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A Life Once Lived

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The other day, I was preparing for my oldest two kids to come home from college, and I decided to tackle clearing out and reorganizing my son Isaiah’s room.  I started with his bookshelf full of trophies, plaques, awards, and signed footballs. Memorials to a life he once lived, but can never go back to. As I lowered those items into a bin, I was surprised by the sudden wave of grief I felt. We had dreams he began to live out, but were cut short at the very young age of thirteen. We had dreams for a life I was now packing away. However, they have been replaced by new ones birthed in our hearts by the grace of God. I believe what the Lord has planned for my son, for me, and for my family is greater than anything I could have ever dreamed up myself. “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” -Ephesians‬ ‭3:20‬ ‭ Lord help me accept that your plans for me are greater than my shattered dreams. I
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It's Heavy

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I heard a song one day, called God Will Turn It Around. As I listened to the lyrics, I realized that I, along with many of you, believe that He can, but don’t really believe He will. We ask Him because we know we’re supposed to, but will then take a position of suffering, preparing for the worst. It’s a defense mechanism. If you’re like me, you don’t like to be disappointed. So we protect ourselves from it. But if we could practice trusting Him and living out of a place of victory, we would find so much more peace and joy in this life. I will often try and take on what I consider to be smaller issues, by myself. I don’t want to  “bother” God with them. I know I can’t lift boulders, but I can carry pebbles. The problem is that if I collect too many of those pebbles, they become just as heavy as boulders. If I would just trust the Lord with every little thing, I could live free. If I wholeheartedly believed He is who He says He is, I would hand it all over to Him. “Then Jesus said, “Come
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Letting Go

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  Many of us are holding on to shame concerning our relationships. Maybe it’s shame over a marriage that ended. Maybe it’s shame over a son or daughter who chose a different path than the one planned for them. Maybe it’s a friendship that took a wrong turn. Shame is not something the Lord ever intended for us to carry. I believe, as humans, we often try to control the narrative of a situation. We think maybe if we say or do just the right thing, it will all turn around. As if we hold some kind of supernatural power of persuasion over the universe and the people in it. If things don’t go the way we think they should, we take on the weight of perceived failure. How much do you trust God? Do you trust Him enough to let go of what you hoped would be, and allow Him to turn it around or end it for your good and His glory? I know. It’s not easy, but when we are truly able to trust the Lord with every part of us, we’ll be free to see what He has waiting for us on the other side. When we let go
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This Is Not How It's Supposed to Be.

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  This is not how it’s supposed to be. Though He has allowed it through the practice of free will, This is not what the Lord intended for His people. Death and violence have become commonplace and expected. Hopelessness and fear abound throughout our country. Yesterday, many parents struggled to put their kids on a bus, or drop them off at school. Others will never take their kids back again. The evil one specializes in fear.  He knows how to infiltrate our hearts and minds through the words and actions of others. His influence is strong. Because it is so easy for any of us to fall prey to his purpose (1 Peter 5:8), it’s important to stay armored up. Instead of working ourselves up into a frenzy of fear by focusing on all the horrific details, let's set our eyes on the God of peace. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about s
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Jesus Wins.

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Oh friends. . .  Are you feeling the heaviness of this world? I don’t really know what the right thing is to say today. I can’t believe it happened again. More death at the hands of an 18-yr-old kid.  I want to encourage you, but within that, as my sister-friend expressed to me last night, we need to take time to grieve. It’s okay to grieve. It’s important to grieve the loss of life.  However, we cannot allow ourselves to succumb to the darkness and hopelessness of that which we grieve. It’s easy to feel despair during these times. I have to remind myself that none of this is brand new. These are issues Ecclesiastes talks about in the Bible. It’s nothing our Creator can’t handle. “History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.” -Ecclesiastes 1:9 It feels as if evil reigns. That’s how it feels, but I want to remind you that this is not the end of the story.  Jesus says in John 16:33 “. . .In this world you will have trouble. But take hear
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Blessed are the PeaceMAKERS

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The other day a friend mentioned something of my bravery when speaking about racism.  I had never considered that sharing my feelings was brave, but it made me wonder. Does what I’m sharing require bravery for others to do the same?  I realized that maybe it does. I also realized that many Christ-followers equate speaking truth about difficult or potentially controversial subjects with some kind of persecution.  We in the United States know nothing of persecution.  I don’t fear a person arguing with me, not liking me, unfollowing me, or believing what they choose to about me. I fear the words found in Matthew 7:21-23. “I never knew you. Depart from me.” How can we sit back and say nothing when God calls us to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)? I found an interesting breakdown that I’d like to share with you.  PeaceKEEPERS don’t want to be the cause of discomfort. They tend to view it as harmful and not beneficial. They often limit their self-expression because of this. PeaceKEEPERS tend to
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No Room in Love For Fear

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“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:18‬  I’ve been contemplating this scripture.  Looking at this verse as well as the verses before and after it, I believe it’s saying that if you are in the Lord, and understand His perfect love for you, there is no reason to fear judgment or punishment when loving others the way we should.  How many times have we not loved someone/people enough to stand up for what’s right? How many times have we not said something when we should have? How many times have we held back our opinion because we didn’t want to be subjected to the judgment of others? We say we love this or that person, but have we shown that to be true? When I think of how much the Lord loves us—what He sacrificed so that one day we could live in His presence. . . I stand in awe. Why is it often so hard to give so little? It is time for us to look deep inside at the
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