She Stands

This past week I flew to Colorado to be with my daughter when they finalized the adoption for my grandson. It was an amazing week spent with my family there; a moment in time I will forever cherish. When I booked my flight I forgot to pick my seat on my flight. Once I hit the button to purchase my ticket I remembered the window seat, I love the window seat. Sitting in front of my computer a bit of disappointment I felt knowing I would be seating in the aisle or the middle. " oh well" I told myself.  My disappointment left quickly as my excitement to see my family grew. The day came for me to leave, arriving at the airport I whispered a prayer to the Lord for a safe trip and as an after thought, I told Him I'd love to have a window seat. After I receive my boarding pass, to my surprise I saw I indeed had the window seat and then to my delight realized I again had the window seat on my connecting flight in Houston as well.  My excitement  doubled, kinda like...

    Putting a puzzle together can be fun, enjoyable and somewhat a relaxing time when the pieces all fit correctly the first time.  However when it is a puzzle with thousands of little pieces that require a great deal of time trying to figure out what piece goes where it can become frustrating, at least for me. Many times I have had to rely on the box top picture to navigate me through the placing of each piece and even that process can be irritating. Eventually the pieces do all fit exactly the way they were created to fit and the perfect picture is formed.It is a victory of sorts for me as patience is not my best quality.  But what about when our life's pieces are not fitting together? I had this certain picture I created in my mind, a picture how my own pieces were to fit together, my perfect box top per say. However the pieces I chose I could not force them to fit. No matter how I placed them, ...

"It is well with my soul...."  Softly I sing those words in a hush whisper to my heart.  Today is one of those days when I long to tangibly climb on the lap of my Jesus and let Him soothe my anxious  heart.   To say it is well with my soul but yet my flesh is ate up with emotion bears the question " How can one be at peace and yet the other sits in a pool of anxious emotion? "  I ask myself this question over and over again.  My flesh has screamed and cried out to no avail.  And my heart is weary. It seems the season I am in at this very moment is a season of breaking and much change. Beauty for ashes.....again. I am tired of the ashes of life. I am undone, unraveled and exhausted because of these ashes. My flesh struggles to remain anchored in hope and my soul reassures me with every tear drop there is  beauty within. The relentless effort to see this beauty has my joy meter in the red....

  Photo by Joshua Sortino on Unsplash       The new year has me starting a new bible study with some precious women I hold dear to my heart. We have decided to study the book of Jeremiah. How cool is it this book has 52 chapters, one chapter for every week. Jeremiah 29:11 and 1:5 have been a few of my favorites since I can remember but I must say the little nuggets I have received this week thus far in chapter one has me pretty stoked to learn more about the man God called to be a prophet before he ever took his first breath.   Chapter 1 verse 8 continued to echo into my spirit.  " Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you", says the Lord. Those words hit their mark with me. Rejection has been a huge thorn in my side since childhood. I work on it daily however when God calls me to speak into someones life, I have my moments when I'd rather run than speak. God reminds me to not be afraid of their faces. I re...

      Life would be so much easier if every road we traveled was straight and our view never became obstructed, however that is not always the case.   Our roads in life will at some point will began to curve and twist.   Some may be sharp and narrow ones while others may be wide and large. It seems the winding roads come out of no where. They  appear when least expected and tend to, at times, present an unwelcome surprise.   A jolt to the tranquil ..... A bang within the peace...... A disruption of the joy. Over time I have learned when I can not see what is in front of me or what is around the next bend, it is then my trust in  God must be unwavering . I can not simply trust him just in the times of joy in my life, I must trust him in every area of my life. And that includes winding roads.   I  am coming into a new season of  change. A shift I can not quite understand. I have not had any major catastro...

  Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash     "You seek assurance from others when you should be seeking it from me."   Those are the words the Lord spoke to me in the midnight hour on December 11th, 2016. I was dealing with a deeply embedded wound causing my heart to grieve from someone I love dearly. I do not believe there is not a person alive that does not seek assurance from a loved one, friend, employer or pastor. It's human nature to want an accolade, an acknowledgment of merit from those who are important in our lives. But when the desire for assurance and self-confidence from others becomes more than assurance from God, the merit we long for cannot be be found. Almost a year later, I am finding myself struggling with decisions that will impact my future greatly, and once again seeking assurance however this time.....from God and God alone. Assurance from God is a self confidence that cannot be measured.  It is one ...

I have been hearing the Lord say " shift" for the last year.  Shift in the atmosphere, shift in our nation, shift in the church, and a shift in me.  When I think about the word shift, I see a grand swope of the hand of God moving all into a direction of peace and wholeness.I believe without a doubt He is doing so, however I never once entertained the though He'd have to do some sifting.... sifting in me. Sifting is a process, a two part process, when sifting wheat. First comes the threshing, the beating of the grain using a flail. Second part is the winnowing, throwing the mixture in the air allowing the wind to blow away the lighter chaffs and the heavier grains to fall back down for recovery.  I take a closer look at this process and begin to meditate on how it applies to my life. The threshing  is the process of removal; removing those things which will cause me to stumble.When God begins to remove, He does so with the in...