Anyone who knows me…knows I love jewelry…I mean the good stuff…I love diamonds…and gold…I love the feel of a “good piece of jewelry”..I enjoy looking at estate jewelry…I admire different settings of diamonds…and one of my favorites is the pave’ setting…now for those of you who are not jewelry literate…pave‘ is simply tiny small diamonds that are set close together…so that no metal is seen…it is often set around a large solitaire diamond…the smaller diamonds compliment the large diamond…recently my pastor has been teaching on “the calling“…that is the thing that we have been uniquely created to do…the gift that the Father placed in us…The thing that will bring glory to Him…so…anyway..back to my jewelry…God said to me that we are like that pave‘ setting…we are the small diamonds called to draw attention to the large solitaire…our light is to shine bright enough that men and women are directed to look at the Father…so what am I saying…that the calling on our lives is not about us…that our gifts should not point men and women to us…but those things that He has given us…it’s all about HIM…we must always remember that we are the small diamonds…not the solitaire…and our one job is to shine in our calling bright enough that those who see us…will be pointed to the One who called us…and who is now calling them.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Father in all I do…let my words..my actions always point others to you…allow my life to speak loudly of your great presence in the earth…be exalted in my life…in Jesus name

Summertime is here…and we have had storms… we’ve had several bouts of lightning and thunder accompanied by torrential downpours…there have even been threats of tornadoes…each afternoon and evening our local news station would break in to give detailed instructions as to where the storm was heading….they also included what we should do to stay safe if the storm hit us…it made me think of how God prepares us for possible storms in our lives…everytime I read the word of God…that is preparation…each time I assemble for the corporate word…I am preparing…when I pray…I am preparing…when I open myself to wise counsel…I am preparing…God in His infinite wisdom is consistently tracking my life..and if I am well connected…I hear Him just as I hear our local meteorologist giving specific instructions how to weather this storm…it is impossible for me to know the exact track of the storm if I am not tuned in to the station…or if the station is on and I am distracted…it just becomes white noise in the background…If I am going to “ride the storm out” in safety…I must be prepared and I must stay focused….storms are a part of life…how well we manage them depends on whether we are listening to the One who tracks the storms and whether we follow all the instructions that are given…are you prepared? There are possible storms in the forecast…

“And he said to them, “Why are you afraid oh you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26

Father when my storms come…cause my heart to turn to you..let your Holy Spirit bring back to my remembrance all that I need to calm my fears and keep me filled with your hope and peace…so that I might ride out the storm with grace…in Jesus name

I am a part of a revolution…my church has a new initiative to reach young girls between the ages of 8 and 17…the idea of being able to give back…to assist…to walk alongside a girl and to help her see her significance in this world has always grabbed my heart…perhaps because growing up… for me…at times was challenging…I had many insecurities…and I was often labeled as “timid…or shy“…in fact the truth was I had very little confidence in who I was…there was always this spirit of inferiority that hovered over me…for many different reasons…But…I denied it…deep inside there lived this frightened little girl…I did not know how to protect her…I did not know how to make her more courageous….and because of this…I often settled for what was less than the best for me…as I grew into a woman…I had no idea that this little girl still resided within…her voice was at times…misunderstood…she often kept silent or spoke out of turn…because she felt abandoned…because of this she became fiercely independent…to her own detriment…she would not ask for help even when the weight of life was crushing her… she taught the woman how to respond…and how to think…so that sometimes when the woman needed to speak…only the voice of the girl could be heard…the little girl refused to grow up and get out of the way of the woman…until God showed the woman…that the little girl was still there and needed His attention…then He kneeled down and picked her up…and held her close…and began showing that sweet girl how precious she is to Him…how much He needed her to surrender and to cease from sabotaging the woman…His love became a teacher…and His grace slowly nurtured…that little girl is still there…but she’s no longer unruly..and fearful…she has become disciplined enough to remain silent when the woman needs to speak…and she remains seated when the woman needs to stand…but that little girl…completes the woman…she still loves to dance…and sing…and laugh…oh how she loves to laugh…she has found the safety of knowing that the Father has accepted her with all of her flaws…that He will protect her…He will provide for her..that when fear arises…He is the Lion of Judah just for her…that she can talk to Him and He will guide her to good choices…she has learned that she is safe with Him…she knows that no matter how old she becomes…she will always be His little girl…she belongs to Him…so then…the woman can be all that she needs to be… because the little girl is content and at peace…and now she teaches the woman how to practice that same contentment…I pray that as I walk alongside these precious girls…that all that my little girl needed…I am able to pour into them…so that their little girl will be so full that the woman enjoys her overflow. Sisters…how is your little girl doing? She’s in there…and she is either acting as a bridge or a barrier for the woman…ask God to locate her…and to love her back into her rightful position..

“God is within her she will not fall” Psalm 46:5

Father when the trauma and memories of my childhood rise up to falsely declare who I am…Lord remind me of your great love for me…for your total and complete acceptance of me…with all of my flaws…and cause my heart to run back to you…so that the woman can maintain her footing and the little girl can be calmed…in Jesus name

I am not who you think I am…I am not even who I think I am…I am who He says I am…I have lived nearly 7 decades…and what I realize is that I am still becoming…I have been told by many who I am…some of those identifiers were very positive…and then there were those that took on more of a negative connotation…I have throughout my life wrestled with the real me…at times feeling like a swan and at others…the ugly duckling…fighting to fit in…and be like those who seemed to be “getting it done“…life became more like a play than reality…there was a costume I donned for work…and then there was the one I wore with friends…there was also the church costume…so many masks…And sometimes even I became confused with what part I was playing…it has been within the last decade of my life…that I realized that my true identity had been stolen…that the woman God created me to be had been hidden by the demands of the world…and the deception of the enemy…and the internal monologue resonates… “don’t be yourself…they won’t accept you…don’t speak your truth…they will not like you…don’t show them that you know this or that…you don’t want to seem too smart…dumb yourself down enough so they feel comfortable…don’t let them know you don’t know this or that…you don’t want to appear stupid…make sure you don’t laugh too loudly…sit quietly…keep silent“…wow..so many rules…so many scripts…and then my Father…the One who knows my identity better than anyone…because He alone created it…said…”This is who you really are….you are wonderful…powerful…broken…restored…forgiven…refined…rescued…redeemed…reconciled…glorious…significant…infused with my Spirit…daughter…friend of God…you are in process…BECOMING all of this and so much more…this is who you are“…my identity was stolen…but the Authentic God’s desire was to know me….authentically…He is helping me BECOME…the woman…the warrior…He is the One who has loved me into this place of Becoming…and sisters…the power…the purpose…the truth of who I am…compels me to worship Him…The God who reclaimed my stolen identity…Sister…have you realized that you are not who others say you are? Are you Becoming too? I hope so❤

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

Lord…I thank you for restoring my identity…I thank you that in this process of becoming…my truth has been shifted from what others have said about me to what you know about me ..thank you for correcting a distorted picture of who I am…and for giving me the ability to see what you see…and to live that as my authentic truth…in Jesus name

How often do we question…”God where are you”? “Do you see what is happening”? “Do you see what they did to me”? “What I did to myself”? “Do you see where I am”? “Where is your grace”? “I cannot perceive your mercy”? “Do you even care”? I have murmured those words more times than I would like to admit…times of darkness in my life…whether it was financial…relational…health challenges…loss…and yes…even during crisis of faith…moments of despair…trying to find the hand of God…crying out to Him…and straining to hear Him respond…waves of hopelessness choking out the joy that once rested in my soul….shouting to a God that can hear my thoughts…weeping until the tears washed my face…until there was no strength left to fight…it is at this place of total surrender…when there are NO answers…when I have ceased from demanding that He speak to whatever it is that has crushed me…when I fall back into His arms…breathless…and winded…then I can detect His very presence…His calming spirit…His quiet witness in my life…His reminder that there is nothing that is happening to me now…has happened to me…or will happen to me… that does not concern Him…that He does not have a prescription for…that He does not SEE…HE IS THE GOD THAT SEES…EVERYTHING…AND EVERYONE…He saw the betrayal…He saw the disappointment…He saw the abuse…He sees the stress…He sees the anxiety…He sees the fear…and I promise you…He will rescue you…He will rescue me…He will not leave us to our own hopelessness…Because He cares for us…He only asks that we acknowledge that He is there…even when we cannot feel Him…when we cannot track Him with our hearts…we must lean in hard enough to see that we are engraved in His hands…and nothing…no calamity…no loss…no emotional whirlwind…no spiritual wandering…no internal earthquake…can make His eyes lose sight of us…He knows where each one of us are…at all times…at the same time…and He Sees…and we will recover…because He doesn’t just see…He redeems…He restores…He makes new..and we are healed…again and again…Sister…right now…YOU may feel like you are blind…but be encouraged… we serve the God who SEES🙌

“If I go up to the heavens, you are there If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”

Psalm 149:8

Lord when I am filled with despair…remind me that you see…that you are right beside me…and though I cannot see…you can…you hide me under the shadow of your wings…and you will pour your healing oil over my wounds… you will nurse me back to health…I will recover…you will redeem…I am never lost…because you always know where I am…I am never out of your sight…because you are the God that sees…in Jesus name

One of the most popular scriptures in the bible is the 23rd Psalm…if you were ever in a Sunday School classroom…I’m sure at some time this text was referenced…it was one of the first bible verses I committed to memory…but…have you ever thought of what it means to be shepherded? What does it mean to have the Lord walk in front of you for the rest of your life? What does that look like? To have the Lord chart your path…rather than you yourself? How would our lives look if we relinquished the lead and submitted to following? Would we have missed some of the ditches that we fell in? Would we have been more aware of the snares of the enemy if the Lord was in the lead and we were walking behind Him? Would we have learned how to navigate hardships if we had Him leading and showing us how? One of the most difficult parts of our Christian journey is surrendering to His leadership…to following…our basic human nature wants to lead…even when we have no idea where we’re going…that is the condition of the “fallen heart”…it is the result of the “fallen nature” of man…that questions the need to follow…we question the value of a shepherd…did God really mean for us to follow Him absolutely? I can think for myself…I believe I know what’s best for me…I know where I’m going…How many times have we taken the lead and halfway through the journey realized we were lost? To be led by the “Good Shepherd“…assures me that I will make it to my destination…that as I journey my soul will be rested…that through everything life throws at me…I will win…because the One who walks ahead of me is a Champion…He always wins…and He has never ever been lost…so sisters…if you have wandered away from the shepherd ..or if you are feebly attempting to lead yourself…fall back in line..get behind “The Good Shepherd” ..join the flock…this is one time when the pack mentality is a good thing…because every sheep…needs a shepherd…

“The lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough.”

Psalm 23:1 TPT

Lord…my soul desperately needs you…I am often tempted to go off on my own…my heart can be reckless and filled with thoughts that lead me away from you…Holy Spirit capture my wayward wandering and gently nudge me back to the safety of the shepherd who loves me…even when I don’t want to be led…thank you for finding me over and over again…and restoring my soul…in Jesus name

Sometimes sitting quietly clears the clutter from your mind…sometimes it is good to allow yourself space not to analyze…or try to determine what comes next…sometimes stepping away from the things that consume you gives you clearer vision..sometimes doing nothing is everything…sometimes movement can wait…sometimes being still is what’s needed…sometimes inventory must be taken before anything else is added…sometimes energy must be given to rest…sometimes there is quiet joy in measuring your own breaths…in watching the majestic rhythm of your diaphragm simply going up and down…sometimes the phone must be quieted…sometimes the din of technology and the rush “to do” must be resisted…sometimes…it is enough to simply be…so that you can be recharged…renewed…and realigned….sometimes that’s all you need…to regain your focus…and restore HIS perspective for your life…sometimes….

“So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” Mark 6:32

Lord, when I am moving so fast and my day is cluttered…Father would you quiet me long enough to see you and would you exchange my perspective for yours..so that eventhough there is much I must do…my soul is resting while I do it…In Jesus name

I remember when I walked in her office…she was offering me a job that I did not want to take…I didn’t want to be there…I had asked God for a job but this certainly couldn’t be His answer…I had seen myself doing something more significant…something that was greater…I had ability that was beyond this…and the wages for this job was minimal…As I sat in her office…I was deflated…I felt like God had forgotten me…How could He think that this is what I prayed for? It was not what I wanted…but this woman began speaking…and what she said reminded me…of my prayer when I asked Him for a job…I said…”Lord I don’t just want a job…I want whatever I do…to have purpose and meaning..I want to be an agent of change in the place that you send me”…so as this gentle woman spoke…her words began to invade my thoughts…she whispered “you are an answer to my prayers“…as she spoke…my arrogance became humility and I realized that this was not a job at all…this was a divine assignment…I took the job…and every day was harder than the day before…the tension in that place was palpable…I considered resigning weekly…I begged God to release me…but an assignment only ends when the thing that is to be accomplished has been fulfilled…I discovered later what she meant when she said I was an answer to her prayers…there was a “giant” in this place that needed to be slain…and the Lord called me to be a “David”…the assignment was mine…and He had equipped me with all that I needed to not only face the giant but to remove him to restore peace…I knew why I was there and what seemed like a position that was beneath me…had now become something great…the thing that I thought was meaningless…was full of purpose…I was sent there to be a deliverer…to set captives free…to shift the atmosphere…no…it was not easy…but the rewards were amazing…the pay was not much…but the kingdom of God rejoiced….and I received the overflow…to be used by God…to be trusted to restore order…to see His power in me shift the atmosphere…there is no paycheck that can compare to hearing heaven applauding and knowing that the Father is pleased…this wonderful woman and I are still friends and we sometimes speak of our first encounter…we both know that God used us to defeat the powers of darkness in that place…Sister…I pray that if God has assigned you to a place to combat darkness… to exude light…to exact change…to defeat the enemy…I pray that you don’t view it as I did initially…that you don’t see it with your natural eyes…but that you would remember what you prayed and that you will accept whatever the assignment is…I promise you…He chose you..and you will experience His power in a new and different way …your reward will be great and you will hear heaven applaud…you may think it’s just a job…and maybe it is…but suppose it is an assignment…

“But get up and stand on your feet, for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you. Acts 26:16

Lord…in everything that I do…please remind me that there is always something greater attached to what I see…allow me to recognize why you have called me…and give me your strength to accomplish what you have assigned me to do…in Jesus name

A normal part of my day is having the pleasure of taking my grandson to school…today was no different than any other day…except…my heart was heavy…I have been preparing to say my final goodbyes to a dear friend…her celebration of life is tomorrow…and I’ve been remembering the many times that we had spent together…she was a true sister/friend…she helped me find my smile again…after a painful divorce…she showed up when I had no transportation and took me and a sick toddler to the emergency room…she listened to my pain…and sat with me in my despair…she was a babysitter when I needed to breathe…an encourager when I had lost hope…yes…my heart was heavy…as I looked up from my thoughts…I saw several children getting in line…waiting to go in to start their day…but they were dressed up…in their Sunday Best…the little girls were in beautiful dresses and the little boys had ties and dress shirts…their excitement was intoxicating..so I leaned in to a boy..and I asked..”is there something special happening today?”…he said…It’s Moving Up Day…the school only goes to the third grade..and then they move up to another school…and today was the celebration of those who had reached that milestone…all of a sudden…my heaviness lifted…I could hear God say…” she’s moved up“…your dear friend…has left this place…because she has accomplished what I had assigned her hands to do…she is as excited as these children that you see…thank you God..for interrupting my lament…and reminding me…that tomorrow…we celebrate….Her Moving Up Day…I’m sure I will cry…but not in despair…but for the warm moments we shared and the great impact that her life had on mine…my perspective has been realigned…she’s Moving Up..and I will celebrate!

“But we do not want you to be uninformed brothers about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13

I will be the first to admit I am not a technology geek…I can do the basics…but not much more…so imagine my concern when I realized my cell phone was not holding a charge for very long…it seemed that I would charge it overnight…it would be 100% in the morning….but just a few hours later…it would quickly lose power…I thought surely there’s something wrong with this phone…so…I took it back to the store…I told the salesman what was happening…how the charge wasn’t lasting very long…he immediately looked at my phone…and started pressing buttons…he declared “this is your problem…you have several apps open…and they are “running silently in the background…they are zapping your power”…you have to shut down everything in the background” to maintain your charge…REVELATION…if you are feeling drained…if it seems as though your power is not being increased…perhaps you have a lot of things running silently in the background..maybe your subconscious thoughts are diminishing the power of God in your life …have you ever thought about the things that consume your mind throughout your day? The self speak that runs quietly in the background? The silent conversations that drain you…I understand clearly why God gave us a list of things to think of in Philippians 4:8..because He knew that our thought life drives our ability to tap into His great power…if I tell myself I am unable to do something…it will be extremely difficult to achieve whatever that thing is…so eventhough there is power present it is diminished by the thoughts I have running in the background…that poorly charged cell phone taught me an astonishing lesson…I must turn off the quiet noise that steals the power that keeps me charged to do the things that God has created me to do…when we become aware of what weakens us…we have to learn strategies to shut those things down…so that we can be fully charged all day…

“So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising Him always.” Philippians 4:8 TPT

Father…when I feel my strength draining…when I am constantly weak…please show me what thoughts are running quietly in the background and stealing my power…teach me how to think…and restore my strength