Trust & Obey

And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.“

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ 

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ 

Recently, I’ve been looking at the life of Abraham, and I’ve come to stories I’ve read and heard many times in my life. Abraham has always been one of my favorite characters, and while I know this story is prophetic of Jesus, as I read it this time, God spoke to me about provision.

As Isaac and Abraham headed toward the sacrificial offering, Isaac asked where the lamb was. Abraham responded that God would provide for Himself the lamb. Then, as Abraham lifted the knife to slay his son, God called out to Abraham to stop. When Abraham looked, there was the ram that would be the sacrifice. Abraham was fully obedient in following God’s directions, and, at what we would see as at the last minute, God fully provided.

There are situations right now that I’m facing in which I just don’t see the how of it being worked out. Yet, God reminded me that it’s not my place to worry. It’s my place to trust and obey. In trusting and obeying, God will provide, sometimes at the last minute. 

As you go into this new year, are you wondering how you’re going to pay that bill? Trusting and obeying means “the Lord will provide”. Are you wondering how that work situation is going to be resolved? Trusting and obeying means “the Lord will provide”. Are you wondering how the needs of your family are going to be met? Trusting and obeying means “the Lord will provide”. Are you wondering how that relationship with a loved one will be restored? Trusting and obeying means “the Lord will provide”. We may struggle with the timeline, but no matter what the situation, trusting and obeying means “the Lord will provide” in His perfect time. 

Trust and obey no matter what. His timing is perfect. His provision is perfect.

“The Lord will provide.”

Filled up

There are a few times a year I feel absolutely burnt out. I realize at these times my cup is near empty and I am spiritually dehydrated. When life gets busy, it’s so easy to rush my quiet time or skip it altogether. That daily time with Jesus is so worth it, you don’t want to miss it. 

Make it a priority to read your Bible on a daily basis. The nourishment of God’s word does not compare to any worldly thing out there. If you are a believer, inspect your walk with the Lord. Choose someone in your life to share the gospel with and pray fervently for them. 

If I can be filled up with the love and strength of Jesus, then I don’t want it any other way. Let’s start the new year with cups that are overflowing thanks to the Lord’s goodness!

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

Psalm 23:5-6

New Year

It is the beginning of a new year. A time when most of us are ready for a new and fresh start. We can wipe the slate clean and focus on the new goals we set for ourselves.

When I think of a new beginning, I think of Genesis. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

God created everything that exists. He created us in His image! He designed each and every one of us to fulfill a purpose and bring Him the glory through it. We should reflect His character of love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness.

So as we begin this new year, I think we should look back at this time last year and ask ourselves, ”Am I closer to achieving these characteristics than I was this time last year?” Have I grown more in the faith and closer to God?” I think each of us needs to reflect on our answer, whether it is yes or no.

If you can answer yes, that you have grown closer to God and you are living a life that reflects these characteristics, that is wonderful. But, we will never be able to achieve perfection like Jesus. There is always something we can work on or an area we need to grow. I think we should pray and ask God to reveal to us what we may be lacking.

If you answered no, that’s okay. The first step is admitting that you need to seek God more. The awesome thing is His grace for you in this moment. He knows we are going to fail Him. He knows the distractions and temptations that get in our way. In this instance we should also pray and ask God to guide us and give us strength to rise above the distractions and temptations of this life so that we can fulfill His sovereign plan for our lives.

Sin separates us from God, but He made a way for us to enter the throne room of God through Jesus. We can go with confidence knowing that He has mercy and grace for us, no matter how many times we need it, which is daily for me!

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

My prayer is for each and everyone of us to experience God in a way we never have in this new year! He is faithful and He will show Himself more and more as we seek Him.

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth,to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him. “ 2 Chronicles 16:9

Flip it

It’s ok if you don’t join in. You don’t have to.

It’s ok if you don’t fit in. Once again, you don’t have to.

They’re probably gonna think you’re stuck-up or weird. They’ll probably make fun of you, and that’s ok. After all, you were called to be different, dear.

When you find yourself in a situation where people are sitting around just talking ugly, ask yourself the following question: If Jesus was sitting in front of you would you join in this conversation?

You don’t have to.

You shouldn’t.

Christians, ladies, young girls, let’s start flipping the script. Let’s be the ones to start the conversations. Let’s lead the way.

And when you do find yourself in a situation where the conversation is not sitting right with your spirit, start praying for a way out. God will help you because you are His girl.

1 John 4:4-5 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them.

Resolution became reality

To anyone who made getting up early and getting in the Word your New Year’s resolution:

Yes.

Yes, you can.

My whole life I was a “sleeper-inner”. Like a professional. You can ask my dad. However, in 2017 I set a goal to get up before everyone else and spend time with my bestie – God.

And I did.

Was it easy?

No.

Did I do it?

Yes.

And all these years later I’m still setting that alarm and getting up.

With God, lots of prayer, and lots of determination – the resolution became a reality.

God split the Red Sea, y’all. He can make you a morning person. Psssshhhhh.

Let me tell you something, I’m going on year 7 of this and I’m a literal Ray of Sunshine in the mornings now. I mean, after a cup of coffee of course.

I love it. I love the quiet. I love the sweet whispers between God and myself. I love the stillness. I love that it’s “ours”.

The only day I don’t set my alarm is on Saturday – if the kiddos don’t have some type of something that is.

Summer break, Christmas break, winter break, it doesn’t matter – the alarm is being set. And I’m getting up, and I’m getting set.

Set up for excellence. Because that’s what being in God’s word does.

Y’all, just trust me. It’s the sweetest, best time of the day.

If I can, you can.

Because God can.

7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

First things first

First things First

”My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.“

Psalms 5:3 NKJV

”Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.“

Mark 1:35 NKJV

Not a resolution.

For years I fought the idea that I needed to do my Bible study first thing in the morning. I felt the Lord honored it at any time…and He does. The early morning study is not for Him. It’s for me. It’s a fresh surrender to Him. Should it be a duty? No. It should be an I love You and I want to hear from You moment.

If we get up every morning and think in our heads “my husband knows I love him I’ll touch base with him later” and then we forget or get busy and say we will do it tomorrow it will adversely affect the relationship. To have intimacy in relationships it requires our attention.

I need to surrender and listen in the morning, even if it’s a short devotion and time of prayer. Keeping an open line of communication all day; talking and listening. This is not new stuff, but it is very important stuff that gets neglected.

Our relationship with God is worth pursuing. Go after Him like a 13 yr old crush. Kidding, but you get the idea. He is the only worthy pursuit.

I mean if Jesus and David set the morning aside how much more should I?

New year, old me.

When I share my testimony with people, I usually begin by stating that I accepted Christ when I was 12 years old, but I didn’t start acting like it until I was 27. To say that I was hot mess as a teenager would be the understatement of the century. I was grounded more than I was free. I snuck out, stole money from my dad while he was sleeping, started drinking and smoking before I even graced the doors of my high school campus. I bounced more checks in my late teens and early twenties than I should admit on a public platform. My poor parents didn’t know what to do with me. I know they prayed for me. I know they tried to talk sense into me. I know they reached out to counselors, youth pastors, and friends for advice and support. I know, now, that they must have lost a lot of sleep worrying about me and spent a lot of money cleaning up the trail of heartbreak and disaster that l left in my self-centered adolescent wake.

My sweet daddy spent his first Christmas with Jesus this year. He passed away this October. I’m still devastated by his absence because he was my biggest fan. I look back on my childhood and my life as an adult and can’t recall a single moment in my entire life that I doubted his love for me. After his death, hundreds of people poured out their love for my dad in letters, posts, text messages, and conversations reminiscing about the love they felt from Dad and about how he made them feel special and accepted just for who they were. I’ve come to realize since losing Daddy that God gave me this earthly father as an amazing example of what unconditional love looks like. Apparently, no matter how wretched I was as a teenager, there was nothing I could do to make my daddy not love me and forgive me or want me to be reconciled unto himself. Were there consequences of my actions and choices? Absolutely. There are many struggles that I face even today as a 46-year-old that are direct results of my sinful past–burdens that I might bare until the day I meet Jesus myself; however, knowing that I was loved and forgiven by my earthly father is not one of them. For that I am forever grateful.

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, he assured them of their Heavenly Father’s love for them and His desire to reconcile them unto Himself. Paul tells them in chapter 5, “15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

So, what is this “message of reconciliation” about which Paul speaks? As you begin this new year, know in the deepest depths of your heart that there is nothing old in your past that God will not leave behind in His endless ocean of forgiveness. There is nothing you could have ever done that will make Him not love you today. As the old passes away in the new year, seek and rest in the One who is the source of that kind of love and who only desires to love and be loved by you no matter what–our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The announcement

Back in the day, before we flooded timelines with baby pics, families would make announcements of baby arrivals in the local papers. In those black and white pages you could find families sharing all the details— parents’ names, baby’s name, gender, birth date, weight, length, and many times names of siblings and grandparents. It was like an invitation telling the whole town to join in on the excitement of the birth of their new baby.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:8-11 KJV

This birth announcement we read in the black and white pages of the bible isn’t about a typical birth. It’s not just about parents bringing a child into the world; it’s about a divine plan that God Himself orchestrated.

This birth was announced 700 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah— “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Isaiah 9:6

The announcement of Jesus’ birth surpasses as a simple birth announcement; it serves as a universal proclamation, resounding as both your personal announcement and mine. You and I can fill in the blanks with our names. “For unto _________________ a child is born, unto ______________ a son is given.”

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news.” The words of Isaiah 52:7 celebrate the messengers who carry these good tidings, proclaiming them on the mountains and beyond.

Today there remains the timeless call to share the news far and wide. Christ’s birth serves as a reminder that we are all welcomed into the extraordinary story of redemption— a divine orchestration revealed in His arrival.

Go tell it on the mountain

Over the hills and everywhere

Go, tell it on the mountain

That Jesus Christ is born.

Don’t miss it

Bare feet on wooden stairs. Red nylon nightgowns that matched. Two sisters clattered down the stairs on a cool Christmas morning, running into a room that had seemed bare when they went to bed, but now resembled Santa’s workshop in all its glory. There were stockings, my favorite, and babydolls from Santa. Presents were wrapped under the tree, their endless possibilities almost dancing in the air before us. We felt like very lucky girls, indeed.

Against each wall stood a handcrafted desk with an attached shelf. We had run past them to get to the Christmas tree. They were beautifully made, polished to a high shine, gleaming in the reflection of the Christmas lights.

Neither girl mentioned the desks. Instead, they ran straight to the stockings. Inside were staples, erasers, paper clips, and all the things one would need to stock a desk. Still, no one mentioned the desks in the room.

One sister had asked for a desk of her own and had wanted it so much. She didn’t see the desk before her because of the lights and sounds of the season that competed with the presence of the desk.

The other sister saw the desks, but thought they were much too grand and special for the likes of her. Surely, they were for her parents. It didn’t seem like she was worthy of such a gift. It must be there for someone else.

Eventually, their mom told them of the gifts that were right in front of them. Of how their dad had made them for his two girls. How they were thought of especially as he made them.

The gift of the father seemed enormous. Shyly the girls eyed the desks then ran to them. They began stocking the drawers with paper clips and staplers and felt very grown up, and excited, and loved.

This Christmas, you might be like these two sisters. Like the second sister you may see a baby in a manger and think he is far too grand a gift for the likes of you. You might think you don’t deserve a gift so special, but your father in Heaven thought about you when he sent Jesus to be born as a baby.

Or, you may be like the first sister and simply not see the manger in light of all the hustle and bustle, and excitement of the season.

Don’t miss the splendor of the season by not noticing the gift in front of you. Jesus was born humbly in a stable, he lived a perfect life, and he died a violent death on a cross so that all who ask him to be Lord of their lives might be saved. Don’t think the gift is too grand or too special for you to accept. Just see the gift of Jesus and take it.

But God can

The other day the baby sister said to me, “Well, if you weren’t walking in cursive.” Cause if you know me then you know when I walk I’m all over the place. 🤣

It got me thinking about this journey we call life. One would assume it would be a straight shot – like normal people walking down a sidewalk. Side eye at myself and my cursive walking.

But it’s not.

It’s not a straight shot, and it doesn’t make any kind of sense. It’s not going to.

Let’s take it back to the Israelites in Exodus. God took them on a journey that was all twisty and turny and every which way. They didn’t understand it. How could they? They couldn’t see the big picture like He could.

What looked like a scribbled up Dora the Explorer map to some was actually a very well planned out excursion.

The pretty, perfect path would have had them ol’ Israelites end up right smack dab in the middle of a war – war they were not prepared to fight.

So God had them walk in cursive. They went this way and then they went that way – and unbeknownst to them they were strategically protected from the waging war that they would have happened upon if they would have taken the so-called pretty, perfect path.

Y’all, God may have you on a journey right now that you just don’t quite understand. And I can almost bet that you would like to play MapQuest for Him.

Don’t do it.

You can’t see the big picture.

You can’t see what’s in front of you.

You can’t see what’s surrounding you.

But God can.

Trust the journey He has placed before you.

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. Exodus 13:21