Pep in Your Step

One of my favorite components when going out in the public, is the interaction I will have with the people around me. It is quite amazing the spectrum of conversations you may have in just a few minutes together, and how vastly different they are depending on the individual. On one particular outing, an encounter really encouraged my heart. A sweet lady chose to speak such kind words over me. When I departed from her, I left with a renewed pep in my step.

“A person finds joy in giving an apt reply—and how good is a timely word!” Proverbs 15:23

I love how just one word of encouragement can make such a positive impact on a life. Just as, in the blink of an eye, one word can cause such discouragement. There is a lot of power for one little muscle in our mouth.

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21

Next time you are at the grocery store, at a drive thru, or have a girlfriend over for coffee, acknowledge their need for kind words. You know how hard life can be sometimes. Their burdens could be quite surprising if you knew the totality of their heavy heart.

So, let us choose to be women who look for the absolute best in people. Catch them in their absolute best moments and be quick to compliment them about it! Let us love people like our hearts have been stamped with Jesus, and freely give people a reason for a renewed pep in their step.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

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Let’s Do Life Together

One day God put this crazy idea in my head.  Invite everyone you know over to your house for supper.  I knew without a doubt God wanted me to do this but the night I sent out the mass invitation, I had a hard time falling asleep.

Immediately my brain went to worst case scenarios. What if all 250 people showed up? Would I have enough food?  Where would they all park?  What if it rains? How will I get everything including my house ready with 4 messy children and a baby stuck to me?! My mind whirled with grocery lists, meal planning, budgeting and problem solving. It really did seem like a crazy thing to do!! But I figured God wouldn’t have asked me if He didn’t intend to follow through.  So I fell to sleep that night feeling confident that God would show up and that He had a plan even if I felt a tad bit overwhelmed by it all.

As we started getting closer to the big day, God led me to Acts 2:42-47! I was doing school with the girls and these verses literally jumped right off the page! “ They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

I came to realize that God had asked me to do this not because He was planning a mass revival in my back yard 😂but because He wants us to be doing life together!  It’s about sharing our homes and our food.  It’s about inviting people in! It’s about loving people and doing so generously and sincerely. Praising God happens in more places than just Sunday morning church.  It happens when we feed our neighbor a bowl of soup and roast marshmallows with 20 children running around the yard laughing.  It happens in late night phone calls, hand me down clothes, and sharing an over abundance of eggs.  When we do life together, we become more than neighbors, we become friends. And through these friendships, we share the biggest part of ourselves, our faith in Jesus!

I don’t know how many more mass invitations I will be sending out in the near future but I do know that God wants us all to take time to get to know the people He places in our lives.  If we are willing to let people in, feed them, love them, and spend time with them there is no telling what the Lord will do!

The Darkness Cannot Hide the Light

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Our pastor shared this wonderful truth with us in his sermon: “The darkness cannot hide the light.” You can be one single light in the darkness and the darkness will not be able to hide even one candle burning.

There is a lot of darkness in this world and sometimes it is hard to be different, but do not be tempted to hide your light. We have a responsibility to shine our lights brightly for the Lord, giving glory to Him.

Darkness represents so much evil and when there seems to be an abyss of darkness, be encouraged that even one little light cannot be hidden by it. You are making a difference in the World.

It is always a relief to see light when you are in darkness. It is attractive, and it offers hope. That’s what we offer to the World through Christ. The hope of eternal life with Him.

Fortunately, we are not called to be one single light in the abyss of darkness, we are called to walk with Jesus. Sometimes, in trials it can feel like we are alone, trying desperately to keep burning our one little candle, but God comes alongside us and strengthens us. Through His Word and when we set our minds on things above, we can shine our lights for all eternity.

My thanks goes to Pastor Bill Foss of Harvest Church for allowing me to use his illustration.

At the End of the Day

Lately, each night when I climb into bed, I think, “Where did the day go? It went by so fast!” And, I hope that what I did during the day was for something bigger than myself, that it was for Jesus. Psalm 90 boomerangs off my mind, touching the echo of my heart and there it stays.

“So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

I lay in bed and I question what matters most to me. I think about where my time is being placed, falling so short at times. Empty minutes can be stolen so quickly. I try to consider the emphasis of eternal values in my daily choices. Am I doing okay, Lord?

Not in a works-based kind of way, but in a way where my heart rests in the One who created it, and longs to align with His ways, because He teaches me what matters. Because He is holy and perfect and loving.

Time is slipping away. So fast.

“Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!” Psalm 90:14

My ministry right now is loving my husband and pouring into our children. Our little ones who need Jesus and the not so little anymore who need Jesus. The latter clearly define how fast the time really goes.

“Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children.” Psalm 90:16

At the end of the day, when I am exhausted, and cannot fill one more cup for a thirsty child, do one more load of laundry, or listen to one more person talk to me, I wonder, am I letting the moments escape? Lord, remind me to make them count.

“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17

No Need To Doubt

Earlier this week I was thinking about a study of the book of 1 John that I participated in a few years ago. It was one of the best studies ever. We took our time and spent several months gleaning all the different truths God wanted to impart to us. That study was eye opening. It left me in awe and humbled by God’s incredible desire to have His children know that we are His.

I have trusted in, leaned on and relied upon what Jesus did 2000 years ago to cancel out my sin debt. I still rely on His forgiveness daily. I do realize that on my own it is impossible for me to be at peace with perfect Holy God. My trust must be in Jesus alone because He alone is perfect. Eternity is a long time and I want to know that God will receive my spirit to Himself when I pass from this life into the next. Don’t you?

The book of 1 John is full of that assurance. Reading it reminds me that yes I truly am a child of God. The Apostle John wrote that the assurance I need is the specific reason why he penned 1 John.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 (Emphasis mine)

You see God doesn’t want us to wonder, guess or cross our fingers in hopes that by chance we might live forever with Him. His desire is that we know, without a doubt, we are eternally His. If we are His then reading the book of 1 John will give us that assurance.

Have you trusted Jesus for your salvation? Or are you trusting in your own imperfect goodness to please God? Are you sure you have eternal life? If you don’t know then take an honest look at yourself, confess your sins and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and by believing you may have life in His name.

S.O.S

Ugh! I found myself in need of a rescuer. My car was in a ditch. Worry and anxiety flooded my heart as I looked around at my surroundings. A long road twisted and turned in front of me, houses were far and few between. I found myself alone, overwhelmed and in need.

With each heartbeat, I felt the thump in my chest increase. Each with a stronger force than any of the beats prior. Fear set in. Full force. 

Physically I was okay. Looking at me, no one would even know the worry that overcame me. Jesus knew, but not the average soul. I trusted that someone would come to help me pull my vehicle out of this ditch, but I also felt a lonely presence over my heart. No rescuer would come for me, unless I called for it. That is exactly it, The Rescuer wants us to realize our need for Him.

If we were all honest, I believe the heart of women long for a knight in shining armor, to swoop us away from whatever specific woe our heart is entangled in, and save us. We create ditches of worry, fear, and anxiety for ourselves. We often hide these hurts from others, and forget that our Creator knows our wounds. Maybe it is your health, your marriage, or your finances?

Some of these ditches we have been thrown into by others we love, while some we have dug for ourselves and jump in head first. You know the name of your ditch. You know the heavy burden far too well.

When I slid my car into a ditch, I called my Daddy and told him my predicament. My earthly father came to my rescue, and my Heavenly Father has too when I have called upon Him for help. He has never failed me.

Jesus is the ultimate rescuer and the ultimate heartbeat settler. He is ready and waiting for your S.O.S call.

Lamentations 3:55-58 says, “I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” You, Lord, took up my case, you redeemed my life.”

You see, we really do have a knight in shining armor on a gallant white steed just waiting for our call to be reached. He longs for us to humble ourselves and to ask for His help.

The question is, will you call upon Him?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 

A Heart Full Of Jesus

Ever have one of those days when you are just tired? Tired of making and cleaning up meals, tired of the endless laundry, fighting children, and messes? Maybe you are dealing with some health issues, or stressful relationships that your trying to navigate through. You’ve spent all day pouring yourself out for your family and the ones you love and then your poor husband walks through the door and asks you, “How was your day?” And just like a proverbial straw, that breaks the camels back, you lose it. I have been amazed at how quickly I can reach this place in my heart. And then to my utter amazement, I was led to look into my own heart and ask myself a very simple question. Why?

It seems like a simple question but the answer was much harder to accept than I expected. A simple one word question brought me to my knees and opened my eyes to the depravity of my own heart. God made me keenly aware of my idolatry.

Idolatry in its most simple form is putting anything above God. And let me tell you sisters, it is not hard to do! As a matter of fact, I believe it’s probably one of the easiest things to do. Idols come in all shapes and forms. Most of the time we think of golden calves and Buddha statues, but what about a clean house? Or your pant size? My own personal idols tend to revolve around people pleasing, success, and avoiding conflict. And get this?! You can even make an idol out of good things! I grew up in a broken home. Can you guess where my people pleasing and avoiding difficulties stemmed from? They came from a childhood of trying to be a peacemaker. Being a peacemaker is a good thing, but when peace making morphs into selfishness and refusing to be obedient to God, it is now an Idol.

Idolatry is something God cares a lot about! So much so that it’s the very first commandment. In Exodus 20:3 it says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” And if you continue on to Exodus 34:14 it says, “Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” God wants to be number one in our lives. When we are drowning in a mountain of laundry, we need to remember we are doing it for Him. When our children have spent the entire day pushing every one of our buttons, we need to remember the cross and how much Christ suffered to save us from ourselves. If He could pour out His blood to redeem me, can I not pour out myself for those around me and for the sake of the gospel?

I’ll end with this. “If there’s anything in life that we should be passionate about, it’s the gospel….I mean passionate about thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world. Only one thing can be of first importance to each of us. And only the gospel ought to be.” C.J.Mahaney

Idolatry is something you will fight every day of your life, but I want to encourage you to ask those hard “why” questions every day. Having a heart full of Jesus is something worth fighting for, and you surely will be blessed because of it!