Oftentimes we can only see the worst version of ourselves. In those times it’s important to remember that God sees the best version. He sees our potential. He can peel back all the layers, and expose our true self – if we let Him. He knows that underneath the crankiness, the jealousy, the selfishness, the doubt, the anxiety, that there is a beautiful soul waiting to step out in faith and do mighty things for him.
 
He knows. He sees. 

Whatever quality you are hyper-focused on that you can’t see past – just remember that God sees the beautiful. God can take the bad and use it for good. God thinks you’re beautiful. After all, He did create you. 

Now it’s time for you to believe it, too.
 
“It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” – Isaiah 55:11

My nieces’ home was hit pretty hard by Harvey, and their parents have been diligently working on demo and cleaning – and then some more demo and cleaning. I can’t even imagine how physically and mentally drained they are.
 
The girls came and stayed with us this week. We ate a lot of cookies, bought them whatever they wanted, and Frank and I can honestly say we feel no remorse for spoiling them rotten this week. My five year old niece Abri, who happens to be the cutest thing in the world, said the following to me, “My house got water in it. It’s ok. My daddy is going to fix it.”

Child-like faith, man. Confident. No fear. No doubts. No worries. Her daddy is going to take care of it all. She knows, she is certain, that Jacob is not going to let her live in that situation – and she’s right. 

I’m so grateful that our Father in Heaven is the exact same way. We can be confident that God can and will fix any situation we may find ourselves in. We just have to have faith. Pure, authentic, unwavering faith. 

“Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” -Isaiah 41:10

Prayer and friendship – two important constants that keep me going. Life can be hard. It is easy to become bogged down with a myriad of stressors, but the power of prayer and a few good friends can give you the strength you need to endure any battle that you may face. 

Prayer and friendship hold you steady when the world wants to shake you from the inside out. Just take a look at Moses when he was caught in a battle with the Amalekites. First of all, quitting was not an option. The second he stopped praying, the second his arms began to droop, the Amalekites would begin overpowering Joshua and his men. Moses HAD to pray. And pray. And pray some more. 

You can imagine the fatigue that set in after holding his arms up for that long. Prayer at this magnitude is no joke. The mental and physical anguish can take a toll on you like nothing you’ve ever experienced. However, Moses had two amazing friends that stepped up to the plate. Aaron and Hur literally held his arms up in prayer position in hopes that Moses’ strength was conserved and that he could endure until the end. In that moment they selflessly took the weight of the world off of his shoulders. That’s the epitome having someone’s back. 

I have some amazing friends, guys. People that drop every single thing to stand in the gap for me. People that hold me up when I can’t stand any longer. 
Today, pray hard for your friends. Lift them up. Tell your battle partners that you love them, and don’t forget to thank God for placing these beautiful, incredible souls in your life. 

“When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, and one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset.” – Exodus 17:12 

We are all bearing a heavy cross. Some are trudging uphill in the heat of the day with theirs, and some are carrying their cross through a Texas-sized hurricane. It’s hard. 

Anxiety

Lust

Jealousy

Addiction

Loneliness 

Anger

Loss

Oppression

These crosses are heavy. They are back breaking and soul crushing. When we are in the midst of this uphill battle, we often times forget that the cross Christ bore would have been unbearable for humans. Not only did He lift a much heavier cross than we could ever imagine, He has promised to carry ours, too. Let Him take some of the load off of your shoulders today. He wants to help, but you have to let Him. 

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30). 

When bad things happen in our world it’s easy for me to cry out, “Jesus, come soon!” I call this behavior “The Christian Cop-Out”, and I do it all the time. 
In all actuality, I should be on my knees praying harder. I should be working harder. I should be hustling to win as many people over to God’s side as I can. 
The world doesn’t need a cop-out. They need Jesus. They need Christians that really care. They need Christians that put other people’s needs, including spiritual needs, as number one on their list of things to take care of for the day. 

Just because we are ready to walk through those gates of pearl doesn’t mean everyone else is. Heaven is going to be, for lack of a better word, amazing. However, there’s still more work to be done and more souls to save. 

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” – John 15:16

Hey. You. 

The behind the scenes person. 

The quiet prayer. 

The mover and the shaker. 

The house scrubber. 

The money giver. 

The supply packer. 

The team leader. 

The cheerleader. 

The hot meal cooker. 

The organizer. 

The spouse uplifter. 

The high-fiver. 

The food hustler. 
God sees you. 

He sees your heart. 

He knows your intentions are pure. 

He is so proud of you. 

You are His child. 

He raised you right. 

You’re tired. Your exhausted. You’re overwhelmed. But your Father needs you to keep going. In this big, catastrophic event – He needs you. 
Keep going.
 
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” -Galatians 6:9

There have been two hot topics swirling around the World Wide Web in the midst of mass devastation to my great state of Texas. 

Guys, I bite my tongue. A lot. I work really hard on holding my sass level down. There’s a lot of prayer that goes into that – just ask Frank. I am extremely careful about the words I write and post. Nonetheless, I gave in and wrote about those two topics. It was going to be a great post, and my pros and cons on the topics would get my point across and hopefully make people see why my way of thinking was correct. I even sent what I wrote to two of my good friends and one of my sisters to “ok” (justify) what I had written before I shared it with all of you. 

But – this morning when I was sitting in church I was gently reminded that the world doesn’t need my opinion, too. The world is inundated with opinions. What the world needs is God’s word, and that’s what I will continue to base all my writing on. 
Other things the world needs:

Grace

Forgiveness

Grace

Forgiveness

Grace & Forgiveness 

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” – Luke 6:31

The images are gut wrenching.

The devastation – unfathomable. 

My nieces and nephews are displaced from their homes like countless other children throughout Texas and Louisiana. It’s bad. A really bad situation. 
But neighbors are checking on one another. They are standing in the roads having conversations. They are doing what Jesus has called us to do – serve one another. They are putting others before themselves even if it means risking their own lives. This hurricane has forced us to slow down in the best possible way. 

I’m not saying it’s good – but I am saying there is good. 
I hope that when Harvey is long gone that we will remember this. This right here. The camaraderie. The love. The fellowship. The selfless acts that are happening all around us. 

Our towns will rebuild. Life will go on. The hustle and bustle of schedules will eventually return, but I truly hope we never forget. 
Harvey was huge, but God is so much bigger. 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Where is God? I saw that question asked on Facebook. 

He is right here. 

He is working around the clock rescuing people. He is preparing hot meals for first responders. He is providing shelter. He is in the grocery store giving up His carton of milk to the family with more children. He is leaving His family in the middle of the night to get on a bass boat in uncharted waters. He is climbing an electric pole at 2 in the morning in hopes of restoring power. 
He is making sure a mom that just lost her home makes it to see her son’s Navy ceremony. Oh, He’s here. 

He is right here. You just have to see Him. 

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

I see so many people that feel helpless as the aftermath of Harvey unfolds. They want to help, but they are literally unable to leave their home. They are stuck. Talking to my dad this morning he reminded my sisters and myself that when people are struck by tragedy, whether dealing with a storm of this magnitude or chronic illness, they need brothers and sisters standing in the gap for them. When their minds are too bogged down with the grief and devastation surrounding them, they need other Christians calling out to God on their behalf. 

So if you feel helpless right now – you’re not! Intercessory prayer is so powerful. Call out to God on behalf of your family, friends, and fellow Texans. Ask God to give them strength and hope to endure this great trial. 

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” – Ephesians 6:18