A moment with God

A prayer is not a letter you send up to God that falls into a stack of junk mail waiting to be opened.
It is not an anonymous petition of your will that must undergo levels of bureaucracy.
It is not a superstitiously rehearsed phrase to bring you protection and good luck.

It is not a gift you are giving to God; It is a gift He's giving to you.

It is a bridge he is opening, by choice, from you to Himself. It's a moment that the creator of the universe pauses to listen to your whispers; to come in close and pay attention to the outpouring of the contents of your heart.  It's a magnetic pull from your heart to His.

It's a moment that a Father that IS perfect love offers you a seat beside him to tell him about all of your woes and victories. Most of the time, He just listens. Sits and listens to our heartbeat, while he silently weaves the threads of our lives and the lives of those we touch.

We often mistake this silence for apathy. We think "WHY WONT HE ANSWER ME?!", because we don't understand his handiwork. We don't see him weaving our answer outside of time and our reality.
We also often don't receive a response because we're asking for a scrap of bread, when he's planning a feast, but feasts take time to prepare, and we must trust both the process and the result. We need to trust that if God offers us a promised land, we don't need to settle for the oasis.

Having patience in God's silence while facing great sorrow is a tall order. Reading through Pslams really can paint the picture a Human heart. David praised God's greatness and mercy (Psalm 30), he cried out in fear  (psalm 59), and he then he, once more, praised God's mercy and redemption (psalm 85).

Sometimes, in our love for God, or feelings betray us, and we find our reactions to Him to be fickle. This is the  human condition.

The beautiful thing about Pslams, however, is that David didn't stop singing out to the Lord after Pslams like
Psalm 60 "You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry--now restore us! You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. You have shown your people desperate times...."

Instead he kept praising God. He knew God was Awesome and that in the darkest times, God's NOT done. He doesn't give up. He doesn't end a sentence with a comma. He keeps weaving that tapestry. He keeps listening to the individual prayers of all his people. All his children have his attention.

Spend time with God in prayer. Talk to him. Listen to him. Be willing to stop life for a moment for him, and trust that His answers are the right answers.

Me Myself and I

I was lying awake, last night. A steady serenade of snoring filled my ears, as my loving husband fell deep into unshakable sleep, and yet that's not truly what kept me awake. What kept me from giving way to peaceful sleep was the all-too-familiar "instant replay" within my own mind.

I was replaying multiple conversations and interactions. I was obsessing over ways in which I could have expressed myself better, or responded better to things said. I worried about the perceptions I may have created based upon tripping clumsily over my own tongue.

Sentences such as "Maybe I should have said.... " "Maybe they thought ... of me." "Maybe I shouldn't have..." plagued my mind.

I, eventually, realizing these were not "real", or of God, offered them up to the Lord, and fell asleep... but when I woke with groggy reluctance, I recalled the previous night's personal struggle.  In doing so, I recognized a pattern. In each of my statements/questions of insecurity and self degradation there were familiar words... "I, Me, Mine, My..." and my heart repented as it occurred to me, for the first time, that my insecurity was nothing but an inflated sense of self.

A deep sense of insecurity in oneself is just as self-focused as an over-inflated ego is. They, both, are dwelling on one's own limitations, abilities, and accomplishments (or the lack there of).  The longer we spend in self-focus, the less time we spend focused on Jesus and his limitless strength. The less time we are connecting with His vision for us. We will find ourselves falling into depression and anxiety which is a place where the enemy is waiting to hold us captive to our emotions.


Our goal, as believers, is to direct the eye to the Lord. Our failures will always be there, but so will God's grace, forgiveness, and power. We should strive to have a handle on our tongues and thoughts, but to spend our lives praising or degrading oneself is simply taking focus from Jesus and those that need his love.



The world doesn't need another self-important or self-loathing individual sinking in the waves. They need individuals that own their failures and draw eyes to the One who set them free and rescued them from themselves and the enemy.

Shame on you?

When the enemy convinced Eve to eat that first fruit; consume that first knowledge of evil. What he really did was introduce the concept of shame. They were ashamed of their sin. They were ashamed of their nudity.
They hid from the embrace of the Lord, intentionally, separating themselves from  God. When questioned, their shame caused them to commit another sin: lies. They utilized sin to house their shame, erecting walls to keep out the light of God.
Genesis 3:6-13

This is how the enemy wins 

This process often breaks down to a moment in which we do, are apart of, or are subject to  something we are ashamed of and then are forced to make a decision between two obvious choices.

1: Take our brokenness to the Lord as a child bringing a broken toy before a loving father to see it completely restored. 

2. Hide the brokenness; ashamed of whatever perceived failure caused it, learn to live without the joy of restoration, and even convince ourselves that we deserve to live without healing or restoration. 

In the second option we cripple ourselves with fear, pride, and shame. As a result, we open a window, within our pain, to the enemy. There is no "empty space" within us. If we close a part of ourselves off from God, we close it off from his light; which only leaves darkness. 

 

God doesn't ask us to confess our sins to one another to torture us, or make us feel bad about ourselves.  It is to flush out those "dark rooms" with locked doors. Those rooms, in which, we harbor our "junk" and allow Him to let the light in. 

Where there is light, there is no darkness, and where there is darkness there is no light. 

So when you find yourself drawing circles around situations and specific sins as things that are less forgivable to God; please remember that you do not have that authority, and if it sounds right in your head, it means that you're believing lies.
God sees a child with a broken toy. His pleasure is to bring restoration to whatever is broken. His pleasure is to bring restoration to you and use your pain as a testimony of His adoration for his children.   

praise like you mean it

Having a mother's heart often leaves me relating to God through that filter. My children have taught me what love really is, and in my humanity, I can't imagine a greater love than what I have for them. I am aware, God's love is beyond my comprehension, but a mother's love is the closest I can manage.

That being said, I was contemplating the unique and powerful ways my children show me love.

My son has a quiet love. It's subtle, but powerful. It's moments of self sacrifice and well placed words of encouragement on challenging days. It's completed tasks that were not asked of him, just to make my day a little easier and more joyful. It's empathy in his eyes when he knows that I am not at my best.

My daughter is boisterous and bold. She gushes a dynamic rainbow of love. She wears it upon both sleeves without holding back. She shouts it from rooftops and dances in the glory of love.Spending time with Gabby is being submerged in dunk tank of her love.

They're so different, but I know their hearts. I can interpret every subtlety and recognize every piece of themselves that they willingly give me.  I gather them up and treasure them in my heart. I  embrace the way the shapes differ from each other. Each piece, an authentication of our unconditional relationship.

Our relationship with God is just the same.
He craves our love and adores our expression of that love, in worship/praise. He intimately knows our heart. He can recognize each and every heartbeat as it's own symphony pouring out from a soul he carefully knit together.

Some of us praise almost explosively. We gush over in praise like a model volcano in an elementary school science class. We get so overwhelmed by our emotions and our adoration for our creator that we cannot keep it inside. Our bodies dance and our voices call out to the name of Jesus. He loves that.

Some of us praise in a quiet love. We love with actions, and in everything we do. Our praise flows through us like a river pouring through every thought and action. We don't explode in praise or in song, but our adoration reaches down to our very bones. He loves that too.

Praise and worship is a voluntary expression of our relationship with a creator who adores us. No one can ever make you praise.  It has to be a choice from your heart and soul.

It will look different for every person depending on who they are and their relationship with God. For some is extroverted belting of praise songs, and others it's quiet grateful meditation on God's word and others yet it might be service/actions.  The vital take-away is to commit your spirit in gratitude and praise. Allow a thankful spirit to ooze from your very pores that it may be felt by others in your presence.

Don't let the enemy steal your joy, but instead offer your heart in pure and authentic praise to Jesus.
Praise him like you mean it.

Don't watch the clock

As a home-school mom, I've learned (the hard way) that if I give my children a specific amount of time that they need to maintain focus on a project (ie "you can be done at 2 o'clock") than the focus of the project no longer becomes about the task at hand, but rather the time in which they have to do it.
That old clock becomes the focal point of their day and the quality of work diminishes as a result.

They will also slow down their efforts closer to "quitting time" because they, instead of wanting to present their best, are counting the minutes until the end of their day.

If we're not careful; this is the direction we can go in our faith.

Let me explain... 

The media is an organism with a great deal of power. It has dramatic affects on our psyche without us even knowing it. It get's it's biggest reactions and ratings from promoting negativity. 

As Christians, we review this negativity and rather than see it as an opportunity to share a heartfelt prayer and invite God into these situations; we retreat from the world, in fear, thinking "this must be the end! It's time to head for the hills! God is returning!" 

Mark 13:32
"But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the Father." 

It's so easy to forget that God does not want us to know when he's returning.  He doesn't want us watching the clock! 

He wants us focused on the task at hand; giving our best work until the very last second; rather than slowing down with the expectation of "the end of the day".  We have no excuse for not showing God's love to others through all things. 

Do you realize that while Paul was imprisoned, shackled to the floor; he was writing letters of encouragement to churches and other missionaries?!  He truly never quit.

I don't know if you are in prison, literally or metaphorically, or if your heart is broken, but I love you and  you're not done yet. I encourage you! Don't watch the clock! Keep your heart on your creator and your eyes on the task at hand

Remember, when we focus on the project and we take pride in our work we'll truly have something beautiful to present to our teacher and creator.

A few Cents

Many of grew up hearing the story in the Bible about of the widow who gave her last 2 copper coins to God.

Mark 12:41-44 (NIV) 

"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money in the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But the poor widow came in put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 

Calling  his disciples to him, Jesus said, 'Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave of their wealth; but she, out of poverty, put in everything-
all she has to live on.'" 
This is an amazing story and illustration but I think there's more to it than meets the eye. 

We tend to focus on the the willingness to give everything she has, monetarily, in the trust that God will meet her needs. This is an important lesson, because God is our provider. 

I challenge you to also look at this story in another way. 

She gave everything. She gave everything she had, with love and joy in her heart.  What if, we do the same?
What if we don't give Jesus a piece of us? What if we don't give him the juiciest, most choice, pieces of ourselves in opportune moments, but we give it all  to him. 

What if we gave every single moment of every day to the Lord?

If you gave your facebook account as a gift for God; wrapped it neatly in a fine bow, and handed it to him; how would it change it's contents?

If you gave every effort at your job, mind and/or body to Jesus. Had to look him in the eye and say "I did this for you". Would you work harder? More joyful?

If you made each meal in your home as if God were coming for dinner would there be more love in your labor?

If every word that spilled from your lips were permanently recorded into a fine story for your Heavenly Father to read quietly, while musing over how glad he is that he made you; would you more carefully guard your tongue? 


So many of look at this broken world all around us and feel like failures. We feel as if we should always be doing "more".  This desire to serve should be there! It's proof that Holy Spirit is still stirring your heart. It, however, should not paralyze us or make us overwhelmed. It should inspire us to make every part of our existing life a pure and living vehicle of praise.

We may only have "2 copper coins" to give (literal or metaphorically), but if we give the entirety of our lives, relationships, speech and actions to Jesus;  He can feed a nation on our "2 copper coins". Faith of a mustard seed can move mountains, but only because we give it as an offering to the one who made the mountains.  The boy with loaves and fishes had only just that and it would have stayed just that had it not been given to Jesus to truly make something out of it.

Take your brokenness, take your joy, take your communication, take your failures, take your successes, take your time, take the work of your hands, take the words of your mouth, take the physical blessings given to you, take it all, and give it actively back to the Lord.

You will live awe of what he'll do with it.

Make a House a Home

My family recently relocated to an adjoining state from where we once called home. It was home because of memories and relationships, because of comfort and safety. I poured out my heart and soul there and took on the act of making it my home. So, while I leave behind memories,  and pieces of my heart and soul; I take with me the concept of home. The thought that, just like love, home is a choice.


We were blessed with, in our new city, a beautiful house in a wonderful neighborhood, but it is only a house. It is only wood and insulation, and sheet rock, and paint. An empty structure to hold our things. Making it into a home is entirely up to me.
I must work daily with deliberate effort and joy (joy is important) to make this a home. With the same efforts that I made our previous city a home. It is made with memories, with work, with relationships, with comfort, and with safety. I have to pour my heart and soul into it.
Our relationship with God is just the same.


1 Corinthians 6: 19 NIV "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you whom you have received from God? You are not your own."

We are temples, yes. Structures of flesh and bone and housed within us, the Holy Spirit. From the moment we accept Christ, this is true. You are a temple. I am a temple.
Are you, however, a home for the holy spirit? .

Are we full of the things that make up a true home? Full of comfort, cleanliness, space for others, and a sense of joy and belonging? 
Are we a warm place where Jesus can take off his shoes and stay for a friendly chat? Are we uncluttered, comfortable, clean, and welcoming? Are we open to the daily work it takes to transform useless earthly things  into a safe place for the Holy spirit to make memories with us?
So often we are not at peace within our own hearts, but somehow expect it to house the presence of the Lord of creation.
We need to make things right. We need to turn the four walls of our physical being into a home for our savior. We do this in the same way we prepare our home for guests.



1) Clean your house.
No one truly enjoys cleaning. It's a necessary evil. No one is without a dusty corner to clean, or a closet to organize. Clean up.
                  - personal note: I am not as tidy as my husband. I'm willing to work hard, but don't have an eye for the details. Sometimes I need help. I will do everything I can think of and then ask my husband to *lovingly* show me what I missed or if I have missed anything.
We can do the same with God. 

    Psalm 139: 23-24 NIV 
"Search me, Oh God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts...."  



2) Stock your pantry. 

Be always full of good things. A clean and empty house is far less welcoming than one that is clean but also has nourishment to offer. Be a heart of sustenance. 

                - personal note: Whenever people visit me; I always worry about not providing enough food. I never want someone to leave my home feeling hungry. I also never want someone to leave my home feeling like a burden. 

John 6:35 " Then Jesus declared 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me, will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

3) Make room. 
If you invite the whole world; no one will be comfortable enough to stay. If you want your house to be a home, you will have to make time for those who are  important. 

    Personal note- You wouldn't be likely to book 12 dinner dates for the same night and expect those relationships to be intimate and flourish, you would choose the first and most important guest first, and then schedule the others for later, if there is time. Sometimes you will have to say no to others.

Most importantly if you've made yourself a true home for the Holy Spirit and you allow for that to spill over onto all areas of your life, than you will, without additional effort, become a home and a safe place for others around you. Anyone can be a house. It takes a hard working a willing hear to allow themselves to become a home.