“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

It doesn’t matter how naturally intelligent you are, how many degrees you may have or what alma mater you sing along with on game day – if you are not looking to God for true wisdom [everyday] then you are in fact going the wrong way. Trusting God’s will and God’s way for your life is the smartest thing you will ever do.

He didn’t promise it would be easy, but He did promise He would be with you. From the smallest decisions to the biggest, He wants to be a part of every single detail.

We can’t see the big picture, but He can. We don’t know our future, but He does. Staying in God’s word and daily communicating with Him through prayer and worship will help ensure that you do recognize His guidance and plans for your life.

Don’t place your trust in a website, a self-help book, or even your best friend for instruction. Look to God. Fact check it all. Pray for discernment.

One thing I’ve learned by diving into God’s word is that His timing is so amazingly cool. He truly works things out in a way that our small human minds could never fathom. His paths aren’t always paved with perfectly smooth concrete – in fact sometimes they are so uneven that we stumble and fall over and over again – but you can know without a doubt that His path will take you exactly where you need to be.

God knows.

God leads.

God guides.

God promised.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Adultery. Abortion. Addiction. That’s just three of the many transgressions that satan tries to hold over us. Maybe you can’t forgive sins you’ve committed. Maybe you deem these sins – and yourself – too far gone.

That’s a lie. That’s a lie that satan is whispering in your ear – maybe screaming – to stop you in your tracks. To make you remain stagnant.

Don’t believe it.

God promises in 1 John 1:9 that He will cleanse us from any sin we’ve committed. We have to sincerely repent. We have to want forgiveness.

We are never too far gone for God. There can be beauty from these ashes. Even though it seems impossible, God can wipe our slates clean. We really can start fresh this new year.

I’ve seen it. I’ve seen marriages healed. People healed. Addictions gone. Hearts broken. Hearts mended.

God can.

God will.

God has.

God promised.

Hurt.

Happiness.

Grief.

Gladness.

Pain.

Peace.

All intertwined together making me cling to God tighter than ever. Looking back through my 2018 journal I see God’s hand. How He works. How He healed.

He’s good, y’all.

Even in the midst of storms – He’s there. He cares. He is working.

If I’ve learned anything this past year it’s this – where there is hurt, there is hope.

Where there is devastation, there is a dream.

And wherever God is, that’s where I want to be.

“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

HOPE.

Maggie wrote this in my journal yesterday during church. What a beautiful reminder as we start the new year.

Help others in every way possible.

Help ourselves by growing closer to Christ.

And love on PURPOSE.

On purpose. Intentional. It’s the only way.

We are human, and we are hard to love. We mess up. We get on each other’s nerves. We rub people the wrong way. We come from different walks of life. Act different. Have different beliefs. It’s easy to just write people off.

We are human, and we need love. Even when we mess up. Even when we spout off rude words before thinking. Even when we let people down – way down. Even when we are different. We need the love of Christ.

I want to be intentional about loving people the way Jesus did. The easy to love. The hard to love – people who think I’m hard to love. People who think differently. Just people.

True love isn’t easy. As we grow older we tend to become jaded from the storms of life. That’s why in Matthew 18:3 Jesus said we need to become like little children – childlike faith & childlike hearts. Sweet Maggie. I can turn in my journal to her acrostic as a reminder to love like Jesus – on purpose. Every single day. Every single person.

He gives us HOPE. He gives us strength.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 (NIV)

I’ve been going through a Bible study on Esther for the past nine weeks. Today’s study mirrors Esther 4:3 and Esther 8:16. Please go read those verses.

Look what God did and can still do in our circumstances today:

Mourning -> light

Fasting -> gladness

Weeping -> joy

Lamenting -> honor

Emotions are raw, and emotions are real. Our circumstances can make us or break us without God in the picture.

Let God in.

Whatever you’re going through let God be the center. Whatever you’re going through let God hold your hand and your heart.

He didn’t promise it would be easy, but He did promise He would be there.

A new year.

A new you.

A new commitment.

Maybe a recommitment.

Guys, please believe the following truth. Let it soak into your mind today and fill your heart with hope:

You’ve never messed up so much that your Father would stop loving you. You’ve never gone so far that your Father wouldn’t rescue you. You’ve never hurt Him so badly that He wouldn’t forgive you.

He’s your Father. You can always come back.

You can’t make him not love you. He’s ready and waiting for you. He is standing there right now with arms wide open. Run to Him today.

He’s ready to hold you. He’s ready to squeeze you. He’s ready to be the Lord of your life.

It’s time to come home.

“So he got up and went to his father.

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Like 15:20

Adore.

To love. To respect. To hold dear. To be devoted to. To cherish. To worship.

Adore Him. Not just today but everyday.

Let him be the one that makes your eyes sparkle. The one you run to when you need a hug. The first person you think of when something good or bad happens.

Let Him be the one you depend on, lean on, love on. Let Him be your Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Your best friend.

Let him be the one.

“Lord, you are my God;

I will exalt you and praise your name,

for in perfect faithfulness

you have done wonderful things,

things planned long ago.” Isaiah 25:1

God sees you.

He knows you.

He loves you.

No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

He sees your mistakes, and He still loves you. He sees your ugly, and He still thinks your beautiful.

He sees your brokenness, and He will make you whole. In fact, He would love nothing more than to start putting the pieces of your heart back together.

You can’t make Him not love you. That’s a lie straight from the devil. Nothing you’ve done is too small or too big for God to forgive. Go ahead and get that out of your head.

Let God love you, guys. You are worthy. You are His.

“For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son, that we would not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Lists.

My whole life I’ve had a love/hate relationship with them. Just ask my sisters – or my husband.

I love to make a list. I love to check things off the list; however, when things linger on the list, when things aren’t crossed off in an appropriate amount of time, it drives me INSANE.

Until today – right now in this moment. I’ve decided to be ok with unchecked boxes. I’m not going to let this lingering list of Christmas to-do’s steal my joy. I’m just not.

Y’all, it’s the week before Christmas, and I haven’t wrapped a single present. I haven’t baked a single thing, but it’s seriously ok.

It’s ok because it’s the week before the birth of the most precious baby ever born. Can y’all imagine – Jesus as a baby.

It’s the week before the risen savior was born all those years ago. I bet His fingers curled around Mary’s as she sang and rocked Him softly through the night.

It really is the best week of the year. Let’s choose joy. Let’s choose to remember. Let’s embrace these moments. The peace. The love. The hope.

Let’s.

“6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

Luke 2:6-7

Germs.

Small but strong. Unforeseen. A minute but mighty life-form that will wreck shop on our mental and physical daily to-do’s like a hurricane in Texas. I’m not making trying to be funny about that either – I’m being so serious.

Preventative care is our biggest defense. There are steps that we can take to help combat the infiltration of these tiny, microscopic pests on our complex, yet sometimes fragile system. But they are steps that we have to physically take.

Washing our hands-

And keeping them to ourselves.

Covering our mouth when we cough.

Taking vitamins.

Eating the right food.

Not sharing food or drink.

Rest.

Y’all already know what I’m about to say – isn’t it the same exact way with sin? It starts off tiny and makes its pesky way into our system. Before we know it there’s a full-fledge attack brewing. Once sin is there, once sin has figured out how to break through our shield of defense, it’s way harder to get rid of. Once it’s welcomed itself into its comfortable new home – that pesky little booger is ready to stay and campout for a while. Maybe even permanently.

But we have preventative strategies to stop sin as well, and boy do they work!

Talking to God.

Praying.

Praising.

Worshipping.

Staying in the word.

Prayer accountability partners.

Intentionality and focus.

Guys, instead of going about life all willy-nilly with the common, misconstrued mindset of “it can’t happen to me” I think it’s time we put these preventative strategies into place. It’s time to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to the things entering into our complex but fragile systems.

It’s time.

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil.

⁃ Proverbs 4:23-27