“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.  Lord my God, I will praise you forever.”  Psalm 30: 11-12 NIV

Mother’s Day is not an easy day for me.  My one and only son is not with me.  I will not see him.  I will not hear his voice.  My arms and home are empty.

Last year on this very same day, I let the sadness overwhelm me as I dove head-first into the abyss of loss.  I went to church and all I saw were happy families.  I secretly resented their happiness and their smiles were like slaps to my face, painful and repetitive.  Swallowed up in myself, I cried through the church service.  I was a mess.  I was going to stay home this year and save myself from the embarrassment.

However, I was truly convicted that I was dishonoring the Lord by allowing my circumstances to overwhelm me.  This meant I was being ungrateful to Him when I should have a posture of praise.  I made a promise to love Him and follow Him. This meant praising Him always, not just when He answered my prayers.  There is power in this discipline of praise, in just resting in gratefulness, refocusing.

God’s funny.  Two sisters in Christ were getting baptized but at different services which meant that I attended not one, not two, but three services during worship.  He was reminding me who He was and who I was in Him. I sang His truths over again and again and drew in the strength He had for me.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I will praise him.” Psalm 28:7 NIV

He blessed my day with His peace and I was able to bless others with my presence.  He brought people across my path with meaningful hugs to fill my empty arms. I was able to reach out to another and hold her while she cried, to tell her I understood.  He orchestrated a beautiful day of love and joy.  And for that, I am ever so grateful.

Father, Thank You for filling empty arms.  Thank You for whispering, “Trust Me even in this” and Thank You for the opportunity to praise You. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV

In Jesus’ name, we pray.

This week, the Lord answered a prayer so big that it will be talked about for generations. It will begin, “Remember when God …”.  This was a life changing answered prayer. I was so grateful that I found myself praising Him more often in prayer and through song. The peace I felt left a permanent smile on my face.

After a few days, my mind started thinking about what I could do to replicate the answered prayer. What was I doing around that time and what could I do to make sure that more prayers were answered?  I twisted it and made it about me, about works.  Not about His grace and mercy. Ugh!  Pure ugliness! When I recognized what I was doing, I quickly asked for forgiveness for taking His gift and cheapening it by thinking that I had anything to do with it.

I didn’t deserve the answered prayer.  But being the Father that He is, He showed us mercy and gave us this gift. When our parents give us gifts, there isn’t an expectation they receive something in return, except maybe a heart-felt thank you and a big hug.  We don’t really analyze what we did to deserve the gift, we are simply gracious and thankful.  And that is what I am going to do.  I am grateful for His mercy and humbled by His grace.

Father, Thank You for your grace and mercy when we don’t deserve it.  Your love is unfailing and unending.  Help us to show Your love to others as praise for what You have done in our lives.  In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

A couple of my friends and I went to the movie on Friday night. We got there early and the only time slot close to our arrival for the movie we wanted to see was the 3D version. I had never been to a 3D movie before just because I heard they might make you a bit queasy and that didn’t sound like fun to me. But, I was up for the challenge of something new and said, “Let’s do this!”.

The ticket taker kindly gave us our equipment; our 3D glasses. We went and found seats in the theatre, front and center. We chatted until the previews came and I noticed that things were fuzzy on the screen and eventually took the cue that maybe I should put on my glasses. Which I did, and immediately a cartoon bird was flung in my direction.  Hands up, I exclaimed, “Whoa” in my not-so-inside voice. This made all three of us laugh until we cried and then we laughed some more. By the time the movie started, I was a veteran at the 3D movie viewing experience.

I went into this new adventure inexperienced and uninformed. I had the equipment, I just didn’t know when to put the glasses on. Nor did I know what to expect. When the cartoon bird came flying in my direction, my instinct took over and I put up my guard while trying to scare away the threat… follow me on this one.

Have you ever experienced surprising things flying in your direction feeling totally inexperienced and unprepared?  The Bible tells us through Paul in Ephesians when he was talking about the full armor of God, “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”  Ephesians 6:16 NIV

The Lord doesn’t want us to go into situations unprepared. He calls us to armor up. We can gain our experience and instruction through the Word of God and be fully aware of these flaming arrows. This requires action on our part. We need to not only have the equipment and the instructions, but we need to have the knowledge so when the instinct kicks in, it is seasoned with the Lord’s training not our natural human fight or flight response.

“For the Lord gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”  Proverbs 2:6 NIV   Pray for understanding, learn what His Word says, and bury those truths deep into your heart so when a flaming arrow surprises you, the response is His and not from our sinful human nature.

Father, Thank you for Your wisdom in dealing with the flaming arrows of the evil one. Thank You that You have provided the equipment, the knowledge, and the understanding we need in these situations.  In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

I have often heard the stories about pennies from heaven but it is smiley faces that are pretty important to our family.  Not just your normal everyday smiley faces like the Bee Happy Face below but also accidental smiley faces made out of every day things like this picture of a missing hook on a restroom door.

When we see a smiley face, we call them Papa Kisses.  My dad always wore a smiley face pin on his work shirt and his office was cluttered with all sorts of smiley faces items. My dad passed away several years ago now but we are always reminded of him and his smile when we see a Papa Kiss.

The Lord has left His kisses all over for us to find.  Some of them are obvious and some we have to look differently at the ordinary to see the beauty in it, but in all things He can be found. Like today, I saw a baby rabbit hop across the lawn that made my cuteness meter spike. That was obvious. Then as I was driving to work, I saw a horse resting its head in a tree and it made me laugh. Not so obvious. They are both Papa Kisses directly from our Father and just like the smiley faces, I seek them out to remind me the love the Father has for us, His children.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him” 1 John 3:1 NIV

Father, Thank You for loving us and Thank You for the Papa Kisses You leave for us to find.  We love you. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen. 

I had the pleasure of attending my small town high school class reunion this weekend. I chose to go for one evening because the venue wasn’t conducive to a healthy Christian lifestyle; a casino in Laughlin, NV. Even so, it was nice to see old friends, catch up with our current lives, and laugh about our high school years.  My stomach hurt so bad from laughing, I considered it a full ab workout and crossed that off my list of things to do this week. It’s funny how even though some of us haven’t seen each other for years, it’s as comfortable as putting on an old pair of worn jeans.

Everyone knows I am a Christian, I tend to use Facebook to spread that message, and I have a very different lifestyle than most of those there. I had to be a good example and not bring any shame to my Lord. And, our church leadership is on my Facebook so I had accountability. These social settings are not for the light-hearted. But, I went to this reunion for a specific purpose; to see an old friend I hadn’t seen since high school who had recently reappeared via Facebook. Sadly, that friend didn’t make it due to medical issues and we all felt the loss.

Everything we did at the reunion, we did together. We ate together, we hung out together, we went dancing together, we checked on each other, and we walked with each other. This whole experience  reminded me of how important community is to us.

We thrive in community. The dictionary definition of thrive is ‘to grow or develop well or vigorously”. That is what healthy community does, it’s like plant food for the plant. Without plant food on a regular basis, the overall health of the plant isn’t at its best. It won’t necessarily die, but it won’t thrive.

Take a look at the Acts church in Acts 2:46-47, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”  Seems they thrived in community.

Are you in community or are you trying to do things on your own? You can …  but at some point you’re going to need some plant food.

Father, Thank You for the biblical principle of community and the blessings it brings. Help anyone who is not in community feel drawn to make a change and get plugged into this powerful resource.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen. 

I held her and prayed as her tears stained my shirt. This was a mother whose heart was broken over something horrific that happened to her young daughter. I reached out to her and watched for her the next couple of weeks in the church crowd. Then I saw her. I didn’t know what to expect but what I found was a woman empowered and full of joy. The horrible thing meant for destruction had divine results. She couldn’t contain the fullness of joy and burst with the glorious news that through this her mother had come to Christ. Praise God !

Here I was ready to minister to her brokenness BUT GOD had already enacted a plan to make beautiful things out of the ashes.

We don’t always get to see His work first hand but that doesn’t mean He isn’t working. I was surprised by how this situation unfolded into such beauty because in my tiny human head, I had something very different in mind. Not defeat but nothing as grand as a life changed. That is why He is God and why I let Him be … He knew the end result and how it would work out for His glory.

It’s such an honor to be able to watch Him work and better yet, I get to tell His story to others who may just need to hear it …

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 NIV

Father, Thank You for being You and Thank You for giving us a glimpse into Your story.  In Jesus’ precious  name, Amen.

Scene:  Sunday  School Room for 3-4 year olds

The lesson was on creation. The children were all sitting “quietly” on the carpet listening attentively to what the lead teacher was saying. She was reviewing the creation process up to the current lesson, which was on the creation of the animals. After review, she asked the class, “What else did God make?”. One little boy hollered, “Cookies!”.  At that point, both the other assistant and myself looked at each other and in our adult manner tried so hard to stifle our laughter. We did not want to be disruptive nor encourage the class.  That would be bad.

The lead teacher affirmed that God did make cookies and then started showing pictures of different animals and the children would yell out the name the animal they saw on the picture. At the end of this activity, the teacher asked them what else God made and in an almost reverent hushed tone, the children pointed to themselves and said, “Me”. They all got it and it was a beautiful moment in firming up the foundation of biblical truths.

“For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or ruler or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”  Colossians 1:16 NIV

Even cookies …

Father, Thank You for teaching us through the eyes of the children.  Let us be humble enough to listen and recognize those special moments when the honest raw truth of You is spoken through them.  In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Rarely am I home on a Friday night unless it’s absolutely necessary.  Usually, I am out enjoying my Friday nights with others, sharing encouragement and unpacking the week. Not this Friday …

I live north of nowhere on a little piece of horse property. This requires that I flood irrigate every other week. We don’t get to pick the day or time the water comes; they tell you when it’s going to come and it’s your job to maintain the water within the boundaries while balancing it to flow in different areas of the property. I was given water Friday night. It all began normally visiting with the neighbors, all with shovels in hand, rotating the water from property to property. It’s really quite the social event.

When the sun started to fade, the neighbors withdrew. It was just me and the water. Or was it? The stars came out bright and then the moon rose to light the area. The moon beams were dancing off the surface of the moving water. A blanket of quietness covered the area and a peace filled every void.

It was then that I knew my Friday night date was there in all His splendor. He lit the area with his candlelight and brought me the most beautiful flowers. He sat with me and surrounded me with peace.

I stayed there in that scene for as long as I could but I knew the critters were going to start coming out and I did not want to test the Lord’s protection so I thanked Him for a beautiful evening and went into the house feeling fully loved.  I couldn’t have asked for a better Friday night date.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”  Psalm 23:1-3

Father, Thank You for being my perfect date and showing me how much You love me.  In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Conga with me on a journey through my crazy, chaotic, Christian life as we shuffle and kick through the days.

A busy career, service in ministry, and an active social life as a single Christian make it a bit crazy while piecing it all together can be quite chaotic. It is my desire to show you a glimpse into the hope I find in the midst of  everyday moments. Hope is in all things but shines in the unexpected.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the life the Lord has entrusted to me. The Bible says in Psalm 139:13-14, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.“ He made me just the way I am for a purpose. He has ordained my days with reason. He put me just where He wants me and He has called me His child.

He knew what He was doing long before I figured it out and for that, I am grateful.

Stay tuned! Gotta run … (shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, kick) (shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, kick)

“Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.”  2 Corinthians 3:5 NIV

Have you ever had the desire to do something yet felt so incompetent in your ability? I have. But why deny God the opportunity to work with that desire to do His good work which is beyond our own ability in the first place.

I have allowed that incompetent feeling to overwhelm me to the point of inaction. What a tragic loss of opportunity to standby with my arms folded across my chest like a defiant 3 year-old and tell God “No” because of fear. Did you know that the phrases “Fear not” and “Do not be afraid” appear in the Bible 365 times? Coincidence? Don’t you think He knows us better than we know ourselves so He offered us His encouragement and outreached hand. I remember how strong I felt when I held my earthly fathers hand as a child, imagine that in a Godly sense and reach out and grab His hand and see where He leads.

I have heard many amazing stories about what happens when we just open our grasp and let the Lord work through us. There are also many examples in the Bible of what He can do with an open heart. So what story are you going to let God tell through you?

“May the God of Peace … equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:21 NIV