Before I learned that my true identity was in Jesus Christ, I looked to other people to fill a hurtful void inside of me that only God could fill.

I turned to people, places, and things for help and for answers that I could only get from God. But at that time in my life, that’s all I knew to do.

In 2014, God did a work in me and what He told me would change my perspective forever. He told me that in order to get to know Him better and better every single day, I would have to choose to know Him better. That I would have to die to self, so that I could live for Him and in Him through it all day by day, He would reveal to me that my identity had nothing to do with anyone or anything in this world and had everything to do with Him. ❤

He told me that I was looking for love in all the wrong places. Building this relationship with Him day by day, He began to show me my identity, my DNA, and that my most important relationship is in The One that created me. ❤⚓ My first love, my ABBA Father, my Prince of peace and my Creator of everything….

Jesus Christ is my identity ❤

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Knowing your identity in Christ, changes everything. ❤⚓

What about the ones that feel like they simply don’t fit? The ones that feel like for whatever reason they just can’t find their people? The loan wolves? What about those people?

I have heard many things when it comes to these feelings. I have heard, “You aren’t meant to fit in here,” or “Why would you want to?” One of my favorites, “It’s their loss.” I honestly have struggled with this feeling since I can remember – the feeling that all of these relationships exist all the time around me, and no matter how hard I try I will never find a place in them.

I had never been that person that just found my people and had them for life. I honestly never had a “group” in school. I just kind of bounced around. I have always felt like maybe it was something to do with me and my personality as a person that really, REALLY likes her alone time.

I had always just been kind of ok with it, but I did always wonder why it was that way. Now as an adult I have made some life long friendships that I cherish so dearly. This may be because I stopped trying to fit where I thought I should, and instead started trusting the doors I saw open for me. I think this all started because I found something so profound in Romans one day that stood out so boldly to me. The bible talks often about olives – olive trees, olive oil, olive branches etc.

Well, in Romans 10 Paul is talking about who will “fit” in God’s kingdom. Fast forward to Romans 11 and Paul paints this picture of one wild olive shoot – that though it didn’t fit with the planted tree – God was still able to graft it in among the planted tree branches and make it bear fruit.

Now I know there is so much more to this chapter about feeling superior to others and all the things, but the picture of being able to be grafted in just spoke so clearly to me because I fall so short ALL THE TIME.

I truly do not feel worthy of lasting love and friendships, but this picture He is painting of grace reminds me that I don’t need to worry about fitting anywhere. Instead, I need to have the FAITH to know that in the right time God will graft me in exactly where He intended for me to fit all along!!

This is for sure exciting news for us that don’t seem to fit where the world makes us feel like we should!!! God has the ability to break us off from our current branch, then graft us right back into the new place that He has in store for us. This is all dependent on how much we trust God with knowing exactly where that is.

I truly believe God intended for us to have relationships in this world. If He hadn’t, I don’t think He would have felt the need to create one for Adam in the beginning. Don’t hear that we were meant to fit in this world because we for sure were not… BUT we absolutely were meant to fit among other believers, and to find joy, fellowship, and love in his people.

So many people try to travel through life alone, and that just wasn’t the picture God had in mind for us. We were meant to find the ones that He had in store for us and be grafted in among them sharing our differences and talents to further the kingdom.

The body of Christ has so many moving parts and so many jobs that so desperately need the gift you have to share. Trust God in his choice to graft you exactly where you are meant to be, and go boldly into this journey with a purpose driven by faith. We are all in this together and IT IS GOING TO BE SO GREAT!!!

If some branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root.

~Romans 11:17

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

“I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth

My soul makes its boast in the Lord;

let the humble hear and be glad. 

Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt his name together!”

-Psalm 34: 1-3

What is worship? What is the purpose behind it, and why do we do it?

As someone who serves on a worship team, I’ve often been asked these questions. 

What is worship?

Worship is more than the first twenty minutes of the church service and more than the intricate guitar riff and drum solo. Worship is one of the most selfless acts of kindness we can offer God. 

The word worship is defined as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration towards a deity. In other words, it’s a musical way of thanking and telling God how good He is and how much we love Him. 

To be clear, though, worship is more than just singing songs to Him. It is a way of living. In Romans, Paul writes in chapter 12:1, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” In blatant terms – worship calls for a more profound action than just singing to Him.

Worship involves us presenting ourselves as living sacrifices, but it also involves us presenting ourselves as individual sacrifices. In the proper form of prayer, all the focus is on Christ, which calls for us to remove all of our doubts, worries, fears, business, etc., from the forefront of our minds so that all we think about, see, and feel is Christ. Worship calls for us to humble ourselves before the King so that we can partake in clear communication with Him. 

So- while we know what worship is, why do we do it? What is the purpose of it?

The overall purpose of worship is to praise God because He is worthy of all praise (Psalm 145:1), but inside the general purpose of worship is a mini-reason for why we praise Him. God is good – all the time-so why not tell Him that as much as we can? 

From the first chapter in Genesis to the end of Revelation, it is very transparent that we as humans were simply made to worship. We were made to rejoice in the Lord and the love that we undeservingly receive. In this, we complete what we are made for when we worship. We fulfill our purpose. Through the process of praise, we are also refreshed- returned to God’s radio. True worship allows for the communication line between Christ and us to be cleared up and focused on. 

We worship because it is what we were made for. 

As a worship leader, I have seen many lives change from participating in worship. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit move and work in those who fully surrender to Christ in worship. I love everything true worship is about. So, whether it’s a few songs at a church service or just one in your car on your way to work, worship Him. I promise your day will be better from it!!

I’ve been living this Celiac life for almost eight years now. Nonetheless, the other day I made what I would call a rookie mistake.

My husband told me not to.

More than once.

He warned me.

But I still did it.

I guess I thought I was suddenly immune.

I reached into this fried fish basket [with glutenous toast] and took a french fry. A single gluten free french fry. Apparently said french fry had touched the fish or the toast.

Within the hour I was sick. I mean sick sick. Yes, the gluten issue is that extreme for me. As I sprawled out in the back seat unable to move or sit up, said husband – that had warned me not to eat the dang french fry in the first place – played Randy Travis’ “I Told You So” ever so lovingly.

I didn’t eat the fish.

I didn’t eat the bread.

But I got close enough to the thing that’s not supposed to enter into my body that I was cross contaminated. A crumb so tiny that you couldn’t even see it wrecked unimaginable havoc on my body.

I got close enough.

Isn’t that just like sin?

It creeps in undetected.

And isn’t that just like a human?

We think we can skirt on the edge of sin – dancing around it while not really partaking in it – and not be affected.

Don’t let down your guard.

Just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you are suddenly immune to sin.

But it certainly means that you know better.

Set boundaries.

Stick to those boundaries.

Heed the warnings.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Lately I have found myself picking up an old habit that I was once so enslaved to for a season that I would make myself sick and the only treatment was a pill and being rocked by Mrs. D in the school office.

Worry will do that.

We freely talk about worry with a grown up word called anxiety. It’s a loaded topic and means different things to different people. But I am wondering something. Can we do this? As in, do Christ followers have freedom to worry? Worry has served as both my comfy couch at times and my jail cell at others, so I don’t ask this question lightly.

Philippians 4:6 starts out with this directive, “Do not be anxious about anything.” Thankfully with that directive we also have a an “instead.” Next we read, “but in everything by prayer and supplication (the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly) with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” And then, in the following verse, we learn of an exchange. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Don’t do THAT, instead do THIS, and in return, you’ll experience the Better Thing.

I remember sitting at that women’s conference several years ago and the main speaker told us that worrying tells God we don’t trust Him.

To be honest, that kinda makes me mad. I certainly don’t want to communicate a distrust OF God TO God. And, maybe it’s excused in my case. I have lived a life that warrants a lot of worry, if you ask me. Can I be excused from this command? Or, at least bend the rules a little? Worry deceives with this edgy comfort that makes me feel like I’m in some kind of control. If I can just think about it enough, then I still have a say.

I read a statement this week in regards to Philippians 4:6 that shook me out of this mental trap I’ve been in for a few weeks.

The author* wrote, “There will never be a circumstance in which you are obligated to worry.”

I can care about people and circumstances, but I don’t have to be a slave to mentally manifesting the outcomes for all. Now THIS is what I want to be free to do.

Also, that word “guard” as part of the exchange of worry for peace?

Guard: to guard, protect by a military guard, either to prevent hostile invasion, or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight

I will never have a circumstance in which I’m obligated to worry, but instead will pray over my concerns. And along the journey, the peace of God, albeit a thing I don’t understand but gladly accept, will protect my heart and mind from the hostile invasion of What If and What Will and What Now and What Next. Amen?

*Rest and War by Ben Stewart

Our ladies group at church is going through a study that starts off in the wilderness. When I got to Ezekiel 36:34 I felt compelled to verse map, or dig deep, into that particular scripture.

And man I’m glad that I did.

“And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by.” Ezekiel 36:34

I’m from Texas. I know what the word till means, right? But until I dug – no pun intended – into exactly what it meant for this scripture I didn’t fully comprehend what God was communicating through His word to me. That’s the power of verse mapping.

To till means to aggravate or agitate the land. And while that desolate land is being disrupted, roots – things unseen – are being lifted up and taken out. What’s taking up that space now? Organic matter. Aka living matter.

Let that soak in.

Living matter. Living water. A living God.

So when you’re walking through what seems like a desolate time in your life, and you feel like everything is in disarray – just remember that God is at work. He is disrupting everything for a purpose. He is going to take out all of the bad roots and fill that empty, desolate space with himself. The living God. Living matter.

Praise God in the wilderness, sister. He’s doing a work He is preparing you for something better.