Hope

SOBER

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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 →

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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Where I Live – #30Layers30Days + #BlogLikeCrazy

Growing up it bothered me when I’d hear people say, “I stay there,” in reference to their home, opposed to saying, “I LIVE there.” I would often correct my friends,  “Don’t you mean live there?”   Most people use those two, live and stay, synonymously in this context.  Yet, to me there is a significant difference between the two.  Continue reading →

“A Cracked Door” #30Layers30Days #BloglikeCrazy

We value doors of opportunity that swing wide open to us because they confirm our greatness. Open doors  give us courage, they build our confidence, and they affirm that we are valuable to others. An open door is an indication that we have been seen, that we matter, and that someone appreciates something that we possess.

If an open door affirms our value, then a cracked door just might make us question it.  We may become Continue reading →

“The Right Person” – #30Layers30Days + #BlogLikeCrazy

 

I can’t say that I was waiting for you, but I am thankful that you found me.   I can’t say that I “always knew” because when I met you, I was fully content with being with me. 

I can’t say it was “love at first sight” because though you were immediately handsome to my eyes, I was not looking for love. Continue reading →

“Over Too Soon” #30Layers30Days + #BlogLikeCrazy

Had you caught me several years ago,  I would have had  no problem writing about some experience that I thought was “Over too Soon.”  I likely would have written about the unexpected death of my mother, how the loss of her tangible presence had devastated me, and how I was certain that at just 49 years old, and fairly healthy, she was gone “Too Soon.”  Or maybe I would have kept it light and discussed some pleasant vacation, event, or moment that I desperately did not want to come to an end. Those options would have worked perfectly then, but certainly not now.

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“The Idea of You” #30Layers30Days #BlogLikeCrazy

The idea of you precedes your conception. You were known before you were knit together. The Master Creator envisioned all that you would be, and He spared nothing, from the inside out, designing you perfectly.
When the Master Creator completed You, His Exquiste Masterpiece, He marveled at His own expertise, and with a loud voice He declared, “It is Good”. And just like that, You were complete. Whole. Lacking nothing.  You were, as Perfect and Beautifully you, as you would ever be!
There was only one thing The Master Creator would leave up to you and me, and that is the faith to believe that this could even be. He designed you with the ability to choose what to believe and what to reject, and He determined that your belief would be the fuel to guide your steps. Continue reading →

Hope for the 4th Quarter

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Welcome to the 4th Quarter of 2017! I don’t know about you, but I have spent a good portion of this year being shocked by its pace. At the beginning of each month, I have found myself stating, “Is it [insert month] already?!” Only to discover the same definitive answer each time,  “Yes it is“!   I can’t count the number of conversations I have had with loved ones, friends, coworkers, and others in passing,  who have not only confirmed by sentiments about the pace of this year, but who have also shared in my anxiety laced fear that,  THERE’S JUST NOT ENOUGH TIME!!!!!.

But, What if I told you that  there IS enough time?  Will you accept that? What if I told you that the culprit of your anxiety is something you and I have full control over?  Will you, for the sake of this discussion, entertain the notion that the deficit has not been in seconds, minutes, hours, and days, but instead, that the true deficit, has been in your FOCUS?  Does that encourage or discourage you? Continue reading →

When I Turn From My Selfish Ways…

 

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Several months ago a friend introduced me to a daily  Scripture Writing Challenge.  I had no idea how enriching and edifying the practice of Scripture writing would be.  I did not realize how much writing the verses would strengthen, not only my engagement with the words, but it would also ignite a deeper understanding of the words that I wrote.  It became an evening habit that was the best “night cap” to my day! No matter how great or challenging my day was, when I wrote the verses,  my spirit was lifted, and my hope awakened!   This month,  I will be sharing my Scripture Writing and insights here with you.

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Comparison = Joylessness + Neglect 

 

 

img_4460By now most of us have heard the popular saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and many of us can testify that there is truth to those words. But, Did you know that comparison is a choice? Did you know that we can choose to admire, congratulate, cheer on, and even be inspired by others, WITHOUT comparing? Continue reading →