You Are The Best Idea

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

Forget To Remember

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ro·man·ti·cize
/rōˈman(t)əˌsīz/
verb
  1. deal with or describe in an idealized or unrealistic fashion; make (something) seem better or more appealing than it really is.

Transition is the uncomfortable space between where / who, you were, and where/who you are hoping to be or become.   The pain of transition can make us romanticize about what life was “before.” Continue reading

All You Have, Is All You Need

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All of your experiences, all of your pain, all of your disappointments, all of your victories, everything about you is necessary for your Purpose. There is not one thing that you have, tangible or intangible, that is unnecessary. It is the sum total of it all that God will maximize, and allow you to thrive in your Calling, Continue reading

Trusting over Feeling

Trust Wooden Letterpress Concept

Yes, [God] wants you to sense His Presence, but He’s more concerned that you trust Him than that you feel Him. Faith, not feelings, please God   -Rick Warren

Do you ever feel like God is hiding from you?  Have you ever felt like you were going through the toughest time in your life, and He was no where to be found,  or like your heartfelt prayers were unheard? If you’ve felt these or similar feelings, what were your responses?

I certainly have had times in my life where it seemed like God was silent.  I have cried myself to sleep many nights, wondering if God was even listening to my intense pleas for comfort, clarity, and/or direction. These seasons in my life where God has seemed silent were some of the most challenging times in my faith journey.  My responses have varied during these times.  There have been times when God’s seeming distance made me shut down,  and there  have been times when His seeming distance made me pray more and continue to intentionally draw closer to Him.  There have been times in these seasons when I have felt alone,  depressed,  lost,  and even forgotten….

If  you haven’t experienced these times of seeming distance,  it is inevitable that you eventually will,  You may even be enduring one of these seasons as you read this, and I want you to know that God has not forgotten you. In fact, it is impossible for Him to forget you. Your ability to inhale and exhale in this moment testifies that He hasn’t.  Most importantly,  your breath is evidence that you have not reached the end of your life’s story,  so that means,

 IT AIN’T OVER,  and God’s goodness for your life is still ahead of you! 

Continue reading

Surrendered

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Victory comes through surrender. Surrender doesn’t weaken you; it strengthens you. Surrendered to God, you don’t have to fear or surrender to anything else

~Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life

As much as I’ve understood that “Surrender” is necessary in my personal relationship with God , I had never thought of surrender as being a position of continual VICTORY.  Yet, when I read those words, they immediately  resonated with me, and awakened me to a greater desire to be fully surrendered to God.  Continue reading

Rejoice! God is with us!!

…The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means, ‘God is with us’)  Isaiah 7:14

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Today, I join my praise and worship with Christ Followers around the world, pausing and giving thanks to my Heavenly Father for sending Jesus, to ransom my life from the bondage of hopelessness,  shame, and fear.

To ransom is, to free from captivity or punishment by paying a price.

Because of Jesus, I was delivered from captivity! Before I encountered Jesus,  I was a hostage to my circumstances. Bound by the unjust things that had happened to me, and limited by my own ignorant choices. I was without hope, constrained by shame, and  enslaved to fear. Thanks be unto God, because He did not leave me in that state of darkness and confusion.  Instead, He sent Jesus, just as He had promised the Prophet Isaiah, some 700 years prior, that He would. It was the Father’s unconditional love that made a way for me to be saved, freed, delivered.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him would be saved.   (John 3:16-17)

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“Hot and Bothered” #30Layers30Days -#TBT , #BlogLikeCrazy

I am,  HOT, frustrated, and set a blazed,  for broken women who are alone, silenced and put to shame. 

I am BOTHERED, annoyed, yes PISSED,  that we live in a culture that requires women to hold up tattered banners of  UN-BOTHERED-NESS!  Continue reading