Let’s talk about seeking. What are you seeking today?
Are you seeking a job? Are you seeking friendships? Are you seeking relationships? Are you seeking healing for family? Are you seeking treatment for your body? Are you seeking rest?
Are you seeking Jesus?
When we start to constantly seek God in our everyday lives, in the small moments, the big moments, in those little windows of time where you can finally breathe, we see Him.
The business of life creates chaos in every aspect of life, honestly. It strains relationships, with friends, family, and with God.
If we are so used to seeking Jesus in every moment, if we are so used to going straight to prayer everytime something joyful or upsetting happens, the business isn’t as straining.
Instead of a sad season where you constantly can’t feel God’s presence, you’ll realize that He is there in every single moment. He’s next to you for every smile and every tear. For every laugh and every word you speak.
From personal experience, when I sought the Lord I found that He is constantly trying to show me something.
Right now I’m in the midst of finding out what it is He wants to teach me. I don’t know what He is showing me, but I’m excited to find out because I know that my Savior cherishes His children. I know His promise is good and His love lasts forever.
So today, seek the Lord and His grace.
Psalms 105:4, “ Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually.”
It was a pretty incredible day. Proud is an understatement. 💛
And look at all the young adults standing behind him.
Y’all.
This generation gets a bad rap, and they shouldn’t. These kiddos cried, smiled, clapped, praised, hugged, fist-bumped, and did all the celebrating for their friend on his big day.
These kids showed up.
The emotions they carried were real. The pride for their friend was real. Jesus radiating off of them was real.
I see a generation rising up. I see a generation of young adults that love Jesus. I see a generation that wants to be the good and do all the good that they can.
As for my generation, we need to step up, too. We need to stop complaining about what “they” do wrong and see all that they do right. We need to train them up just like the Bible says to do.
I see them, and I’m excited to watch them grow and go.
They are gonna do big things.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
I have had a word burning in me since Daisy asked me to write for this month. It was not until today that I could get it down on paper.
The word is labels.
You see we live in a generation that is label happy. We have labeled our children. There are “new gender” labels. We label ourselves. We label others- even our food has labels.
We wear them like badges of honor.
We wear them as sorrow.
We partner with ones that other people have put on us that we refuse to remove.
What are you labeling yourself as and what labels have you slapped on others? Do they align with God’s word and what He says?
You label with past addict – God sees freedom.
You see an adulterer – God sees redeemed.
You see fat and ugly – God sees made in his image.
You label with lonely – God says Bride of Christ.
What lies do you need to replace with a truth today? What test needs to be added to your testimony?
I got a phone call today that my daughter has been in an accident (she was safe Praise God). I had to exchange a few labels. I had to give up discouragement for joy and thanksgiving. I had to hand over worry to become a warrior. I wanted to lay down like a pig in the mess and wallow for a while, but God had a message.
If the labels you are wearing and giving to others are negative and do not speak life then they are not from Christ. Let go of guilt and shame today and know that you are worthy. He calls you beloved.
Get in your prayer closets today friends and ask God what He sees. God is our ultimate label maker. If it’s not from him stop wearing it!
Psalms 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well.
Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created male and female he created them.
Y’all, just look at the repetitiveness of that verse. Take hold of that today. How important and special you are that He made you like Him!
Do you ever feel inadequate, unloved,or alone? Maybe you feel rejected because you were abandoned by someone you really loved like a parent, spouse, or other family member, or even a friend.
Do you feel like you just don’t belong anywhere you go? I think we all may have experienced at least one of these feelings at some point in our lives. Well, let me just say these are lies from the enemy, Satan. He likes to make us feel unimportant. He likes for us to value ourselves on the basis of how people treat us. Satan loves to condemn us of our present and past sins.
He uses people in our lives to make us feel unworthy, to bring us down, and to hurt us with their actions and even their words. The bad thing is that the majority of the time we fall into the trap of believing these things.
We put more focus on that than we do our Heavenly Father and His love for us.
John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
God loves you and God loves me. He loves us when we are unlovable, when we are living in the midst of sin, disobeying His word, and when no one else does. We are His!!!!! He created each and every person in the world. He made each and every one of us unique. His plans are for our differences to complement each other, and to compensate for what one cannot do. God doesn’t want us downtrodden and discouraged, living in fear and worry of the future. He doesn’t want us to view our worth through anyone else’s eyes but His.
Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
This friend is like no other. He is our Savior and Lord and He expects us to walk with our heads held high. He wants us to experience the peace, joy, and love that only He can supply. He removes our sins and cleanses us from all transgression. No one else in this world can do that. Only God can give us exactly what we need and even what we desire. We just have to find our joy and happiness in Him.
Psalm 37:4 states, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
God wants us to learn from these experiences that make us feel so unloved, inadequate, etc. We need to learn to show love and to encourage one another.
Pray about what it is God wants you to do.
God has a job for each and every one of us to fulfill. He has a purpose for every single one of us and for everyone that enters our lives. People aren’t always meant to stay in our lives forever. Don’t focus on who left or who is gone – focus on who is in front of you.
Focus on who you can serve.
Pray about what God wants you to do for someone else. God wants us to help others. There is no joy like being there to help someone in their time of need, taking time out of your schedule to check on someone, or just to be a listening ear.
Matthew 25:40 says, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
The most important thing in this world is showing God’s love. When we show God’s love I think we feel the love of God even stronger. We realize we do have a purpose and are not inadequate. We are not abandoned and alone. We are serving a true living almighty God, who sent HIs Son to die on a cross. The worst thing we may deal with is being rejected by some people who don’t see our worth. Jesus was rejected by many people and He still chose to die on the cross to save them and to save us. We reject Jesus at times in the things we choose to do and He still loves us. So remember to live with grace, mercy, and forgiveness and encourage each other. Find what it is God wants you to do and you will find your worth!!
Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Lately the Lord has had me checking the posture of my heart in every area to make sure my motives are pure. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:2 “People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.”
I always want the Holy Spirit to have access to my heart. Even if I think I have the purest of motives, I want to always submit it to Him because He’s the One that truly examines our hearts.
Jeremiah 17:9 says, ““The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.””
Having any other motive towards others such as, manipulating, being deceitful, etc. is not pleasing to God (Romans 8:8).
Sometimes, we’re actually unaware that our hearts may not be completely pure towards God, ourselves or others. That’s why it is SO important that we invite the Holy Spirit in constantly to examine our hearts. A heart submitted to the Holy Spirit is a healthy heart. We also submit our hearts through scripture.
Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
The Word of God is powerful & if we allow it, it will show us where we operate in flesh & where we operate in Spirit. So what are the right motives? The right motive is when we do things only to please God.
1 Thessalonians says “Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.”
We want pure motives because we want to love like Jesus.
Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
If we don’t live with pure motives, we walk down a path that is not pleasing to the Father. But when our hearts are pure before Him, we are able to represent Him so well to others & He gets ALL the glory!
My pastor said something this past Sunday that stopped me in my tracks – well, not physically. After all, I was sitting down on a pew during the sermon. It stopped me in my tracks mentally though, and I couldn’t think about anything else.
Now, I am paraphrasing but this is what he basically said: When we listen to our own hearts we derail our God-given purpose.
Woah. Just woah.
I hope you will pause for a moment or two or three and really let that marinate.
Sometimes we need a good wake-up call, a good fussing at, whatever you want to call it to get us mentally back on track. I know I do.
It’s so easy to get caught up on this roller coaster we call life and forget about the big picture.
What is the big picture? Less of me – more of Him. If we could all (and I’m pointing a big ol’ finger at myself) just stick to that script there would be a lot less heartache, a lot less hurt feelings, a lot less jealousy, a lot less mess-ups, a whole lot less of a bunch of other unnecessary things.
Let’s refocus, ladies.
Let’s keep our eyes on the prize.
Let’s win more people for Heaven.
Let’s go for God and nothing else.
Cause nothing else matters.
He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30
October came in hot man. Like, I woke up day one with eyes so swollen I looked like Quasimoto from Disney.
Then as soon as I stepped out of my car at church – ants. All up my feet, legs, and then hands.
Nice.
And y’all, October is my favorite month. I knew, knew, knew that I couldn’t let these few minor inconveniences ruin my day – let alone my whole month.
I’m the one in control of giving my emotions to Jesus. I would much rather Him manage those wild things than me. Let’s just be honest.
And then you know what happened – I got a text from H‑E‑B saying that all of my items were in stock. Let me just tell you, that’s huge when you’re gluten free.
And then I backed into my parking spot like a boss.
And then I took the best Sunday afternoon nap EVER.
And then.
Y’all, life is good. Some moments stink. Some days stink. However, I encourage you to give those moments to Jesus. Because my Jesus will replace those seemingly jacked up moments with joy.
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. – Psalm 16:11
“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11
So, I think from my last couple of writings you can tell that we have been going through some things. Not life threatening for us but stressful for sure. In the midst of these day to day struggles my husband lost his sweet mama. It seems like the battle has really intensified and our armor is getting heavy. Thankfully, Jesus never leaves us or forsakes us. We are victorious in Him, but we also have to take part in life’s battles.
The best news is that I am part of an army. I don’t have to fight alone. I have a sisterhood that is the best, and they take 1 Thessalonians 5:11 to heart. Trust me when I say I never want sympathy or pity. I am a daughter of the King; don’t feel sorry for me. He has a plan and a purpose for what I’m going through. ( Also don’t be super nice or I cry 😭 😂)
But that encouragement keeps me going. Some of my favorites are sweet texts that say “I was studying today and this verse made me think of your situation” or “is there something I can do for you today? A meal?” and probably best of all just “Hey I’m praying for y’all this morning” ❤️
If you don’t have solid Christian sisters (brothers are good, too) that are standing in the gap and battling and holding you up – then start reaching out. It is so important to have that support system.
The flip side of this is even when you are in the midst of the valley look around and ask yourself each day, “Who can I encourage?” Earlier in chapter 5 Paul reminds us that we are sons of the light and that fact should fill us with hope. In 5:11 He is calling us to be a community of light that supports one another.
Honestly, I’m not that great at it. My sisters definitely outshine me in this area, but because of their example I want to be better. That my friends is the point. In Hebrew 10:23-25 the writer explains it perfectly.
Hebrews 23 “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” (NLT)
Their good example makes me want to follow suit. It spurs me on to good deeds. Thank you Jesus for godly friends 🙌🏻❤️
Recently, I found myself trying to make sense of a challenging situation I was watching unfold. I found myself filled with both anxiety and confusion. One morning, I awoke with the word “orchestrate” in my heart. As time went on, I kept being drawn to really contemplate this word. According to Merriam-Webster, “orchestrate” means one, to compose or arrange music for an orchestra, and two, to arrange or combine things so they achieve the best possible outcome.
Not long after, I came across Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” We often use this verse when we are trying to make sense of difficult circumstances. Or, we offer it to someone as a way to console and encourage them in their “life is tough right now” moment. Honestly, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard this scripture used by anyone, myself included, when things are going smoothly, right? It’s challenging times that often have us struggling to see how our difficulty can be used for any good. A key word in this verse is “all”. You know what “all” means in English? All. You know what “all” means in the Greek language? All. How simple is that?
Just as a composer writes music that to me may just look like scribbles on a piece of paper, to the one writing the music, every single note plays a meaningful part in his/her compostion. Psalm 139:16 expresses that God has composed our lives – “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
There are days that all I see is an indecipherable muddle of details that make no sense. These are the days when, instead of trying to figure it out, I recognize once again that I can’t. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
Sometimes the music playing isn’t music to my ears. I may not understand the notes and the current rhythm of my life, but I can hold on to hope in The One writing the music, and He says , “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
What peace we find, both in the present and in the future, knowing our life’s composition is penned by the Creator Himself. We can trust His wisdom as He uses all things to guide us toward a harmonious and glorious finale -both here and in eternity with Him.
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. Hebrews 11:31, CSB.
I want my children to have better opportunities, more fulfilled lives, and a bigger impact on God’s kingdom than me. These are things I pray for, take faithful steps toward, and try to foster. When my days on this earth are over I want the people I leave behind to be impacted by what I poured into them. I want a legacy that brings greater glory to God’s name than I could even imagine. Not for me, but for him and for them.
We all want better for our children and family than what the previous generation had. Rahab, the woman mentioned in Hebrews 11:31, got just that. She was a prostitute in the city of Jericho, an outcast. Jericho was a powerful, fortified city, and Israel was to overtake it. Rahab chose to hide Israelite spies from the city’s soldiers, who surely would have killed them. She did this because she believed God was truly the God of heaven and earth. Her actions weren’t brave, they were faithful. Her only request in return was for the Israelites to spare her and her family when the city of Jericho was attacked. In exchange for her faith Rahab and her family were saved. Then God gave her a new legacy. Jesus, the redeemer of the world, eventually came through Rahab’s family line.
Because legacy starts with faith.
We are all like Rahab. We want to save our family, but we really want more than that. And it’s faith in God that makes us believe we can receive more. Along with faith comes hope. Rahab had new hope after she had been redeemed. She had hope for a future and a legacy.
We can never work hard enough to earn the saving grace God offers, and we don’t have to work hard enough to break generational strongholds. Redemption is a gift that comes through faith. And faith brings hope. And it’s hope that brings us to take the next faithful step toward restoration.
Faith saves, and hope restores.
How have you let your past mistakes keep you from believing God will save, provide for, and prosper your family? How does Rahab’s story give you restored hope? What do you hope for yourself, your family, and your legacy?
God, you are faithful to your Word and your character. Help me to remember your goodness when doubts creep in. Restore my hope in you today and let that hope not be overshadowed by my past. Help me to live out my faith and invite you to restore every member of my family, for generations. Thank you God for restoration and hope. Amen.
Rays of Sunshine inc 