Are You Striving or Abiding?

God desires a heart completely given over to Him.  Therefore, He looks for US to abandon all of our creature comforts that we often depend upon. Our security should rest in the Lord alone; but when it is not, and misplaced in either situations or relationships..... He actually will use ways to remind us, appeal us and entice us back to Him- one stride at a time.

When God places us in this process, He also withdraws certain affections and crutches from us that obstruct our growth in Him.  It may at times feel pretty uneasy and at other times even painful. However, it reminds me of how a toddler is when they are discouraged from drinking from a bottle or wearing a diaper too long.  In order that they mature, they must be disengaged from these former dependencies to use the more age-appropriate cup and pull-ups. It is times like these that even we, like that toddler, may feel susceptible, weak, or powerless. We often may even fight the change in order to stay in a premature state and maintain what is most ‘common to us’ or ‘familiar’.

Even more, since I am often very engaged in what I do, am more challenged when I am detached from common settings- not because the setting is unpleasant - but because it has become very familiar to me. This conflict often becomes an opportunity for personal development, maturity and ability to see the bigger picture that God desires to do in my life.

Looking back, I have noticed that God often re-orchestrates our journey to a point that ‘what we think we need’ is moved out of our reach to provoke us to step into ‘what we really need’ over ‘what we want’. The ‘UN’common must become a willing option for us, even when we are vulnerable or unfamiliar, that we allow ourselves even when we feel inadequate to complete what the Lord has begun in us in this new state.  NO matter what! We must choose daily whether common or ‘uncommon’, to abide, and not strive in the Lord every day. Over time, if we learn to abide under his covering versus strive in our creature comforts of control, then we can mature from 'striving' to 'ABIDING' with God! I challenge you today ABIDE forward in God. It beats striving in circles.

An Eternal Treasure of Trust!

Every time we place our trust in the Lord, we store up spiritual treasure. The Lord promises that he will keep those whose heart all trust safely trust in HIM.  And when He keeps, He keeps like no other! Also, when we trust in the Lord we obtain a greater since of peace for our lives!

Such a relief! Investing our faith and trust in the Lord..."building up our spiritual treasure." Having a confidence in the Lord allows us to grow and mature in His Word and reap the rewards in a vital way! Relying on the promises of His Word transcends over into the elementary essentials of our walk and life. When we place our faith, our time, our talent, our treasure, our thought life, completely over to God, the Lord purposefully and rapidly provides a return of Himself back into us.

Have you ever witnessed how problems also often snowball into manifestation?!   

Matt. 6:24-34 sums up so well how our walks should be because it encourages us that a life given over to quick riches and (self-consumption) is full of worry and anxiety. Whereas a life surrendered to God (quest for eternal spiritual wealth) is full of peace and provision:

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

……………The hurricane of life most certainly will happen, yet when we remain steadfast, the Lord will faithfully see us through!

In Faith towards the Faithful one!

Thank You Lord 'For-giving' me this Experience!

"Walk with Me in the freedom of forgiveness...If you carry a burden of guilt on your back, you are more likely to stumble and fall. At your request, I will remove the heavy load from you and bury it at the foot of the cross. (Then) you are undeniably free! Unconditional Love...frees you from both fears and sins. As you come to know Me more and more intimately, you grow increasingly free." Jesus Calling!

I love this truth! I love the freedom and release that comes with forgiveness. There is incredible deliverance that comes to those who are willing to honestly confess and humbly request forgiveness or grant it.

It can be the difference between being victorious over our sin and being victimized by our sin. A way that I continually remind myself whether good, bad or hurtful situations arise in my life is that it is all God-filtered. Instead of becoming a victim in the situation and holding blame to someone I look to God and become the victor in the situation through His sovereign hand and amazing grace over my life. My favorite phrase I have walked away with is...."Thank you Lord 'For-giving' me this Experience!" And when I do that, I understand that it is easier to forgive, because I know nothing can happen to me under the sun unless the Lord allows it. Many times our hurtful situations with other people is simply a test that God allows to produce a testimony when we can truly freely release others in those difficult situations! Even Jesus who was truly blameless before men while being persecuted before the cross stated, "..forgive them Father for they know not what they doing." Luke 23:24


I implore you to live a live worthy of His high calling and to daily walk with an
abundant mercy account - operating in a continual spirit of forgiveness. Matthew 18:23-25 tells us that "If we do not forgive people, we get turned over to the torturers." NOT only does forgiveness provide us a mind of peace, but a personal release to be free of being tied to someone else's sins.

It has been so eloquently stated that walking in unforgiveness is like 'drinking poison- and expecting the other person to die from it.'  Forgiveness is designed to actually save your own life! Be FREE - FORGIVE! And see God move in a mighty way in your life!

Enjoy the JOURNEY!

Have you ever said, I can’t wait until this spiritual test is over, or I can’t wait until summer,  or I can’t wait until I find that next job, or I can’t wait for my kids to be out can’t wait until kids are out of school, or out of their diapers/pull-ups, or even more so out of my house! Or (you fill in the blanks…)________ --- so that I can be at some next point in my life?  

Well Jesus always prepares us for what is on the road ahead... He says that we should take time to be still in HIS Presence so that He can strengthen us. It is no wonder that the busier we become, without spending that valuable time, the more we end up opening ourselves up to weakness and temptation because we literally need this time to be revived (renewed back to a spiritual life) in Him...

I vividly remember one weekend afternoon, feeling like I had to keep the mouse wheel going rushing in from being out, making a phone call to my husband to give him additional things to shop for while he was at the store, while I also made another phone call to my mom while opening a big can of tuna for a tuna salad until dinner was done. Not really focusing on what I was doing, I told the person to hold while I put the phone between my ear and shoulder and then proceeded to finish opening the can of tuna. Voila! All was well until I set the tuna can down and proceeded to stir in the relish and mayonnaise and noodles, and knocked my bowl into a now empty flying can of which I proceeded to catch with my left hand. VOIL- OUCH! What had just happened?

I was staring down into two of my fingers, my middle finger you could almost see clear to the bone. The can I just caught by its jagged top, also just caught me! OUCH!  I proceeded not realizing how bad the cut was to rinse my hand until all I could see was white flesh in my finger and a big gaping hole of skin. I had my son call his dad as he was doing the dishes meanwhile I asked my son what he thought. As he looked over my shoulder in a matter of fact way as he so often does, he said, “Yep, you are going to need a good amount of stitches.” 

I then replied, “Thanks Howie!” as I proceeded to cry. Eventually I called over a sister from our church who happened to be a registered nurse, who proceeded to confirm I would need to seek urgent care. Of which I spent the next four hours of my evening in the waiting room…WAITING…on the nurse, then the doctor and finally back home. All this time of which I had plenty of time to reflect how I needed to slow D-O-W-N!

Now I am sharing this story to not gross you out, but I do share this story to say that it is so easy to get into a RAT(Rapidly –Accelerated- w/Things) race of doing so many things at one time, rushing through the day from one thing to the next - not really seeking the rest or mind of God in a matter. I was painfully reminded this day and I now have a beauty mark in my fingers, though totally healed - it is much more sensitive than my other hand and is a steady clear reminder through pain, personally, to help me to slow down…..And also to realize that if it does not all get done…..that LESS can often really be MORE!  What is your Journey today? I challenge you to enjoy it more and rush through it less! See WHAT God is doing THROUGH your circumstances versus asking WHY while trying to ESCAPE every problem and challenge in life! God bless you today....

Becoming Secure in Christ! \O/

The Lord creates us with a great capacity to know Him and enjoy His Presence... Many of times when people do not feel that the Lord is close or with Him, it often is because their focus has not been in the Lord.  However the more we focus on His Presence with us, the more we can fully can enjoy life.  When we choose to glorify Jesus through our taking pleasure in Him...we proclaim His Presence to a lost and watching world.

When I was first starting out as a 17 year old in the Lord and even later in college, I often spoke of how God delivered me from the void or sense of emptiness I had in my early teens…. Although I was popular in high school and involved in many different clubs and events, I never felt complete. I sought the approval of man over the knowledge and approval of God. I lived for an audience of many, versus an audience of 1 (God). 

When we all look close enough, we all have, what I call a "God vacuum". Meaning ...we each are divinely crafted to "experience, know and enjoy (God's) Presence." However, when we do not get to know Him intimately as He is to be known, we mis-direct that attention and our feeling of need to people - having unrealistic expectations of people that was never designed to fill that void or need of completing us.

Allowing His Presence to fill my thought-life means... I am inviting Jesus into every thought and I am intentionally using my mind to glorify Him; to enjoy Him, to focus on Him... no matter what!

I want to challenge you to let your security be found in Christ today. As Isaiah 26:3 states, “You will keep him in perfect peace ...whose mind is stayed on You( God): because he trusts in You(God).