I’m so glad I know the Father…have you ever had that thought? Sometimes life can throw you a curve ball…there are moments when your peace is challenged….this is one of them…I believe it’s especially during these times that our relationship with the King of kings and Lord of lords… becomes our strong tower…it is that place that we run into and we can be safe…..As I go from room to room…first to register…then to wait…then to hear all about the procedure…and then back to wait again…I look at the people with faces filled with fear waiting for word on their loved ones…I can hear the concern in their voices…as I sit and wait for my husband of 39 years…as he goes in for yet another cardiac procedure…I hold tightly to my Father’s hand…and as the room becomes more and more tense…I quietly thank Him for being here with me…for keeping my peace…reminding me that in my Kingdom benefits package…there is one benefit that I need right now and that is the ability to tap into His peace…and though there is fear so strong around me…that I can almost touch it…His quiet voice assures me…”I am here…I will uphold you with my righteous right hand…do not fear…for I am with you”…and though the hell hounds yap at my heels…attempting to tilt me from peace to fear…my heart continues to sing a song in my “night season”……Thank you Lord…because my hope is in You alone…as I wait on Your good report…I rest in the assurance that my husband is covered by the hand of Abba…our good…good Father…and I am once again comforted with the thought…”I’m so glad the Father knows me…and that I know the Father”… When life comes at you hard…Are you glad you know Him too?

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Did you know there’s nobody exactly like you? You my sister… are an original…there is no one that has all of your characteristics…that has your quirks…your likes and dislikes…no one has lived exactly what you have…no one has loved just like you…seen all the things that you have…been discouraged like you have…suffered the losses…and celebrated the victories that you have…you my dear sister are an original…you have been finely crafted by the Master…every hair on your head…every unique curve to your body…every inch of skin…every brain cell…every blood vessel…every ligament and tissue…every system in your body is uniquely you…you were born exactly when you were scheduled to…you were equipped with gifts and abilities that are yours alone…you are a Masterpiece…you are a one of a kind…you are elegant…and witty…you are brilliant…and resourceful…you are absolutely phenomenal…so if depression has defined you…remember what I said today…if trauma has reshaped you…remember what I said today…if hopelessness has gripped you…remember what I said today…if someone has belittled you and caused you to believe their words rather than your Father’s…let me remind you today what He says about you…He says…”you are fearfully and wonderfully made” Ps. 139:14…He says…you are His “workmanship and you are marvelous”Ps. 139:13….He said you are “His masterpiece” Eph.2:10…He said…He made you to be one of His “special people” 1 Peter 2:9…and sisters that’s just a glimpse of who He says you are to Him…so be encouraged today…I am…You are…who He says we are…if the King says you are somebody…than straighten your crown…dry your tears…renew your subscription to life…put your heels on and walk in who you really are…the King’s Daughter…now go tell another sister who may have also forgotten who she really is❤

“You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you” Solomon 4:7

It will cost you something…do it anyway…you will have moments of fear…follow Him anyway…you will feel like nobody understands…keep on your journey anyway…you may lose some sleep…keep preparing anyway…it will sound crazy…listen anyway…it will look impossible…believe anyway…if it’s taking longer than you think…hold on anyway…when you feel like you want to quit…keep going anyway…when the days seem long and the nights seem longer…press through them anyway…when doubt creeps in and you lose your way…fight through the fog and find Him anyway… this my sister is the gift of faith…it is wrapped up in all the things that do not make sense…that seem at times like a struggle…it will constrain you…it will realign you…it will change the trajectory of your whole life…it will rewrite the script that you had written for yourself…it is the thing that calls to you when you have told Him…it is too much…that you resign…that someone else is better suited for the position…and then He…the Great Faith Igniter…lovingly allows you to lose yourself…and then His great love will help you find your true, authentic self in Him…and then…it happens…all that you experienced makes sense…and you recognize that your faith is not just for you…but for those that He has assigned to you…it was really never all about you…it was and always has been about the kingdom…His kingdom…and His purpose…not so much yours…but His…His purpose…the purpose He created you…and me for…to be faithful to Him…to trust Him…so that others can be drawn to Him because we Believed…He employed our faith to ignite someone else’s…to herald who He is and to assure someone that faith is a weapon…and it’s all that we need to conquer all that is trying to conquer us..SO SISTERS DON’T GIVE UP…DON’T GIVE IN…INSTEAD….LEAN IN…EMBRACE THIS DIVINE ASSIGNMENT…TO BE THE CARRIER OF FAITH…what an amazing assignment…as you lean in…someone leans against your faith…and is made stronger…simply because you remained steadfast and immoveable…sisters…this is what we were created for…heaven applauds as our life of faith increases another sister’s faith and makes her stronger💞

“Therefore, my beloved brothers/sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” 1 Corinthians 15:58

What do you do when it doesn’t work out? What happens when what you thought was going to happen doesn’t? How do you accept God’s No? What happens to your faith when it looks like you failed? How can faith and failure walk together? How do you continue to believe?

God reminded me of a time when we were so happy…our home was all packed up…everything was set for our move that next day…we were full of excitement…the new house was already decorated in my head…I knew where each picture would be placed and what color drapes I needed…life was good…and then it wasn’t…there was one document that was crucial for the closing of our new home…and we found at the eleventh hour that the document would not be released…without that document there could be no sale..what? God…this can’t be happening…we have to leave this house tomorrow…the new owners were moving in…there was no where for us to go…we had to leave this house and we had no other home to go to…when the reality of our dilemma settled in…I wept…no I wailed…God how could you allow us to get this far and then pull the rug out from under us? We had told everyone about our new home…we actually had to minister that same evening to our church marriage group…and they were all prepared to celebrate with us…everyone wanted to know about our new home…and at that moment we were actually homeless…no..not in the sense of being on the street…but…we did not have another residence to live in at that time…God where are you? I am humiliated…don’t you care that everyone sees how broken we are? We had to quickly settle on a rental…that was not at all what we wanted…it was a big step down from the home we had lived in before…I had expected God to quickly rescue us…me…my husband and our then teenaged son…but He didn’t…we lived in this desolate place for three long years…God was teaching each one of us a valuable lesson…sometimes things don’t always work out…does it feel good…NO…it hurt…and I cried…my husband and I had some difficult days and some sleepless nights…our son was terribly disappointed and the look on his face solidified my grief…but God was teaching us all something…when it doesn’t work out…you reach for your faith..through the brokeness..you grope…you force yourself to remember that God is good…that your circumstances may not be good…but He still is…and we can live in a place of defeat and discouragement…or we can decide to praise the God who is in everything…we chose the latter of the two…was it easy…No…did we have moments of why God? Yes!..but we realized if anything would ever change…it would be through the God who has kept us through this calamity…so we chose faith over failure…we eventually moved from that place…and God favored us…but that is another story…that I will share with you one day…so if your something didn’t work out…strain to hear the Teacher…there is a lesson that you must learn…refuse to leave the classroom…fight through the tears to take the notes…I promise you what you will find is that you have really lost nothing…but instead have gained the ability to trust Him more…I know I did!

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Have you ever thought of time as a most precious gift? I had just completed cooking dinner for me and my husband…I was sitting idly on my couch and suddenly my heart was filled with praise….praising God for another season in my life…I actually had time…to sit…to appreciate the ability to have a moment to make my husband and I a healthy meal…I wasn’t rushed…my head wasn’t cluttered with a million things to do…my home was quiet…and the peace of it drives me to the One who is the Giver of Time…He reminded me of seasons past where life was a blur of job responsibilities…and children’s homework…and meetings and a thousand chores in and around the house…I can remember the moments of anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to get everything done…actually sitting and enjoying a meal was a luxury…I found myself worshipping God for His escorting me in and out of time…in and out of seasons…I am amazed at how effortlessly He does this…I stop today to thank Him for my times…all of them….the harried ones…the uncertain ones…the peaceful ones…and all of those in between…my times are in His hands…and for every moment…every season of my life…I am grateful…as I sit in this place of serenity….my heart is filled with joy…for right now…for this moment…for this amazing gift…called time….sisters…whatever season you’re in…whatever your time looks like…please know if it is stressful…it will not always be that way…but…enjoy the fullness of your days…and sisters if you are in a season of calmer days…embrace those too…and as you shift in and out of seasons…make this your constant thought…be thankful..because any and all of our times are gifts from our gracious Father..take the time today to thank Him…for your times…all of them❤

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

My daughter in law nearly lost the diamond in her engagement ring…somehow she realized that the diamond was loose and touched it and it spilled out into her hand…she recognized how blessed she was that she caught it before it hit the floor…I told her the ring’s prongs were probably broken…I know because a similar thing had happened to mine…my diamond did not fall out but there were two prongs that were broken and the diamond was loose…when I took the ring to be repaired…the jeweler said I needed a new crown…that was the same repair my daughter in law needed…I began thinking…isn’t it odd that something as precious as a diamond ring…we both failed to notice that something was wrong…that the thing that is so very precious to us was not secure?…it made me think about how easily we can get disconnected from our Source…the Lord…God…Our Saviour..the most precious part of who we are…it happens gradually…like those prongs being broken without our knowledge…and as each prong is broken…the connection to the precious thing becomes looser and looser…until the precious thing is in jeopardy of being lost and then all that remains is the broken thing.. now what is needed is a new crown for the precious thing to be set in again…God desires a tight connection to us (just like those prongs)…we must regularly examine how tightly our hold is on the One who holds us…I am so grateful that the ring is not discarded because the setting was broken…the repair was simply a new crown…it had to be restored to it’s original condition..the precious thing is still precious…but what it is set in must accomodate the great value of what it is holding…with routine maintenance we can assess how tightly we are holding onto that which is precious…but if for some reason you like me and my daughter in law have some breaks in your setting…there is good news…we lose nothing..as a matter of fact He restores what was lost…just like that jeweler…who restored the crown…and now the setting holds the diamond tightly again…it is good to know that the setting may need repairs…but the diamond remains intact…and the diamond is what makes the ring beautiful…the setting is just what is holding it…ladies check your setting…make sure it is holding the precious thing…the diamond of our souls…tightly…and if your prongs are broken…take your setting to THE MASTER JEWELER…and have Him repair your crown…so that you don’t lose any facet of who He is…and then allow Him to shine through you… because your setting is tight again!

“Fear the Lord your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.” Deuteronomy 10:20

I had the wonderful privilege of praying for a warrior..this woman…this soldier who has continuously prayed diligently for so many was now asking for prayer for herself…she has been in a battle of her own for quite some time…she rarely complains..her strength is phenomenal and her determination is rare…I saw battle fatigue in her eyes…her gait was slower and her eyes were dull…but she still managed a weak smile…she came into the sister circle..this “healing place” where women can weep and mourn…where women can remove their capes…take off the masks…and collapse into the arms of sisters filled with love and compassion…it is a soulish place…a helping place..a teaching and a learning place…a place where the power of prayer is evident…sisters who love each other because we have a common goal…to be better…to lift the head of a sister who is burdened and to love them back to wholeness…I saw that happen that night…every woman became a midwife and sat next to the one who was laboring under the weight of life…and each in their own way…pressed her to push…push out the pain…and they ushered her back into the arms of our loving Father…it was beautiful to see…and an amazing privilege to participate…the weary warrior left that circle…with a bounce to her step…and life restored in her eyes…her resolve was sure…she would press on…because of the circle…the sister circle…that revives…restores…relieves…and reconciles us back to the One who meets us there week after week…and rewards us just because we come…and believe…that He is always there…I know I’ve written about this before…you will hear about it again…I am sure…My prayer continues to be…that you find a safe place like this…where the power of God rests in the hearts of His daughters❤

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” Galatians 6:2

What is a calling? We hear that word tossed around frequently. We are forever asking the question…what is he or she called to? What is my calling? Where does God desire me to be planted? What does God want me to do? So often calling seems synonymous with doing? What are you doing for God? What is your job in the kingdom? How is God using you? But to me…my calling is simply this…it is a lifetime of faith…I am called to show faith in every situation…in every area that God allows me to influence…it is my being totally surrendered to His will and not my own…it is my yes in season and out of season…it is my agreeing with the One who called…it is in living my life anticipating an eternal one…it is synchronizing my soul with the kingdom of God…it is recognizing that I have dual citizenship…the one I possess for my earthly home.. but always keeping in mind that my citizenship in the kingdom of God supersedes the one of my place of origin…my calling is to recognize and to acknowledge that I am Iiving a new life…it is not a new lifestyle…but an entirely new life…I am listening continuously for His voice to see what I am “called” to next…to me…calling is my faith being lived out loud for all the world to see…so that His kingdom is seen here on earth…and that sisters is glorious…I hope your calling also speaks in everything that you do!

“I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” Ephesians 4:1

It is almost a new year…we are just a day away from a year we’ve never seen before…approaching a new year causes us to be filled with mixed emotions….it’s an exciting thought that perhaps this is the year that what you have been planning and preparing for will finally come to fruition…that all the hopes that you had the year before may manifest this year…the places that you dreamed of seeing may become a reality…the person that could assist you in your destiny may arrive this year…so many wonderful things are possible when you have a blank slate…New Year’s Eve is full of joy and expectation…the air is heady with excitement…but…then there is the truth of life…where there is the possibility of great triumphs for the new year…there is also the possibility of great trials…as the new year is quickly approaching…I am filled with awe that each and every year…the one constant has been My God…He has walked with me through the triumphs and He has stood with me through the trials…He has escorted my soul through the highs and lows of this thing called life…there is a new year coming that I know nothing of…I am ignorant of it’s content…but He has already traveled there…so He knows everything that is yet to come…therefore…my heart is full of expectancy…not in the new year…but in He who is the creator of every one of my years…yes…2019…here we come…we may not be ready for all you are bringing..and I believe there are great things wrapped up in you…but if there are a few not so great moments..I am sure He is ready for those too…and that sisters should bring us indescribable joy and peace…Rejoice with me!…Happy New Year!

“You crown the year with your bounty, your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.” Psalm 65:11

Yesterday I heard back to back great news for two friends…it was glorious…wonderful…my heart was filled with Jesus joy…I had prayed earnestly for both of these amazing women…women who labor in prayer for others…intercessors…women who no matter what is happening in their own lives have time to push their own heaviness aside and enter the throne room for someone else…they embody what it means to be selfless…to see the needs of others beyond seeing their own…these are the warriors that I sit in circles with…these phenomenal soldiers of our faith…it makes my heart soar when a small part of what they have given out is returned to them…so often I sit in those sister circles with these women and we weep tears…sometimes moaning over the troubles of this life..we petition God for instruction…for help…and then God…Our Loving Father responds…oh how the joy wells up and floods the heart…thank you Father…for answered prayer…for blessing both of these women…your daughters…you have instructed us to rejoice with those who rejoice…I am doing that today…sisters…when your sister weeps…weep with her…but..don’t forget to rejoice when what she has been waiting for finally arrives…I love seeing God show off in my sisters lives…I know you do too💞

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” Romans 12:15