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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

The light

Our pastor, Travis Hood, did a sermon on John 8:12 two weeks ago and I felt it was perfect to share with y’all this Christmas season.

I think it’s safe to say that everyone knows we live in a dark world and Christmas time is usually a distraction in the chaos. With all the decorations, lights, family and friend gatherings it’s easy to stay busy and forget about the darkness. But God has given us more than a distraction. He has given us hope that comes from the one who came to us in the darkness to save us.

John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

We are born in a dark world, we stumble through life trying to find our way, bumping into things that are in our way that cause pain and suffering. We search in the darkness to satisfy ourselves and to find fulfillment. We pursue popularity, money, success. We abuse alcohol and drugs to escape the emptiness we feel in our life. We look to relationships to satisfy and comfort us. All of those things ultimately fail us. They only leads us deeper into the darkness.

The only way to overcome darkness is for a light to shine. The good news that Christmas brings is that Jesus Christ was born to bring light to the world. He says, “I am the light…” God didn’t leave us in the dark. He sent Jesus to bring light back into the world and overcome darkness.

Friend, you don’t have to stay in the dark, Jesus said, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light.” Through Christmas God offers us a light that is much more than just a distraction, God offers us a way out. That’s why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus is the light of the world.

All His

God speaks to me.

He does.

Not in a loud booming voice. It’s actually quite gentle. I remember the first time I heard Him. I was in second grade, and God told me {clear as day} that I would be an educator. We all see how that turned out.

I digress.

The other day I turned the corner from the hallway to the kitchen and He spoke clear as clear can be to this ol’ gal. You see I’d been making excuses. Excuses about why I couldn’t do some things. Important things. Excuses about not having enough time.

And He said – I can take some stuff away from you so you’ll “have” enough time.

That sucked the air right out of my lungs.

Because to be honest, I have plenty of time. I’m just not using it as wisely as I could be. I don’t want anything taken away from me! God has blessed me beyond measure.

I felt strongly that I needed to share this with y’all. Let’s all be good stewards of the time and things God has so graciously given us.

After all, it’s not ours. It’s His.

It’s all His.

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

Be still. And know.

The last three and a half months have been the hardest months of my life. They have also been some of the most transformative months of my life. I graduated college, watched my mom get diagnosed with and beat cancer, and finished my first semester of graduate school.

A few weeks ago, when I was sitting at my desk, wanting to give up completely, God dropped something into my spirit: “Don’t place a period where God has placed a comma and don’t place a comma where God has placed a period.” It was a lot to take in. I had never heard this before but after doing a quick Google search (of course), I realized it was a quote that has been referred to quite a lot. “What does this mean?” I thought.

While we often hear to follow the Lord’s call and to trust, leaning not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6), what happens when we are standing at a crossroads, uncertain of the next step to take, and feel as though we are not hearing from God? In a world that never seems to slow down, where the constant rush can make it tough to find a moment of stillness, God’s wisdom reminds us to: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

At times, when we feel as though we lack a sense of communication from God and it feels like His response is taking longer than expected, we tend to default, pursuing our own desires and decisions. We don’t want to wait for an answer, so we create our own, which can lead us down roads we were never meant to go down.

Sometimes being still is the only way to truly hear what God is telling us. Trust me – this is something that I constantly struggle with. Impatience can truly diminish what God is trying to do through us if we do not listen. Throughout the past several months, many people have told me that God was showing others His strength through my weakness. It sounds great and noble until you are the one that He is working in and through doing this.

Through these months though I have learned a lot of things about myself and about God. Sometimes He answers our prayers right away, sometimes it takes months or years to see Him bring them to fruition. Regardless, we are called to remain faithful, trusting that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

If you are holding on to that dream that God has placed in your heart, afraid that it is too late or not the “right time,” remember this: don’t place a period where God has placed a comma. Don’t give up on that dream. The same is true for those pushing hard to sustain something – be it a job, a relationship, or a dream – yet sensing it does not align with God’s plan for you. In these cases, resist the urge to place a comma where God has distinctly placed a period.

May this inspire others to embrace patience, remain steadfast in faith, trust in the unfolding beauty of the journey’s God has placed us on, and encourage us to remain still and know He alone is God and He is good.

The fog

I could feel the fog creeping in last week.

That funky, junky holiday fog.

It happens every year around this time.

I didn’t want history to repeat itself,

so I let the Lord in.

I asked Him to search me and shine His light.

Instead of revealing stress or the need for rest, my usual opponents, He showed me misplaced and mismanaged expectations 🎄🫣

Expectation is awaiting something that has not happened yet. It is the longing for something we don’t yet have.

The Lord showed me how I had allowed the worldly pressures to overshadow the holy expectation of Christmas.

I pressured myself to keep up with

the ever-changing holiday aesthetics.

I expected myself to single-handedly

make all of the holiday magic.

I pushed myself to make it all

presentable and picture-perfect.

For so many years, I tried to resist the world’s way of creating chaos in the middle of Christmas. Yet, here I was folding to unrealistic expectations.

I was hoping that holiday festivities would bring joy,

instead of looking to the One Who is my joy.

I was longing for a perfect Advent season,

instead of setting my eyes on the Reason.

I refuse to let worldly expectations

shadow the light of the newborn King.

So, I will put down the pressures of this world

and refocus on the King of the World.

The One who has fulfilled every longing.

The One who has exceeded expectation.

The One who is the center of our hope.

We can rest in that truth this season,

as we celebrate His birth and

eagerly expect His final arrival ✨

We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including new bodies he has promised us.

Romans 8:23-25

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

Philippians 3:20

What?

I want to begin with a question: what are you believing for? I’m sure all of us have been in or are in a season of feeling like you’re lacking in an area. Maybe you’ve been battling the thought, “the healing will never come,” or “I’ll never be able to catch up financially,” or “I’ll forever be stuck at this job I hate,” or “I’ll never be able to be a parent,” or “I’ll never have a loyal friend group,” or “I’ll never truly walk in kingdom things,” or….you fill in the blank. All of us need something whether it’s for ourselves or someone else.

In Matthew 14:17-19, Jesus & His disciples face an abundance of need. They need to feed 5,000 plus people & all they had was 5 loaves of bread & 2 pieces of fish from a little boy’s sack lunch. Jesus tells the boy to bring the food to Him, He raises it up to heaven, blesses the food, & God performs a miracle! Every person in the crowd was fed AND they had leftovers. Wow! Jesus believed for multiplication & because of His faith, the Father multiplied the food & thousands of people got to see the glory of God. I want to ask you again, what are you believing for? Let your faith arise! Refuse to be inconsistent in your belief system & faith.

Our Father owns a cattle on a thousand hills, HE KNOWS NO LACK. ”Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”“ Psalms 50:14-15 . Thankfulness moves the heart of the Father & it helps destroy a lack of faith & disbelief.

Be blessed!

Never Forget

All because of love, God gave us The Greatest Gift of all.

John 3:16 “For God so ‘Loved’ the world, He ‘gave’ His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Love is sometimes that we feel, but it is always shown by what we do.

These last few months have been a little difficult, some life changes had to be made that required my time, a lot of thought, and energy. I’ve been overwhelmed and have had a few meltdowns that I have not always handled with grace or mercy.

Making some hard decisions that would alter life for someone that I love, not knowing what I was doing, but just trying to muddle through the best way I knew how. Even in doing all I knew to do, it never seemed enough.

Realizing that I could not do it alone, I finally gave it to God. He has answered multiple prayers during this time, and His love has shown through friends and family that have randomly called and texted just to say that they loved me and were praying for me.

The last few weeks John 3:16 has been repeatedly going through my mind,

For God so loved He gave, He gave it all because He loved, and His love is revealed in the giving of His Son. We learn in this Scripture that we are the object of His love as He has given of Himself to us. He didn’t just feel the precarious situation of a fallen world, He did something about it. As we follow Christ, we can tell people about His love, but when we show them by our actions, that’s what will make the greatest impression.

“Love is the do part of faith, love is never stationary, love doesn’t just keep thinking and planning it, ‘Love Does’ – Bob Goff

Love cannot be shown by words, love takes action.

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

May we never lose sight of ‘The Reason for The Season. We have received the very best Gift that God had to give, His Son, and we as Christians have the opportunity to unwrap that Gift everyday as we pray, read His Word and reveal His love to others.

Merry Christmas

The mission

“So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?””

Mark 8:21 NKJV

Odd verse for Christmas right? Bear with me.

I was verse mapping Mark 8:21 the day Daisy asked me to write, and I feel like Christmas is the beginning of the story.

Jesus came to Earth on a mission and as He left Earth He gave us one. I feel like sometimes He asks me…..

“How is it you don’t understand?”

Some of you know I have a pretty extensive sports background so again bear with me 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Most sports have a playbook of some sorts. A player is expected to study the plays and understand not only their part, but how all the parts fit together to work effectively. The player should memorize it, schedule time to discuss it with the coach and analyze it from all angles. But….. knowing the plays is not the mission. Knowing your role is not the mission. Those are expectations you have to meet in order to be a good team player. The play book is a tool to win the game. Winning the game is the mission.

We have to understand our mission. As Christians we can get so caught up in studying, memorizing and having a quiet time with Jesus that we never get to the mission. We absolutely need to do those things, but they aren’t the end, they are the means.

In Matthew 28:19-20 (memory verse material) He tells us to make disciples and teach them what He taught. In Acts 1:8 He tells His disciples (that’s us now) that once they receive the power of the Holy Spirit they/we will be His witnesses.

Jesus’ time on Earth began at Christmas and ended with the ultimate victory when He went to the cross and rose from the dead! He did so much. You can sense the urgency once He started His ministry. I feel like I’m wasting valuable time. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old, but I want that urgency.

Lord stir us up 🙏🏻

Thankful Heart

A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart

The Veggie Tales sang about it… and it is true.

Our memory verse this month has been Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.”

Where is your treasure? Where is your mind’s eye? What has your heart?

What thing or event or problem or worry or person or approval do you keep coming back to over and over?  What do you think of when you wake up and as you go to sleep?

We’ve already started watching our favorite holiday movies. If you’ve seen A Christmas Story you know, Ralphie wants, “an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle!” But would you say Ralphie was happy – of course not!  In all his longing and scheming and obsessing- he was miserable.

You are probably not longing for an air-rifle…. Maybe not even a thing at all.  Maybe your heart is heavy with grief or your thoughts are drawn to concern over your children and their hearts and their futures… like mine…

Yes, God gave me these amazing humans to raise, but if I think about them – oh, the anxiety!  However, if I think about God, the sovereign, omniscient, omnipresent, creator king who loves me, died for me,  and provides for me- WOW!  It all melts away.  They are His!  I am His! You are His!

May you rest in His peace.  May you truly find contentment in His provision.  May you fall asleep counting your blessings.

Psalm 84[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
    Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
    they are ever praising you.[c]

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.[d]

7 They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
    listen to me, God of Jacob.

9 Look on our shield,[e] O God;
    look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Gratitude

November is the month where most people concentrate on giving thanks all the way up to Thanksgiving Day. On Thanksgiving Day there is a high possibility most people go around the table and say what they are thankful or grateful for or if nothing else an attitude of thankfulness is present in some way or another. Today is the day after Thanksgiving and we are nearing the end of the month of “thankfulness”. We are getting ready to shift our minds to the busyness of Christmas and all that comes with it, but let’s all just stop now and remember our thankfulness and gratitude should not just be a seasonal thing but a part of our daily lives.

Do you ever wonder if there is a difference between being thankful and grateful? I mean they usually just go hand in hand.

Both are most definitely an intentional choice. The definition of thankful is the expression of gratitude, especially to God, for us christians. It is an earnest and thankful prayer expressing gratitude and relief.

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and return kindness. So I know it’s a bit of a stretch but to me I feel like to be thankful is a feeling and to be grateful is more of an action we can take. It is a way to show thanks for the things we have been blessed with and in turn we bless others. This is pleasing to God because being thankful and then showing gratitude is a part of God’s plan for us. When we have a true relationship with God, He actually expects it of us.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Thessalonians 5:18

So how do we show God our gratitude? We should walk in love. We should live in peace and forgiveness and use every breath that we have to praise God. He wants us to spread His word so that no one should perish without Him. We need to show compassion and humility and be patient and gentle with everyone we encounter.

When we have these characteristics we as christians will draw people in. People see and want to know more about why we have peace, thankfulness, and gratitude in our lives even in the midst of trials and tribulations we may be facing.Have you ever been having the best day and encounter someone who is constantly negative and critical? It kind of brings your mood down a little, right? That is why we have to choose to walk in gratitude and be mindful as to not turn someone away from the gospel by our attitude in the moment.

When we have a spirit of thankfulness and praise to our Heavenly Father it produces Godly actions that others can see.

Remember we have a Creator that created us to carry out His plan. He created each and every one of us for a unique purpose. We belong to Him and when we let His peace rule our hearts we should have nothing but gratitude. Our hearts will be full of love and we will want to tell everyone that we cross paths with. If this doesn’t cause you to want to scream Hallelujah then nothing will!! Praise God!!!!

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:15-17