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

Sometimes the Spirit of the Lord tells us to do some scary stuff. Sometimes it’s not even scary; it’s just out of our comfort zone. We sit back and think, “Really? Are you sure, God?” Our human flesh can come up with a ton of excuses why we are not the right person for the job. 

When God is speaking directly to our heart we should take it as the highest compliment. If the Spirit of God is asking you to do something for Him – that just means you HAVE the Spirit of God working within you. It means God trusts you enough to take care of His business. He thinks your awesome. 

No matter how scary or crazy you think God’s plan is – don’t dismiss it. Don’t put it off, and don’t try to do things your own way. 

You don’t want to find yourself in the same predicament as King Saul:

Stripped of your title. 

Stripped of your calling. 

Stripped of God’s Spirit. 

I don’t know about you, but I never want to live a day without God’s Spirit in my life. 

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” – Romans 8:14

God calls different people to do different things. That’s the beauty in all of this. 

Don’t you dare feel inferior. 

Don’t you dare feel like your calling is less. 

If you are doing what God has asked you to do, then you are making a difference somewhere, someway. You may feel like you are stuck in the shadows today, but God has a huge prize waiting for you in Heaven. 

“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” – Romans 12:6-8

We’ve all felt that tug. The one that is trying to pull us away from what we know is right. The tug that makes worldly things so enticing. The tug that can cost us everything.

Lot’s wife loved the life she was living in Sodom. Lot was highly esteemed, and being his wife gave her the connections she needed to be somebody. Yes, she believed in God, but she wasn’t going to sacrifice good times and popularity for God’s Kingdom. The world reigned over her. This is the epitome of the “Do You” attitude that is running rampant amongst society right now, and it is still as dangerous today as it was in the days of Lot. 

Be careful which direction you are being pulled toward. When things of this world start having more authority over you than God does, it’s time to step back and examine your heart.

Love God more than the tug, and when He tells you not to look back – Don’t. Look. Back.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.” – Matthew 6:24

Have you ever felt too broken to be put back together? Don’t! God uses broken people all the time to do great and mighty things for Him. 
Just read about King David. 

Broken. Flawed. Unworthy. Sinful. He was living on a roller coaster of highs and lows. Sound familiar? 

But God fixed him. God used him, and God will use us. He can take every single piece, every slither of our broken heart, and meticulously meld them back together in a way that’s even better than before. 

No matter how many pieces your heart is in right now, God sees. If your life is in shambles and you are consumed by the reasons why, God knows. 

He wants to fix it, but we have to let Him. We have to surrender. And when He does fix it – share your story of hope and grace with everyone around you. 

“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” – Acts 3:19-21