It’s all fun and games until it’s not.

Just like Ananias, we are so eager to answer the call of Christ – until answering that call is more like becoming a tribute in the Hunger Games.

I’m being serious.

We say yes to VBS.

We say yes to bringing a casserole.

We say yes to Bible Study.

We say yes to Sunday morning church.

But.

But what about witnessing?

What about forgiveness?

What about that big monetary donation?

What about the things that hurt?

What about when it’s awkward?

What about the things that make us dig deep?

The things that stab at our pride – our fear?

We have a choice to make, guys – all in or all out. When it’s scary, when it hurts, when it doesn’t make sense – Follow God.

Here I am, Lord.

Ananias Baptizes Saul

10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”

And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much [a]harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children[b] of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord [c]Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

“Well done good and faithful servant.” – God

Do you ever stop and really think about this moment?

I pretend He says it like this, “You done good, kid.”

Imagine this moment when you want to quit.

When you want to spout off.

When you want to choose wrong over right.

When forgiveness seems foreign.

When you’re too tired.

Can you imagine His eyes sparkling when He says it? Because He is so proud of you.

He knows what you went through.

What you endured.

He knows what you said no to.

He knows what you walked away from.

How you didn’t quite fit in.

What you sacrificed.

He knows.

Is anything on this earth worth missing out on those words?

Just imagine.

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 1 Corinthians 2:9

The valley is an intersection.

That’s all I got this morning. It keeps repeating itself over and over in my mind, and I really don’t know why.

I don’t know who. I don’t know what, but I do know God. I know God hasn’t called us to be sitting ducks.

So if you are in the valley this morning – if you’re stuck at an intersection – hold on tight.

Get ready.

Stay ready.

That light is about to turn green, and when it does – go for God.

“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5

Have you ever been down and then you get down on yourself for being down? Yeah. The devil loves that. When he gets you in that mind frame it’s a big ol’ double whammy.

Beat down.

Ran down.

Talked down.

Trampled down.

That’s his jam. But that’s not the way God intended His ambassadors to live or to feel.

God has given us Blessed Assurance. He has given us Amazing Grace. Peace like a River.

And more than anything else – He gave us an Old Rugged Cross. An Old Rugged Cross that we can hang our tired on. We can hang our trampled hearts on that cross and walk away. We can walk away knowing that God is restoring, mending, and breathing life back into us.

Y’all, that cross was ran down, trampled down, and definitely talked down upon – and look what my God did.

Go to Him. Give it to Him. Let Him.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10

A broken world. A broken system.

Sometimes it’s just too much. Sometimes it’s just not fair.

We question.

We get mad.

We cry out.

We can’t fix it.

The truth is we live in a fallen world and unfair situations are going to arise. It’s inevitable. It started the second Adam and Eve succumbed to that shiny, red apple.

But we can pray.

We can hope.

We can cry.

We can be a shoulder to lean on.

We can love.

We can try to make changes.

And we can choose to keep our joy even in the midst of unfair circumstances. Even when it’s hard. Even when we don’t want to.

“2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3

Lately, I’ve been thinking about dreams.

The one question that keeps popping up in the back of my mind is this: Are you dreaming for God, or are you dreaming for Daisy?

There’s a vast difference between those two dreams. One involves flesh and one involves the Holy Spirit.

It’s easy to get derailed. It’s easy to get focused on the wrong thing. We live in a “me” society. That’s what we hear day in and day out.

When it comes to God-sized dreams we have to intentionally [prayerfully] stay aligned with Him. We have to keep the main thing the main thing – and that’s winning souls to Christ.

Are our goals centered around Christ’s will or “my” will? Are our dreams Christ centered or “me”’centered”?

Dream big, y’all. But dream big for Christ.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

My memory, y’all.

Supposedly my Celiac disease causes “brain fog” so I would like to blame my lack of retaining information on that. However, my scattered and struggling memory probably has more to due with the fact that I’m a 37 year old working mom hauling kids around like a personal Uber.

I can get real down on my self – especially when it comes to my Bible study. It’s not easy for me. I can read the same passage 17 times and still be confused. Meanwhile, my husband reads the same verse once and can spout off facts like a Biblical scholar.

The big words. The pronunciation. All the names and the towns. The struggle is really real for me in this area.

I’ve said all that to say this – do not let satan convince you that you’re not smart enough. Do not believe him when he says you’ll never get it.

Read it again. Say it again. Highlight. Underline. Look up the definition – but don’t give up.

God’s power is in His word. Don’t you dare let satan take that power from you. If you have to read it 17 times to understand it – then read it 17 times.

You’ve got this cause God’s got this.

“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.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Faithful.

Loyal. Steadfast. Consistent.

That’s my God, y’all. My best friend. The fact that we don’t deserve His steadfast love does not deter Him from delivering it. The fact that we are typically the opposite of faithful to Him doesn’t make Him let go.

He stays. He has sticking power. When we haven’t prayed enough, when we haven’t served enough, when we haven’t done our part – He is faithful.

When we let go of Him- He doesn’t let go of us. He stays. He’s faithful.

Lord, make me more like you.

“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” Deuteronomy 7:9

Y’all, some days life is gonna come at us like a steamroller, and if we’re not prepared we will be left knocked down and struggling to get back up. We can’t do this thing called life alone. We need a tribe that’s going to rally around us. We need some Jesus girls that:

❣️Check on us

❣️Check on our kids

❣️Send us scripture

❣️Legit pray for us

Life is hard, y’all. It just is. God gave us each other for a reason.

Find you some faithful:

❣️Bible-reading

❣️middle-of-the-night-praying

❣️keep-you-in-check

❣️love-you-like-a-sister

Jesus Girls.

These are your people. This is your tribe. Find her. Be her.

“12 When Moses’ arms grew tired, Aaron and Hur brought a stone for him to sit on, while they stood beside him and held up his arms, holding them steady until the sun went down. 13 In this way Joshua totally defeated the Amalekites.”

When praying about what to post this morning this one simple yet strong statement stuck. In fact, I kept waking up all through the night with these words rolling around in my brain. It’s for someone. It’s for me.

I hope you know exactly who you are. You are a child of God, and that’s more important and more powerful than anything else you could be.

Don’t forget it.

———————————————————————

• I am a child of God.

But to all who have received him–those who believe in his name–he has given the right to become God’s children … (John 1:12).