3/29/2024
It’s In The ExpectingWe always hid Easter baskets for our kids when they were little. They absolutely loved finding those baskets, even when it got too hard and they were prompted with the timeless hints of “hot” and “cold”. Why did they love it so much? The expecting. They were expecting a basket full of joy because of all it held inside. What are we expecting? Sadly, many of us have grown cold. We have gotten farther and farther away from the joy that comes in the expected. And in the coldness, time spent with God has become a duty. Church should never be just a duty. It’s not a job where you clock in and clock out. It’s not a “Christmas and Easter only” facility, yet that’s how many of us view it. What are we expecting when we walk through the doors? Are we expecting God’s presence to wash over us as we sing to Him? As we hear His words, are we expecting those words to change our heart and soul? Are we expecting those words to bring life? Or, do we simply attend expecting nothing at all and leave with the same emptiness we had before we came? Clock in. Clock out. Three days after Christ was crucified a heartbroken Mary went to His tomb. What was she expecting? She wasn’t expecting emptiness, yet that’s what she found. She found emptiness because she wasn’t searching for life. Mary could have left that day with a continued emptiness. With a heavy sorrow. What was different? Unlike so many of us, in her emptiness Mary realized how desperately she needed the Savior and it was in that moment that He revealed Himself to her by simply saying her name. Mary. And she knew. He was alive. His presence washed over her and her heart was changed. The tomb was empty but her heart was full. Life can get hard, but it doesn’t have to be. God is always prompting us to draw closer. We don’t have to remain cold. Just like a child searching for and expecting to find a basket full of joy, let me encourage you to expect the unexpected this Easter. What can make the difference? Search for life. The difference comes in the expecting. An empty tomb. A risen Savior.A life changed. A heart full. A basket full of joy because of all it holds inside. What are you expecting? Whatever you are looking for is what you will find~and everything you’re looking for can be found in Christ. *Repost
3/22/2024
Holding Hope Again In 2024I will never forget the first time I was introduced to Jesus as more than just a cold, religious statue hanging on the big wall of our church.
I was 7. I was sitting at her table looking up at her. I thought she had the kindest eyes and made the best peanut butter sandwiches. She always gave us potato chips on the side. To this day I love sweet and salty together. She was talking about Jesus like she knew him personally. I didn’t really understand what she was telling me. To be honest, I don’t remember much about it at all. Until the end. I could hear my brothers playing with her kids outside and I wanted to go play with them. And then I heard my mom ringing our dinner bell, and I knew I better get home. And that’s when she said these words~ ”So Charisse, if you pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior, I will write that in this bible and you can take it home!” Man, I wanted that bible. It was red and shiny and new. It was amazing to my little eyes. We didn’t own a bible, except for the big storybook one my mom read to us at night. This was a real bible! A bible that would belong to me? I nodded my head and told her I would pray. A few days later that bible was mine. It sat on my nightstand like my most prized possession. I was so proud I owned something so important. Time went by. Days turned into years. We moved several times. We went through a lot of heartache. I have no doubt that my sweet neighbor prayed for little, 7 year old Charisse after she gave her that bible, and I have no doubt she continued to pray. My parents split up. Without warning my mom packed up our belongings, showed up at our school and we drove away. I never got to say goodbye to my friends. I was confused and hurting. Did my dad know where we were going? Why wasn’t he with us? A year passed. A year full of fighting and sadness. My mom moved us from our wonderful farm to the big city. Everything was scary to me. Back on our farm our beloved dog had been shot and killed, which added to the sadness. For the last ten years he had been our faithful, loving companion. There were a lot of ugly parts about my story that year. It seemed like my tears were constant. But then one day a glimmer of hope touched my heart. My parents made the decision that they would try again, this time with God. We found a church close by and started attending regularly. Week by week I could see a change in my mom and dad. Week by week I felt a change in my own heart. I was hearing things that were vaguely familiar to me. I was attending Sunshine Girl’s club at church one Monday night and it all came flooding back. Even though 5 years had passed, I remembered like it was yesterday. I remembered her kind eyes telling me about Jesus. I remembered the immense love she had for Him, as if He were a real person, and not just a statue. I remembered her telling me what the word sin meant and I remembered at the time not truly understanding. But here I was now. I finally understood. My teacher explained that God sent His Son Jesus to earth for me. That He was born in a manger only to die a horrible death on the cross. All for the sins of mankind. She told us that this was God’s gift to us. That if we understood that we were sinners and we were repentant of those sins, our great God would forgive us. All because of Jesus. He could be my Savior. This was too wonderful for me. I knew now why my sweet neighbor loved Him so much. She knew Him personally. He took away her sins and saved her from eternity in hell. He loved her immensely, more than she could ever love Him. And He loved me. I asked my teacher if I could talk to her after class and that day I knelt down in the back of that little church and asked Jesus if He would take away my sins and be my Savior too. I didn’t have a single doubt that He wouldn’t, and my life has forever been changed. I went home that night and dug that red bible out of the box in my closet. And I remembered. Hope filled my heart that day. I knew that no matter what my future held, Jesus would be right there with me. I would forever have that hope. Maybe it was the testimony of my kind neighbor and the love she had for her Jesus. Maybe it was her prayers for me and my family. Maybe it was her words that God burrowed deep into my heart until the day He knew I would truly receive them. Or maybe it was all of these things. Sometimes I lose sight of why I started this page. Satan knows how to discourage and get in my head. He tells me my words aren’t good enough. He tells me there are much better bloggers out there. He tells me I’m not worthy to pen words of hope to others because my own life is such a mess. But then I remember that little, 7 year old girl and the hope that was shared with her so long ago. The hope that kept her going and continues to be with her every single day. I might be a mess, but if we’re honest with ourselves~aren’t we all? And that’s where Satan will never have the victory~our hope is not dependent on us. It’s not dependent on our past or our future or how good we are or how messed up we are. Our hope is in Jesus alone and His finished work on the cross. I’m not here to share Charisse. I’m sharing Jesus. I’m right there with all of you in your struggles and heartaches, in your sadness and in your joys. I’m sharing that hope that only Jesus can give. I will continue to share and I will continue to pray for you all~ just like my neighbor did so many years ago. Because I want you to have that same hope burrowed deep inside your heart. A hope that will forever change your life. I can’t even tell you the number of bibles I’ve owned since I was 7, but I still have that red bible. It’s not shiny and new anymore but it is still my prized possession because no matter what I have gone through in the last 47 years, it has always been there~ Holding Hope.
1/19/2024
Feed Your SoulI love chocolate.
Delicious, smooth, velvety, melt in your mouth, milk chocolate. But, I have some food issues, along with physical issues. I’m allergic to gluten (like, really allergic, not some dietary fad) and I have a very high intolerance to lactose, casein and eggs. I also have arthritis and heartburn. But…I LOVE chocolate. And milk chocolate is made with lactose. Chocolate, high on the list of what NOT to eat if you have arthritis or heartburn. And yet, that Hershey’s kiss really, really wants to kiss me. I’m that girl that can eat a pound of fudge and when someone else says it’s too sweet for them, I respond: “I’ll eat yours too.” And so, I found a bag of Hershey’s kisses on my lap quite often during the holidays. I’ll be good I told myself. I’ll only eat one. Pretty soon I was figuring out in my head how many kisses would equal a candy bar (probably 8? Maybe 10 🫣), because it’s only ONE candy bar, right? That’s not bad. Why do I torture myself? It only takes 1 ladies. And I’m not talking about chocolate. 1 moment of envy. 1 moment of bitterness. 1 lie Satan whispers in our ear. 1 lie we tell ourselves, or others. 1 look. 1 lofty moment. I day missed praying. Or reading our Bible. 1 word. 1 thought. 1 wrong direction. It only took 1 moment in the garden of Eden to change the course of all humanity, and it can take only 1 moment to change your life forever. Because 1 thing can spiral, until you’re trying to figure out how many “things” are okay before it adds up to “really bad”. Before you eat that whole bag of kisses and convince yourself it’s not that much. Guard your thoughts and minds ladies. Guard your eyes. Guard your hearts. Guard your homes. Even the strongest Christian can falter in 1 moment of weakness. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I am so weak when it comes to chocolate, that I just can’t have it in my house. I will eat it all. And too often I am the same way in my spiritual life. One moment of giving in can lead to chaos if my heart’s home is not guarded with God’s word and prayer. Even though it felt good to eat all those kisses in the moment, ultimately it made me feel very, very bad. It’s going to take me a while to get back on track after the Hershey’s fiasco. My body doesn’t bounce back like it used to. The good news is, today is a new day. I can start again and do what’s right for my messed up, allergy ridden self. I can keep putting the good stuff in. The nutritious stuff. Before long I know I will find myself asking why I do such stupid things, when I feel so much better after NOT doing them. And that’s the good news of the gospel. It doesn’t end with the bad. No matter what we’ve done, whether it’s one thing or whether it’s spiraled into many~God’s grace is greater. His mercy is more. His love is infinite. When Jesus cried “It is finished” on the cross of Calvary, that was the end. And if we have asked Him to be our Savior, it’s our beginning. The beginning of a brand new life. A life filled with new beginnings. Because God knew we would need them. I know I do. I’m so glad His mercies are new every morning. Every minute. And they are for you too ladies, right now as you read this. Don’t allow that 1 thing. Guard your heart. A great place to start is to get in God’s word and hide it in your heart. Read it. Memorize it. And feed your soul. Don’t believe the lie that you can handle it, whatever that 1 thing is. I know I can’t. I can’t even stick to one Hershey’s kiss, let alone fight against the forces of sin. So, grab hold of God’s mercy, grace, love and power~ And feed your soul. SCRIPTURE READING: Proverbs 4:20-23, 25-26 Psalm 139:23-24 Psalm 147:11 Psalm 94:18-19 Psalm 86:3, 5, 13, 15 Psalm 31:7 Psalm 66:20 Psalm 103:8-14 Psalm 136 Proverbs 28:13 Hebrews 4:16 Titus 3:5-8 1 Peter 1:3-9 Isaiah 55:6-7 Lamentations 3:22-23 1 John 2:15-17 Galatians 5:16-17 Proverbs 6:16-23 James 3:14-17 Proverbs 16:3 Romans 12:2 Hebrews 4:12 Ephesians 3:20-21
1/5/2024
How To LiveLast week, I told you about my friend. My friend whose husband had been diagnosed with an illness and given 3 years to live. My friend who had joy, and encouraged me despite her darkness. My friend who told me to live every day to the fullest~ one day at a time.
My friend who unexpectedly got her own diagnosis a month later. My friend who is now home with Jesus and whose husband is now a widower. My friend who taught me how to die. I have stood at the side of many death beds in the last 25 years. Too many. Each time there was a glimmer of hope that a miracle would come and each time, the miracle we were asking for did not come. When death lingered at the door, many were too weak to speak to me. Many were on medication to ease pain, and many just slept. Because there was always that measure of hope for recovery, I never truly had an opportunity to talk candidly with any of them about their imminent departure from this world. Until now. So many of my fellow Christian’s have shown me how to live. How to be lights for Christ in a dark world. How to overcome heartache and sorrow and live in the joy of the Lord, but no one really teaches you how to die because no one truly knows how they will react until they are put in that situation. It’s a morbid thought. No one wants to think about death at the beginning of a brand new year, but death is no respecter of time or person. And therein lies the importance of choosing to use our time wisely~living each day for the glory of God~ because none of us know when our appointment with death is. My friend certainly didn’t. Romans 8 tells us that our bodies are already dead because of sin. If we have accepted God’s gift of salvation, our spirits are alive because of Christ. Not just here on earth, but for eternity. What a season to grasp this lesson. A season of new beginnings, of hope, of life eternal. Because without the lowly birth in a manger there would be no death on a cross, and there would be no hope for us as we face death and eternity. My friend was on her death bed. She had bypassed treatment and although there was some pain, she was coherent. Her focus was on her Savior, on His promises and His goodness in her life. She didn’t speak of fear or uncertainty. She was smiling and laughing, albeit incredibly weak~ she was talking about the excitement of seeing Jesus. She was a light in the middle of so much darkness. And she probably never knew what an impact this had on me, until she was in glory. I asked her to give Jesus a hug for me when she saw Him. I will miss her so very much, and yet I have a peace about her home going. A comfort. Because of how she chose to live her days, she was not afraid when her days came to an end. I thought she taught me how to die. Until now. She didn’t just teach me how to die after all. She taught me how to live. What will you and I teach others in 2024? SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 8:10 Isaiah 46:4, 9-10 Isaiah 45:22 Romans 8:18, 22-28, 31-32, Romans 8:35, 37-39 Psalm 71:3, 5, 8-9, 14-21, 23-24 Psalm 73:23-26, 28 John 14:1-3 2 Corinthians 4:14-18 1 Corinthians 2:9 Philippians 3:20-21 Philippians 4:8 Colossians 3:16-17 1 Timothy 4:12 Matthew 5:16
12/22/2023
Need A Free Gift Idea?Countless gifts have been given and received within the last month. In just two days, people everywhere~in every walk of life~will be opening even more.
I could write the typical message about the greatest gift given, but I think you already know Who that is. Instead, I want to share some hope this Christmas. It’s been a tough month here. So much heartache within 30 days. A month that is supposed to be the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. I have longed to make everything better for everyone. Somehow, in my humanity I thought that if I could just find that one perfect gift to lift a hurting heart, things would be better for that person. Tonight I realized they wouldn’t. My presents would always come up short. Gifts might make the recipient smile and bring momentary happiness, but minutes later reality will hit again. We can’t give away true joy. But we can give away hope. It’s free. It costs us nothing but love. Not our human love, but the love of our Savior Who gave Himself for us. The love of the Christ Child born on Christmas. And that my friend, is the most important gift. No one’s life is hopeless, as long as they have Christ. So today and tomorrow and on Christmas Day, give the gift of hope. What is hope? I once read that the word “hope” never carries even the connotation of uncertainty in scripture. Every aspect of God's word gives us hope, hope that we can cling to. Hope that is our reality. Not the hope that comes from material things, or even people. The hope that is eternal. The hope of a Savior who always forgives. The gift of salvation and grace. The hope of mercies new every morning. The gift of love that never ceases. The hope that nothing can take that love away. The gift of peace that passes understanding. The hope of a Friend who sticks closer than a brother. The gift in knowing He will never leave or forsake us. The hope of heaven, our eternal home for those who believe. The gift our Savior gave us when He died for our sins. The hope that was born in a manger. Yes it’s been a tough month. Heartache upon heartache, but not heartache without hope. There is no greater gift. A hope to hold on to. A hope to share. Today I give you that gift, and I ask that you share it as well. Can you imagine if everyone could open that beautiful gift this Christmas? Let’s make that our resolution before the New year even hits. The gift of hope. The hope that was born in a manger. SCRIPTURE READING: Hebrews 11:1 I Corinthians 15:19-20 Psalm 42:11 Psalm 119:114 Colossians 1:27 Romans 5:1-2, 5 Romans 8:24-25 Romans 12:12 Romans 15:4, 13 Titus 3:4-7 1 John 1:9 Ephesians 1:7 Ephesians 2:8-9 Romans 6:23 1 John 4:9-10, 15-16 Lamentations 3:22-24 Romans 8:38-39 Philippians 4:7 Proverbs 18:24 Hebrews 13:5 Romans 5:5-8 John 3:16 John 10:28
12/15/2023
My Messy HeartIf you’ve been around my page for any time at all, you know I wear my heart on my sleeve. At times I’m a big cry baby, fighting back the tears. When I’m happy. Tears. When I’m hurt, tears. When I’m filled with compassion for all the hurting hearts at Christmas. Tears. That’s me. Angry tears. Sad tears. Laughing tears. Messy tears. Quite often it’s the messy tears that get me. I feel shame or embarrassment for the messy tears.
And that led me to these words… Last Sunday morning our church congregation sang the words to that sweet lullaby~ “Away In A Manger”. As I played the piano, I thought about the words that were sung, and pondered on it all week. “The little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.”… As I thought about the Glory of all mankind being born, the perfect Son of God, I wondered if the words to that sweet lullaby held true. I came to the conclusion that little baby Jesus probably cried. And as He grew, I’m sure He probably cried when He was sad. He probably cried when He was hurt. He probably cried when He had compassion on others… Jesus was 100% God, and 100% human. Scripture doesn’t tell us much about his infancy and youth, but it does tell us that He wept. That He was moved with compassion. That He was human. Just like us, except for one major fact. The fact that changed the course of history, and the eternal destination of all mankind. He was sinless. Our sinless sacrifice. As much as we long for a beautiful manger scene to display in our minds eye, I am sure it was filthy, messy and very far from perfect. But Jesus entered into that mess and the moment He entered in~ He delivered us all. And in all His beauty and glory, He stooped down and picked us all up and showed us that He understood~ and continues to understand~ what it is to be human. With all our messes. With all our emotions. The Old Testament is full of stories of women just like you and me. Women who seemed to mess things up time and time again, yet women God used for His glory. Women God has continued to use to help encourage us today. Although God used several women in the New Testament as well, not as much detail is given. I wonder if it’s because the Old Testament concludes, and Glory steps in. Jesus becomes our focus. Rituals cease. Mankind’s righteousness was as filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6. The laws of the Old Testament made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better Hope did. Hebrews 7:19. Jesus is born. He becomes a tiny infant. His little cries echo through the night, and into our hearts. And 33 years later, as He takes on the sins of all mankind on the cross, His cries echo again. “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” I am so thankful that Jesus understands. That He was human. That He wept. That He felt all the feelings that I feel. I’m so thankful that God so loved the world. I’m so thankful for His words that encourage us that we can be used of Him, with all our imperfections and messes~ all because of Jesus. Jesus could have been born anywhere, but He chose a messy manger. Just like He chose my messy heart. And that reminds me of the words to another familiar hymn~ “Have You Any Room For Jesus?” Won’t you invite Jesus into your mess today? Won’t you ask Him to be your Savior? There is no one that loves you more than He does. No one that went to such lengths for that love. No one that can forgive and give you new life. What a gift. And if you have received that gift, let me remind you of this~ There is no one that understands like Jesus. When my heart is broken and the tears flow, I can hear His tiny cry in the manger. When sadness engulfs me, I remember He is filled with compassion for me, and when I feel unworthy, I hear His cry that rang out through all eternity~”Father forgive them.” What beautiful thoughts to ponder this Christmas season. Let the messy tears flow. Jesus keeps them all in His bottle. One day He will wipe them all away, and the joy of Christmas will be our everlasting reality. SCRIPTURE READING: Isaiah 53:2-6 Isaiah 54:10 Isaiah 55:6-7 Hebrews 4:15-16 Romans 10:2-4, 9-11, 13 Isaiah 50:10 Psalm 72:12-13 John 1:14 Hebrews 2:17-18 John 11:33, 35-36 Philippians 2:5-11 Psalm 56:8 Psalm 126:5 Revelation 7:17 Revelation 21:4
7/21/2023
What Does Jesus Say About You?My daughter just gave birth to a precious baby girl early Wednesday morning. Ivy Flora is her first.
Every mom has a different birth story. It’s crazy and beautuful and unique. I have a different birth story for each one of my four children. By my last, I had no idea what to expect. But I knew the end result. Pure joy. Laughter. Tears. Crazy love. Only moments after she was born, my husband got to hold little Ivy for the first time. Kathryn and Josh unashamedly shed the tears, and with complete and utter joy Kathryn said “I just love her so much. I want to take her everywhere and show her to everyone”. And boy did that make me think about Jesus. Because that’s exactly how He feels about us. Each of us may have a different rebirth story. That moment we were born again. John 3:3. That moment we understood the gift God gave us in His Son and His redemption on the cross. Romans 3:23. When we realized our sinfulness and asked for forgiveness. When God became our Father. John 1:12 It may have been a long process. It may have been painful. There may have been heartache and tears. Conviction can do that. Or, it might have been an easy, immediate understanding of such a gift. Everyone of us has a different story to tell, but ultimately the ending is the same. Pure joy. Laughter. Tears. Crazy love. Because at that moment we accept Jesus as our Savior we understand it wasn’t anything that we did. Ephesians 2:8&9 What does a baby have to do to be born? Not a thing. All that baby has to do is accept the free gift of life the moment they leave mama’s womb. Mama does all the work, and with a crazy love, she does it with joy. Because the moment that child is born changes everything. Jesus did all the work. And He did it with joy. Because of His crazy love for us. Hebrews 12:2 And that moment we are born into His family… that moment changes everything. That deep love we have for our children is because they are a part of us. Ivy didn’t do a thing to merit that unconditional love of her mama. Her mama loves her because she is her child. My eyes overflow with tears as I look at my baby and her baby. They are a part of me. My heart yearns to love and protect. And yet, as great as my love is for my children and grandchildren, the Bible tells us that there is no greater love than the love of Jesus. John 15:13, Jeremiah 31:3 When Jesus looks at us, He truly says~ I love her so much!! I want to take her everywhere and show her to everyone”, and do you know why? Not because of anything we have done. We didn’t do a thing to merit that unconditional love. God loves us simply because we are His. You are His little light, His precious child shining the love of Jesus from the inside out. You manifest His glory because He is always with you. Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5 What does Jesus say about you? You’re created In His image. Genesis 1:27 You are wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14 God intricately formed you in your mother's womb. He knows you better than you know yourself. Psalm 139 He takes joy in you. Zephaniah 3:17 He knows the number of hairs on your head. Matthew 10:30 You are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14 God has chosen you. Revelation 17:14 You are His child. Always and forever. And He loves you so much, He wants to take you everywhere and show you to everyone. Pure joy. Laughter. Tears. Crazy love. “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” John 17:23 “I have loved thee with an everlasting love…” Jeremiah 31:3
7/14/2023
Don’’t Let Satan Talk To YouI’m not a morning person. Not at all. I literally wake up on the wrong side of the bed Every. Single. Morning. I think my blood type is “tired”. My body literally screams at me~ “Just let me sleep!!”.
This morning, after not seeing my husband for two weeks (and being ecstatic at his return home the night before), I pour my coffee and he makes a comment. Nothing negative, just a simple comment about the day. I am silent, but in my mind I have a quick, smart mouth response. It’s not pretty. Inwardly grumbling, I turn and walk silently back upstairs. Coffee in hand. In my mind I’m thinking~ “He knows I’m not a morning person. I’m tired. I don’t want to talk to anyone, except maybe Jesus.” And then my heart is pricked. I am a terrible person. After that silent comment, my thoughts tell me~surely Jesus doesn’t want to talk to me. My thoughts have gotten me into more trouble than I would ever care to admit. This reminded me of the other night. As I lay in bed in the darkness, a thought entered my mind. I knew it was wrong, but I ran with it. I knew it wasn’t truth, but I didn’t fight it. I didn’t pray, I just let it take control. It put me in a bad place and I felt utterly defeated. I could picture satan laughing and chiding me~”Gotcha”. The beauty is, no where in the Bible does it say that Satan knows our thoughts. He can certainly place them in our path, but we are the ones who can choose to grab a hold of those thoughts, or fight them off. He doesn’t know whether or not he has won that battle unless consequential action is taken. Even then he cannot read our minds. But God can. This can bring shame, but praise God it can also bring SO MUCH HOPE. There’s so many lessons here. For the Christian who judges others actions, but whose thoughts are far worse. God is so clear in His word on this matter. Pride and arrogance on the outside, but dirt on the inside. God sees the dirt my friend. And He sees all my dirt. All the negative thoughts I have, but don’t say out loud. I’m so thankful they stay inside my head and don’t come spewing out my mouth. I’m supposed to be the “good girl”. Sweet Charisse. Pastor’s wife. I would NEVER speak some of the things I think out loud. And sadly I would never tell a soul some of the places my thoughts have taken me. Here is where the Hope comes in. Satan can plant that thought and his lies in our path. In our human frailty we can either choose to cling to that disruptive thought and let it take over, or we can continually remind ourselves that God is with us ALWAYS. Right in that moment we have the power of God, His Son and Holy Spirit to fight for us and take that thought captive. That my friend is incredible hope. We are NEVER alone in our fight against the evil one. NEVER. The moment you become a Christian, Christ lives inside you. Satan might try to get inside your head, but he doesn’t live there. Jesus does. And here is another bit of beautiful hope. We are human. We mess up constantly. Satan may know our weaknesses but praise God, so does Jesus. Our God knows what we’re going to do. He knows the times we’re going to fail and not call out to him for help. He knows when we’re going to give in and our thought life is not going to be pleasing to Him, and yet even with this omniscient knowledge comes His amazing grace. Mercy and help in time of need. Love. Incredible love. He never turns His back. The times my thoughts are judging. The times my thoughts are sinful. The times my thoughts are filled with worry or fear. The times my thoughts are angry, sad, mean, prideful, wicked, doubting, covetous, self destructive, self reliant. He doesn’t turn His back. And when my heart weeps for the path my thoughts have taken and I allow myself to believe the lie that Jesus doesn’t want to talk to me~when I know He is always there to rescue me and I still push Him aside. He still loves. And He tells me His mercy is new EVERY morning and GREAT is His faithfulness. Satan might come knocking but we don’t have to let Him in. Let us continually remind ourselves that God owns this house we live in and when we reach for that door knob, stop and turn to Jesus. Look at Him and be reminded of that mercy and faithfulness, then walk away from the door. Tomorrow morning when my feet hit the floor, despite what my body might be screaming, I’m going to talk to Jesus instead of allowing Satan to talk to me. SCRIPTURE READING: 2 Corinthians 10:5, 12:9, 13:4 Proverbs 6:16-23 Matthew 23:23-27, 28:20 1 Corinthians 6:19&20, 10:12&13 Matthew 5 Romans 5:8, 7:15-25, 8:28, 15:13 Galatians 2:20 Hebrews 4:16 2 Timothy 1:7 Psalm 42:11, 55:22, 62:11, 103:14, 121:7&8, 136:12, 139:1-18 Philippians 4:6-7&13 1 Peter 5:7 Isaiah 41:10-13 Deuteronomy 31:7&8 Proverbs 15:3 James 4:7 Lamentations 3:22&23 Ephesians 1:19-21, 3:20, 6:10 I Chronicles 29:11 Colossians 1:16 Romans 8:37-39
6/30/2023
When Life Isn’t A Joy RideI honestly don’t know how long I had been driving before I noticed the red and blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror. We live in a rural area. Long stretches of road with nothing but fields and beautiful views for miles. It’s wonderful, and doesn’t give much occasion to glance back at any oncoming traffic. Traffic is pretty nonexistent. I was singing along to some worship music with several kids in tow. Probably why I didn’t hear the siren. My children and their cousins were the reason I finally noticed. Fighting had ensued, followed by yelling (from me) “to knock it off or I’ll pull over!” It wasn’t until that moment that I finally looked in my mirror to see if they were obeying. Instead, I spotted flashing lights beckoning me to stop. So I pulled over. It wasn’t pretty. Apparently I had been speeding. 🤷🏼♀️ I was flustered, and when prompted to surrender proof of insurance, said proof could not be found. The officer returned to his vehicle, and of course that’s when I found it. When he came back I smiled cheerfully and said “I found it!” to which he replied. “Too late. I’m writing you a ticket.” My cheerfulness went right out the window. I’m sure the kids heard about it the rest of the way home. Isn’t that how life can be at times? We think we’re doing all the right things. We go to church and Bible studies. We read devotionals and blogs. We listen to podcasts and sing along to worship music. We coast through life enjoying the view, and then suddenly we are hit with an inconvenient attack from the devil. And we lose it. What we don’t realize is that~ all along Satan has been right on our tail but we were being too “spiritual” to notice. Too often all the good things take the place of the best things and when that inconvenience strikes, we can’t fight it. Suddenly we’re searching for truth, but we’re already in trouble. The Christian life isn’t just a joy ride. It’s a battle. We live in a day where knowledge and opinions are at our fingertips. So many people are telling us how we should live, that we don’t even search for that truth ourselves. We let others do that work, and in the process we miss out on all the wonders God has specifically for us. Wonders that only come from time spent with Him. Reading His words. Asking the Holy Spirit to show us what we need. Listening to the voice of God speak to our hearts. We want easy. We want quick. We want to glide through life and not have to dig for the answers. For the proof. Eventually Satan catches up to us. God’s word tells us that he goes about seeking who he can devour. How can we be prepared? By keeping God’s armor on at all times. The armor of God is so much more than a great Sunday School lesson or Vacation Bible School theme. It’s something you can study and glean countless knowledge from. I’m going to share a quick overview, but I HIGHLY recommend you get into God’s word yourself and look up scripture references that correlate with every piece of God’s armor. Armor God has specifically made for you! 1. The Belt of Truth- you cannot know what is truth if you aren’t in God’s word. Don’t let someone else tell you what is truth, read it for yourself. Jesus tells us HE is the way and the truth. God tells us to think on whatsoever things are true. Our hearts can so easily be deceived (even by ourselves) when we don’t know God’s truth. 2. The Breastplate of Righteousness- Righteousness only comes from Jesus. All our righteousness is like filthy rags. Nothing else can take the place of Jesus and the protection that He gives your heart and soul. 3. Shoes Fit for the Gospel of Peace- There is so much to learn from God’s word on the gospel of peace. God’s peace passes ALL understanding. When we are attacked, is this the reaction the world sees from us? 4. The Shield of Faith- Our faith will always be tested (proved) and it will not remain strong if we are continually relying on others for knowledge from God’s word. Faith strengthens when time is spent with the God of all strength. 5. The Helmet of Salvation- This is of utmost importance. Without the gift of salvation received by faith, the battle cannot be won. God’s gift of His Son’s death on the cross rescues us from eternal damnation. It renews and transforms our minds against anything the devil tries to deceive us with. Once received, salvation can never be taken away. It is our protection for eternity. 6. The Sword of the Spirit-God’s word is so powerful. It’s inspired. It speaks to our soul and spirit. It shows us doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction. I didn’t think it was fair when I received a ticket for not providing proof of insurance “fast enough”, because I still provided the proof. I’m not trying to compare that police officer to Satan but… 😂 Here’s the thing~Satan doesn’t play fair. Don’t coast through life on a joy ride with Satan on your tail, because he will catch up. Have your proof always ready and when he does show up, just speaking the name of Jesus will be your truth, because you know you’re ready for that battle. You’re strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might. His armor is all you need. Praise God for the gift He gives us in others, in the beautiful feet of those who share the gospel of peace. We all need specific men and women that God places in our lives, but their words should never take the place of HIS WORDS. Instead of allowing someone else (this blog included) to tell you how God is speaking to you, spend time in the presence of God Himself. That is a sweet, precious intimacy between you and your Savior. Nothing else can take its place. SCRIPTURE READING: John 8:32, 10:28-30, 14:16&27, 16:13&33, 17:17 Philippians 4:6-8 Isaiah 64:6 Romans 3:22&23, 10:15&17, 12:2&3, 15:13 Titus 3:5-7 James 3:17&18 Ephesians 2:8&9, 3:16&17, 4:3, 6:10-18 Psalm 119:165 Proverbs 3:5&6 Mark 9:23 I Peter 1:8&9, 5:8-10 2 Peter 1:19-21 I John 5:4 I Corinthians 16:13 Hebrews 4:12, 12:2 I Timothy 6:12 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16&17 Isaiah 52:7, 54:17 Hebrews 2:1-3
6/9/2023
What Are You Proud Of?What are you proud of?
I’m not going to beat around the bush here, we all know what this month has been labeled, so again I ask~ What are YOU proud of? I realize there is a fine line when it comes to pride in scripture. God hates pride when it’s directed toward self and we become our own center of worship.The pride I’m talking about today is a different type of boasting. How is it that you can tell when someone is proud? Proud people talk about the things that they are proud of. Often. We find it easy to talk about our favorite sports teams, our political views, our children and grandchildren, our spouses and even ourselves. We find camaraderie with those who pride themselves in similar things. Our voices become louder and louder when we are around others who share in that pride. So I want to ask you again, what are you proud of? Because others are watching. Does your pride come through in your praises, or in your opinions? Your pride reveals itself in the words that you speak. Your children hear it, your family hears it. Your friends and coworkers, your neighbors, even strangers hear it. What story is your pride telling? I am afraid that too often it’s a sad and angry story full of complaints and woes, and not a story of hope and redemption. Please don’t get me wrong~ it’s incredibly important to stand for what is right. To teach our families truths based on God’s word and to stand up for that truth. But do others know why we believe these things? What is the point of our stand? To prove we are right, or to praise our God and give Him the glory? Are we so focused on proving others are wrong that we’re missing the whole point of the gospel? We can become so focused on what we believe is evil that we miss out on opportunities to share all that is good and righteous and beautiful. The very person of Jesus our Savior and Redeemer. Our hope for the hopeless. Our amazing God. Our lives should revolve around Him and His goodness. Our praises and pride should be for Him and His gift of salvation. He took our place on the cross. He died for the wickedness of this world~ and my friend, that includes you and that includes me. No one is excluded. For all have sinned. If we don’t teach the next generation why we believe what we believe, if we don’t boast on the incredible love of our Savior and the gift of salvation that we did not deserve, our opinions and viewpoints will become just that. Opinions. Viewpoints. Voices becoming louder and louder. And the next generation will grow up believing that it is “us against the world” instead of~ “God so loved the world.” So today I want to tell you what I am proud of. I am proud of my God. I am proud of my Savior. I am proud of the love and mercy and grace He shows me on a daily basis, all of which I do not deserve. Love that isn’t based on my performance, mercy that doesn’t stop as soon as I mess up again, but love and mercy that endure FOREVER. I am proud of what the rainbow truly represents. The rainbow HE created as an everlasting promise to us. A rainbow that surrounds the very throne of it’s Creator. I am proud of His word and His promises, promises that hold peace that passes understanding. I am proud to call God my Provider and Redeemer, my Father and my very best Friend. I am proud to say that He is my everything. I would be nothing without Him. I am proud of Jesus. Name above all names. I want to share God’s truth and stand firm on my beliefs, beliefs that are rooted and grounded in scripture; but more than anything I want to make HIM known. That’s what I want the next generation to remember. Not me. Not my opinions. Jesus. God is our everything. Let’s brag differently. What are you proud of today? Psalm 89:1-2, 5-9, 11, 13-18 Psalm 136, 148, 150 I Peter 3:15-18, Hebrews 12:14 Revelation 4:3, Ezekiel 1:28 When my youngest daughter was only 5, we took our family swimming. Our beach is ideal for young families. You have to walk at least a hundred feet before the water gets deep enough to actually swim. It’s perfect for young ones to splash and play in.
On this particular day, Mike and I went out a little deeper as our kids played near the shore. Within a split second our lives could have drastically changed. We looked over to see our youngest bobbing up and down right next to the shoreline, an area where the depth of water doesn’t even reach my knees. How could this be? She was drowning. We never moved so quickly. Praise God, we got to her in time. Somehow right next to the shoreline there was a large hole that she had waded into. Later that night, after we were all in bed she came down to our bedroom and told us that if she had died she knew she would’ve gone to hell and she wanted to ask Jesus to save her right then. And we knew she knew. Even at such a young age, she understood sin. She understood she needed Jesus. There was no prompting. It was of her own free will. There are so many beautiful moments when you’re a mom, but there are also a lot of hard aspects too. From the moment they are born, if your child has been raised going to church and hearing the gospel, I think one of the hardest aspects for parents is concern for their child’s soul. I didn’t grow up knowing Christ. I grew up with religion and rules. I didn’t have an intimate relationship with Jesus until I was 12. It was different for my children. They grew up hearing about Jesus, their beautiful Savior, from day one. It was talked about often. And that’s where it gets hard. As a parent, you don’t want your child to make a decision just to please mom and dad; nor do you want them to make a decision because it’s what they’re taught, thinking it’s just what they’re supposed to do. You want their repentance and salvation to come out of a genuine heart that understands they’re a sinner that needs a Savior. Every child is different. Some just seem to grasp that at an early age and others don’t get it for a long time. And that’s when the worry sets in. Mamas KNOW when they’re child understands sin. It comes naturally to them (and us 😉). There’s no mistaking it. And then you begin to wonder, what if something happens to my child and they don’t know Jesus?? I also understand that heaven can be so alluring to a child. I mean, what kid wants to go to hell? That’s incredibly scary. At such a tender age of 5, I’m sure that was a scary thought for my daughter. There’s so many things young children don’t quite grasp when they’re little, but with age comes growth. Here’s the thing about God and His promises to us~ whether you are 5 or 95, you will always be growing in your walk with the Lord. Not once does He tell us that we have to understand the weight of every single thing the Bible teaches before we can accept His free gift of salvation. God simply tells us to have the faith of a child. Matthew 18:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9 So what is a parent or grandparent supposed to do? I’m not claiming to be an expert, far from it. But here are some things to keep in mind through your parenting journey as you introduce your children to Jesus. I pray that they can be an encouragement to you. 1. Pray for your children without ceasing. I Thessalonians 5:16-18 2. Talk about Jesus and His gift to us often. Ephesians 2:8, John 21:25 3. Make sure they understand that this isn’t religion, this is Jesus you are talking about. Their Father, their Savior and their very best Friend. 2 Corinthians 1:3, Philippians 3:10 4. I cannot stress this enough~ make Jesus real to your children!! Don’t just introduce them to your “way of life”, introduce them to the God of the Bible. The same Jesus who has radically changed your life. Make Him real to them by example. Titus 3:4-8 5. Don’t try to allure them with a “free ticket to heaven” speech. Salvation is so much more than that. Salvation is Jesus. Hebrews 2:9 6. Don’t use fear as a tactic for conversion. Jesus death on the cross had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with love. There is no fear in love. I John 4:18 7. Don’t pressure your child to make a decision or force them to say some “magic words” that they hope will get them into heaven. 8. Help them to understand that it isn’t the words they say as they pray, it’s a repentant heart that understands their sin and need of saving. Acts 3:19 9. Understand what it means in your own life to have the faith of a child, and then do just that. Have faith as a child. Don’t make salvation complicated in your mind, or in theirs. Believe what Jesus says in His word, that if we confess and we believe~ we will be saved. It’s as simple as that. Don’t add to it or make it hard. I John 1:9, Romans 10:9-10 10. And then pray some more. As a mama and grandma, you can never, ever pray too much for your children and grandchildren. Only God knows our hearts. Only God knows your child’s heart. Don’t try to work out their salvation for them. As hard as it is not to intervene and worry and nag, remember all power and mercy, love and forgiveness comes only from God. And always remember, God’s love for your children and His care for their souls is infinitely greater than your own. You do your part in being that example to your children and leave the rest with Him. Ephesians 3:16-21
7/15/2022
Religion Does Not Love YouI have this Bible app that I love. I can listen to God’s word with beautiful music playing in the background. It’s normally so comforting, but today it was not. This app also tells you the amount of time you have spent in God’s word each month. My performance was very lacking. When I saw it, I felt like a little girl getting a bad report card. I felt shame. I grew up with a religious view of God. Like the magnificent statues in my church when I was little. Beautiful, but cold. The first time I saw the Wizard of Oz, I imagined that that was what God was like, the Wizard. Scary and unaproachable. Somehow He broke through my view of Him to show me His love and mercy and grace. I had no problem understanding that I was a sinner the first time I heard someone talk to me about Jesus. I knew I did bad things. I may not have committed murder or stolen from anyone, but I knew that I was quite the little professional when it came to lying. And I knew that was wrong. In my adolescent mind, I understood that my sin separated me from God. I wasn’t worthy to come into His presence. Some might think that I was merely scared of God because of that thought pattern I was taught from a young age~the fear of His Kingship. I don’t. I believe the moment that someone opened the Bible and showed me my sinfulness and need of repentance and how very much God loved me~was the moment His Holy Spirit broke through all my barriers and spoke to my heart… because that fear had kept me from believing that He was loving and approachable. That fear had lied to me. The day I understood that His love for me was so incredible was the day that changed my life. I think religion tends to make it too hard. In our human minds we believe it must be a process for us to gain approval, because deep down we understand how bad we truly are. We might not want to admit it, but we know. Here are some facts God wants us to realize~ ~It’s not hard, we need only the faith of a child. How simple is that? ~We are all sinners. ~Our sin separates us from God. ~There is nothing we can physically do to “earn” our way to heaven. ~God loves us. ~God sent His Son to earth to save us from ourselves. To save us from our sins. To save us from hell. To close that gap of separation between us and God. ~God’s Son Jesus was born in a manger and died a horrific death on the cross of Calvary. He took every one of our sins upon Himself that day. Every sin from our past, every sin from our future. ~God’s salvation is a free gift to all, a gift that cost Him everything, a gift that we must receive. It isn’t enough for us to say that we believe Jesus died for us. It isn’t enough to say that we know God is loving and forgiving. In complete repentance and surrender, we must receive His gift. ~What does that look like? A heart that is truly sorry for their sin. A soul that says~ God, I am all yours, please forgive me for my sin and save me. A thankful spirit that praises God for the ultimate sacrifice of His Son’s death on the cross. ~A person that knows God is their Father and they are a child of the King. A prayer that will change a person’s life forever. The complete assurance that you are God’s child for eternity and nothing can change that. I thank God at the age of 12 someone explained that to me. I saw God differently that day. No longer a fearful statue. No longer an unapproachable King. But a Father Who loved me. It’s been over 50 years since that prayer and yet, there are many times that my old religious thought patterns sabotage me. Times I think everything has to be just right before I can have a prayer session with God. Times I convince myself I messed up big time and He is angry with me. Times like today when I feel my performance is lacking. Perhaps for many of my younger years religion was taught more than repentance. Religion more than relationship. Performance over personal. I am sure it was always with good intentions, but God is so much more that a perfect checklist of good deeds that we must do to gain His approval. Too often we miss that in our churches. He is a God Who meets us where we are and it is crazy to me that I am realizing this more and more, the older I get. The many people Jesus went to in the gospels were imperfect sinners just like me. And Oh, how MUCH Jesus loved them. They weren’t religious, they weren’t perfect. They were me, and they were you. He has saved my soul and I know that I will always be His child because the Bible tells me this truth. I also know that I will mess up every day because I am human. Unlike the statues in my old religious settings, God became human for me in the form of an innocent perfect baby. He grew up loving the imperfect and lowly, like me~and He died on the cross for me. During His time here on earth, He knew what it was like to be me and He loves me. And He knows what it’s like to be you. And He loves you too. He understands, He forgives but most important~ He loves. Religion will not save your soul. Jesus will. All you have to do is ask. And for eternity you remain His child. I will not allow fear to lie to me. The Holy Spirit comforts my heart continually and shows me that my loving Father understands the month I have had, because He has been right here with me through it all. Not only does He understand, but He meets me here in my weakness and He gives me strength and peace. Not based on performance. Based solely on His incredible love for me. That’s Who my God is, and today I needed that reminder. I am not worthy because of religion. I am not accepted because of performance. I am loved because of Jesus. No matter what. Religion does not love you. Jesus does.
4/15/2022
It’s In The ExpectingWe always hid Easter baskets for our kids when they were little. They absolutely loved finding those baskets, even when it got too hard and they were prompted with the timeless hints of “hot” and “cold”.
Why did they love it so much? The expecting. They were expecting a basket full of joy because of all it held inside. What are we expecting? Sadly, many of us have grown cold. We have gotten farther and farther away from the joy that comes in the expected. And in the coldness, time spent with God has become a duty. Church should never be just a duty. It’s not a job where you clock in and clock out. It’s not a “Christmas and Easter only” facility, yet that’s how many of us view it. What are we expecting when we walk through the doors? Are we expecting God’s presence to wash over us as we sing to Him? As we hear His words, are we expecting those words to change our heart and soul? Are we expecting those words to bring life? Or, do we simply attend expecting nothing at all and leave with the same emptiness we had before we came? Clock in. Clock out. Three days after Christ was crucified a heartbroken Mary went to His tomb. What was she expecting? She wasn’t expecting emptiness, yet that’s what she found. She found emptiness because she wasn’t searching for life. Mary could have left that day with a continued emptiness. With a heavy sorrow. What was different? Unlike so many of us, in her emptiness Mary realized how desperately she needed the Savior and it was in that moment that He revealed Himself to her by simply saying her name. Mary. And she knew. He was alive. His presence washed over her and her heart was changed. The tomb was empty but her heart was full. Life can get hard, but it doesn’t have to be. God is always prompting us to draw closer. We don’t have to remain cold. Just like a child searching for and expecting to find a basket full of joy, let me encourage you to expect the unexpected this Easter. What can make the difference? Search for life. The difference comes in the expecting. An empty tomb. A risen Savior.A life changed. A heart full. A basket full of joy because of all it holds inside. What are you expecting? Whatever you are looking for is what you will find~and everything you’re looking for can be found in Christ.
3/11/2022
What Hinders PrayerWhat Hinders Prayer
Fair warning~this will be a long post, but it is one that I feel is so important and needs to be addressed. Please bare with me… *My mind has been ruminating on the words I wrote last week. The little things that God kept nudging me about. Why did my prayer life feel so hindered again today? My mind seemed to be everywhere, except on the words I longed to speak to my Savior. Everything kept it wandering, from what I needed to do that day to my grumbling stomach~ and even my grocery list. And I pondered. Why was I so easily distracted? Along with that, my ladies Bible study was on the topic of pride for two weeks in a row. Then the preacher (aka my husband) touched on it in his message. The verse of the day warned against it and I knew God was obviously trying to show me something. I searched deep within my heart. I truly did not feel I had a pride issue, (even though I now realize how prideful that sounds) and yet God continued to bring it up. I almost argued with Him. I know everything I have comes from Him. I am nothing. The words I pen are not my own, they are His. In my humanness I was searching for pride issues in the wrong areas. But still He nudged, so I continued to ask Him to please show me. Today He did. My eyes were opened to something I never even realized. Despite my arguments, I knew I had pride issues. And I repented. I cannot tell you the amount of times in my 56 years that I have “felt” as if God was silent. Times where prayer seemed like a struggle or like my words were just bouncing off the ceiling. The closeness with Jesus was not there. Yet, every single time God was there. He was not far away, despite my feelings. He always made this known to me~sometimes He showed me the reasons in big ways, and sometimes He showed me in the tiniest ways. Today I give you some of those reasons to ponder. Things God has revealed to my own heart in times like these. The first and most important reason we may feel as if God is far away~ We aren’t truly His child. This isn’t a “religion” thing. This isn’t a “come to my church” thing or become my “denomination” thing. This is God and His words. We are NOT all God’s children. (John 1:12) The world might like to repeat that feel good phrase, but it is not true. God in His word tells us that the ONLY way we become God’s children is through His Son Jesus Christ who died for our sins on the cross. (John 14:6) No religion and no amount of confessionals can get you to heaven. No good works can help you gain favor in God’s eyes and no amount of repetitive prayers can magically turn you into His child. (Ephesians 2:8,9) Only Jesus. Jesus and His forgiveness of our sins through grace. The end. This is the absolute most important thing you can ever do. If you cannot recall a time in your life when your heart truly believed this and you asked Jesus to forgive you of all your sins and to save your soul (Romans 10:10-13), please friend~ get that settled today. Become God’s child. The second thing that hinders prayer is unconfessed sin. (Psalm 66:18) When we become God’s child we don’t automatically stop sinning. We are human. Whether it is intentional or something we don’t even realize, we will fall short because we aren’t perfect. (Romans 3:23) Only God is perfect. Because of this, it is important to always check our hearts and make sure we aren’t holding on to something that needs our repentance. Just like my pride. Ask God to show you. Believe me, He will. And once He does, tell Him you’re sorry. (1 John 1:5-10) I cannot emphasize this next one enough. DON’T. GIVE. UP. Too often when it comes to our prayer life, we give up too quickly. If we don’t feel close to God or our prayers aren’t answered in a timely fashion, we just stop praying. (James 4:8) Don’t allow this to be the case. Keep on praying and don’t stop. Even if you feel like you are talking to a wall. You aren’t my friend. God is right there. There are a myriad of reasons you might feel this way, so don’t give up until you get a hold of God and He breaks through the walls that are hindering your prayer life. And speaking of reasons why we “feel” this way is exactly that. Our feelings. Too often we base our prayers on the way we feel. Sometimes we need to look at it like marriage. I mean, let’s be honest~ I don’t always “feel” like being married. I don’t always “feel” like talking to Mike and let me share a little secret with you~ I don’t always “feel” like listening to him talk to me. Does that mean we are no longer married or that I no longer love him? No. It’s the same with our prayer life. We can’t base it on our feelings because we are sinful, wretched humans with crazy, sometimes erratic feelings. But, praise God we are loved and forgiven humans. Humans that God has unlimited grace, understanding and mercy on. (Hebrews 4:15) From the time we become His child, we forever remain His child (John 10:28, Jeremiah 31:3, 1 John 3:1) and He forever remains our daddy who never, ever leaves us no matter how we might “feel”. (Hebrews 13:5) So what do we do when our feelings do get in the way? When we don’t feel that closeness despite our persistence in prayer? We dig deep into God’s word. The Bible is literally God’s love letter to us. (Psalm 1:2, 104:34, 119: 48, 97, 99, Joshua 1:8) I can guarantee you that if you take the time to sit and read His words of promise, comfort, peace and love~your heart will change. (Matthew 6:21)Your prayers will have the solid rock to be built upon.(Matthew 7:24-27, 16:18, Psalm 18:2, 61:2, 2 Samuel 22:2-3) A strong foundation instead of weak feelings. Don’t trust your feelings. They lie. Trust God’s word. (Proverbs 3:5-6) God will always show you something new in His word to help you, if you stay consistent in the asking and don’t give up. I can’t even count the number of times His word spoke directly to my heart. It felt like my eyes were opened. Almost as if I was seeing something for the first time and a heavy weight was lifted. Giving everything to God is so freeing. The more you read, the more you get to know Him and the closer to Him you become. And you love Him. You suddenly realize He isn’t a far away God up in heaven somewhere but is as near to you as your very heart. Always with you. Lean in to Him. He never left. Our feelings just got in our way. And last, why does my mind wander so much? I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s one of two things. I’m either anxious and worried, so my thoughts continually stray to the things I’m worried about. If that’s the case then I’m probably not trusting Christ with the situation and having faith that He will come through for me. Instead, I’m trying to figure out how I can fix it somehow on my own. And the second reason is simply because I’m a spoiled, unthankful child living in a generation full of other spoiled, unthankful children. I don’t have to beg God for my safety from another country bombing my town. I don’t have to beg for food or shelter. I don’t have to hide in order to read my Bible. Instead of being heavenly minded, I sit in my warm bed with a hot cup of coffee in my hand, an iPhone on my night stand and a bible on my lap. And my mind wanders to earthly things. (Matthew 6:21, James 4:2-3) Funny how our prayer life can change drastically when heart ache hits close to home. Our minds don’t tend to wander when we’re on our knees before God begging for His help. If we would just remain faithful in every season and learn to be thankful in remembering the thousands upon thousands of ways God has blessed us, our minds would be on Christ and not everything else. Too often we simply take Christ for granted. If you search your heart and none of these areas seem to be an issue for you then I encourage you to hearken back to my words from last week’s post. Perhaps through it all your Savior just wants you to stop and to be still in His presence, until His presence is fully known and you realize all you ever needed was Him. I realize this post may have stepped on a few toes. Truthfully, my toes needed stepping on. Prayer should never be ritualistic. It shouldn’t be about what we get or don’t get. It should be about spending time with our closest friend. Laughing with Him, crying with Him and being still with Him. Just like every other area of our life~ It should be all about Him because He is everything to us.
2/4/2022
Put On Your Armor And FightHow does this happen?
This little “blue” light that seems to continually lure me in. I constantly find myself repentant for becoming so easily distracted with it. I find myself sorry for this compulsive need to check and eliminate notifications and~ Not my need for Him. I make excuses. I read devotionals and Bible apps. I “like” scripture based posts and quotes. I listen to biblical podcasts. Deep down I know, they could never take the place of that old book. His words. Sitting on the chair in my room. It will never be the same as speaking to Him in humble gratitude upon my knees. I make excuses. I’m writing for Him. I’m posting Godly encouragement. All the while~ preaching the good while missing the best. Time away from that little “blue” light. Time spent reading the ONLY light. (Psalm 119:105) I make excuses. My love for my country. My causes. My beliefs. I need to stay informed. He whispers to my fearful heart. His wisdom is the wisdom I should long for. His wisdom will make me wise. His wisdom has been passed on from generation to generation. (Psalm 145:4-5). This is my weakness. One of so many. It may not be yours. You might not understand how certain things I write about can weaken my soul. How I can allow it to creep in and steal away the most important moments of my day. Those quiet moments with God. It is a battle. It’s a battle I see all around me on a daily basis. Heads bowed to a little “blue” screen. Everywhere. Listen to my words and let me be clear, even if this is not your own personal battle, you ARE IN A BATTLE. Satan knows what your weakness is and if you aren’t prepared, you will lose the fight before you ever pick up a weapon. The weapons of our warfare are not physical. They are spiritual. (2 Corinthians 10:4). God’s word is your sword. Prayer is your preparation. Your local church is your army, this world is the battlefield and your God is mighty! Sadly, we are losing the battle without even realizing it because we have allowed these little weaknesses to creep in. We have allowed them to permeate our lives and the lives of our children. That “blue” light? That’s just one of the many things that appears so innocent, yet destroys without a second thought. This world has conditioned our hearts to feel uncomfortable with the words I’m writing today. This world is whispering to your armorless soul that I am being just a bit overkill. Taking this Jesus thing a little too far. That is a lie. I am in the fight. And so are you. Our minds are continually bombarded by information through social media. (John 8:44-47). We get fearful. We get angry and defensive, or maybe even passive because we have become immune to it all. (Matthew 5:44-48, Psalm 119:51, 53). We have allowed these things to blind us to what this battle is all about. It is a battle for souls and Satan is using his own sly weapons to distract us from that truth. Jesus is what it’s about. His gospel of peace. Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind. Jesus who loves us despite every weakness we allow to creep in. Jesus who will fight for us and redeem us from an eternity in hell. Jesus who loves fiercely and yet, has a tender compassion on our sin cursed souls. (Psalm 145:8-9). Put on your armor sweet sister. Sweet wife. Sweet mama. Put on that armor and fight for the souls of mankind. Put down the phone and tablet, turn off the TV and make time to saturate your soul with God’s word. (Psalm 119:104) With God’s wisdom, truth and righteousness. Speak to the God who formed all of mankind and beg Him to fight for you and your families. (Exodus 14:14). Get into your local churches and feed on the message from God each week. (Ephesians 6:10-20). Yes, this may seem counterintuitive for me to be singing my little fight song from the very instrument I’m telling you to put away. Friend~if my message can motivate you to put down the nonsense and pick up God’s word, then you fight with your everything to do just that. My fight begins with prayer, because I know I am too weak on my own. My fight continues with boundaries. (Psalm 119:59-60). I will not pick up this phone before picking up God’s word. I won’t even read His words from any “blue” light, because that light can so easily distract. I will turn off notifications. I will keep my phone in another room and I will continually beg God to keep my eyes on what this battle is all about. Jesus. Jesus and the very reason He came to this earth. Souls. The battle is for souls. And that will be my fight song until the day I take my final breath. (Psalm 119:54).
12/17/2021
Not A Day~ But A DelivererShe sat in catechism and listened to the story she had heard every year on Jesus birthday. The story of a Savior being born to save His people from their sins. Her eyes wandered to the Christmas tree and it’s beautiful twinkling lights. As her teacher spoke her eyes gazed upward to the star on top of the tree and then down, down to the manger where the little baby lay. In that moment, it was almost as if the words of that familiar story came alive.
God came down. Down to earth from heaven for me. I was beginning to grasp the significance of a religious story I had heard my entire childhood… And today, I cannot help but think of another little girl. Sitting in a synagogue on the Sabbath, hearing a story of the promised birth of a Savior who would one day save her people. A story that had been told for over 4,000 years. A promise she had been taught her entire life, having no idea the significant role she would have in that promise. We know the story. That story of Christmas. That story of Jesus. We rejoice this time of year. We thank God for sending us such a gift. But to some~ it’s just a religious aspect of Christmas. A story. Have we truly grasped it’s meaning? Even though Mary had been taught the scriptures, (Isaiah 7:14) she did not grasp the truth of what she had been taught. When the angel Gabriel told her that she would be the one to carry the Messiah, her simple words~”How can this be?” reveal this truth. Thousands of people have read her very words and know the significant miracle of that moment, because we have read the last chapter. Mary did not and yet, she received it. Despite an unknown future, she put her faith and hope completely in God. When Gabriel explained the very scriptures she probably knew by heart, she believed the words spoken to her. And that moment changed her entire life. I am sure as the months went on, the significance of Who she carried so close to her heart became even more real. I am sure she wanted to tell everyone in her little town that the coming Savior was alive inside her, and I am sure that no one believed her. We know this because we have read the story. Mary and Joseph traveled alone to Bethlehem when she was 9 months pregnant. No room in the inn despite the fact that everyone (including family and friends) was required to go there to be taxed. Maybe they rolled their eyes when she spoke of the One she carried so close to her heart. Maybe they thought- ‘She’s taking this Jesus thing a little too far.’ Or maybe they were kinder in their reasoning. Perhaps they thought that this whole “Savior thing” might be what SHE believed, but it wasn’t for the them. It must have been incredibly hard for Mary to hold such a Miracle inside. I am sure she wanted to tell everyone that everything they had been taught from scripture was coming true, and yet no one believed the truth in her words. Pondering the thoughts of Mary brings me to thoughts of my own little town. It’s very easy for me to sit down and write something for hundreds to read~ ladies I will probably never meet. It’s very easy for me to hide behind a social media screen and be brave in the words that I pen; but actually stepping out of my front door and telling that story to my little hometown is something entirely different. My town. There’s a comfort in those words. I love my tiny little town so much. And I wonder~ what do they think about the words that I write? Do they look at me and think~ ‘she’s taking this Jesus thing a little too far.’? Or maybe they reason~’that religion thing might be okay for HER, but it’s not for ME.’ Maybe the story of Christmas Day is one they have heard in church their entire life, but for them it has never come alive in their own heart and soul. A day but not a Deliverer. We can be taught “religion” our entire lives and still not fully grasp the truth of Christ. We can have a basic concept of church and the meaning of Christmas, but not have His new life living inside of us. I’m not here to tell you that once you receive The Gift of Jesus life magically becomes better. Heartache has hit home for me time after time. Health issues have been prevalent. No, life doesn’t magically get better, but I know Christ is right there with me through everything. I am never alone. He has given me strength when I couldn’t stand and joy when heartache was all too prevalent. And despite an unknown future, peace and hope in Him. A peace and hope He longs to give all of mankind, if we will put our faith in Him. Do I take this Jesus thing too far? Perhaps some might think so, but can I tell you that in my heart of hearts, I can never take it far enough because Jesus took his love so far for me. His love reached down from glorious heaven to a sin cursed world. Without His love there would be no hope of heaven, because there would be no forgiveness of sins. His love went from heaven to earth, from a manger to the cross~ For me. For you. That magnificent love took our sins as far as the east is from the west, farther than our finite minds can ever comprehend. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 “As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12 The knowledge of this changed my entire life. But it wasn’t just the knowledge, it was the very fact that Jesus is alive and that love lives inside of me. My heart longs for you to understand these tidings of great joy. The greatest joy. My heart longs for you to receive His gift this Christmas. Not the gift of religion, the gift of God. Forgiveness of sins, a home in heaven, a Savior with you always, through everything. The only Gift that will change your entire life. “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing…The LORD hath done great things for us; Whereof we are glad.” Psalm 126:2-3
7/17/2021
The Comfort Of TraditionsI wore my mom’s wedding dress when I got married. I can remember staring at her wedding picture as a child and thinking she looked like a fairy tale Princess. I always thought it was so beautiful and elegant. I had a Christmas wedding complete with fur muffs, Christmas trees and Christmas carols. It was such a fun day. When my daughters were ready to pick out their own wedding dresses, it never really bothered me that they didn’t want to carry on a tradition of wearing my mom’s dress. On their wedding day they took a new name because they were beginning a new life, one that would start with the dress of their choosing. I thought about that wedding dress this week. I thought about my parents and how they raised me. I thought about the traditions we shared and the comfort those memories brought. And I thought about all the ways God continues to bring up the concept of “comfort zones” in my daily life. This week it came up in an area that I never really thought about before, that of traditions. There is comfort in traditions. I am a traditional girl, a creature of habit. I am the kind of person who would have no problem eating the same thing for breakfast and lunch every single day for the rest of my life. I find a level of comfort in monotony. Here’s the thing~Satan knows that. For me, when week after week goes by where that routine is constantly being interrupted, I can easily feel like my life is spinning out of control. We all have our “areas”. Satan knows where our comforts lie. He knows our personalities and what would disrupt our lives and make us unhappy. He also knows what gives us a false sense of security and comfort. He knows how important traditions are to humans and without us even realizing it, he uses that against us. Here’s the crazy thing~ One of the biggest areas Satan uses to trick our souls is a tradition many of us think of as good and needful. Our religion. I’m going to make a bold and somewhat scary statement here~ He WANTS us to be religious. He makes us believe that our traditional upbringing and bond is so strong, we could not nor should not ever change~ even if we know deep in our hearts that something is missing and that our upbringing might not be teaching the truth of God’s word. We end up choosing comfort. That routine that makes us feel secure. I am not here to promote one religion over another. I am here to promote Jesus. I am here to promote God’s word. I am here to challenge you to open the Bible and find out why you believe what you believe and based on the truths in scripture, decide whether the tradition you have stayed with for so long truly lines up with what God says in His word. John 5:39-44 The devil will be more than happy to make sure you never open your Bible. He’s more than happy to make sure you stay stuck in a tradition that is not truth. He’s more than happy to lie to you and tell you you’re good, don’t worry about it. Colossians 2:8, Mark 7:7-13 But we aren’t. We aren’t good. Romans 3:23 Satan wants you to be religious because often the people who are the most religious don’t have a relationship with God, God the Son Who took all the sins of mankind on Himself and died for you on the cross. Romans 5:8 The basis of their entire religious experience is tradition and trying to be good enough to someday enter heaven. Titus 3:5 My heart yearns to tell you that there is SO MUCH MORE. You can have a real relationship with the Son of God. You can know Him personally. You can talk to Him any time and anywhere. Hebrews 4:14-16 He can be your most trusted, intimate friend. A true friend. A real friend. The ONLY mediator between you and God is His Son Jesus. Not a man, not a reverend, not a preacher, pastor or priest. I Timothy 2:5, I John 2:1-2 Just Jesus. He can be your comfort. All the comfort and security you would ever need. John 14:26 Today I urge you~ please don’t remain stuck in traditions. You may think it’s your comfort zone but it’s not a lasting comfort. It’s not a comfort for eternity. I love my mom’s wedding dress. The memory of me wearing it is even more precious to me now because my mom is in heaven. That’s the comfort I’m talking about. Without a single doubt, the knowledge and security of a home in heaven one day. John 14:1-6 Not because of tradition, not because of religion but because of the love of Jesus. Jesus, Who took away my sins on the cross. and forgave me. Romans 3:24-25, 6:23, John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:21 Just Jesus ladies~ and the new life that HE can and will give you the day you call on His name. Jeremiah 33:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17
5/28/2021
What Is Your Story Worth?My kids got me a great gift for Mother’s Day. It’s called StoryWorth.
Every Monday a new question is emailed to me. The questions are always unique. Something to do with my life, my childhood, my marriage or even my personality. I can add pictures to each reply, and at the end of the year it will all be published in a wonderful book. I loved this idea and found myself wishing I had a keepsake of memories like this from my own parents and grandparents. That got me thinking about Memorial Day. A day we set aside to remember all those who have given their lives for our freedom and our country. What a legacy these brave men and women leave behind and what thankfulness we should embody as we remember the sacrifices they made. And that got me thinking about the legacy and the memories you and I will someday leave behind. Will it be a story worth telling? A story worth cherishing? As we add to our story every minute of every day, as we hold pictures in the memories of our hearts or add them to the hearts of those we love, will it be a story we want remembered by our loved ones and friends? As I thought about what I might be writing about every week, I have to admit I did not think I had a story worth telling. Nothing phenomenal has happened in my life. I have done no great thing to be remembered. I’m a normal girl who grew up to be a normal wife, a normal mom, a normal grandma. The end. But God told me something different. He showed me that my story~ and yours~ are the most beautiful stories ever written. Not because they are about us, but because they are about Christ in us. That beauty and glory needs to be shared. If you are a child of God, your story is much like mine~ Title: The Book of Life Chapter 1~ I am: Wretched, Lost and Sinful~ Hopeless, Condemned and Alone Unworthy Chapter 2~ JESUS Chapter 3~ I am: Repentant, Redeemed and Rescued Found, Forgiven and Free Adopted, Atoned, Covered, Thankful and Worthy Chapter 4~ I am: Loved Eternally loved. Nothing can or ever will separate me from that love. (Romans 8:35-39) The End. You see, when you become a child of God it’s not your story anymore. It’s Jesus story in you. It’s a story my heart yearns for you to know. All the wonderful memories mixed in, all the sad situations and joyful expectations, all the amazing wonder of every day of your life is the story God wrote and will finish for you. (Hebrews 12:2). Until you see Him in glory, He is still writing. He’s adding beauty to ashes (Isaiah 61:3) and giving hope to the hopeless. (Romans 15:13) He’s sending comfort to the broken (John 14:18) and peace where you thought it could never be found.(Philippians 4:7) He is conquering every set back (Romans 8:37) and bringing victory to every battle. (Exodus 14:14) He’s adding every period and exclamation mark. He is your beginning and your ending. (Revelation 1:8) He is the ultimate Happily Ever After. (Zephaniah 3:17, Revelation 21:3-7, 22-27) What is your story worth? It’s worth everything. Don’t ever hide it or think otherwise. Jesus thought your story was worth His very life. I was wrong in my thinking that nothing phenomenal has ever happened to me. Chapter 2. Jesus. He is beyond phenomenal, and if you haven’t met Him yet, I’d love to tell you all about Him. If you have met Him, you have a legacy to share. A memorial for generations to come. The beautiful story of redemption, forgiveness and love. Make every moment of every chapter a reflection of that glory. Yes sweet friend, your story is worth sharing!!! II Thessalonians 1:5, 11, Acts 5:41, Amos 9:6
3/27/2021
Palms and PromisesWhoever finds a palm tree first gets a pickle...
I don’t know where my granddaughter Clara came up with this game, but we all started laughing. Five grandkids in the back of our vehicle, only minutes away from our vacation destination. The excitement could not be contained. It got me thinking about Palm Sunday and the excitement Easter holds, and I couldn’t help but think of the verse~ “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard... the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” I Corinthians 2:9 Do you know what I like about Palm Sunday? Despite knowing the future anguish Christ would endure for all of mankind, God did not stop there. We can praise God for the promise of Easter and the knowledge that one day in heaven we will have eternity to shout Hosanna! So today, I’d like to share with you a place, a problem, a Person and a promise. I’d like to tell you about a place. It’s a place that isn’t popular to talk about in this “feel good” generation, when so many are scared to even go out of their homes, and just want to escape into the unreality of television and social media. It’s a place whose destination has been joked about, and even bragged about at times. It’s a place called hell. It isn’t great material for jokes, it’s a horrifying place of fire and darkness. It’s real and it’s eternal. (1) It’s a destination for all sinners. There will be no so social gatherings there. There will be no parties or camaraderie. Only torment and pain. (2) The cost of our sin. (3) I’d like to tell you about a problem. The problem that lies within each and every one of us. A problem we are all born with, myself included. (4) That problem is sin. From murdering to the little white lie, sin is sin. None of us are sinless. I am as much a sinner as the murderer on death row or the sweet, little old lady down the street. (5) Being a pastor’s wife does not make me exempt. No one is exempt. There is nothing we can do, no good deeds we can accomplish, no church we can attend, no charity we can give to that can take away that sin. (6) And because of the depravity of our sinful hearts, the punishment for that sin is separation from God and eternity in hell. (7) I’d like to tell you about a Person. The only sinless Person Who took all our sins upon Himself so that we would not have to face that punishment. That Person isn’t me. It isn’t my pastor husband. It isn’t the priest or the preacher down the street. That Person is Jesus. (8) Born in a manger, He took the form of a human baby for the love of a people who don’t deserve it, but desperately need it. (9) Jesus Who, with joy endured the brutal beating and death on a cross to save our wicked souls from eternity in hell. (10) Jesus Who rose again from that death and sits on the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for us, praying for us even now. (11) That person Who we owe everything to. That person is inviting you to a promise. (12) I’d like to tell you about that promise. To believe. To have faith in that belief that Jesus took your sins upon Himself on that cross. (13) To joyfully except His invitation by repenting and turning away from the blindness sin has caused (14) in allowing you to somehow be fooled into thinking that hell isn’t that bad, and heaven isn’t that good, and Jesus death was just a bible story for little kids in Sunday school. The lie that the Bible and church is for religious people or fanatics and that you’ll be just fine, because you aren’t that bad a person. You’re actually pretty good. There is nothing good about us. (15) Our hearts need the grace only Jesus can give. (16) Our hearts need the faithful believing that His shed blood on that cross washes away sins. (17) Our hearts need sorrow for that sin and repentance. Our hearts need Jesus. (18) And once we have Jesus, He promises us that we are forever His child. Nothing will ever separate us from Him. He promises us a home in heaven when we leave this earth. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He promises to be with us always. (19) A palm tree and a pickle. A place, a problem, a Person and a beautiful promise. Are you excited about your destination after death? We have hope in the Person and His promise. Freedom from the fear of death. (20) The hope of heaven and not hell, but so much more that that~ The hope that we get God. We get Jesus. Our Father, our Friend, our forgiveness. Our Savior. We get a love beyond anything our human hearts have ever, or could ever comprehend. (21) Yes, there is a place and a problem, but there is a Person with a Promise. And that embodies peace. (22) (1) Psalm 11:6 (2) Luke 16:22-31 (3) Romans 6:23 (4) Romans 5:12 (5) Romans 3:23 Revelation 21:8 (6) Ephesians 2:8-9 (7) Romans 5:10 (8) I John 2:2, 4:9-10 (9) Philippians 2:7 (10) Hebrews 12:2 (11) Romans 8:34 (12) Revelation 3:20 (13) I Peter 2:24 (14) 2 Corinthians 4:4 (15) Romans 7:18 (16) Romans 5:15 (17)I John 1:7-9 (18) 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 (19) Hebrews 13:5 Matthew 28:20 (20) I John 4:18 Hebrews 2:14-15 Romans 15:13 (21) Ephesians 3:16-19 (22) Philippians 4:7 “I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.” Psalms 86:12-13
12/11/2020
Give It All To MeThe morning sun shimmered across a blanket of heavy snow.
It was breathtaking. Each crystal captured a single ray of sunshine and turned the world into diamonds. Andrea’s feet touched the cold floor as she slipped out of bed, her sisters still fast asleep. She tiptoed into Michael’s room and they quietly made their way downstairs. They didn’t want to wake up dad. This was something they wanted to do on their own. Moments later, adorned with coats and scarves, boots and mittens, they quietly stepped outside. The chill took their breath away, but it didn’t matter. The excitement they held warmed them from head to toe. “Stay behind me,” Andrea cautioned. “Step into my footprints as I walk so we don’t mess up the pretty snow.” The weight of what she was carrying made the journey more difficult, but she was determined. Michael followed close behind, carefully stepping into each footprint her tiny boots made. Finally they made it to the road. “Dad will be so happy we did this for him” Michael said, but just as the words left his mouth a truck pulled up. The man rolled down his window and said “Hey kids! No trash pick up today! It’s Christmas Eve. Let your dad take care of that after Christmas” All the worry of keeping the snow as perfect as possible. All the worry of trying to make their father pleased. All for naught. Some of you might be more like my children than you realize. You try so hard. You try to obey God’s words, carefully stepping into each rule you think is necessary to get you into heaven. Working so hard to be good and to receive the acceptance of your Father. Taking step by step, commandment by commandment. And yet, despite all your striving, there you stand~somehow still holding the garbage of sin that makes you feel unworthy. Wishing your heart was empty of it, yet feeling the weight as it gets heavier and heavier every day. Wondering if you will ever be good enough. Wondering if God will be pleased with you. My friend, all our works at trying harder are for naught, because no matter what we do, how hard we try, how we work to make our hearts as white as snow~ we will still be left holding our sin. Just like my children were left holding our garbage. The good news is~ that’s not the end of the story. On the very first Christmas Eve our world was in darkness. Up until that day we were left holding our sin with no one to take it from us. But on Christmas... He broke through that darkness. The God Who created the universe took on the form of a newborn baby. He was born for you and for me. He was born to take away the sins of the world. My friend~ He wants you to hand Him the weight of your heaviness, the burden of your sin. He wants to cleanse your heart and empty it of every heartache and disappointment, of everything you’ve been trying so hard to fix and then he wants to fill that emptiness with Himself. You don’t have to hold that burden anymore. That’s the gift of Christmas. Jesus Himself. No more trying for perfection and failing. He doesn’t want perfection. He just wants us. The very next morning~on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve snow covered up the empty prints my children had left. They were filled with beautiful new snow. No trash on the curb, no more emptiness in the path they had trod. Only beauty. The beauty of the gift of Christmas. Turn and look at the footprints you’ve been trying so hard to stay inside. If we could ever be that perfect, there would be no need for Christmas at all. There would be no reason for Christ to be born. He was born for one reason. To die on the cross for our sins. For all the things we think we can somehow clean up ourselves. Hand Him your heart that’s holding on to all the garbage that’s crippling you. Hear His words this Christmas season as He whispers into your emptiness~ ”Stop trying so hard to pick up your trash my child. Its Christmas! Let your Father take care of that. It’s the reason I was born so long ago. Give it all to Me~ believe in Me and I will wash you whiter than snow”. Psalm51:7, Isaiah 1:18
9/27/2020
Check Your Heart. Dig Deep.The kitten’s little body was beyond repair. We lived on a farm. Accidents on a farm weren’t new to me, but this time was different. This kitten was mine. She was a fluffy ball of soft black comfort and she fit perfectly in my small hands. My dad told me she wasn’t going to make it. There was nothing that could be done for her. Her tiny body was broken beyond repair. I begged my dad to wait one more day before putting her to sleep. That night little Charisse knelt in her bedroom next to the picture of Blessed Mary. I held my rosary in my hands and I begged God to heal my little kitten. The next morning nothing had changed. I knew my dad wouldn’t be home until much later, so I prayed some more. I can vividly remember recalling a conversation my aunt had with my parents just the week before. She had started going to a new church and she was excited about it. I didn’t really understand what she was talking about, but I remembered her telling my parents that we needed to pray “in Jesus name”. My little mind thought perhaps this was the answer. I would ask God to save my kitten then add the words “in Jesus name”. I walked through our apple orchard all day long praying over and over again that my kitty would be saved “in Jesus name”. When my dad’s car pulled in that afternoon I was sure my magic prayers had worked. I ran to meet him and we walked into the barn to check on my kitten. She wasn’t any different and even though I was only 9, I knew she needed to be released from her pain. I wept uncontrollably. I think I cried for a week. The pain of that moment felt so deep to my young heart. At the time I didn’t realize that my internal fears and heartache were manifesting themselves in other areas of my life. My parents had been arguing for months and deep down I was scared. When I lost my kitty all the emotions bottled up in my young heart came pouring out. I was broken and the only thing that would truly heal my brokenness was literally the name of Jesus, I just didn’t understand that at the time. I was the one who needed saving. I viewed God like a genie. Ask what I want and get my wish. And surely if I added “in Jesus name” the magic would happen. When I look back at the circumstances now, I realize I was terrified. I was lonely. I was afraid of a future that looked different. I didn’t understand that even if my kitty was miraculously healed, even if my parents did get back together. My heart would still feel that lonely emptiness and the only One Who could fill it was Jesus. We women are emotional creatures. When something is burrowed deep down in the recesses of our hurting hearts it boils to the surface manifesting itself in every area of our lives. We either become angry or bitter, sad, depressed or even mean. We snap at little things or cry over an innocent comment. We don’t dig to see what’s truly wrong because we don’t want to face that darkness. What is weighing your heart down today my friend? How have your emotional reactions been? Does your heart feel empty? Do you feel alone or scared, stressed or anxious? Can I tell you something? Jesus is the answer to all of the above. Jesus name is the answer to your brokenness. Maybe you are scared about an unknown future or a situation that seems hopeless. Perhaps you’ve never received the gift of Jesus and have not experienced His presence in your life or perhaps you have, but you’ve buried His comfort and goodness deep down under piles of heartache and forgotten that there is power in His name. He is your answer. He has never left you, but you’ve forgotten His peace that passes all understanding. Just a few years later I heard the beautiful story from God’s word of how He sent His only Son to die for me. For my sins. My heart was pricked. What a Love was this!! I knelt down that day and repented. I spoke His name. I asked Him to be my Savior. My brokenness was mended, my fears were gone and His comfort wrapped around me with a peace I never knew existed. He wasn’t just some magic God that answered prayers like a genie. He was my Father, my Savior, and my eternal Friend. His beautiful name truly saved me from my brokenness. He forgave me of every sin~past and present and I knew that He was all I would ever need no matter what my future held. Check your heart sweet sister. Dig deep. Is Jesus there? Have you forgotten His love, joy and peace and buried it deep beneath the heartache and hurt, stress and anxiety or fear and anger you are feeling? Do you need to be released from your pain? Go down into that darkness and let His light shine all over that mess. Speak His name. That beautiful name. Allow Him to save you from your brokenness~ forever, just speak His name.
9/15/2020
Are You More Powerful Than God?Do you think you are stronger than Jesus or more powerful than God?
The majority of people reading this would laugh and say no. I would laugh and say no. But I’d be wrong. I know I have written about this recently, but in my heart I believe someone needs this today~ because I needed this today. Again. Satan has a way of twisting my thoughts and subtly making me believe that I have more power than Jesus does. Do you want to know how? By making me believe that I’m a big disappointment to God because I’m not doing enough to earn His favor. What’s wrong with this mindset? Good works are not wrong. They become wrong when we begin to believe that in doing these things God will love us more, He will answer our prayers or He will bless our lives. They become wrong when we believe if we don’t do these things He will be angry with us or even punish us. And in believing that lie, we give the power to ourselves. Read that again~ WE GIVE THE POWER TO OURSELVES. Somehow we believe that our power trumps Christ’s. Matthew 28:18 It is only through placing our faith in Jesus and his shed blood on the cross that we are given grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 Grace. There’s not a single thing we can do that would make God love us more, because His unconditional love for us rests in the death of His Son on the cross and there is no love greater than that. John 15:13, I John 4:10 Religions everywhere proclaim that if you just do more, God will be happy with you. Some teach that you have to dress a certain way or listen to the right kind of music. Sadly in the teaching, grace gets buried and good works and rules become the focus. We believe if we mess up the works, God will certainly chastise. With this mindset we tend to look down on others who do not obey our set of “rules” and trick ourselves into believing we are more righteous because of what WE do and not what CHRIST already did. In other religions the teachings switch to what you must do just to get into heaven. Confession to someone other than God, communion, steps and degrees of holiness, gaining God’s favor by giving to charities or serving (with the fear that this favor could be lost at any time). Once again, a religion of rules that buries grace. All the while the religions are teaching that what we are doing somehow outweighs what Jesus already did. Here’s the difference~ JESUS ISN’T A RELIGION. JESUS IS A RELATIONSHIP. It is certainly wonderful to have good works, but not out of guilt or want of reward. Our works should be an outpouring of our love for our Savior. Please hear me friend. You are not stronger than Jesus. There is nothing you can do that could earn you a ticket to heaven. You do not have that power. There is nothing you do that can separate you from God’s love. You do not have that power. Once you have accepted that Jesus is the only way to heaven and truly believe that God’s gift in sacrificing His Son is the only gift of grace~and not anything you could ever do~then you will be free from the bondage of works. Titus 3:4-7. You will be free from the chains of guilt and trying harder. You will have a relationship with a Father Who continually gives amazing grace. Who will never leave you. Who will always love you. No matter how hard we try we will always fail because we are human. We measure God’s standards by our human standards but praise God, He is not human and we aren’t Jesus. Psalm 103:10-14. I too often find myself scared that God is angry with me. Scared that I screwed up again. So I try a little harder. I do a little more, but I fail time after time. All of this really hit home for me last summer. We took all 5 of our grandchildren (ages 2-8) up north to our family cottage. Our grandchildren absolutely love it there. Excitement filled the car the entire drive up. As we got closer they began chanting “Higgins lake, Higgins lake” over and over with smiles on their faces. The cottage isn’t anything spectacular. It’s a tiny two bedroom on a lot in the woods, but to our grandchildren it’s everything. It’s memories and love and time with family. We didn’t make them do a single thing to enter that cottage when they got there. We allowed them in because we love them. They are family. The following day Mike and I were surprised to see those kids outside raking and pulling weeds. They were working as hard as their little bodies would allow. With smiles on their faces. I asked why they were doing it and Ethan’s reply was “for Bapa, because we love him so much” Ya that brought tears. Do u see where I’m going here? Yes we need to realize how sinful we are but the moment we do and we ask God for forgiveness and for the gift of His salvation through His Son’s shed blood on the cross, we will always have a home in heaven~ because we are family. We become God’s child. We will be excited about our walk with God. We will want to serve and pray and give out of sheer love for our Savior. Not for reward. Not out of guilt or shame or worry of punishment. Simply out of love. The closer we get to Jesus, the more love out pours from our hearts and we find rest in His power to save us from ourselves. AND THAT MY FRIEND IS GRACE. Galatians 2:16-21, II Corinthians 12:9, Ephesians 3:7-12.
7/19/2020
Shining From The Inside OutDo you know how to pray?
I’m confessing my faults here. It doesn’t always come easy for me. I’m not a morning person at all, and I’m not a social butterfly. Two things that really seem to hinder my prayer life at times. I’ve written articles on this before but even after 54 years, I can’t say I’ve got it down. I don’t wake up and automatically talk to God. I’m one of those “don’t talk to me for 2 hours” kind of non-morning people. I wish when that alarm went off I was praising Jesus instead of grumbling all the way to the coffee maker. From the moment I wake up, a thousand thoughts run through my head. The first ten or twenty are usually “I want to go back to sleep”, but then I start thinking ahead about my day and my schedule. I have a hard time just sitting and being still. My hands are always doing something. My mind is always thinking ahead. For me, bible reading comes easy. It’s a task that I am physically doing. Prayer not so much. I am an introvert, a quiet thinker but not a big talker. For some reason I dread even talking on the phone. I’ve heard that women talk way more than men, but in my case my husband must say three times the words I do in a day. And then, as soon as I do start talking to God, my mind begins to wander and I’m thinking of everything I want to accomplish that day. I know that’s not God, that’s Satan trying to limit my prayer life. He knows what our weaknesses are and he knows how to use them against us. When I think of goals, I often think about the account of Moses shining so brightly after he talked to God. Deep down that is my desire. To just shine for Jesus. To just talk to Him so big and so often that everyone knows He is my Jesus. He is my everything. Listening to sermons and reading devotions and going to church can all motivate but having a personal one on one time with Jesus is the only thing that will truly help us get to know God and learn what it means to talk to Him as a Father and Friend. To shine from the inside out. You might be completely different than I am. Prayer might come easy to you but Bible reading is harder. Either way, I hope these next tips can challenge you as you talk to God on a day to day basis. 1. First and foremost, I want you to ask yourself~am I a child of God? I know that I mentioned in my last article that my first tip will always be to ask God for help, but before you can do that~ Do you know if you are truly His child? We are not all “good”. All of us have sinned. We are born sinners. Romans 3:12,23. From that tiny white lie that you told to the murderers on death row. We were all born with a sin nature and can never be good enough or do enough good deeds to somehow make it to heaven when we die. Ephesians 2:8&9. That’s why Jesus had to come and die for our sins. He paid the debt we owed to God for all the wrong we’ve ever done. We have to believe in Him, repent and receive Him to be permanently forgiven of our sins and become God’s child. Romans 10:9&10. This isn’t a “get out of jail free” card or a ticket you hand to God when you die that says “I said a prayer, so I get one free pass to heaven”. This is a true prayer of repentance and forgiveness from the heart that leads to a beautiful relationship with God for all of eternity. John 3:16. If you don’t have a relationship with God, the rest of this article will be of no help to you. If this is something you have questions about, please message me. With all my heart I would love to talk to you further about this. ~So, with that being said~ 2. ASK God for help. If you don’t know where to start, if you don’t know what to say. If you feel like you are talking to a wall and you can’t feel His presence. KEEP asking for help. Every single day. All day. Keep asking. God wants a relationship with you. He wants you to communicate with Him all day long and He wants to help you with this. Pursue Him and don’t give up. Romans 8:26 3. Get to know God better by reading His words. I wrote a post about this that you can read here~ https://www.cbcofcaseville.org/blog/read-through-the-bible A big part of the problem many people have with prayer is that they don’t really know God. You might know about Him but until you open His word and read about His tremendous love for you, prayer will not become real to you. 4. Make it a habit to talk to Him all day long. Prayer doesn’t have to be a special time set aside. Prayer is simply talking to God. Talk to Him, cry with Him, sing with Him. Sit in silence and listen to Him. Thank Him. Prayers of thanksgiving can change everything about your prayer life. I encourage you to read my post about that here~ https://www.cbcofcaseville.org/blog/a-prayer-that-can-change-your-life#comments All of these things are a part of prayer. His presence is ALWAYS with you, so why not talk to Him ALWAYS? 5. Once you are a child of God, nothing can separate you from His love. Romans 8:39, John 10:28&29. You will always be His child but if you know deep down that you have sin in your life, make sure you ask Him to forgive you and restore your relationship. Psalm 66:18. Just like in any relationship, if you have wronged someone, that relationship can’t move forward and flourish until you ask for forgiveness. Now that we got past some basics, here are a few new things God showed me this week about my own prayer life. 1. Quit viewing it as a job, a duty or a mandate and start viewing it as an expression of love. I don’t know how many sermons I’ve heard on the importance of bible reading and prayer. ~You need to read and pray~ has been ingrained into me since junior high. It seemed as if it was almost portrayed as a command and if that command was not followed, punishment would ensue. As the years went by, I didn’t realize I began to view prayer as a duty to God. A job. Something every Christian is “supposed” to do. Prayer can too easily become mechanical. This is not what God intended at all. Think about the person you love most on this earth. Do you ever think about talking to them as a duty? No, that’s ridiculous. We WANT to talk to them. It comes natural because we love them so much. That is how it should be with God. We should wake up excited to speak to Him. We should want to share everything with Him about our day, we should lay all our burdens and anxieties at His feet. He should be the first person we want to go to when problems arise and when overwhelming happiness floods our souls. All because we love Him and all because He loves us. 2. I’ve heard women say that it’s too hard to talk to someone who is not physically there with with them, yet we talk to ourselves all the time. Think about that. Let it sink in. Our inner thoughts command our steps without us even realizing it. Women have thousand of thoughts running through their minds at once. It’s how we were created. Not all our thoughts are good. Not all our thoughts are uplifting. We can beat ourselves up with negative thinking. We listen to our criticizing inner voices and we believe them. Isaiah 55:8&9, Jeremiah 17:9. Why is it so easy to talk to ourselves and to listen to those inner voices, yet convince ourselves that we can’t talk to God or hear from Him? Whenever my inner thoughts start getting the best of me, I have tried to make it a habit to stop listening to them and bring all those thoughts to God. 2 Corinthians 10:5. I talk to Him about everything going through my mind. It’s so much easier to give the burdens to Him. I Peter 5:7. Try this practice the next time your inner thoughts are gaining a negative control on your life. Romans 12:2 3. I’ve read a lot of helpful tips on what to do if your mind wanders like mine does. Things like praying out loud, praying in a room with no distractions, kneeling when you pray etc. What has helped me most is to first ask the Holy Spirit for help, and second to remind myself that Jesus is literally right there with me. I can talk to him so much easier when I picture Him there with me. I can laugh and I can allow Him to hold me as I sob tears of heartache or shame. Because He is right there. Once your mind gets a hold of this truth, prayer is life changing. We are all created different. God knows this. He understands this. Our prayer lives will all look different. There isn’t a magic cookie cutter mold that God expects us to master. God loves you just the way you are and He will love your conversations with Him, because He will know that’s you. He knows everything about you. He knows the deepest thoughts and feelings of our hearts. Nothing is hid from Him, so why not be real and raw when you talk to Him? Don’t try to pray like someone else. Let your prayers be the words your heart speaks. You pray you. And it will change your life.
7/31/2019
We’re All In This TogetherWE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
3 minute read “We’re all in this together”. Recently a friend described attending our church this way. I had never thought about it quite like that, but realized immediately how true those words were. We’re all sinners. Nothing we do, no church we attend, no services we perform, no money we give~ None of these things makes us any better than the person sitting next to us. None of these things guarantees us a home in heaven. (Isaiah 64:6, John 14:6, Romans 3:10, I Peter 1:18-19) Only Jesus. And we’re all in this together. I’m so thankful that the Bible didn’t stop at the verse~ ALL have sinned and come short of God’s glory. (Romans 3:23) God made sure we knew how very, very much He loves the WHOLE world, ALL of us, (John 3:16, I John 4:10) and even though we are all sinners and we all deserve punishment (Romans 6:23) ~God didn’t leave us hanging. He didn’t leave us wondering what would happen to us when we die. Instead, He gave us ALL the Gift of His only Son who took our punishment and hung on a cross. (Romans 5:8, Ephesians 1:7,I John 2:2) We don’t have to wonder anymore. We can know, because He tells us so. (I John 5:13) He tells us there is nothing we can physically do to be with Him in heaven when we die. (Ephesians 2:8&9) All we need is a heart of repentance and faith to believe in His gift of eternal life through Jesus. It’s all Jesus. None of us are better than the other. Not my husband (the pastor), not me, not the Sunday School teachers or King’s Kids workers, not the Children’s Church workers or any leader in any church anywhere. Because we’re all in this together. We’re all a bunch of sinners who desperately need Jesus. You don’t have to have some miraculous, pivotal moment in this journey. There are no “rules”. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t have to attend church or be baptized. You can be sitting alone at home or on a quiet beach. You can be in the middle of a busy restaurant or a crazy commute. Gods gift is there for the taking no matter where you are or what you are doing at this very moment. If you haven’t had that time in your heart of hearts that you have put your faith and trust in His gift of Jesus, you can right now! Just talk to God. He’s right there waiting. You can tell Him you love Him. You can say you’re sorry. You can thank Him for sending Jesus. You can just believe. (Romans 10:9-10) And you can know that I’m right there with you~ a sinner who needed Jesus and asked Him to be her Savior when I was 13. It doesn’t make me perfect. I still mess up every day, but thank God He loves me so much, He continually forgives and He whispers to my heart~ It’s okay Charisse~ We’re all in this together.
3/27/2019
Holding HopeHOLDING HOPE
I cannot emphasize enough how badly I did NOT want to go on a first date with my husband. So much so, that when I found out he was going to ask me out, I hid. It was evening, it was dark and I was hiding in a van with tinted windows. Even as I watched him walking toward the van, I did not open the door. I would not roll down the window. That didn’t stop him. He walked right up to that van and knocked on that window. Obviously I went on that date with him, since I am now referring to him as my husband 😂😂 On our first date I just sat there and listened to him talk. His dreams and goals. His convictions. His drive. His walk with God. Every part of me did not want to give in to my feelings or give up the “fun” I thought I was having at the time. I knew by the lifestyle Mike kept, he did not enjoy my kind of “fun”. I was looking at a relationship with him all wrong. Despite my inner conflict and desire to stick with the cool crowd (and not my husband’s crowd), he won me over that night because I sat and I listened. God’s love never stops. At this very moment God might be knocking on the door of your heart. You can feel the tug but you are hiding in the darkness of fear. Fear of what you think you will have to give up. You are missing all the joy, all the sweetness, all the peace and all the beauty a relationship with Jesus holds. I don’t know why Mike chose to ask me out. I wasn’t “pastor wife” material. In fact, being a pastor’s wife was the furthest thing from my mind. At times I wonder why he loves me even now, but I do know he has made my life beautiful and sweet and I can’t imagine not having him by my side. Just as I don’t know why God chose me and loves me. I don’t deserve it, yet He gave His life for me and~ He gave His life for you. There’s no more beautiful way to fall in love with Jesus than to sit and listen. Open a bible. Listen to His words. Read them and discover the boundless love He has for you. In doing so, you will discover that his love is so unfathomable it will completely change your way of thinking. A relationship with Jesus isn’t about everything you have to give up. It’s not about rules or church attendance. It’s not a prison sentence, it’s a freedom verdict. A relationship with Jesus is joy, peace, comfort, love, hope. It is hope. Hope in everything beautiful and sweet. Hope we can cling to. Hope that supports us when we are at our lowest. So, I stood there in white and said “I do.” As he carried me over the threshold, I could see the deep love in his eyes and I couldn’t wait to do life by his side. Say “I do” to God. Give in to His absolutely matchless, transcendent love and give Him your life today. Ask Him to carry you through the threshold of life to all that His incredible love has in store for you. Let go of everything and allow Him to hold you as you hold onto Him and the hope He has for a life with Christ by your side. |
© 2020 HOLDING HOPE