The idea of you precedes your conception. God knew you before you were knit together. And, He envisioned all that you would be and spared nothing from the inside out, designing you perfectly.
When the Master Creator completed You, His Exquisite Masterpiece, He marveled at His expertise, and He declared Continue reading
Dearest Grieving Daughter,
I am writing you this letter on the Eve of my 7th Mother’s Day without my mother, and my 14th Mother’s Day, married, without a child. And this is the first year in the past 7 that I am approaching Mother’s Day doing “just fine.” I have been doing SO fine, in fact, that I have been surprised. Leading up to this weekend, I have been checking myself regularly, and giving myself space to feel the weight of emotions that I typically have learned to expect and make space for during this time of year, but I haven’t been able to find my usual sorrowful outpouring of silent, private tears, nor can I find my usual “May” visitors, PAIN, SHAME, and DEFEAT. I don’t share that with you to boast of myself or my own strength. I don’t share it as a badge of honor, to say, “Look at me,” no, I decided to begin this letter sharing this with you because I am a testimony of what God will do for His Daughters who find themselves in the throes of sorrow.
As I searched for Tears, Pain, Shame, and Defeat, I found instead, a burden on my heart for you, God’s Grieving Daughters. Women who have come to dread this time of year completely. Women who don’t feel like there is much to “celebrate” this weekend. So I wanted to write you a letter to tell you that you are not forgotten, and to assure you that there is indeed hope on the other side of your pain. I want to be very clear, this letter is not only intended for women who have lost a mother to death. I am also writing to women who have had to live with the pain of barrenness, women whose mothers are alive, but they are estranged from them, women who have buried children, or lost them to the judicial system in the form of incarceration, and women who are raising their children to the best of their ability, Continue reading
In order for you to see God complete what He began in you, you must exercise the courage to keep going! Motion is the responsibility of the believer, so keep moving toward the promises God has made you because that is the only way to obtain them!
Step by step, I assure you, Continue reading
How many times have you desperately turned some thing or someone over to God, only to go back and try to handle it/ them yourself once the emotions that led you to surrender fade?
Last week, I shared the immense impact that reading Purpose Driven Life had on me this year. On Sunday evenings for the next several weeks, I want to share some of the impactful principles in the book. My hope is that you would be encouraged, and also intrigued to consider reading, or maybe even re-reading the book as well.
The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears
-Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life
I am entering 2018 joyfully sober.
Today, as I thought about the coming year, the word SOBER kept ringing in my ears, so much so that I looked up the definition. Of the many differing definitions, this is what stood out to me,
Quiet in demeanor, Free from exaggeration, showing self control
Going into a new year, we tend to be SO LOUD. There’s so much to prove because no matter how great, or how horrible the current year has been, the next year must be better, bigger, and greater. So we eagerly pop off to our friends, loved ones, and followers, proclaiming all of the many things we are going to accomplish in the coming year. Yet, today as I pondered my own desires for 2018, I challenged myself not to be intoxicated by the possibilities of a new year, without being disciplined enough to count up the cost of my goals. Jesus said, Continue reading
Regret is looking for you. It wants to suck the life out of your hopes, g
oals, and dreams for 2018. It wants to remind you of all of the things you set out to do this time last year, but you did not accomplish in 2017. It wants to prove to you that you are not enough, and it wants to convince you that there is no use in even trying because you will end up with the same results.
What I want you to know is that regret is a LIAR. You are enough, you don’t have to stay chained to the should-haves, could-haves, and would-haves of your life. Your freedom has already been divinely purchased, and it is God’s will that you walk in your freedom, be released from guilt, shame, and defeat and begin to move forward. Continue reading
If you know me personally, you’d be surprised that I am even entertaining the topic of “Haters.” I am known by my friends for despising this entire discussion. I think people have a lot less haters than they think, and I also think people cheat themselves out of meaningful relationships because they are fearful of , or assume people are “hating.” 
Yet, as I read and wrote tonight’s Scripture passage, found in Luke 23: 33-38, I was inspired to dedicate this one discussion to the “Haters”, after all, they do exist, and I’ve never argued that.
In the text, we find Jesus being Crucified. In the midst of being tortured and mocked, He isn’t feeling sorry for Himself, and He is not angry at the people who are responsible for His Crucifixion . Instead, He concerns Himself with their well-being. And instead of cursing them, He prays,
Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).
Have you watched the movie The Passion of Christ? I have only seen it once at the movie theater when it was first released. I found myself crying and burying my face in my hands so many times during the graphic depiction of the Crucifixion. I can remember thinking to myself, “You need to face this,” but no amount of “self-coaching” would allow me to keep from turning away periodically. It was so difficult to watch , and I can 
only imagine that it was much worse than what was depicted on the screen. Tonight’s passage is from Luke 23:26-30. I read it several times focusing on each verse. I kept coming back to verse 26,
As they led Jesus away a man named Simon who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can be a little abrupt and disorganized. Don’t get me wrong, I have the capacity to be extremely organized and strategic, but it’s definitely in doses. The thing is, I am just not naturally “wired” that way. If I want to be well-organized, I have to really put in the effort because my organization and meticulous skills come and go in phases. Since this is something that I am actively working on, I was truly enlightened and inspired by Jesus’ attention to detail in today’s passage, found in 
Matthew 21: 1-11. Continue reading
Hope Notes 
