I often think of my namesake…Mary Magdalene….I admire her tenacious determination…how she thumbed her nose at the crowd and stiffened her resolve to stay the course…when everyone else had counted Jesus out…she remained steadfast and unmoveable…I’m not sure what she was thinking as she rested against the tomb of our saviour…I don’t know what her trembling lips were whispering…but I know she stuck to the plan..she refused to resort to self help…she didn’t weigh her options…there were none…it appeared that her promise was dead…and I’m sure all those connected to her thought she had lost her mind as she continued believing…and perhaps she had lost HER MIND..because she refused to rely on what SHE thought…but stood on who she knew Him to be…and she waited…until what appeared to be dead..was resurrected…she was rewarded by heralding to all those who doubted that He’s not dead…He’s alive! She stuck with the original plan…she had no plan B…Her life was hidden in His…her faith…I am sure wavered as she drew strength from all that she knew of Him..but she stayed…and she waited…believing more in His plan for her life than creating one of her own…I pray that I can have that kind of steely determination…there is no Plan B…Sisters I hope your heart is also like that of Mary Magdalene…even though the promise may appear to be dead…Trust the Promise Giver…He is also the Promise Keeper…There is only one plan…His❤

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

I love family…it is God’s idea..family accepts us…and loves us…warts and all…they are the secret keepers…all of those things that live in the incubator that we call HOME…it’s where wounds are made…but then are healed again…it’s the place where words of love and words that are bitter reside together…it allows imperfect people to share their lives…to create memories…today is Christmas Eve…a time of reflection for me…my mind races back to the Christmases of old…me and my brothers anticipating the big day…my mom cooking up something wonderful in the kitchen…all of my family…grandparents…aunts and uncles bringing gifts to the house…the memory is not so much of the toys and new clothes under the tree…but the feeling that family gives…the warm sense of belonging…of knowing that these people…though perfectly imperfect would fight a lion for me…many of them are in heaven now…but my thoughts drift to them today…family…

So tomorrow…through all of the flurry of the day…remember to stop long enough to thank God for one of the greatest gifts He has given…Family…and if for some reason…your family of origin is not that warm and fuzzy…find the family that God has created for you…simply put…family doesn’t necessarily share your bloodline… But they are the people that love you when you aren’t always loveable…they celebrate and support you…just because they love you…I pray that tomorrow will find you in the company of that amazing gift…called FAMILY…and my hope is that this is the Merriest CHRISTmas for you EVER🎁

“Better is a dinner with herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it” Proverbs 15:17

Sometimes many things happen all at once…I mean things like the washer decides to quit working at the same time the battery goes dead on your car…or there are several people that you love that are suddenly in the throes of a battle…it could be job related…financial…relational or a medical challenge…it’s a common occurrence…it’s all the little things and maybe a few big things thrown in there too…life doesn’t seem to care that there is a lot going on all at once…it can begin to consume you…you may feel your faith falter…the storm may be raging all around you….and you may find yourself getting drenched…I am so grateful that as I weather my own storms and I assist others to navigate theirs…when multiple storms are surrounding me…I have found a shelter…the God who calms the storm becomes my hiding place…I can remain full of His peace…His strong presence covers me…the wind can’t shake me…the waves cannot overtake me…and I am shielded by His Spirit… safe and secure…hidden by the power of His Love❤

“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word” Psalm 119:114

“He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed” Psalm 107:29

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and couldn’t get a word in? I mean…they called you because they said they were thinking of you…and just wanted to hear your voice…you were so happy to hear from them…because you love them…and then when the conversation started…you were ready to share so much with them…so much you wanted to tell them…BUT…they talked incessantly…their chatter was continuous and you couldn’t get a word in…you tried to break in…but they were so consumed with their own thoughts they never stopped to see what yours were…and then…just like that..they said they had to go…they had a busy day ahead of them…but they were sure glad to hear your voice…BUT THEY DIDN’T…isn’t this what we often do to God? We say we want to hear from Him and then we do all the talking… and then close our prayer quickly before He ever says a word…I challenge you to sit quietly and say “here I am Lord…what would you like me to know today?”…no agenda…no wish list…just sitting quietly at His feet…enjoying His Presence…lavishing Him with praise…Practice Silence…you would be amazed at the many things that are hidden from us because we talk too much and listen too little…God is patiently waiting for us to stop speaking so that He can❤

“Give ear and come to me; listen that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David” Isaiah 55:3

In this season of giving…I have discovered a precious gift…one that is not spoken of enough…It is the gift of Certainty…There are so many things in this life that are uncertain…the world we reside in is constantly changing…what was a fabulous idea last year…is considered a thing of the past today…our economy..our government…our employment…even health and relationships are not exempt from change..so what in the world can we be certain of? The certainty that I am always loved even at my worst…that I am always heard…even when I’m not quite sure what I’m saying…that I am always in relationship with Him…that I have provision even when I can’t trace the resources…that I have position even when I’m lost…I think the greatest of all of the many gifts we may receive this season is the gift of knowing I am His..that no one or nothing…no calamity…no misstep on my part…no change in political parties..no new social referendum..no economic shift can alter His view of me…He sees me…He knows me…He knows the fearless me…the fearful me…the cautious me…the wreckless me…the caring me…the careless me…the responsible me…the irresponsible me…the hopeful me…the doubting me…ME..in all my turns and bends…in my good days and my bad days…when my weight is perfect…and when I’ve eaten all the wrong things…when my hair curls just right and when it has a mind of it’s own…He loves me even when I don’t…My God…and My Father..He loves me…ME…just ME…and that my dear sisters is the greatest gift…the gift of Certainty…I’m His…best gift ever❤

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

She started talking but not so much to us…it was as though she was having a dialogue with God and we were simply spectators…she began to speak into the life of her great grandson…this woman…my mother…this 91 year old seer of the treasures of God…you could tell that she spends an inordinate amount of time talking to Him…because she knew things that no one told her…she reached far down into the depth of her wealthy place and she began to deposit riches in our lives…she encouraged and challenged…she spoke and then would become silent as though she was getting more instructions to add to what was already spoken…we sat there and watched her flow from one realm to the other …she was on earth and then quickly shifted to heaven…her words were heavy with knowledge and wisdom…we were the beneficiaries of her overflow…she was speaking the things that God had shown her

..we all sat quietly..knowing that what was being said was coming from her mouth…but ultimately from the heart of God…sisters.. here’s what I know…when the seasoned warriors speak…get quiet..be still…listen…intentionally lean in…these words are life…and must be cherished…we will be responsible for them one day…

I’m sure you all remember being in kindergarten and having those wonderful moments when you could finally color your picture…you had listened to the lesson…you had learned the new letter or number…and now…it was time…finally time to color…and with all the enthusiasm of your five year old self…you began to pick your crayon…you went in with zeal and five year old joy…you grabbed that fat crayon and you colored…all over the paper…and then when you were thrilled with your masterpiece…you smiled warmly..so pleased at what you had done…only to hear a well meaning adult say…Oh…this is nice…but…you colored outside of the lines….what?…so this is wrong? But outside the lines is who I am…It’s who He created me to be… I feel free coloring outside of the lines…and then we learned…to conform…to be like everyone else…to train our crayon to behave…and stay inside the lines…but what if what He called me to do is…”an outside the lines assignment”…it takes not being like everybody else…it is unique…different….I know I am an “outside the lines” kind of girl…maybe you are too…maybe staying inside the lines has kept you from your true assignment…girl go get those crayons…and with great freedom…color outside the lines…now…doesn’t that feel better? He called us to be “Differencemakers”…and we always color outside of the lines❤

“Be not conformed to this world…but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” Romans 12:2

Sometimes we can become stuck…always doing things exactly the same way…it’s what we know…it is our normal…we typically eat the same things…we do our laundry on a certain day…we go to the same supermarket…we have the same friends…we pray the same prayers…we wear the same outfits in exactly the same way…we buy the same things week after week…we go to work the same way everyday…our lives are lived in the same boundaries everyday…we frown if anything shifts or changes…I know that road…why would I want to travel down another? Well..one day I decided to go against the grain…I was going to go another way…I was not familiar with this new road…but I was feeling stagnant..and I wanted to see something new and different….and you know what…I discovered this wonderful roadside farmer’s market…that I would never have experienced had I not decided to go another way…I believe Our Father often beckons us to leave what we know to learn something new…sometimes He wants us to approach Him in a different way…what we know is good…but learning more is always better…I found a new place going down an unfamiliar road…I believe we can find new dimensions in Him…if sometines we just decide to not do it the way we always do…if we venture on the road less travelled…we may find that new thing that we have been looking for…try it…go another way

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

Sometimes God will redirect our path…just when we think we have arrived at our “God Destination”….we are all settled in…and we put on our spiritual “cruise control”…we have finally figured out where we are going…and then…just as soon as we get that warm fuzzy feeling that we nailed this thing…He jerks our parachute and we begin floating in the opposite direction…we begin to panic…and we quickly look to the same God that we had just been glorifying…and full of anxiety…we say…”what are you doing?”…”where are we going now?”…ahhhh…the joys of following “a fluid God”…the One who does not need our approval for “quick flight changes”…the One who charts our course…and keeps the compass closed tightly in His big hand…because only He knows where we are going…here is the great comfort in all of this…following the God who knows me better than anyone…including me…I have come to this realization…just because I don’t know where I’m going does not mean I am lost…because eventhough I cannot see the final destination…I absolutely trust the pilot…I hope you do too❤

Sometimes life can lie to us…it can tell us that what we are living will last forever..it may tell us that we will never experience the warmth of the sun in our lives again…it can shroud the light and limit our vision.. .these are the times when we must know Him…we can not rely on feeling Him…we must know Him…we need to know how to find Him…it cannot be a simple search…it’s diligence…and a pressing in…it’s like a woman in labor…we must groan and push through the pain…sometimes we need a midwife nearby…coaching us…But…He is right there.. the lies of life will sometimes make us believe that He has moved…He hasn’t…instead it is us who have shifted our position…when I refocus and begin looking again for Him…it is He that always finds me…He will find you too…my sister…truth is…He never moved❤