Wednesday, December 23, 2015

When did God get so big?

Good morning my sisters-

Christmas is almost here and the world is in utter turmoil but there is hope.  Where you  might ask?  It's in the laugh of a little child, in the smile of someone who just turned 80 or in your teenager as they think they have pulled one over on you.  Life has hope everywhere.  It's in the moon rising in the sky as the sun has set or when you see two jets close to one another.  Maybe it's when a nurse says there right here  for you

or a doctor gives you a ray of hope.  It's in the wind as it whips through the wheat and it's in a dog's tongue as it licks you and tells you life is good.  Everywhere there are signs of hope and yet this season can make you feel as if there's no hope.  I'm going to argue with you on that.  Jesus brought hope to Israel, He brought hope to the gentile and He brought hope to the world.

Our brothers and sisters are being persecuted in other lands and it's time for us to pray.  The miracle of Christmas is not in the presents and the beautiful tree, it's in the prayers of the righteous. Please take a moment this Christmas and pray for those that are standing up for Christ.  He is the reason for the season!

Have a beautiful day.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Be still and know that I am God

Good morning-

The end of this year is creeping up on us and all I can think about is the lesson God has etched on my heart.  All year, I have heard "Be still and know that I am God."  It's something that people that are driven have a hard time doing.  I have no problem believing in God but I have a huge problem in being still.  Still to me means sleeping and even there my dreams are vivid, busy and often very confusing.  I've gotten very used to being busy, running when I should walk and only collapsing when my head hits the pillow.  So I've asked my self over and over, why does Jesus constantly remind me to be still?

Being still means you can hear.  I'm used to doing five things at the same time but it's been in the quiet, between me and the keyboard with no noise, no people and just the wind whipping against the window pane that I have heard God.  Not audibly of course but deep in my spirit.  My cousin sent me a family tree necklace today and I was in awe of it's beauty.  God promised Abraham He would be the Father of nations.  Do you believe that Abraham and his faithfulness brought you to this day?  I hope you do because it's that promise that continues until Christ comes back for us. Obviously, Abraham must have spent time with God, scripture says he did.  During those times is when this immense blessing was proclaimed.  It wasn't when he was toiling on the earth, it came when he sat still and let God reveal His vision to him.  That's the key I think most of us miss in this technological highway.  How do we remain still when emails are popping on our computers and phones as fast as we can read them?  We are surrounded by television, radio, Internet and cell phones. When do we have time to be still and know that God is who He said He was?

So this morning as I rounded the corner to get my first cup of coffee, I decided to sit down and write what's most on my heart as Christmas approaches.  It's not how fast the year has gone or that my birthday is around the corner, it's about the gift of clarification, peace and understanding Jesus has given me this year.  He has directed my path, increased my faith and rewarded me as I sat still waiting on Him for so many things.  I am the luckiest girl in the world because I've come out of a trial more faithful, full of immense hope and looking forward to the adventure before me.  I have less fear, more hope and a tremendous thankfulness in my heart that although life isn't easy, God will always be near and when I'm still I can hear from Him.

This Christmas is not about the presents for me, that being said my husband bought me a really cool refrigerator but that's not the best gift I've been given this year.  The best gift I've been given this year is the realization that I've moved from my head to my spirit.  I've realized that all provision comes from my Savior.  He has bended me just like a tree that has ice on it.  It doesn't break, it just moves toward the earth and as the ice melts the tree pops up stronger, higher and reaching for the hope of the sun.  There is hope on this earth even in the midst of all the evil.  In order for us to keep this hope alive we must pray for our sisters in the US and abroad.  We must not fall to the fear of foreigners and welcome the love of Christ.  Evil is everywhere.  We shouldn't fool ourselves to believe we can protect ourselves.  Only through Christ can there be protection.  Ladies it's time we heard from our God.  It's time we got on our knees and proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ and it's time we let Him walk beside us, go in front of us and remain strong in Him.  I for one have benefited from the moments I've spent with Him.  I have prayed more, read more and sought Him more in this year than in any other year in my life.  Why you might ask?  I found it in Scripture this week. I had to be sifted in order to bring women to Him.  I have been sifted and through it all I have found the only sustainable thing on earth, faith and hope in Jesus Christ.

As you reflect on this year, look up and thank Jesus for every joy and every disappointment.  Ask Him to really show you the good in the year.  And if you've experienced, war, a wayward child, death or despair, know Jesus walks with you and when your still all things are possible through our Lord and Savior!

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 KJV

Join me in a Christmas prayer:

O, Lord Jesus as we come to celebrate Your birth we ask that You would unite nations, change hearts and surround evil with Your power. We believe in the promise You provided to Abraham.  He became the father of nations. Your people are all over the world, generations were proclaimed so long ago and now they are spread thousands of miles apart.  We need You to open eyes, bring hope to the hopeless and more importantly, guide your warriors to our knees.  Let this Christmas be more than lights and children's squeals as they open presents. Let this Christmas be about kindness toward one another and a cry for "Peace on Earth!"  But most importantly, let this Christmas season be about being still and providing a vision for your people to look for their Savior.  We thank You for Your awesome power and Your holy word that one day You would come and rescue Your bride!  Power and Glory to You our risen Savior who was and is to come....AMEN

Saturday, December 12, 2015

What happened to dreaming big...

Good morning all-

The question of the day is what happened to dreaming big?  You know when you were a little girl and you dreamed of your family, your job, your new invention or just baking a cake.  How about dressing up and imagining yourself as the fairy princess in the latest Cinderella film?  All of us had dreams. Dreams that were so much larger than ourselves.  And yet, as life ticked by, we lost sight of those gigantic dreams.  Why?  Reality set in, that's why.

I had a dream to be a doctor, that got thrown out because I couldn't pass Physics.  Then I was going to be a journalist, oh that got thrown out too.  And then, I was going to be a great Historian, well that didn't happen either.  So in a span of four years, three of my very ambitious dreams got washed away, never to be thought of again, until today.  Today, I was thinking of one of my very large dreams.  I prayed that I would go into business with my husband.  This dream happened long before I met my husband and do you know what happened this year, my husband started up a business and I am his financial and business advisor.  How did that come to fruition?  Honestly, I don't know.  I've thought about it. Maybe it was my boss taking the time to teach me about the fundamentals of small business financials or maybe it was the opportunity I was given to help run a business, either way I'm still not sure.  So three of my dreams were washed deep within the ground and one became a reality.  Now I have other dreams like writing a book and speaking to women throughout the world, will that come true? Time will tell.  The point I'm trying to make is that as our dreams are washed away so is the vision, excitement and expectation that our dreams can come true. 

This year has been full of dreams that have been squashed and opportunities that have been given.  When I look at this year I realize that God has had His hand in all things and that I need to dream bigger, believe more and let God take the wheel.  I love having the wheel and up until this last year my driving was excellent.  I was the NASCAR champion of my career. No one could stop me.  I had propelled to the pinnacle of all my hard work.  Well nothing is perfect and I hit a road block or two, I didn't die or even have severe injuries but I did have a concussion for a while.  It took a great amount of prayer for me to see that my opportunities are endless and I can make good of a very difficult situation.  I have learned that I'm not perfect.  Crazy to think I was anyway.  I really believed I understood people but I didn't.  I really believed that as long as I cared, people would care back, not so much.  And finally, I believed that my hard work and production would always be enough.  Well it hasn't been.  My life is not perfect, I'm not perfect, people aren't perfect and I still want to dream.

Writing my life goals and producing them into fruition has been my mantra.  I don't let "NO" impact my ability to perform.  I don't let what you think about me defeat me and I don't stop until I achieve. I am in control, right?  Wrong.  Although those things are admirable in the world, I'm not sure they are for God.  Goals are wonderful and I believe we should set them but they are not the end all of this life.  Every moment of the day, I'm thinking about how to achieve my goals.  What's left then for God to guide me, watch over me and produce fruit from my life?  Not much.  I've orchestrated everything weighing out the risk and the reward but I've left something out, my dreams.  Why do we squash our dreams?  I have because I had to provide.  Provision has been my compass and my entire focus and somewhere in that word, I began to believe I was actually responsible to provide for everyone.  What about Jesus, where was He?  Was He sitting on the sidelines?  No, He was waiting for me to be still, which by the way I'm horrible at.  My mind goes as fast as one of those race cars.  It propels around a track in less than 30 seconds and can solve problems, multi-task and rationalize all within the same time period.  It's a super highway of thoughts, feelings, and risk modeling.  I would hate to actually look inside.  So how does a person like me be still you might ask?  The answer: God brings me to my knees.  There is no greater way to get someone like me to slow down and listen than to put up obstacles I just can't scale alone.  That's how He got to me this year.  He put up road block after road block and with each one I found myself deeper in Scripture, more in tune with needing Him and praying until I didn't think I could pray anymore.  And this week, He got in, finally.

Having dreams is not wrong?  As a matter of fact, I think that's how God inspires us to be better.  Having dreams and believing your in control, that you can make them happen, that's the wrong part.  We must step forward and at the same time realize that Jesus will fulfill them if they are in His will.  Telling someone they aren't good at something is not going to take away a vision from God. I'm not good at math and yet, I can do accounting.  How did that happen?  Because God wanted it to happen, that's how.  My childhood dream and prayer to be in business with my mate came true years after I prayed it.  As a matter of fact, I had forgotten about it until this week when I was still.  Dreams come to us when we aren't trying to solve the world's issues.  They are inspired and when your a believer they are God inspired.  Don't let anyone tell you that you can't achieve anything you dream.  You can and you will if God is the captain of your ship.  Be at peace, don't try to figure out all the details, let Jesus gently guide you, just as He did for His disciples.  Jesus prayed for Peter because He knew the path Peter would take. If He did it for him, He's done it for us.  I leave you today with Jesus' prayer for Peter.  I've made it an image on my bible app so that I can remember He prayed for me too.

May your dreams propel you toward our Lord and Savior and may He make them a reality for His glory!

Luke 22:31-33 NIV
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked me to sift all of you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.  And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."