All of me...

In my studying today I read Psalm 139. FIRST I have to say I absolutely LOVE this entire Psalm...so many awesome things in it, but verses 13 & 14 totally stood out to me today.

Its SO easy to get down on ourselves and pick ourselves apart. We're too short, too chubby, our hairs too straight or too curly, we're not smart enough, we don't like the way we talk, on and on and on!! We do it everyday, sometimes so much we don't even notice we do it anymore!

These verses remind us that God knit us together while we were still in our mothers womb and He made us extraordinary and wonderful! On top of that He made us in His image so that means HE is extraordinary and wonderful! The creator of the universe also created us and He says we are amazing!

David said "I will praise You!" David knew what was up! He praised God simply because He was alive to do it and he understood God made Him just how He wanted him to be.

We all have bad days...I'm sure David did too...after all He was being chased all over town by Saul ;)
But if we just take a second and remind ourselves who made us and who we belong to, it puts it all in perspective. We can always go to the gym, change the color of our hair and learn to apply makeup to fix all the rest! :)

And to all a good night!

Just wanted to take a quick moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!

In all the eating, gift giving and fun lets take a moment to remember the real reason for the season and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!! :)

Hope you each have a wonderful day with your families and remember how much God loves you....He sent His only son afterall! ;)

Kiss someone under the mistletoe today!

All you need is love...

I just absolutely love this time of year!

All the lights sparkling everywhere, the beautiful decorations, the candles that just smell of Christmas...which I'm not sure how they do that, but its perfect! :) The shopping for that perfect present and wrapping the gifts for under the tree and most importantly celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus! I just love all the love that's in the air!

I've been challenged to not only remember why there is so much love in the air during this season but to take it OUT of this season with me. Its so easy to be loving, kind and cheerful during Christmas because, at least for me, its kind of hard NOT to be but I believe the real challenge is to be the exact same way ALL year long!

Jesus said "they will know you are my disciples if you love one another." (John 13:35) This wasn't something He told us to do when we feel like it or when someone is nice to us, He simply said "love one another." Its so easy to love others when they love us or show us kindness but to love the "unlovable" is what Jesus did. This challenges me to my core because obviously that's not the easiest to do, but because He did it, we are able to as well.

So this Christmas have fun, wear something ridiculously sparkly and love one another! :)

xoxoxo

Its a trust thing...

This morning my husband and I went to the hospital to see some of our very best friends brand new baby. He was born at 9:30 this morning and what a cutie pie...totally handsome!

It got me thinking....if I hadn't miscarried I would be about a month away from having a baby myself. That could be a very dangerous thought because it can go two ways. It can lead to sadness, depression, tears and a day of being down in the dumps or it can remind me of Gods faithfulness and how He always knows exactly what I need when I need it. I choose the second.

That may sound strange but I know God knows my desire to have a baby and although I would absolutely love to be pregnant like yesterday :) He has a plan and its a perfect one. Who am I to think I know better than God? I'll never understand why I miscarried but when I think about it I really don't need to know...I just need to trust He knows.

Trusting God has always been a weak spot for me it seems. Yes, I can totally trust Him for other people but when it comes to myself and personal things in my life I seem to hesitate in handing it over. But its so amazing what God does when I do hand it over....He completely blows me away by reminding me once again He is faithful to me. So what do I do? Every single day I build up my faith by spending time with Him, reading His Word and singing songs to Him. The more I know Him and His character the more I love and absolutely adore Him....the more I trust Him.

I know God has a plan for me and my husband. I believe babies are in that plan so I look forward to that and I continue to worship Him in those times that don't make sense. He deserves all of me all the time.

Until next time....

Heart of Worship...

If you've gone to church at all in your life you're probably familiar with the old song "Heart of Worship"
"I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
where its all about You, its all about You Jesus.
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it,
when its all about You...all about You, Jesus."

We hear it start playing and we begin to go through the motions singing along with it but not really listening or letting it sink in...after all, its an OLD song right! :)

Even so this song has been in my head all day today and its made me sit and think about what I'm actually saying.
"I'm coming back to the heart of worship...where its ALL ABOUT YOU, all about You Jesus"

When is the last time it was truly all about Him? When is the last time we sat down to do our study time or turned on some worship music to really focus on Him and we weren't interrupted by our phones, kids, laundry, spouses, life in general?!? :)

This song brings me back to my core which says, nothing else matters BUT Him! If I don't have Him as my center and my focus then everything else will consume me in my day to day life, everything else will become bigger and bigger and more and more unmanageable. He HAS to come first!

I love my mornings. Don't get me wrong I'm not a huge fan of mornings themselves, but I do love MY mornings. I get up about 7, the sun is coming up and the house is quiet. Work hasn't started yet, the phone hasn't started ringing yet and no one is wanting, needing or expecting anything from me. I make my breakfast, sit at my kitchen table, dig into my Bible, spend time in prayer and writing in my journal. Its my time with Him and I value it. I'm protective of it, I don't like anything to interfere with it.

It makes me think that's how God is with us. He values us, He's protective of us and He doesn't want anything messing with us or interfering with us. What a God we have the honor of serving! He loves us that much! He loves us so much that just as I don't like anything interfering with my time with Him, He doesn't like anything interfering with His time with me!

God deserves our best every single day. Like the song says "I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it, when its all about you" Its not about us. Its about Him. Lets show Him that everyday. :)

Crazy Love...

I'm reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, I've read it before a few months ago, but I'm reading it again for Book Club. I just have to say....I think it should be a mandatory read for every person on the earth!!
There is seriously something on nearly every page that will wreck your world! I want to share a portion of this book with you today that got my attention....

God is all powerful - Colossians 1:16 tells us that everything was created FOR God: "for by Him all things were created: things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him."
Don't we live instead as though God is created for US, to do OUR bidding, to bless US, and to take care of OUR loved ones?
Psalm 115:3 reveals, "Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him." Yet we keep on questioning Him: "why did you make me with this body instead of that one?" "Why are so many people dying of starvation?" "why is my family so messed up?" "Why don't you make Yourself more obvious to the people who need You?"
The answer to each of those questions is simply this: because HE'S GOD. He has more of a right to ask us why so many people are starving. As much as we want God to explain Himself to us, His creation, we are in no place to demand that He give an account to us.
Can you worship a God who isn't obligated to explain His actions to you? Could it be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation?

This totally smacked me in the face! Who of us hasn't at one time or another demanded answers from God on why things go or don't go a certain way. We feel entitled to know, but God isn't entitled to tell us. The Word says that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. That verse brings me comfort because it reminds me that the way God thinks and does things is FAR better than the way I do. The number of times He's been wrong compared to mine is definitely a big fat ZERO. Its all about trusting Him, learning to walk in His ways and fashion our life after Him knowing and trusting along the way that He loves us FAR beyond what we could ever imagine. He ALWAYS has the best for us!

I love the line that says God has more of a right to ask US why so many people are starving. AMEN! We are His hands and feet extended, it IS up to us to reach the lost and the weary, to feed the hungry and teach them how to provide for themselves. It is easier to point the finger and blame God, because that means we aren't looking at ourselves and taking responsibility. It's ALWAYS easier to point the finger right? :)

God is a God of pure unconditional love and compassion. He wants the best for us at all times in every situation. The Word says He works ALL things out for the GOOD of those who love Him.
Its all about trust.

Ranking your rivals...

John 5:41-44 The Message
"I'm not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God's love, is not on your working agenda. I came with the authority of My Father, and you either dismiss Me or avoid Me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God?

Each one of us has the tendency to act tough and say we don't care what other people think about us. To an extent that may actually be true, but deep down inside every person there is a need to be approved and accepted by people.

I look at this passage and I just love what Jesus says. "I'm not interested in crowd approval." Jesus was here on a mission and that was to spread the Words and Love of His Father to as many people as He could and then die on the cross for all. Do you think He had time to get caught up in the daily worrying of whether or not someone liked or approved of Him? Absolutely not. He didn't come with a self righteous attitude. He says in Matthew 20:28 he came not to BE served but TO serve! The people didn't understand that and what they couldn't understand they wouldn't accept...like people often do. The key is that Jesus didn't care!

I could write this blog every day only to read the comments people write on it, or I can write it knowings its pleasing my Father and leave it at that. How often do we allow people to stand in the way of what we're put on this earth to do? We seek their approval, go out of our way to please them, we get offended by them, and we allow their words to distance us from Gods plan for our life. We fight for a position or a platform and then get upset when someone else gets it rather than seeing that its not about the position or platform at all! Its about staying true to the love of our Father and carrying out the plan He has for us alone. Jesus stayed true to what He was put here to do. Jesus knew it wasn't about how "cool" people thought He was or the "position" He had.

I love how this version says we "rank our rivals and ignore God". We forget that the only promotion that ever matters only comes from God. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of us or says of us, Gods opinion is the final answer. If we live to please Him and Him alone THEN we're modeling the life of Christ.

I wanna leave a Legacy...

This past weekend I spoke at The Rock Church Girlfriends Getaway where the theme was "Legacy - Living a life worth leaving behind." I spoke about Jesus and the legacy He left us as well as the new legacy He gives us thru encounters with Him.

My question to you today is what legacy are you leaving? If you have children, when they watch you what do they see? Do they see someone who is busy all the time just to be busy? Maybe they see a life full of bitterness, anger, frustration and unforgiveness. Do they see a person who holds grudges against others and/or a selfish person? Or do they see a person who lives life to the fullest, taking every opportunity to shine light? Do they see someone who puts God first, loving others, giving of their time, offering forgiveness quickly and living a life set apart for Him?

Take a moment to ponder that....

Being a student ministries Pastor from ages 0-19 puts me in check about this very thing quicker than anything. I don't ever want to live a life that models "do as I say, not as I do" to young people around me. I want them to look at my life and see it as one they can model and appreciate for its honesty and realness. I make mistakes and I'll be the first one to say that I do but I would also like to think I'll be the first one to lay it before God and ask Him to help me with it. I think its important they see that aspect as well.

What do your children, or the young people in your life see? How do you respond when you know you've missed the mark, because we all do at one time or another. Do they see you quick to repent and make it right to others as well as to God or do they see you swell up with pride and keep going never admitting your fault?

We only have one legacy to leave to others and it should be Christ's legacy thru us. I definitely don't want to leave MY legacy to my children and those around me. I want to leave HIS legacy, Him thru me. Me left on my own is bad news, but allowing Him to shine thru me makes my life absolutely beautiful!

What legacy are you leaving?

Welcome to the world of me..

Here I am in the world of blogging! Starting a blog is something I've had on my heart for a while so I figured its time to just get on with it already. :)

You may ask why and my response would be I just have so much in my heart to share and this is one more avenue that would allow me to do that. If you know me, you know I love God with all my heart. He has been doing so much in my life and teaching me so much I figure its only fair to share it with others.

I ask you now to excuse my grammar because nine times out of ten it probably won't be correct, I often make up words and sometimes I might ramble on about life experiences you could care less about, but I hope that in reading my postings you will learn more about the heart of God and more about me in the process. :)

Stay tuned...