come to Him, and let Him make you perfectly imperfect. 

“My sacrifice, O God, is[a] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” – Psalm 51:17

Stop focusing on your flaws like they are the absolute worst thing in this world. God is going to turn those flaws into something beautiful. Those flaws have potential. 

The devil wants you tangled up in this twisted web of lies because it takes your focus off of what God needs you to do for His Kingdom. He is pitting your self against your self in hopes that you slip and fall. Don’t get stuck in that mess. 

Do not let him get the best of you. God sees something in you, or He would not have created you in the first place. 

You, my sisters, are beautifully flawed and wonderfully made. 

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” – Psalm 139:14

Sometimes your heart breaks wide open but for good reasons. And even though they are good, good things – they still hurt. They still rip you wide open and expose every fiber of your soul. 

Moms of seniors. 

Moms of kindergarteners. 

Moms whose babies are leaving for college or the military. 

Empty nesters 

God has your heart, and He has you. 

This is my niece’s senior year. The first granddaughter. The first niece. The first baby. It will be a year of firsts and a year of lasts. It will be a year of moments that culminate into one huge rite of passage. 

You’ve spent the majority of your life watching this tiny human grow, learn, and become this amazing person. It makes your heart swell with pride. You are beyond excited for who they are becoming and the journey that life is taking them on. 

Don’t you know that’s how God feels about us? Don’t you know that’s how He looks down on us — with pride and adoration — with His heart on the verge of exploding. I don’t think we will ever understand the magnitude of love that God has for his “babies”. I am certain He is one proud Daddy. 

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” – 3 John 1:4