She Stands

  As Easter approaches, I have been thinking a lot about Jesus' time here on earth. We have all heard of his birth, his teachings, his signs, wonders and miracles. For the most part, we have been taught his life story from those who had the honor of walking daily with him, and from those who witnessed every aspect of his life here. However today I am seeing his life through a mother's eyes....... Mary's eyes.  As a mom myself, I can feel her joy when she looked into the eyes of her precious son. The miracle that she had been chosen to give birth to. That sweet precious baby boy that sometimes would fall down while playing; the one that cried out to her to pick him up. Can you imagine looking into those beautiful eyes knowing what his true purpose was? As a mom, I can only imagine had I been in her shoes, how extremely hard it would have been for me to let go.   I don't believe I could have let go............ In fact, I know I couldn't have..... Could you??? I ca...

 My heart is full of desires. Many are for my children and grandchildren to succeed and to be prosperous and live godly lives. For their every need to be met and for God's favor to be a continuous rain over them. I have desires for my family and friends. For happiness and joy to be a foundation in a world that screams sadness and despair. For their every struggle to strengthen their faith and victory to chant their names. And I have my own desires, those that I have hidden deep within the core of my very being.  Those I have tucked away behind the beating of my own heart. The ones I have secured and intertwined around my soul. Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. I love that verse. It reminds me how very much Jesus loves me that He will give me my desires. He will shower me, his daughter, with those things which I hold in my heart. But notice the first part of the verse...."delight yourself in the Lord"  To delight ourse...

    John 13:12-17   When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.  “Do you understand what I have done for you?”  he asked them.   “You call me ‘Teacher’  and ‘Lord,’  and rightly so, for that is what I am.     Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.     I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.   Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,  nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.     Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them .  Washing the feet of others may not be what society considers serving, however in biblical times it was an act one's servant would do when guest where invited in. Jesus preforms it as a symbolic gesture of serving one humbly and unconditionally. He was setting an example ...

  The changing of life seasons can be joyous and yet there are some that can be difficult. I have discovered in this season of my life I am having a hard time finding who I am or finding my place I should say.  I am a mom, a title which will never change. However, my role has changed since both my girls are grown . No more running after children, homework, sporting events or sleep overs.  I am a grandmother who is blessed to witness joy in life through the eyes of my grandchildren and a newfound love that cannot be measured. I am a sister whose goal growing up was to make my younger siblings lives miserable with my constant grief- giving as the eldest. Now we are more than siblings. We are friends with a bond that cannot be undone.   I am a child, no matter my age, who shares my mom's beautiful strength. I am a friend who cherishes my deep-rooted relationships; those filled with loyalty, love and respect. But when I look in the mirror and strip away all those titles,...

  Colossians Chapter 4:6.   Let  your speech always  be   with grace,  seasoned with salt,  that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Speech with grace, seasoned with salt ...………… Admitting out loud the numerous times I have tripped and tumbled over my words in my younger years can be compared to eating a tablespoon of vinegar. Many times, my words have been less than desirable. Rank-smelling, mouth puckering, and eye-watering pain would be a better description.   They held no salt, only the salty tones of my utterance. My salty tones were not spoken to encourage, lift up, or be a positive influence. They were the back tones of my own emotional injuries that I had selflessly chosen to share like an arrow hitting a target.  Jesus tells us in Matthew Chapter 5:13. You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underf...

 It was day 6 of my 21 days fast a few years ago when I discovered just how much I relied on social media for my daily encouragement. It's so easy, just one click of my mouse, and it's there for me to see. A short cut of sorts, a quick fix in a world, my world, that is constantly moving and changing. But when I dig into the word of God, when I take the time to seek Him, the encouragement is more. So much more. Today I am encouraged by the woman who suffered with the issue of blood. For 12 years she suffered a life of misery and in her culture was considered unclean. It was a chronic condition which means she probably had anemia as well as physical weakness. She was hopelessly incurable by the many doctors she had sought out for medical care. She had become destitute for she spent all that she had. Everything and everyone who she would come in contact with would have become ceremonially unclean making her shunned by all in society including her family. Her husband, if she had on...