He Will Provide

I stumbled across the following video earlier this morning. It was so beautiful, I couldn't help but share it with you, my precious friends and readers.





Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Keep pressing in my friends.

The Lord will provide.

He is able to do more than you could ever imagine!

Just keepin' it real,

Be Still

I have to confess I have a hard time being still. I am always doing something or going somewhere. Even when I'm sitting still, my mind is going in a hundred different directions.

I think that's why I love the following verse so much...

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

We don't have to do anything. We just need to be still and know that He is God, the great I Am, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, the Creator of heaven and earth. He has it all under control and He will be exalted regardless of what we do...simply because He is God.

Won't you join me today my friends?

Put everything aside. Don't put another load of laundry in the wash. Forget the dirty dishes in the sink. Our Heavenly Father knows there are dishes and laundry to be done. But He doesn't want us to be so focused on our chaos that we miss the One who has it all under control.

So take a few minutes to just be still. Focus on the great I Am. Take a deep breath and soak Him in. Give Him a chance to fill you with His peace and remind you of His magnificence. He can take your chaos and make something beautiful out of it. Let Him be God in your life...today and everyday.

Thanks for sharing with me today! For more encouragement this Word Filled Wednesday, please visit The Internet Cafe.

Just keepin' it real,

In the Middle of Traffic

This has been an interesting week for me. My son is taking a Performing Arts daycamp in the city. It's an hour and a half drive for us. So everyday we're up at 6:00 am and out of the house by 7:15.

To be honest, I was looking forward to this week. I'm a city girl by nature. But we live in the middle of nowhere. Although I used to shop as a hobby, I rarely get to shop just for pleasure anymore. So I've made up for it this week by visiting two malls and IKEA.

But on Tuesday as I was trying to find a place I recognized for lunch, the traffic was beginning to overwhelm me. I didn't know where I was or where I was going. As soon as I found someplace familiar, I was in the wrong lane and couldn't get over fast enough. Hungry and and frustrated, I began to battle with my emotions.

Then the following words from You are Awesome in the Place by Hillsong began echoing in my heart....

You are awesome in this place, Mighty God
You are awesome in this place, Abba Father
You are worthy of all praise
To You our hands we raise
You are awesome in this place, Mighty God

It made me stop and think. Did I really believe God was awesome in that place, that place of being stuck in an unfamiliar place in the middle of traffic?

What about the traffic of life?

Do we stop to think about God being awesome in the busyness of our day, when we're doing laundry, cleaning the shower (my personal Waterloo ;) or listening to our children fight? Do we take the time out to see the awesomeness of God? Or do we get caught up in the frustration of the moment and abandon ourselves to our emotions?

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" Psalm 139:7 asks. In verses seven and eight, the Psalmist says God is in the heavens and the depths. He continues proclaiming in verses nine and ten, "If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

That extends to us my friends.

God is with us when we are hungry and stuck in the middle of traffic trying to find lunch. He is with us when the laundry pile and the to do list is overwhelming. He is with us when we don't think we can listen to the bickering any longer. There is nowhere we can go that God is not present.

But the Psalmist took it a step farther.

He said not only is God there, but God will guide us and hold us fast. That means we don't have to battle our emotions in the moment. We can give them to God. We can say, "Lord, I need your help right now. I don't know what I am supposed to do or where I am supposed to go. But you do. So I am trusting you because You are awesome in this place."

That is exactly what I did on Tuesday. I said a short desperate prayer. It wasn't beautiful or eloquent. I just expressed my frustration and issued a quick plea for help. But the Lord heard and He knew. I ended up having lunch at one of my favorite sandwich shops in a beautiful outdoor courtyard. It was an oasis of peace in the midst of the city's chaos.

He will do the same for you my friend.

I can't promise that all the bills or the laundry or the dirty shower will go away. I can't even say that you're children will call a truce. But I can promise that the One who is always present will hold you fast and guide you. He will take your confused emotions and replace them with peace. He will give you hope when there seems to be none and He will remind you of His love in the middle of the traffic.

Just keepin' it real,

It's Time to Commit

Can I be totally and completely honest with you today?

I'm nervous.

I'm scared.

I'm worried.

In May I made a commitment to tutor a full course load next year for my son's grade level through a local homeschool community. I was very excited about it. I could see God's hand in it.

Since then, I've spent a lot of time preparing for it. I've helped at informational meetings. I've attended training sessions. I've talked to interested parents. I've even bought the curriculum.

Now here we are a month before school starts, a week before registration is due, and I haven't had any parents commit to the level I will be tutoring.

To be completely honest, that scares me.

But as I sit back and reread my own writing, I see a pattern. It's all about me. It's all about what I've done. It's not about what God has done or what He's going to do.

I really did feel God's leading to make this commitment. Then I saw Him open doors to have other friends get involved. He brought beautiful new friends into my life through this community. He provided exactly the facility we needed to meet in once a week. He has worked in amazing ways.

So why am I worried now?

I am reminded of Proverbs 16:3, "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." It forces me to ask myself some difficult questions.

Have I really committed this to the Lord?

Or have I just thought I could handle it?

That seems to be a pattern in my life. The Lord has gifted me with incredible administrative skills. For the most part, I am not afraid to step out and work to make something happen. Then, without looking back, I run with it.

That's not a problem in and of itself. The problem is when I think I can do it on my own. It's not intentional. I just get carried away in what I am doing and forget where my strength comes from. Unfortunately this usually results in me crashing and burning.

I am thankful for God's neverending love and mercy. He knows this about me and He loves me anyway. I can imagine Him standing there with arms open wide, saying, "When are you going to come to Me? I'm here for you. I can handle it."

That's what I'm going to do today.

I'm going to accept my sweet Heavenly Father's open arms and ask His forgiveness for my prideful attitude. I am going to commit my plans to Him and trust Him to work out all the details. Then everytime I am tempted to worry about it, I am going to remember this commitment and focus on the Truth instead of my feelings.

Won't you join me my friends? What is it that you are fretting about? Why are you worried? Is it time to put aside your own ideas and trust in your Heavenly Father? Let's commit our plans to Him and rest in His open arms. I can think of no better place to be.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for your grace today. Please forgive us for our prideful attitudes, our lack of trust in You. Please help us to always remember where our help comes from and in Whom we can rest. We give You our plans. We commit them to You and we trust You to work them out in your time and in your way. Thank You that You never leave us or forsake us. Thank You for your continual goodness. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Just keepin' it real,

A Celebration

On this day sixteen years ago, I married my best friend.

I was nineteen.

I never intended to marry that young. I was not the type of girl who grew up dreaming of beautiful white wedding dresses. My parents divorced when I was young. I had no desire to follow in their footsteps.

Instead I focused on school and working towards a career. I worked hard and graduated from high school with honors. As a result I was able to attend college on a partial academic scholarship.

So no one was more surprised than I was when I met my husband my first year of college. People kept telling me I was too young to get married. They said I needed to wait. But they didn't know what I knew. Deep in my heart I knew this was God's will for my life.

When I walked down the aisle at 2:00, sixteen years ago, I had no reservations. I knew exactly what I was doing. But to be honest, I didn't really know what God was doing.

I didn't know that God had picked out the absolute perfect husband for me.

I didn't know his personality would complement my own so well.

I didn't know he was such a great cook when I could barely boil water.

I didn't know how patient he was..or loving..or caring..or wise.

I didn't know God would use him to bring total redemption to me.

I didn't know so much....

...but God did.

And as I write this, I am overwhelmed with tears. I am overwhelmed by this great big God who took the time to care so deeply and intimately about me.

He knew the little girl who needed a Savior.

He knew the teenager who needed hope.

He knew the young woman who needed love.

He knew it all...

...and He provided it all.

He planned a future I could never have imagined. He provided a husband I didn't know I needed. He blessed with a son who fills my life with unspeakable joy.

So today isn't just a celebration of sixteen years of marriage. It's so much more than that. It's a celebration of a redeemed life. It's a celebration of God's love, of God's compassion, of God's mercy. To Him do I owe it all. To Him do I give my life.

It makes me want to sing "How Great is Our God".

Won't you join me in celebrating Him today?




I pray for you my friends. I pray your life is filled with God's love, compassion and mercy. May He meet you right where you are with right what you need. And may you know how great is our God!

Just keepin' it real,

Questions about Facebook

Ok, I confess, I hung out with the geeky crowd in high school.

We didn’t consider ourselves geeks. But I’m sure others did. We made good grades. We took the Advanced Placement courses. We were on the debate team and the yearbook staff. We were in the Beta and the Science clubs. We weren't focused on pep rallies. We were working towards college.

I haven’t seen most of those friends since I graduated from high school and went to college. So it’s been interesting to reconnect with them on Facebook. Our lives and our beliefs are very different. I’ve seen it represented in personal information and status updates.

As a Christian, I’ve thought a lot about these differences. Then I saw a very interesting discussion about a status update that made me think even harder. Someone wrote an update complaining about the many religious posts. Another person commented that they block those people.

I often post statements about my faith or encouraging scriptures in my status on FB. I feel strongly that we are called to be the salt and light in all aspects of our life. Plus I want to encourage other believers. Many people respond positively to these messages.

But am I being offensive?

Am I really being salt and light?

Or is it the online equivalent of the Bible thumper on the corner?

Have friends blocked me because of my Christian status updates?

What do you think, my friends?

Do you post Christian messages in your status updates? Have you offended others because of it? Have you lost a friend or has someone blocked you? Did it matter? Have you changed your status updates? Or stopped posting altogether? Or is this just another form of persecution?

Of course, I have an opinion. But I'm really interested to see what you have to say. So for now, I'll be quiet. And yes, that's very difficult for me...as opinionated & geeky as I am ;)

Just keepin' it real,

Guest Post At the Well

I've had incredible response to my Glimmers of Hope series dealing with depression. My heart really is to encourage other women. And I believe there is power in our personal stories. But I was completely humbled when I was asked to do a guest post for At the Well answering a reader's question...

I have been dealing with depression, especially after having my last baby. How do I continue to be an effective wife and mother while dealing with my depression?
You can read my response here. I pray it is an encouragement to all who are battling this liar and thief. May you remember that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. And may you cling to Him when all else looks bleak.

Take care my sweet friends!

Just keepin' it real,