Stretched

Last week, on the mission trip I was a part of, God stretched me big time. He stretched me in ways that I didnt know I could be stretched. But I realized that I was more flexible than I thought - and the stretch actually felt really good.

Now, I wasnt stretched as I leaned up a ladder to try to hand someone a new can of paint.

I wasnt stretched as I was sprawled across my noisy air mattress every night.

I wasnt stretched as I worshipped God in the worship services and sang new songs.

I wasnt stretched as I endured 105 degree temperatures, in blue jeans.

I wasnt even stretched when I took showers in close proximity to 5 total strangers, with only a thin curtain betweem us, and some sort of six-inch black bug laying in the drain, which looked like it was moving each time the water droplets would hit it.

Nope - God didnt stretch me by asking me to endure different, and sometimes, uncomfortable, living and working conditions.

He stretched me, in my faith, and in my willingness to do whatever He asked.

You see, several years ago, I went through a big stretching season. In fact, I felt stretched thin. God had called me to be a speaker and writer, neither of which was in my life plan, and it felt way out of my comfort zone. It was a huge stretch for me to take that first step of obedience, but after nearly five years of speaking at womens events and weekend retreats, it has become more of a comfort zone for me, than a stretch.

Trust me when I say that I still pray earnestly before every event I speak at, asking God to remove my butterflies and allow people to hear His message, and not see me at all. And I always feel blessed to share Gods message of hope and love... however, I do not always feel "stretched", because it has become more comfortable for me now.

So I think God decided, in His infinite wisdom, that it was time to stretch me again. To stretch me into a position that felt a little awkward, that seemed beyond my abilities, and that was way out of my comfort zone.

He stretched me by calling me to true evangelizing.

Repairing homes for people in need was the outreach of the mission trip - but the primary goal was to reach people with the Gospel of Christ - to share the gospel with the homeowners, and the people that were in our paths. Now I love to share Gods message at events and meet and greet and pray with all the ladies in attendance, but this was a whole different ballgame.

The expectation of being required and expected to go door to door, sharing the gospel with total strangers, who might slam the door in your face, curse at you, or worse, made me feel a little weak in the knees.

So as sweat beads were breaking out on my forehead, I began to have a little conversation with myself in my head, asking questions like......"why can I stand on a stage in front of countless amounts of people, and share Gods Word with no worries?" ; "why can I pray with people whom I dont know, and feel God leading my words?"; "why I am so worried about sharing the Gospel all of the sudden?"; "what if.....?"

In that little conversation with myself, and with God, God finally helped me grasp the only logical answer that existed for my questions - which was simply that sharing Gods Word in this particular manner was out of my comfort zone - and that was EXACTLY why God called me to do it.

I could have easily sent my team down the street without me, or stood in the shadows as these teens who were bold and excited about sharing Christ knocked on doors. But God had laid a burning conviction on my heart, that even though I was hesitant and fearful and did not know what to expect - the time had to come for me to do some stretching.

Our little caravan of people walked down the street, in a neighborhood that has probably made the news before, with anything but good news - but I trusted God to protect us, and He did, and more. As a result, I learned that real Christian growth takes place when we are out of our comfort zones - or at least expand our comfort zones to make room for something new that Christ wants to do in us, and through us.

So on the streets of Norfolk, my newfound friends (all teens on fire for Christ), and I, walked hesitantly up the sidewalk of a mans home, as he stared at us cautiously from his front steps. We introduced ourselves, and began to make small talk with this elderly man, who soon had a very welcoming smile. We learned his name was Woffard, and we explained to him why we were there and asked if he had anything we could pray about for him. He asked for prayer for his 2 sons who were in prison, and expressed his desire for them to know Jesus and turn their lives around. He also proudly shared that his grandson who was standing beside him, had given his life to Jesus that very day. Ironic? I think not. :)

We stood on the steps, in the hot uncomfortable sun, in a circle, hand in a hand with a complete stranger, but a brother in Christ, and prayed for him and his family. He thanked us, and we went on our way.

As the afternoon wore on, we shared a quick message with a young white girl, who just had a baby a few days earlier, and had 2 little wide-eyed boys sitting on the couch in diapers.

We prayed with an elderly man who was sitting on his porch in a wheelchair, waiting on someone to pick him up for his chemo treatments.

We prayed for an African American family sitting on their porch, with little kids running around in the yard, who were excited to know that someone could help them with home repairs in the future at no costs to them. And after a minute or so of saying they didnt need any prayer, they soon opened up, and welcomed the opportunity for us to pray with them.

We prayed with two Hispanic ladies, found sitting on dilapidated lawn chairs in the hottest part of the day, smoking, holding their cats, and reading the newspaper; looking at us with inquisitive eyes about why we were approaching them. We engaged in friendly conversation, and soon they expressed their desire for prayer, and shared some prayer concerns with us about their families. We held hands around them, and prayed.

We prayed with an elderly man named Clyde, wearing a bright green shirt as he sat on his front porch people watching, We discovered that he loved the Lord, and was excited to have someone pray for him. He held our hands and smiled the biggest toothless grin you have ever seen.

By the end of the 2nd day of evangelizing, all that stretching had made me much more limber. I wondered if our brief little visits had planted any seeds for Christ. I wondered if the families would watch the CD's we had given them, and open the pages of the New Testaments that we left in their hands. I wonder how God will use our stretching, to glorify Him.

I was so excited about how I had seen God use just a few words from total strangers to lift someones spirits. In some instances, I was saddened to see the people who rejected the opportunity to hear Gods message, and denied that they even needed prayer at all.

But I learned a great lesson last week, not just about helping others in the name of Christ, but about being Christ, even if it feels uncomfortable. I was reminded about how things were not comfortable for Jesus at all, but that didnt deter Him from reaching out to people who needed to know that there Was, and Is, a Savior.

But most of all - I realized that all that stretching was really great exercise, and that instead of feeling sore and uncomfortable, I felt uplifted, renewed, reenergized in my desire to share Christ with everyone I meet, and more flexible than ever before.

In fact, I can honestly say, that stretching has never felt so good, and I am so thankful that God called me out of my comfort zone - once again.

You know, I dont think that God really ever wants us to get too comfortable. And when we start feeling comfortable in what He has called us to do, that is probably a sure sign that it is time for some serious stretching.

How is God calling you to stretch today?

Smellin' Like Fruit and Lovin' It

The sweetest thing happened yesterday.

Our worship service had just begun, and the congregation was standing, singing hymns, and preparing our hearts for worship. As he usually does, my sweet little boy Michael who is ten years old, was standing beside me with his arms wrapped around my waist.

After a few moments, I noticed that he kept sniffing me. I finally asked why he was sniffing me, and he whispered, "because you smell like fruit! It smells really good!" I smiled at his answer, and knew that what he was smelling was one of my favorite perfumes which I spritzed on before leaving the house, which had a very clean, but sweet, aroma.

I thought about his reply for a moment, then a smile came to my face. I guess smelling like fruit is not so bad, considering all the other options! But then God reminded me that He would like for me to smell like fruit too - fruits of the spirit, that is. I was reminded that His Word tells me that my life should be a pleasing aroma to Him, through my thoughts, actions and behaviors.

Ephesians 5:2 says "and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

This is a commonly used verse, but what does it really mean? How can we learn to offer a fragrance that is pleasing to God, and those around us?

One primary way to exude a sweet fragrance, is to show love. There are lots of ways we can show love to others, from a simple smile, to random acts of kindness, to sacrificial giving and serving for Christ. But regardless of how we do it, all that matters is that we are permeating the earthly and heavenly air with a sweet fragrance.

There is an Old Hawaiian proverb that says, “Tiny is the flower, yet it scents the grasses around it.” It is an example of how small things can have large effects.

In Hawaii, people often refer to the "aloha spirit". The "aloha spirit" simply means LOVE, and that love includes friendship, acceptance, compassion, mercy, gratitude, assistance and cooperation.

A person is said to have shown the "aloha spirit" when they greet you warmly… smile…help a friend…forgive… do a favor…say thanks for a favor...etc.

Its obvious that the ideas and actions behind aloha are not exclusive to Hawaii, and that is the point here today. The spirit of aloha, closely resembles the spirit of a Christian fragrance.

Lets think about that tiny little flower that permeates the air with its fragrance. The fact that it is small, and seemingly insignificant, does not keep it from sharing the fragrance that it was created to share.

Sometimes we think we are not capable of doing anything big or important for Christ. We allow our size, or opinions of unworthiness, to keep us from being the person God created us to be. But the only thing that matters is how we are affecting the world around us - how we are filling the air with a spiritual aroma that not only smells sweet to those around us, but also to God. It is not the actions that matter, it is the aroma that is created by those actions.

Each time we do something in the name of love, we are sowing seeds for the growth of others to experience love and give love. We are helping others learn how to be a little fragrant flower in a big world that is overall, pretty stinky.

Each one of us has a unique fragrance that we share with the people around us. Today might be a good day to ask - is my fragrance a sweet smelling aroma, or a sour, stinky one instead? Is my fragrance permeating Gods love into the hearts of others?

Do you ever remember a time when a woman entered a room and had obviously gone a little overboard on the perfume, leaving a strong, lingering fragrance in the room even after she left? If it was a pleasing smell, you didnt mind it much - but if her perfume was not pleasing to the nose, and was too overpowering, then you probably didnt like it. The same concept applies here with our spiritual fragrance.

Maybe we should always ask ourselves, hypothetically: when we leave a room - is our lingering fragrance one of love and kindness, or anger and harshness? Is our lingering fragrance one of patience and compassion, or one of intolerance and selfishness? Is our lingering fragrance lifting peoples spirits, or leaving them discouraged and broken?

Most people think flowers just happen to smell good, but they only smell good because that is the way God made them. When God created flowers, he intentionally created them to be fragrant. And He created us just the same.

If one tiny flower can scent the grasses around it, then the scent of millions of tiny flowers can scent an infinite space. If one person can scent the air for Christ around them, then many people working for Christ can have an infinite impact. Every little flower, a.k.a person, makes a difference - a fragrant difference - if we are intentional about exuding an aroma that is spiritually pleasing.

So, what fragrance are you wearing today? Is it the sweetest thing?

Aloha. :)

More Than Crumbs

Recently when a wonderful summer beach getwaway week was coming to an end, God spoke something sweet to my heart.

On my last morning at the beach, I had gotten up early for my morning run. As I was running, I caught a glimpse of a few seagulls aimlessly wandering around the beach. But I noticed that there really were not many seagulls to be found this early in the morning, and then I starting wondering why.

You know seagulls are pretty funny creatures. When you think about it, it seems that they could smell a potato chip crumb a mile away. You could be sitting peacefully on the beach without a seagull in sight, and then one kid throws down a piece of crust from their sandwich, and suddenly dozens of seagulls come swooping down from out of nowhere! It is like being in the middle of the movie set for that old awful movie, The Birds!

I thought about how seagulls always stay at a distance, until they want something to eat, or think that someone has something to give them, then they come running - or should I say dive bombing. As that thought crossed my mind, God impressed upon my heart that I am often just like those seagulls.

I could go several days, maybe more than a week, just wandering. Wandering through my days, never really sitting down and talking with God in focused prayer. In fact, I could go days without actually studying His word and digging into the meaning of passages to apply to my own life, never giving Him an opportunity to help me or guide me.

But, oh boy, as soon as something happens that makes me mad, sad, worried, frustrated, confused or upset - I go flying straight over to God, swooping in out of nowhere, dive bombing into His presence and expectantly waiting for Him to give me a profound thought or answer to prayer. To throw me some crumbs that will be my portion for the day.

That must disappoint God. He has so much more to give me than the mere crumbs that I ask for when I am in times of disappointment or turmoil. I truly believe that God is always there for me, and for all His children, holding baskets of delicious spiritual morsels and divine guidance and intervention, but since I do not ask, I do not receive.

I need to focus on the fact that God's wisdom, blessings, comfort, love and guidance are readily available all the time. He is always ready to fill me up with whatever I need. I know He can fill every void or emptiness in me, any hurts or concerns, any frustrations or anxiousness. But I have to ask! And not only when I am hungry for Him to toss me a few crumbs in a time of need. What a shame that my inadvertent negligence, to see out God every day, results in reducing His sovereign and priceless Words, to crumbs.

If you have been keeping yourself at a distance from God, either purposely or inadvertently, and then begging for crumbs from Him when you get desperate, today would be a great day to break that habit. Or maybe you are actively seeking God in your every day life and expecting to be filled to the rim with all He has to give.. then I pray He continues to be your every portion!

I can only speak for myself - but I simply do not want to be satisfied with crumbs! I want the whole basket of goodies! What about you?

Darn That Proverbs 31 Woman

Yesterday I was mom-of-the-year. Yep, unofficially but uneqivocably mom-of-the-year. How did I earn such a prestigious title, you ask?

Simple. I made muffins.

Not just plain ol' muffins, mind you. Chocolate chip muffins, and blueberry muffins, in the little-muffin, muffin pan. So cute baby muffins were everywhere, and the two flavors satisfied all the picky eaters in my house.

I had risen early, pre-heated the oven, and quietly set about my muffin-making task without a complaint in the world, just like a good Proverbs 31 girl should do. As the muffins began to get plump and golden, the delicious aroma began to fill the house. And that's when it happened.

My two daughters came bolting down the stairs as if the house were on fire. One of them jumped up and down and screeched in delight, while the other one yelled "yeah, muffins!". Then they paced around the kitchen until the coveted pastries were done, and gobbled them up. Everyone was happy. I was thanked, appreciated and hugged. Even though they acted like I had never fed them breakfast before that morning, it was still awesome.

Soon after, I realized it was time to leave, and told everyone to hurry up, brush their teeth, get their shoes on, get their bookbags together, and grab a snack for school.

Little Michael suddenly realized that he could not find his coat anywhere, even though he had been holding it ten minutes earlier. The coat fairy had apparently stashed his coat somewhere in an invisible closet, again.

Then in the process of his frantic coat search, he accidentally stepped on Kaitlyns toe - you know, the same one she stumped at school the day before, nearly ripping off the entire end of her big toe. It was not a pretty scene. Much drama, accusations of doing it on purpose, and flying bandaids were everwhere.

While all this was going on, Morgan was now realizing that the coat fairy had also taken her coat, and possibly her shoes. She was having trouble locating them while staring at her incoming text messages, thus threats were shared about losing phone privileges if it continued to interfere with life itself.

To add insult to injury, the fact that Michael was going to now potentially be tardy for school - again - because the girls were not ready to leave on time (primarily due to excessive hair-straightening obligations as opposed to muffin eating) - resulted in a bit of heated discussions before we finally made it out the door.

My wonderful mom-of-the-year/Proverbs 31 mommy award fell to the floor and shattered. Calmness, patience, soothing voices and unshakable joy seemed to fly out the window quicker than those band aids had been flying through the kitchen.

Our happy, peaceful, muffin-eating, hug-giving, laugh-sharing moment seemed a distant memory. Life had happened again - or should I just say, another typical school morning happened again.

But as we drove to school, the chaos slowly slipped away, and we had some good discussions about loving one another, being considerate, dealing with friends, boyfriends, and other girly-girly stuff and soon I was mom-of-the-year again - after reminding them about their delicious muffin breakfast, of course.

Although it would be great to be the perfect mom all the time; the mom who never gets mad, irritated, impatient or unreasonable... I know in my heart that God does not expect that type of perfection. I know that He forgives our imperfections and renews His mercies for us daily. And I need that new mercy every day, trust me!

As women, we get so hung up sometimes about the Proverbs 31 woman. We think God actually expects us to be like her. But really, she is simply a woman who fears and reveres the Lord, and tries to live a life that is pleasing to Him. She is a woman whom God included in the bible for us to read about, so that we would know His instructions for living, all the while also knowing that we will fall short, and He will still love us just the same.

God does not expect us to be perfect, without mistakes, never losing our temper and winning a mom-of-the-year award every day. Now Im not saying that it wouldnt be great if our children arose and called us blessed every morning - but lets get real people! Until they are old enough to understand the depth of love from a parent to a child, they will never quite comprehend how hard we try to be good moms. But thats okay - the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices, and motherhood is the greatest joy in my life.

Well, I need to sign off now - headed to the kitchen to make some chocolate chip cookies before the kids get home from school. Im in much need of some hugs and appreciation again, and cookies are a definate guarantee that I will get all of that when they get home! Im also going to dust off my mom-of-the-year award too, just in case I need to hang up it for a moment, during the cookie eating. Maybe I can keep it hanging a little longer this time!

Smiles.

Everyone Loves A Surprise

I stopped at the produce stand this weekend to get some fresh fruits and vegetables. After picking up several yummy items, I decided to get a watermelon. My kids love watermelon in the summer, and sometimes I think I could eat a whole one by myself! But that might cause a serious riot, so I normally try to share. ;)

So I took the watermelon home and pulled out a big knife. I carefully sliced it open, anxiously awaiting the fresh sweet aroma to burst out out of its red center. The two sides fell apart, and I was shocked at what I saw. I gasped aloud, and my mom yelled over from the living room to see what was wrong. This watermelon was not read, but was bright yellow inside!

A yellow watermelon?? At first I thought it must have looked ripe on the outside, but been unripe on the inside. Then I wondered if some crazy scientist had mixed up the seeds between a watermelon and a pineapple. But I took a chance, and tasted it. It tasted exactly like a bright red juicy watermelon!

For those of you who knew yellow watermelons existed, you probably think I am behind the times. But I honestly have never even heard of a yellow watermelon, much less seen one up close and personal! The sign on the watermelon stand didnt say anything about yellow watermelons, so I thought I was purchasing a regular ol' red watermelon. As a result, I was very surpised, but it was a good surprise.

It took a little prodding and convincing, but finally everyone agreed to taste the yellow watermelon, and then, everyone wanted more. It was delicious! In fact, if I closed my eyes, I couldnt even tell the difference!

I thought this was a prime example of exactly how God operates in our lives. (I know, I know... it is amazing how I can turn a little watermelon eating into a biblical thought isnt it? My kids always poke fun at me about that. Smiles.)

But God truly does deal in surprises. We seek out to get a certain thing, and we think we are getting what we wanted, and then God surprises us with something even better than we imagined! Something more exciting, fun and fulfilling than we thought was possible!

Obedience to His call on our life is kind of like this, dont you think? We want to obey God, but we are afraid to try to something new. We want to keep going down the same old path out of habit or comfort, but when we begin to lean on God, He throws in a little surprise for us. When we finally trust Him fully and give into His plan for our life, the outcome is so much better than what we thought we would get!

Submitting to God’s will often requires costs or sacrifices, but if we truly trust Him, we can believe in our hearts that He will have something far better for us than we ever expected, or can even imagine. I dont know about you, but I am axiously awaiting for God to throw me a few surprises!

Is there anything that God has surprised you with lately?

Proverbs 3:5 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this. (The Message)

Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked hard at them and said, "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it."

Swimsuits Are For The Fishes!

We have all heard the phrase that things are "for the birds" (for example, dieting is for the birds). But I've coined a new phrase of my own - swimsuits are for the fishes!

I mean really, the swimsuits that are in stores today are not made for real people. If you want to get your mind off of your problems, just go bathing suit shopping, and soon you will be so depressed about your body image that you forget everything else!

Last week I determined that since summer was here, that I had to give in and try to find a new bathing suit. I headed to the mall with a good attitude and thoroughly browsed through all the colorful suits hanging on the dozens of racks.

I filled up my arms with lots of choices and marched towards the dressing room, wondering if I was going to be able to narrow it down to just one that I really liked.

Okay - About 37 bathing suits later, I left the dressing room with a pout on my face and headed to the next store. After trying at least 25 more bathing suits in that store, I succumbed to defeat, and went home.

I ask you - why is it that apparel companies think everyone in America weighs 100 pounds or less, and that we all want our swimsuit bottoms to sit lower on our pelvis than normal underwear? Seriously, it's inappropriate for even tiny waisted teenagers to wear these swimsuits, and certainly not appropriate for grown women! Can't they find a happy medium between itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polkadot-bikinis and "granny" swim suits? Does the apparel industry understand that grown women want to be covered up and decent, but not so much that we look like we are a throwback from a Doris Day movie?

Oh well - I guess I can't change the industry, but I can complain! A few days later, I did find a few swimsuits that I could live with (as long as I didn't look at them in the three-way mirror). But as I thought about my pursuit for the perfect swimsuit that would fit me perfectly and hide all of my flaws, I remembered something important. We can't always change things about ourselves that we don't like, but we can like ourselves for who we are and how God made us.

Now if there are things we can do to improve our image and self esteem, such as eating healthier, lose a few pounds, highlight our hair, or change that dark red nail polish to a summer pink, then by all means, do it! But if there are things we cannot change, then we need to make a conscious choice to love ourselves no matter what we look like in a swimsuit, or anything else for that matter.

If you are anything like me, I would much prefer to focus on having fun and spending time with my kids at the pool or the beach, instead of obsessing over what everyone might be looking at that I refused to look at in the three-way mirror!

I decided to dig into Gods Word a bit, and see what He had to say about this diliemma, and found two great truths about self-image:

1) Galatians 6:4 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life in mind.(The Message)

- in simple terms - worry about what we are doing for God, and not what the mirror is doing for us! Whether or not the mirror is our friend is beside the point - God does not want us to compare ourselves to others, or beat ourselves up for our flaws.

2) 1 Samuel 16:7 - "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (NIV)

- God is not worried about what we look out on the outside, He only cares about the inside! Let's spend our time trying to dress up our hearts, instead of just our bodies.

I am still sticking to the fact that swimsuits are for the fishes, but nonetheless, I plan on enjoying some sun in the fun with my family and friends this summer, and try not to let my mind be overtaken by self defeating thoughts. God loves me as I am, and that is enough for me! God loves you just as you are, and that should be enough too!


PS Check out my new topic Loving The Woman in The Mirror, and consider bringing me to your churchc to offer this important message to your ladies.

Run By Faith

Hi friends! I cannot believe it is already the latter part of June. The first few weeks of summer have flown by! School is finally out, we finished up our swim team season, and have had some relaxing days at the pool. Now, its time to get serious!

I am leaving early Monday morning as a part of a World Changers mission trip with our church youth group to Norfolk, Virginia. My husband and my daughters are all going, but my little man is spending the week with his sweet Granny (he is too young to go yet, and not happy about it!)

But I am so excited about going on this trip and anxious to see the amazing ways God is going to work in us, and through us. Since I will not have internet access, I thought it might be fun to republish some older posts, and allow God to speak through them again this week to those who need a fresh Word from Him. So come back every day, and I look forward to having some exciting news to talk about next week when we return. Have a wonderful week!
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It was finally here. My favorite time of year, and my favorite place to be. I hopped out of bed with an unusually eager attitude to do my morning exercise. I stepped out the door into the crisp morning, and inhaled a deep breath of salty beach air.

I headed for the soft white sand, and began jogging briskly at the edge of the surf, admiring the vastness of one of God’s most amazing creations. After a short while, the morning sun became exceptionally bright, causing me to squint. It was then that I realized that in my haste to experience the beautiful Carolina surf, I had left my sunglasses behind, and my sensitive eyes were not very appreciative.

Unsuccessfully, I tried to keep my eyes open, but it was just too bright. I thought to myself about the open area around me, and decided it would be safe to go a short distance with my eyes closed completely. Knowing that miles of empty beach lay ahead of me, and that there very few people, if any, at the beach this early in the morning. Therefore, I confidently ran forward with both eyes closed tightly shut.

As I continued running blindly, I was spending time with God in prayer, and a startling thought leaped into my mind - “is this what God means when He tells us to walk by faith and not by sight?”.

I allowed my mind to drift away from my surroundings and focus on this concept. In the case of my morning run, I already knew that there was nothing in my path to bump into. There were no people, dogs, umbrellas or flying frisbees yet, so I felt completely confident running with my eyes closed. However, life does not always have a bump-free pathway for us to run on, but rather is packed full of obstacles, big and small. During this prayer time, I felt God nudging me to recognize whether or not I would be willing to run with my eyes closed through the bumpy patches of life, and solely rely on Him for my confidence, even when I did not know what lay in front of me.

I found myself asking God, “Lord, what things do I need to walk by faith in, and not by sight?”. For the next several minutes, with each exhale of breath, God brought something to mind that I needed to have a stronger faith about. A family member’s chronic illness. A friend’s job search. A damaged relationship. Someone whom I needed to forgive. Raising my children. Marriage. Health concerns. Who would lead our country. The war. The future.

It became crystal clear to me in that moment, that I rarely walk by faith regarding issues of great concern. It seems that when the burdens get heavy, I try to carry them on my own. I fret and worry. I imagine the worst case scenario. I try to determine what I can do to help remedy the problem. I waste time wishing things were different. When what I should be doing, is walking with my eyes closed, and giving God the opportunity to do His work. Worrying will not change a thing, but faith can change anything.

Walking by faith and not by sight, does not mean we need to walk around with our physical eyes closed, but that we need to live with the eyes of our heart open. God wants us to put our faith in Him, believing with full confidence that He will take care of the obstacles, guide us around the problems, and carry us through to the end. The NIV version of 2 Corinthians 5:7 puts it this way, “For we live by faith, not by sight”. We are not commanded to merely walk by faith, but live by faith, each and every day.

If you are like me, I want to not only walk by faith, but run by faith. I want to have the type of faith in Christ that will allow me to close my physical eyes, and see through the eyes of my heart instead, while running full force ahead with no fear.

Swimsuits Are For Fishes

We have all heard the phrase that things are "for the birds" (for example, dieting is for the birds). But I've coined a new phrase of my own - swimsuits are for the fishes!

I mean really, the swimsuits that are in stores today are not made for real people. If you want to get your mind off of your problems, just go bathing suit shopping, and soon you will be so depressed about your body image that you forget everything else!

Last week I determined that since summer was here, that I had to give in and try to find a new bathing suit. I headed to the mall with a good attitude and thoroughly browsed through all the colorful suits hanging on the dozens of racks.

I filled up my arms with lots of choices and marched towards the dressing room, wondering if I was going to be able to narrow it down to just one that I really liked.

Okay - About 37 bathing suits later, I left the dressing room with a pout on my face and headed to the next store. After trying at least 25 more bathing suits in that store, I succumbed to defeat, and went home.

I ask you - why is it that apparel companies think everyone in America weighs 100 pounds or less, and that we all want our swimsuit bottoms to sit lower on our pelvis than normal underwear? Seriously, it's inappropriate for even tiny waisted teenagers to wear these swimsuits, and certainly not appropriate for grown women! Can't they find a happy medium between itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polkadot-bikinis and "granny" swim suits? Does the apparel industry understand that grown women want to be covered up and decent, but not so much that we look like we are a throwback from a Doris Day movie?

Oh well - I guess I can't change the industry, but I can complain! A few days later, I did find a few swimsuits that I could live with (as long as I didn't look at them in the three-way mirror). But as I thought about my pursuit for the perfect swimsuit that would fit me perfectly and hide all of my flaws, I remembered something important. We can't always change things about ourselves that we don't like, but we can like ourselves for who we are and how God made us.

Now if there are things we can do to improve our image and self esteem, such as eating healthier, lose a few pounds, highlight our hair, or change that dark red nail polish to a summer pink, then by all means, do it! But if there are things we cannot change, then we need to make a conscious choice to love ourselves no matter what we look like in a swimsuit, or anything else for that matter.

If you are anything like me, I would much prefer to focus on having fun and spending time with my kids at the pool or the beach, instead of obsessing over what everyone might be looking at that I refused to look at in the three-way mirror!

I decided to dig into Gods Word a bit, and see what He had to say about this diliemma, and found two great truths about self-image:

1) Galatians 6:4 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life in mind.(The Message)

- in simple terms - worry about what we are doing for God, and not what the mirror is doing for us! Whether or not the mirror is our friend is beside the point - God does not want us to compare ourselves to others, or beat ourselves up for our flaws.

2) 1 Samuel 16:7 - "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (NIV)

- God is not worried about what we look out on the outside, He only cares about the inside! Let's spend our time trying to dress up our hearts, instead of just our bodies.

I am still sticking to the fact that swimsuits are for the fishes, but nonetheless, I plan on enjoying some sun in the fun with my family and friends this summer, and try not to let my mind be overtaken by self defeating thoughts. God loves me as I am, and that is enough for me! God loves you just as you are, and that should be enough too!


PS Check out my new topic Loving The Woman in The Mirror, and consider bringing me to your churchc to offer this important message to your ladies.

Embracing A New Workout Routine

A few years ago, shortly after quitting my corporate job to move into ministry, I invested in hiring a personal trainer. It seemed like the perfect time to start a new health and exercise regimen, since I had more time on my hands than ever before, and I knew I had let my physical health go downhill due to the stress, hard work, and many hours required in the demanding position that I held.

One of the first discussions I had with my trainer, was about my current exercise regimen. She wanted to know how often I typically exercised, what types of exercise I engaged in, what were the intensity of the workouts, and what were the durations of time that I typically worked out. (and at that point in my life, the answer to these questions were all similar - zero!) But they were all basic considerations that she needed to know in order to form a good plan for me to move forward with and begin to improve my physical health.

In my Proverbs 31 devotion that is running today, I talk about the importance of caring for Gods temple, our bodies, since He resides in us, through the impartation of the Holy Spirit once we accept Jesus as our Savior.

The devotion used eating fast food as a bad example of taking care of our bodies, and being that we live in a body-conscious society, most of us are aware that fast food (especially double baconator hamburgers!) should be avoided at all costs. I think I can say with confidence that each of us know and understand the importance of eating right and exercising, even though those priorities can sometimes take a back seat in our lives.

But our physical health is not the only important thing to consider, with respect to taking care of ourselves. Our spiritul health is equally, if not more, important.

When considering our spiritual health, some of us might be quick to say that we try to do all the things that we should be doing to have a prosperous and fulfilling relationship with Christ, while others may admit to not making faith a priority, simply due to busyness, boredom, or merely not understanding the importance of spiritual health.

Accepting Jesus as our Savior is the first step towards spiritual health, but if we stop there, then we are missing out on the joyful life that God planned for us, and will never really grow into a thriving follower of Christ.

Lets take a moment to apply those personal trainer questions that I mentioned above, to our spiritual health regimen.

Read these questions below and consider what your honest, personal answers would be:

1) How often do I spend time doing spiritual things (frequency)? (Once per week, every day, every few months, or only when life gets hard?)

2) What types of things do I engage in to make my faith a priority? (praying, attending church regularly, fellowshipping with other Christians, serving others, sharing the gospel, reading GodsWord, scripture meditation, attending Bible studies, etc.)

3) What is the intensity of those faith workouts? (Do I feel closer to God and inspired in my faith walk after spending time with God, going to church, serving others, etc., or do I feel uninspired, bored, and feel like my time could have been better spent checking off my to-do items?)

4) How long do I typically engage in these activities? (Do I pray for a few minutes in the shower, or carve out committed time for prayer and conversation with Christ? Do I spend dedicated time in Gods Word, or glance at it on my way out the door or during church?)

You see, just as a sound physical exercise regimen would include pondering these questions, our spiritual exercise regimen should as well - because the two regimens are more closely connected than you would think.

Many research studies have shown that there is a connection between optimal spiritual health, and optimal physical health. Why? Because when we consider how our bodies are Gods temples, and begin taking care of our physical bodies, it is as a result of our growing respect and honor for our soveriegn God, and our desire to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

As we get to know God more intimately, and embrace the truths found in the Bible, we become more likely to live according to its principles.

As we begin to recognize Gods presence within us, and His unconditional love for us, we will begin to make better choices in our every day lives - not merely choices about eating healthy or how much we are excercising - but about the choices that we make in all areas of life. Choices that can either glorify God, or pull us apart from Him by giving in to daily temptations to sin.

I can speak from first hand experience, that years ago, when I began to desire to make my faith a bigger priority in my life, my spiritual health gradually improved. As a result of that, I also began to be more concerned about keeping my physical body healthy too - after all, how can we do what God calls us to do if we are not taking care of ourselves in every way?!

Take a few minutes today to consider how you can begin taking better care of your health today - your spiritual health and your physical health.

Pray for the motivation, inspiration and desire to do better in both areas, and ask God to give you a thirst for working on any areas in your life that might be out of shape, or be in need of a fresh exercise regimen.

Remembering that we are Gods dwelling place, and being aware of His presence within us will empower us to live for God and achieve the purposes that He has ordained just for us.

If you havent done it in a while, take some time to work out today - spiritually and physically - and kick off a new workout routine for your life today!

Gods Protection

The aching in my heart for my daughter is finally starting to decrease.

A few weeks ago, she worked hard all week at team tryouts, with every intention and expectation of making the team, and because of one small mistake, she was cut from the team.

I am not sure who was more devastated - her, or me. For all you moms out there, I know you can relate. The heartache that I felt for her was so overwhelming that I could hardly breathe. Every ounce of my being wanted to change the situation, control the outcome, make it all better... but I was powerless to do so. All I could do, was cry with her, support her, and assure her that it would be all right, somehow.

We talked about how God always knows best, even when we dont understand it, and that God must have a wonderful plan for her this year, that we dont know about yet. But still, the aching of the hearts remained.

One morning as I was jogging outside, enjoying the fresh air and the warm sunshine, I had me a frank little talk about this situation with God. As I prayed about this disappointment my daughter was struggling with, I asked Him for understanding, wisdom, the ability to forgive, and for guidance. But most importantly, I asked Him for peace about this situation in my heart, and for peace for my daughter.

One word was instantly impressed upon my heart - PROTECTION.

I immediately felt as if God spoke to my spirit, confiding in me that He was protecting her from something, and upon grasping that concept, I began to feel a peace wash over me.

God had not forgotten my baby girl. He had not overlooked her desires or dreams. But He knew best, and I chose to believe that. I began to consider all the things that He could be protecting her from, but my mind went a little haywire, which frequently happens when I let my mama-bird protective instincts mentality begin to outweigh sane rationale.

So I cleared my mind, and rested on the fact that even though I had no idea what she was being protecting from, that God was in deed protecting her, from something. Even though things didnt go as we had planned, God had a plan in place.

A few days later, I asked my sweet P31 friends to pray for my daughter and for her to find a new path that she would love just as much. I received many wonderful prayer-packed emails, but one in particular spoke to my heart. This friend said: "I pray that she will understand deep in her heart that any rejection God allows in our lives is for our protection..."

Immediately upon reading that, I knew that I heard God correctly a few days earlier. In some way we do not yet understand, God is protecting my daughter.

So regardless of whether we like the situation or not, we have chosen to trust in Gods plan, and believe that He is protecting her in some way. What a wonderful reassurance of not only His protection, but of how much He loves us and our children.

Here are some wonderful verses to remind us about Gods love and protection:

2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

Psalm 56:9 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.

Psalm 91:4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Psalm 91:14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

Psalm 121:7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life.

I believe in Gods protection, and praise Him for reminding me of it. And I am looking forward to the day when I can write about the wonderful things God is doing in my daughters life this year, that we would have never expected. She has already embarked on something new that she is excited about, and believes that when God closes one door, He opens another. I am excited to see what He has in store for her this year. But I know, that it is His protection that makes it all possible.

I am....

I was hopping around the web doing some blog reading this morning, and loved what what my sweet friend Melissa did on her blog today. She was inspired by her 8 year old daughter who had been given an assignment at school to write answers to some open ended questions about herself.

It was thought provoking, so I thought I would give it a shot too, and see what God brought to mind. Below are the things that I thought of as I pondered these simple questions:

I am.......... a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, an aunt, a friend; a sister in law, a daughter in law; a woman who loves to write; a woman who loves to see women crying with tears of joy in the raw moment of truly grasping and understanding Gods forgiveness and grace; a woman who wants to have a happy marriage and a happy family above all else.

I wonder.......... about the future; what life will hold for my children; what the country will be like as they get older; what my life will be like when they are all grown and moved away with families of their own; why bad things have to happen to good people.

I hear.......... my teenage daughters singing and dancing together; my children laughing; the soothing sounds of the ocean and seagulls; my 16 year old daughter playing her guitar upstairs and singing along in her beautiful voice; my husbands garage door opening, letting me know he is home from work and ready to spend the evening with his family.

I see.......... nature, green trees, flowers and beauty; the vastness of the ocean and never cease to be amazed; people hurting other people and wonder how they can do the things they do.

I want.......... to have a storybook marriage; healthy, happy and thriving kids; to have my book published; to grow in my speaking ministry.

I am.......... just an ordinary woman who regardless of her efforts to try to be perfect, fails daily; a woman in need of Gods grace and mercy; a woman who loves God and stands in awe every day of how He has changed my life over the past ten years; a woman who still finds it hard to believe how God knows us so well, hears our thoughts and intervenes in our individual lives.

I pretend.......... that everything is fine and great in front of other people, even when I am hurting inside for some reason.

I feel.......... an overwhelming responsibility to raise kids who love the Lord with all their heart, and to protect them from harm; depressed when people hurt my feelings, and angry when people hurt my childrens feelings in some way; hopeless and sad about my sisters illness.

I touch.......... the ones I love, with hugs and snuggles; my steering wheel, during the several hours a day I spend in the car taking my kids to school and extracurricular activities; a DVD every morning when I do my P90x workout, even if exercising is the last thing I want to do.

I worry.......... about the peer pressures of adolescence on my children; about mean girls and bullies at school whose favorite hobby is to hurt and degrade others; about my husband worrying too much about work; about my sisters health; about my parents finances and stability; about people not liking me; about my childrens safety when they are away from me.

I cry..........when my children are struggling with rejection, betrayal, hurt or disappointment; when my husband and I get in a fight; when I watch sad movies, or even sentimental TV commercials for that matter; at funerals, even if I didnt know the person at all.

I am.......... a woman who feels immediately convicted and guilty whenever I snap at the kids or let my temper get the best of me, especially over silly, stupid little things.

I understand.......... that no matter how hard or painful things are in life, that God really can use them for good.

I say.......... clean up your room, pick up your shoes, put away your stuff, put your clothes in the laundry, you need to eat something, get in the car, hurry up, why did you treat your sister/brother like that, calm down, and do not use that tone with me... way too much.

I dream.......... of having multiple books published; of continuing with my speaking and growing in Christ; of a day when my sister will be healed from MS; about what heaven will be like; of traveling the world with my hubby one day.

I try.......... to be the best wife, mom and person I can be; to be one who can forgive easily and quickly, and not hold onto grudges; to be a Godly role model for my children.

I hope.......... that God will keep His holy hand on our family, that He will send angels to be a hedge of protection around my children for years to come; that my husband and I will grow closer together as we get older; that the economy will rebound soon; that my parents will stay healthy and active; that the dreams in my heart will one day come true.

I am.......... Gods child, loved and adored, regardless of my mistakes, shortcomings and failures.

I am, just me, but God loves me anyway.

Friends, think about how you would answer these questions today. It might help some feelings and dreams bubble up that you have not thought of lately, and bring to light some priorities that may have taken a back burner in your life. Reflection can sometimes lead to positive change.

Treasures of the Heart

This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions. We have had a lot going on in our house, with joyful situations, painful situations, laughter and tears, and a myriad of feelings as we handle the different situations that have filled our days.

This morning my heart was feeling a little heavy. I honestly could not really think of anything to write about. I have so much on my heart, but some of the issues are just too raw to fully process yet, much less put into words. So I began to pray and ask God what to focus on this morning, and the word treasures came to mind.

Hmmmm. Treasures? Well, Im not a queen, or a treasure seeker, but Im sure I have some treasures. Treasures of the heart, that is.

As I began to consider what my personal treasures were, many things started flooding my mind. So I thought I would share some of them with you today - maybe for my own personal heart therapy, but maybe it will also get you thinking about some of the treasures in your life that you have not thought about lately, or even remembered was a treasure. You know, those little life treasures that bring a smile to your face, even when life is just not feeling all that smiley.

So here are a few of the treasures that God brough to my mind this morning:

My children - my 3 most priceless treasures

My husband Michael, and my marriage of 20 years as of last week


Two sets of wooden, handmade people - one set of people praying, and one set of of the nativity scene that I keep out year round. I bought both of these when I was in Ecuador, and each time I look at them, they remind of my trip; to pray for my sponsored little boy Joe; and to be thankful that I do not live in poverty as Joe does.




My gardenia bushes at the back of the house, which are ten times bigger than I ever thought they would get. Every summer they are filled with blooms and I anxiously await the day when I can pick a big bundle of flowers for the kitchen table and keep the kitchen smelling fresh and fragrant for weeks.


My maternal grandmothers (Marion) piano which I inherited - and the memories of her sitting at it playing praise hymns and singing in her alto voice for all to hear.



And my paternal grandmothers (Josephine) bible, with her name signed inside and the date scribbled in of 1940. When she died in January 1995, my dad handed it down to me, with a special message to keep the words inside near and dear to my heart.




All of my precious family (including my sister n law whose picture I need to add to my shelf!)


And last but not least, my special treasure box, that I posted about last year. I still pull out verses from time to time and see what message God has for me for that day.


So these are just a few of my treasures, that I hold dear to my heart and thank God for. What are some of your treasures that God brings to mind? What brings a smile to your face today?

Need a great summer book to read?

This is an exciting day, especially for my sweet friend Mary Beth Whalen.

Her new book is being released today, a fiction book called The Mailbox. I cannot wait to get my copy this week and read it! And if you are interested, you can enter a contest to win a free copy and this cool beach bag below:

Book description:

Centered on a real landmark on the coast of North Carolina, The Mailbox blends intriguing folklore and true faith with raw contemporary issues that affect every woman.

When Lindsey Adams first visits the Kindred Spirit mailbox at Sunset Beach, she has no idea that twenty years later she will still be visiting the mailbox--still pouring out her heart in letters that summarize the best and worst parts of her life.

Returning to Sunset for her first vacation since her husband left her, Lindsey struggles to put her sorrow into words. Memories surface of her first love, Campbell--and the rejection that followed. When Campbell reappears in her life, Lindsey must decide whether to trust in love again or guard herself from greater pain. The Mailbox is a rich novel about loss, hope, and the beauty of second chances.

So hop over and visit her blog today and find out how you can enter to win! MAILBOX GIVEAWAY