Wow…we are already a month into the new school year…summer has drawn her last gasps of breath…and just like that we are right smack in the middle of change…we must realize that change is inevitable…that everything that God creates experiences change…I look at my social media pages and I literally watch children growing up…parents posting side by side pictures of last year and this year…the differences are significant…children grow up…seasons change…we must change…if we are to be effective in our spiritual lives…change is necessary…we can no longer sit in our stagnation…and make excuses… we must become teachable...just as each year… children move up to the next grade…we must move up too…we will be challenged because we’ve never been at this level before…the work we did last year will help us in the new work we must do this year…but we must get ready to see things differently…listen attentively to the teacher because His instructions will help us pass this class…I love the new school year and all the excitement it brings…it means I am still growing…that I have new adventures waiting for me…that my Great Instructor feels I’m ready to go to the next grade…sisters…take good notes…listen carefully…be a ready learner…because…after you learn it…He expects you to teach it…refuse to believe you know it All…that there’s not another way to do it…be open and approachable…allow God to pour wisdom in daily…be willing to change your perspective as He gives new insight…and…be open everyday to learn something new…about Him and about you…allow Him to unfold each dimension of the you that only He knows…keep growing…there’s so much more to learn!

“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.”

Proverbs 1:5

Lord…keep me always as your student…willing and ready to learn more about you and your ways as you teach me more about who you created me to be…unwrap each dimension of me as I dive deeper in my knowledge of you…in Jesus name

So…last night I received a frantic call from a dear sister…she had just spoken with her daughter…her 4 year old granddaughter had just had surgery…a tonsilectomy…a surgery that is probably done many times a day in many hospitals throughout the country…it’s considered a simple procedure…but…not for this little one…she could not be awakened…the doctor’s had given several reasons why they felt this happened…but they just could not get her to respond…this now had become a medical emergency…so her loving grandmother…called for prayer…our church has this amazing call to prayer..we have small cell groups and we alert the members of that group…there is a prayer team…and elders and of course our pastor…alerts are sent to everyone…and people stop what they are doing…and pray…I had prayer with the grandmother…and then alerted all the groups who are called to pray…the grandmother had about an hour’s drive to get to her distraught daughter and her precious grandbaby…I asked everyone to agree with me in prayer that God would have that baby awakened by the time her grandmom got there…and guess what? Yes…my God…Our Powerful God did just that…when she got there…her grandbaby was sitting up in her hospital bed…the doctor said as they were rushing her to ICU she awakened…they really couldn’t explain the turn around…but for all of us who were standing in the gap for this little girl…her mom…and her grandmom…we knew why what was a medical emergency was no longer a thing of concern….the power of prayer…and the mercy of a loving Father…Have you ever dropped everything and began to intercede on someone else’s behalf? There is nothing like that feeling…when you know there is a community of people talking to God about a common thing…and the feeling that you get when you hear that God moved and granted your request…that little girl is back on her way to health because people believed in the power of prayer…that they knew that the only prescription that could help this little girl would have to be written by the kingdom of God…and it worked…prayer works…and God hears…and He answers…we experienced it with great power last night…I continue to stand in awe of God…I know He can do anything…but…each time He does…it’s always like the first time…What do you do when crisis comes calling? Where do you go when life is hurled at you like a fast ball? I hope you pray…and I hope you have people in your life who can pray for you as well…there is nothing that brings peace more than knowing…”I’m good…they’re praying for me”…thank you God for teaching us that one voice crying out to you is a good thing…but oh… when many voices unite…that power causes heaven to fling the door wide open…and like a squad…we rush in…and we receive mercy…

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24

Father…thank you for hearing us..for inclining your ear to your children…for sending mercy…for dispensing grace…and for loving us enough to hear our cries day and night…you are always accessible and never deny us…thank you for your great love…in Jesus name

I was jolted awake…I sat straight up in the bed…I felt a heavy burden to pray…Immediately my mind drifted to my son…I looked at the clock…and saw that it was after 11pm…I jostled my husband awake and asked him if our son was in yet…he said he didn’t know…so I checked his room…he was not there…I began to pray…I knew the Lord had awakened me…and I knew that it was my son who needed my prayers…I called him…When he answered I could hear the concern in his voice…he was lost…in a city that he was not familiar with…this was before GPS…so I put his dad on the phone…he has a keen sense of direction and knew much about the city our son was in…he asked our son for landmarks…so he could get a better sense of where he was…unfortunately it was in a part of that city that was known for crime…and at that moment he saw several men coming toward him in an ominous way…his dad and I are instructing him what to do…my mother’s heart was beginning to feel fear….but the spirit of God said pray…and I did…I said..”Lord send someone to help…we don’t know where he is…but You do”…suddenly he saw a gas station…we told him to pull in there…and just as suddenly a woman approached our son and realized that he was lost…we could hear the exchange between he and the lady…we could hear her giving him explicit directions on how to get back home…when she finished…I could hear the relief in my son’s voice…I quickly said…”son…thank the lady”…he said…”Mom..she’s gone” “What? What do you mean?”…”He said I don’t see her anywhere”…I knew at that moment…that God awakened me to pray for.my son’s safety…and as I prayed He dispatched an angel to safely guide him home…I will never forget this encounter…It is a constant reminder to me…that the power of prayer elicits miracles…the Father reacts to the cries of His children…and a mother’s prayers are weighty…they summon the heart of the God that hears and answers.

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:11

Lord…thank you for your great protection….your angels surround me…they listen and obey every instruction you give…your love and care for me makes me feel secure…it relieves my fear and draws me closer to you..you are a Good Father…thank you for being my peace… in Jesus name…

You know what I love? I love how God sees me…that He sees me in the way that He created me to be…He does not see me broken…He sees me whole…He does not see me worried…He sees me full of hope…He does not see me lacking…He sees me full and abundant…He does not see me questioning…He sees me confident in Him…He does not see me full of sin…but instead He sees me clean…and washed by His son’s shed blood…Have you ever shared the joy of a woman who has just received her first ultrasound of the precious life that is growing within her? Can you remember the excitement and the pride that was shown on her face? How she carefully outlined the features of that little face…how she tried to get you to see the resemblance of other family members..Be honest now…many times it just looked like a little glob…but you pretended that you saw every tiny detail that she saw…after all…you didn’t want to admit…”I don’t see what you see”…well…God feels about us exactly like that mother feels about her little one…He marvels at the great person He has created but we just can’t see it…He oohs and aahs over what He sees…and He like that giddy mother…sees only the finished product…His eyes are like the eyes of that mother…they are filled with love…and He sees our future self…He tries to show us how we resemble Him…how He created us in His image…He traces the similarities…and we struggle to see them…we see the glob…but He sees the glory…He reminds us that we are His…and no matter how we see ourselves…He will never agree with the the unfinished ultrasound picture…His eyes are fixed on the finished work…the whole and complete you and me…and He gently leads us to that version…that is the great journey that He guides us through daily…He lovingly changes our opinion of ourselves…He takes us from “glob to glory“…He sees the me…that I cannot see…and He won’t let me settle for anything less…I love how He loves me…

“Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. And in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are your thoughts to me Oh God! How great is the sum of them!” Psalm 139: 16-17

Lord…help me to see me as you see me…Father…when the enemy of my soul tries to convince me that I am nothing…that I don’t matter…that you don’t care…Father remind me of the picture of that loving mother that sees the end as she looks at the beginning…remind me of your great love for me and steady me with your righteous right hand…in Jesus name

This morning I awakened with my grandmother on my mind…I lovingly called her Mother…she was my entry way to salvation…she lived her faith out loud…her life preached Christ with laser precision…Oh how I loved her…love her…Oh how I miss her….her life was not easy…she had many trials…one being…a man who had many archaic ideas about women and their place in society…she loved this man..and so did I…but…it was hard…she made it look easy…she taught me that even when loving someone is difficult…love them anyway…I saw her smile when harsh words were sent her way… I can remember seeing her quietly moving her lips in silent prayer…she refused to fight darkness with darkness…she was light…and she taught me that only light can dispel darkness…did I mention how much I love/loved her? She gave me her sense of humor…she found laughter in the bleakest places…joy was her daily garment…as I watched her live a long productive life (God gave her 96 rich…beautiful years)…I saw the Father’s influence in every facet of this amazing woman…as I close my eyes I can see her sitting in her overstuffed chair reading her Bible…she would be weeping…I would ask her if she was sad…and she would smile and say…”no child…these are happy tears”…I now understand those profound words… that is the place where she drew her strength…where her value and worth were affirmed…where she found her freedom…the tears were her thank offering to the God who renewed her smile each time she visited…her life is still teaching me…her words still resonate in my soul…I can hear her laughter…the thought of her great faith has helped to produce great faith in me…I listened to the sermon of her life…and it continues to strengthen me…she gave me my first glimpses of a life led by God…she whet my appetite for living a life that could withstand the winds of change…and the chill of adversity…her words are still life to me…I hope my words are weighty enough to resonate in the lives of those who heard them…I pray…one day someone will wake up with me on their mind…and remember my faith…how about you?

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and now, I am sure dwells in you as well.”

2 Timothy 1:5

Lord…remind me daily that there are others watching me…teach me to speak with your words…teach me how to love the unloveable…and allow my faith to increase the faith of others…Lord make my life meaningful in the lives of others …in Jesus name

I have lived long enough to know that life can come at you like a fast ball…there are things that catch us off guard…one moment you are checking off the endless list of “things to do” and then you are paralyzed by news that alters your life…I was recently reminded of one of those moments in my life…I was doing all the things that a wife and a working mother of two children would be doing…planning this thing and that thing…hurrying to this place and that place…My husband and I were even taking evening classes to strengthen our knowledge of the bible….everything was scheduled and my life was this long checklist…until..the phone call…This is the Breast Health Center….we need you to return for further testing…my breast cancer journey began with that call…and life as I had known it came to a screeching halt…none of the important things were important anymore…silly disagreements…daily frustrations…minor irritations…all suddenly faded away…and all that mattered was that one sentence…”you have breast cancer”…I felt like the kids on “Charlie Brown” when the adults were speaking…wawawawawawa…in an instant…suddenly…I needed the peace of God…to clear my hearing…to organize my thoughts…and to lead me into a quiet safe place…I whispered…JESUS…that was it…no flowery prayer…no poetic words…just JESUS…and you know what…like a fog being lifted…like the quiet sound of the early morning…I was able to think again…peace found me…I simply called on the name that breaks up the darkness…that makes demons tremble…that name walked me through that darkness called Cancer…and led me back to the light…in October of this year it will be 22 years ago that I received that call…and I have lived many more moments when life hit me so hard that the longest prayer I could pray…was JESUS..that’s it…but I have found…that…that is ENOUGH…His name is a complete prayer…that makes it’s way to the Father…and summons His attention…I draw great peace in knowing that when life comes at me fast…His name can slow everything down…and usher me back into peace…JESUS…the most powerful name can be spoken and whatever is wrong can become right again…JESUS…thank you!

“There is none like you, Oh Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might.” Jeremiah 10:6

Lord…thank you for hearing my desperate cries…for calming my spirit….for steadying my shakey hands….for regulating my racing heart…for lifting my bowed down head…for restoring my hope…all..by simply whispering the great name of Jesus…be exalted in my life…you alone are my refuge…in Jesus name…Amen

As we sat around the table we greeted each other and exchanged quick hugs…we listened to why we were summoned…this band of women who hold many titles…wife…mother…daughter…aunt…mentor…counselor…grandmother…business woman…but most especially… Leader…it was good to just speak fluidly with no real agenda…no ministry assignments…just gathering to do an emotional check in…to listen to the rhythm of the hearts in the room…I’m always amazed at how quickly we as women can connect…how our communication can drift from surface to depth in a single question…we stopped to listen to each sister…the room grew quiet as each heart was heard…this was a safe place to remove our capes…to throw our “Wonder Woman” bracelets on the table…to cry…to confess the things that rest on our hearts…we wear many titles…but woman is the first one that Our Father gave us…we lived woman last night…we were called out to rest…to speak life into each other…to declare…we are in this together…what rests on your heart…rests on mine…and I will help you carry it…women warriors…doing many things…wearing many hats…meeting the needs of many people…last night…we met the needs of each other…and it was good…and it was cleansing…and it was necessary…we spoke in silence…that we are strong…but we are also weak…that we need each other….and we need to do this more often…we learned that although we lead..we are not exempt from the cares of life…that we must stop long enough to breathe…to just be woman…we did that last night…and it felt good…it was the medicine that we didn’t know we needed…we learned a valuable lesson…that sometimes just being together is enough…we ended our time together praying for each other…we grabbed our capes and bracelets from the table…we placed them back on….and we returned to all that awaited us…but we were lighter as we left the room…sisters…if you lead anything at all…please take the time to exhale with women who are not afraid to see you unmasked…and raw…it will be good for all of you❤

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Father…thank you for giving us the courage to be transparent before our sisters…thank you for allowing us to remove the masks and just be women..allow us to rest from our labor…and to be prayed for and poured into…as we use our gifts to pour into others…thank you for restoring all that we need to be more effective servants for you..in Jesus name…Amen

I often think of the tools that are in the enemy’s arsenal…He has these weapons that he skillfully forms…he eavesdrops on our conversations…he listens as we rehearse our discontent…as we rewind old tapes…and review old hurts…and then when we are the weakest and the most disconnected from our Source… he pounces…with one of his strongest weapons…FRUSTRATION…he wields it…and we quickly drop…we quit on our assignments…we give up on the people that we were meant to influence…we leave the assigned place for a “place of comfort“…and then to justify our actions…we often say that God moved us…we will even find people to agree with our decision to abort the mission that was once ours…FRUSTRATION will lead us directly into the mouth of the enemy…it will cost us valuable time…and our power will be diluted…because we refused to endure until the end…I have learned that our victories…and our promotions are often preceded by our greatest FRUSTRATIONS…it’s during those times when it feels like we can not continue…that we must hold fast the course…we must stand still…we must trust God…and we must ask the question…God…where are you in this?…What are YOU saying?…begin the conversation…because He is present…He will calm our restless hearts…invade our thought lives..realign our souls with the plans that He has for our lives…and remind us that movement without His guidance will only delay our destiny…FRUSTRATION is simply a sign that there is greater on the horizon…the enemy sees that what is next will bring our God great glory…and instead he wants the glory…sisters…don’t let him have it…ask God to keep you…to hold you…to restrain your heart from moving away from His commanded thing…and to settle you…to seal you…to make you steadfast and unmoveable…always abounding in the work of the Lord…so that you will be a Finisher…that though FRUSTRATION visits…it cannot reside…thank Him for the plan He has for your life…and tell Him…that with His help…everything that He promised you…that He planned for you will come to past…because you are aware of the tools of the enemy…you have studied his strategies and you know that they are not stronger than the hand of God.

“And do not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9

Father…each time frustration enters our hearts…fill us with your peace and your purpose…remind us that you are taking us somewhere…and that the enemy wants to abort the plan that you have for our lives…give us the spirit of a Finisher…so that our lives can bring you glory…in Jesus name

Finally I am ready to write about my last two weeks…they have been a roller coaster of emotions….I have cried…and laughed…then cried and laughed again…I have questioned God…I have rehearsed every conversation she and I had…I smile when I remember her words…and I cry when I remember her pain…She was a force…a woman of great grace…and unending faith…she sat in my Sister Circle…and her very presence encouraged those who watched her endure until the very end…I visited her at home and in the hospital…and each time I left her I felt more confident in the God whom she rested in…even in her weakened body…her spirit was jubilant and full of faith…last week she transferred her citizenship from this world to the kingdom of God…I was an observer of her life full of faith…I am changed because of it….she lived the Bible…the verses on suffering with grace were seen in her words and in her actions…her resolve at the end was…”I win either way…if He heals me here…I win…but if He chooses to heal me in heaven…then I am eternally healed…I’m good either way”…When I heard her words I knew…that our earthly friendship would soon end…she was ready…I wasn’t…so…God and I wrestled it out…and finally my soul rested in the fact that….her struggle had ended…and her soul had taken flight….how could I fight God on this…I agreed with Him…He knows what’s best…and He reminded me…that I will see her again…not as she was…but as He created her to be…perfect…without disease…no sickness…whole…and that made my heart happy…and my mourning turned to dancing…and though at times when I think of her…a tear sneaks down my face…I am at peace with His decision…she has joined the great cloud of witnesses and cheers me and all those who loved her to finish our race as strongly as she finished hers…well done…Naomi…you not only taught us how to live in Christ…you taught us how to suffer in Him also…thank you…I am sure heaven smiled when with that great big personality of yours…you walked confidently through their door and declared…I Am Here!!❤

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15

Lord…thank you for teaching us your ways…not just through your word…but through your people…thank you for the life of Naomi that taught us that though the body fails…your spirit grows stronger…thank you for allowing us to see what “a life well-lived” truly looks like…in Jesus name

What does my life say to those who I encounter? I was sitting in worship last week…and this divine question was posed…Who Do You Say I Am? As our pastor preached this word lifted from Matthew 16:15…there were moments of deep reflection…the way I live my life informs everyone who I say that He is…I can declare with my mouth…all that Jesus means to me…and all that He is doing…or has done for me…but my actions…my behavior…my very countenance can tell a totally different story…I realize that even when my mouth is not speaking…my life…that is my choices…my conversations…my pursuits tell the world…who I say that He is…it’s in the mountain top and valley moments that I declare with a loud voice…who He is…it’s when things are good and when they are not…when I’m well and when I’m sick…when I’m prospering and when I am suffering lack…when my relationships are full of harmony and when there is discord…that I must question who are you in this Jesus? Who do I say that you are? Do I know enough about you and your character to give you my emotions…to relinquish my offenses…to push aside my disappointments…to surrender my discouragement… to declare to all who are watching…You are the Messiah the Son of the Living God….I have spent sufficient time with you…to trace your character…to recognize your power…to sense your mercy….to witness your grace…and then all that you are becomes clear to me….You are Deliverer…Reconciler…Provider…Peace Giver…Restorer…Life Changer…Priest…King…Saviour…You are All of that and so much more…but most importantly…You Are Good…Good for me…Good to me…Good in me…May my life declare not just who I say you are….but who I KNOW YOU To Be…May the world hear my life speak…may my life preach a sermon that changes the perspective and opinions of man and who they think You are…Sisters…Who do you say that He is?

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah the Son of the Living God.” Matthew 16:15-16

Lord this world is filled with opinions as to who you are…would you live loud enough through me that when they encounter me…they will encounter you…and they will want to know you as Messiah…the Son of the Living God