What's Holding You Captive?

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though it's waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

Psalm 46:1-3

I have struggled these last 10 days to find the words to say. I knew what God was placing on my heart but I just couldn't quite get it out. I now understand why. What I write to you is always from personal experience and let me say that it is not always fun to go through certain moments in life but if we never went through then how would we help the next person in line.

In a season of love, family, thankfulness and most importantly, the birth of Jesus, my heart weighs heavy at times. Not for me but for those I know and do not know. I look around and see hurt and pain in the eyes of individuals. There spirits are downcast. The hearts ache. They can not find joy no matter how hard they search for it. Have you ever known someone who just always looked miserable? You always smile at them, and nothing. You try to love on them, and they refuse to budge. You don't know what else to do except to pray for them. We hand our prayers over to God and hope he can accomplish what we could not. And he can! But there's still that question in the back of our minds (or at least mine)...What is holding them captive? What caused them so much pain? Where has their joy gone? What was stripped from their heart that has left them feeling empty in this life they now call their prison?

A prisoner lives restricted and under the rules or conditions of the facility in which they dwell. They become so conditioned to a routine and many believe this is the reason why they struggle to live a normal life if and when they have the opportunity to be released from the confines of that place they have been for so long. I read a scripture this morning in Romans 7:21 that said "I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me." The bottom line is that we are human. Our human nature wants to do the very things that we think or desire will bring us joy, so we compromise our relationship with God our father and we ignore His word and guidance. We don't realize it until its too late and we are taken captive by the desires of our inner flesh. And all along God was waiting for us to call on Him for help.

One of the things I like to do in the evening after the girls are in bed and life has calmed down from the rush of the daily routine is grab a hot cup of tea and read the local news for that day. It's just habit for me. I'm not sure yet if it's a good or bad habit but I feel the need to do it. So I sit there and read story after story and often wonder if I know or have seen the person in the news reports. I read of children being hurt and I can't help but to pray and hope that they are ok. I read of people being in a hit and run and I quickly search for a name hoping it's not someone I know. I am relieved that it is not but here comes the burden in my heart to pray for them. I then see a report of an accident that is not far from me that has taken the life or lives of those in the vehicle. My heart drops and again I pray. Then I come across story after story of robberies, theft, hold ups, and stolen ATMs. Most recently was a story of a young lady who was stealing from her place of employment by loading money on non-purchased gift cards when customers and other employees were not around. The sad part about the story was that she only did it because her family was struggling. What drives a person to become so consumed by their lack that they never take the time to realize their gain?

We stress over the things we do not have and we forget that we are blessed in so many other ways. In this season, when we should be celebrating life and family, we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of what to buy and who to shop for. We stress over finances and spend what we don't have. We create debt, which leads to stress, stress causes our bodies to breakdown both inside and out, and worst of all...we lose our joy. Nehemiah 8:10 says, "The joy of The Lord is your strength."

We  moved about 2 years ago across country. We left everything behind with the exception of our kitchen stuff, dining table and chairs, and our beds. We only brought a handful of clothes and shoes. No comfy couches to sit on, no TV to watch, and a truck on its last leg. But the material things didn't matter. We had each other and because of our sacrifice, so many other families that we knew in our old state were blessed with things they needed. It took about 4 months before we had a couch to sit on and we thanked God for blessing us with the means to finally get it but the empty space before the couch is what I treasured. I could watch my daughters dance and play for hours across the empty room. You see, sometimes God will allow us to go through certain situations in order to show us what is most important in life. We had each other and that was all that mattered. The couch came and yes we sit on it but from time to time I just can't help myself. I still stretch out across the floor and thank God for that moment in time that He allowed me to see the true blessing. It was not the things but the time with my family.

We may not realize it but we allow so many things to hold us captive. We struggle with our finances, we struggle with our children, our relationships are falling apart, and we can't seem to find a way out. Is our life really over? Did you take that wonderful breath of fresh air (ok...it may not always be fresh...lol) but did you breathe new life today? We allow these things to shackle us and we walk around bound by chains that we allowed these things to bind us with. I can share story after story of personal struggles that my family and I have had to endure, but one thing remains, our love for each other. Ask God to removed the chains from your life and restore Joy to you...His Joy! I don't ever see my struggles as a curse but more of a blessing. I made it through didn't I? So why can't you? I am blessed to still be here and honored to be able to share my testimonies to give hope to all who read these posts.

The prisoner at the beginning of this message...well he is you and I. The difference in the story is that we do not conform to the routine of confinement but we experience true freedom through Jesus Christ. When we give our lives to Christ and we choose to trust and have faith that He will see us through, that is when we have true Joy and Hope. You have been in your chains long enough. Drop them and allow God to restore your Joy and Peace. You will make it through! Be blessed!

The Heart of Christmas

The Heart of Christmas

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ASJktrBObrI

Have you ever had a moment where  you had so much on your mind you just couldn't seem to get the words out for fear that there would be too much to share and the excitement would turn to rambling and then no one would listen? Wow! That was a long first sentence! Hopefully the rambling won't kick in too badly and I will be able to share what's on my heart in an orderly manner ;) lol

All kidding aside though for a moment. I really struggled finding the words to share with you this time around. I would start to set time aside to write and then change my mind because I just wasn't ready yet. This went on for the past 5 days and even though I still feel like there is so much more to share I will share what I can and continue on in the coming days as the Lord places it on my heart.

First of all, please take the time to visit the Youtube link I have posted at the top of this blog. This song truly blessed my heart when I heard it last night for the first time. You may have heard or seen the movie it was the inspiration for, but for me, I came across it, I believe not by accident when listening to Matthew Wests Christmas album. God summed up my heart in one song. In the last couple of posts I shared about thanksgiving and gratefulness, but what often happens between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Our moment of thankfulness is gone and we dive head first into a sea of emotions.

Probably for about the first 10 years of our marriage, Chris and I would get so excited about Christmas. We would decorate, bake, and attend holiday friend and family parties. The church was always doing elaborate celebrations, and of course halfway through those 10 years with the birth of our daughters, Christmas was even more exciting. We wanted to do all we could for our little blessings, and we did! But one thing remained, Chris and I always made it about the children and when it came to shopping for gifts, we did all we could for the girls and everyone else would do without. Did we want to bless our family? Of course we did! Did we wish we could do so much more for everyone else? Absolutely! But the truth of the matter was, we just couldn't. As much as we wanted to, we just couldn't. As we found ourselves stuck in this position year after year, we hoped for change, we prayed for increase, we wanted the ability to do more. Frustration, sadness and an overwhelming guilt always surrounded me. I was frustrated at always having just enough and never MORE than enough. I was saddened that we were not in a position to bless others the way our hearts desired to. And most of all, a guilt hovered over me when we would receive gifts in the mail from family and we had not sent a single package out. Why was this so torturous? Why was the stress so overwhelming and over-powering that the joy I was supposed to have at Christmas was sucked out of me so quickly that I had to pretend to be happy. Oh I was truly grateful for the gifts but why did they have to even send them? I didn't ask for anything! I hadn't even made a Christmas wish list! Then my feelings would turn to anger because now it was more of "how dare they make me feel bad!" This only lasted a moment because everything would eventually break down and I would then be left in silent tears because there was nothing I could do about it. What was I going to do? Get angry at someone just because they decided and WANTED to bless me?

I remember being invited to a Christmas/Birthday celebration with the ladies of our church at the time and at this event each of us was there to honor a particular leader in our church who had been a part of our lives for several years. I was very nervous because a gift was expected and for one we did not have much, secondly most of the other women knew her interests and likes more than I did. I struggled for  days trying to figure out the perfect gift. I was very close to just giving up and not attending at all when God spoke clearly to my heart and said to give a gift from the heart. I immediately sat down and began to write the words of my heart on parchment paper. When I was done sharing my gratitude and appreciation for this person, I took the paper and burned the edges, rolled it up and tied it with a ribbon. There were 3 gifts in the bag to represent the words I had written. A journal to represent the words of encouragement that she would one day write for other women, teabags to represent the relationship established over gatherings, and the last gift was a shawl to represent the covering that she had been to all of us. The time came for the party and the moment of gift giving. As she opened each gift one by one, I began to doubt the simple contents of my bag. Expensive gifts, one right after another came, and I began to feel extremely nervous. I wanted to duck out when no one was looking but the time came for me to present my gift. With a humble heart but also a feeling of downcast spirit I stood and pulled the scroll from the bag and began to read. With each part I read I pulled the gift from the bag and presented it to represent the words. As I read, tears began to roll down my cheek and I could feel God removing the shame from heart. I lifted my head and gave her a hug and returned to my seat. You see, I learned a lesson that night. There was nothing wrong with anyone else's gift, but there was nothing wrong with mine either. I gave from my heart and that was all that mattered.

In this season of Christmas, we see a lot of selfishness, envy, anger, and frustration, but the hardest part is that I see mostly, hurt, sadness, loneliness, and heartache. We have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. We temporarily forget about the one who can replace our heartache with joy, the one who can bandage up our wounds and bring true healing. He is the one who can bring peace in the midst of chaos. Jesus Christ is the true reason for this season and all year long for the rest of our life. We have to allow Him to take the stress and doubt from our lives and replace it with His love.

I want to go back to this song I posted at the top of the page. The Story behind the song broke my heart but the love throughout the song gave so much hope. The family lost this precious gift but God filled their hearts with love, faith and hope to press on and live every moment to the fullest. The title was so perfect because what God showed me is that it's God's love that is the Heart of Christmas. Gods love to others, through others, and with others is the heart of Christmas. The most important part of Christmas is not the gifts or the parties, but the love we show to those around us and most importantly taking the time to show those you love how much you truly do love them.

We take for granted the fact that they should already know we love them, so we don't say it enough. Those simple words from the heart just might be what is needed to pull that special loved one from what ever pit they may have found themselves in. I was once in a pit, almost no life left and it was Gods love through those around me that pulled me up and out and gave me hope again. You see, I don't ask for much, actually I don't ask for anything anymore. I wake up each morning and the question I hear over and over is, "If I never gave another thing to you, would you still love me?" And my answer every time is, "Yes Lord, I would." I say these simple words to my husband every chance I get, at least once a day, "I love you and you are my gift." He is my gift. I asked God for him and He blessed me with the greatest husband and best friend. My daughters are my gift. We asked specifically for twins and that is what He blessed us with and they are the most wonderful gift. I am grateful for life, my family who loves me unconditionally, and most of all, my Heavenly Father who has never has let me down. I have no need for anything else when God has already given such wonderful gifts and the greatest gift of all, His son Jesus.

So in this Christmas season I want to start by saying...

To all my family and loved ones - I love you, I thank God for you and there may be distance between us in miles, but you are closer than ever in my heart. YOU ARE MY GIFT!

To all of my closest friends - You know who you are, and if you have doubts then maybe we should talk...lol. I love you and you are special to me. God has placed us in each other's lives for a reason and a season. Some seasons may last longer than others but each is just as important as the other. Thank you for your friendship. YOU ARE MY GIFT!

To everyone else who I may not know but you received this because someone cared enough about you to share these words, just know that you are loved by God and those around you even if they may not stay it as often. You are loved!

Tell those you love how much you love them and don't forget the Heart of Christmas is Gods Love!

Be Blessed!

Take Heart

"I have told you these things,

so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart!

I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

Over these past couple of days, as we come closer to Thanksgiving, we can't help but to reflect on the things God has done for us throughout the many seasons of our life. The good, the bad and the moments of testing all come to a halt, allowing for a time of evaluation over such things individually. We search the very reasoning for why these things take place and wonder if we have succeeded in overcoming the trial placed before us. Why do these things happen? Why is it that some things bring more confusion or hurt than others? And when do we ever get the chance to successfully predict that which is to come? Hmmmm...What are the answers?

Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace." He revealed to the disciples the truth of what was to come. He gave them a glimpse into the future of what God had predestined for us all. He spoke peace to us all through His word, but yet we still find ourselves in a state of panic, discouragement, worry, frustration...and the list goes on and on. The next part of the verse speaks clearly of the tests and trials we will have to endure, but He has already reaffirmed through His word that we are overcomer's through Him. He says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." And we still question why and panic when things go a different direction from what we thought would happen. He says to Take Heart!

Take: means to reach for and hold

Heart: means the central or innermost part of something.

So what Jesus was telling the disciples, as well as, all believers (you and I) is that we must "fear not". Take Heart! Reach out and take hold of the central and innermost part of what He has called us to do, predestined for our life, and set us on this earth to complete.

I continued on through John 17, which is a wonderful chapter...I would encourage you to read it. We find Jesus praying to His father in heaven. He began by praying for Himself, but then continued on to pray for the disciples, specifically in their call to ministry, and then prayed for all believers. He was determined to cover us all, but what I love about His words is that in the beginning of this chapter as he begins to pray, he does not speak of himself as he saw himself, but as how God saw him. He spoke in 3rd person as if he were referring to someone else and then spoke in 1st person referring to himself. He recognized that he belonged to God and his purpose was to make sure we knew God the way he knew him, as our father. This was the great opportunity for us to have a personal relationship with God.

He then prayed specifically for the desciples. His prayer was not that God remove the disciples from this earth but that God would protect them from evil. They still had a calling on their life and were here on purpose, for a purpose. They couldn't take the easy way out. If they had, where would we be today.

Lastly, he prayed for you and I and all who choose to believe. He took the time to pray for even those who may not know him now, but will one day choose to.

Immediately in the next chapter, John 18, Jesus finishes praying and heads to an olive grove where he is to be betrayed and taken. The olive represents a place of pressing. An olive is squeezed in order to obtain the oil within it. Jesus was going to be squeezd by the enemy, but the oil that came from him is what would one day be poured upon the believers.

This is what the Lord spoke to me in His word:
Jesus knew what was to come but he still prayed for you and I. Often times we pray not knowing what will happen. We pray by faith, but what if we did know the future? What if we could see the trials ahead? Would we still be able to pray as Christ did? Or would we become angry with him? Could we find the strength to go on? Jesus knew they were coming for him but in the moments before his arrest, He prayed for you and I.

The trials in our life should not destroy us but build strength and perseverance in us to go on. We struggle, its not easy, we feel as though we won't make it, but why do we just give up? Why don't we fight? We can overcome! He said he has already overcome this world. We have already won but if we allow those things to kill us, then when will we ever be able to encourage the next person in their struggle? When will we be able to speak about Gods mercy and grace? We must fight! We must have faith! Don't give up! The storm only lasts for a short while. When we endure the storms of life, we take shelter in his word and worship, we pray and comfort those around us, and we wait for the storm to pass. When it's over, LIFE'S NOT OVER! There may be a mess but we look around, take a deep breath, and begin to pick up that which God promised to restore. We see it restored, revived, and renewed. God can piece any situation back together in its proper place. When trials lay ahead, Jesus prayed.

When we come up to a stop sign in life and the trial delays us for a moment, we look both ways, wait for the traffic to pass and continue on when the road has been cleared. What have you allowed the storms of life to uproot, destroy or displace? Don't give up, but ask God for the strength to replant, rebuild and rediscover. Take heart! Take hold of all God has purposed for your life and dig deep into the innermost part of your destiny. He has already overcome the world. And never forget that in the midst of trials, there is always a blessing to be found. Thank him for all he's done for you.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

I have enjoyed so much sharing my heart with you this past week and I pray everyday that the words God speaks to me continue to encourage you. I wanted to do something different today so I asked my husband to share with me what was on his heart. This is what he spoke. I pray it bless you as much as it did me.

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,

for they love to pray standing in the synagogues

and on the street corners to be seen by others.

Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

But when you pray, go into your room, 

close the door and pray to your father,

who is unseen.

Then your father, who sees what is done in secret,

will reward you.

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,

for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Do not be like them, 

for your father knows what you need before you ask him.

This, then, is how you should pray"

Matthew 6:5-8

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, it puts us in a mindset of reflection upon getting together with family, friends, and loved ones. We also think about the sequence of events that take place during these types of gatherings. You have family laughter, joy, games, food, and fun but we often forget about the true reason why we are gathered. Then comes the moment right before we feast which is the traditional prayer of thanks. I recently had a good friend of mine ask me about prayer and how to pray, as we reflected upon our position and purpose in life. As we talked about the holidays coming up, we also talked about the many times we are asked to deliver a prayer of thanks. Our conversation quickly turned into a discussion of the proper way to pray. What was the proper way to pray? How were we to gather the correct words? Is there an outline to follow? Should it be this hard? He redirected the questions and challenged me to write an outline on how to deliver a formal prayer, whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other formal or family event. Walking away from that conversation I asked myself two questions: 

1) How is it that someone does not know how to pray to our Heavenly Father when it should be easy to do? 

and 2) How would I answer this challenge when it's something that I thought I knew for years?  

Taking this request to God in prayer, God convicted me for being ungrateful and taking my relationship with Him for granted. He reminded me of something that was said to me during my conversation with my friend and it was this..."Chris, You have a story to tell and something to share."

So the first thing that I will share is what God revealed to me on how to pray in any situation and that was the instruction that was given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 6 and starting with verse 9. 

"This then is how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive your sins."

As we pray the prayer that Jesus Christ instructed us to pray in our closet, then God miraculously through the Holy Spirit reveals to us what that prayer means in our personal lives. Once we are obedient to what Christ instructed us to pray, then the door of understanding through the Holy Spirit is opened for us to know what to pray, specifically for things, issues, and events that are presently taking place in our lives. "God I don't know how to talk to you. How should I speak to you?" "God Im having an issue with my husband/wife and I don't know how to pray for direction or understanding on how to handle it." The list goes on with our inability to know how to pray or what to pray for. God gives us hope and understanding that prayer is a simple conversation between a loving father and his child. And when we don't know what to say in any given situation, if we pray this prayer with all sincerity, God will reveal His perfect will in what to say through the Holy Spirit. 

But keep in mind, "your father knows what you need before you ask him." 

So come to him as a child comes to his father with a simple request. He gave us an outline of prayer to follow, but he hears every word you speak no matter what order it's in. Our prayers are our thoughts, and our thoughts come from our heart. Just speak whats on your heart...He is listening. 

Give Thanks

"And on that day they offered great sacrifices,

rejoicing because God had given them great joy.

The women and children also rejoiced.

The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away."

Nehemiah 12:43

This is certainly my favorite time of the year. It's a time of family, rejoicing, celebrating and blessing. All of these moments are awaited with great anticipation. Tis the season to be thankful and jolly. Tis the season to somehow forget all the worries and feel freedom from stress, right? Shouldn't it be? We could only hope and pray, but the truth of the matter is that we actually allow more stress to enter into our life when we become so concerned with everything happening around us and we tend to forget the true meaning of this season. Tis the season to remember that we are truly blessed! 

So many times we allow ourselves to get caught up in the thoughts of everything we wish we had and look at the lack rather than the blessings in our life. I can remember the days early in marriage when my husband and I had our own financial struggles (and I say our own, because everyone goes through a rough season at some point...maybe even a few seasons) and we found ourselves sitting in the dark, no electricity, not much food, a small battery operated radio and our bible. We would sit reading God's word to each other in the fireplace light (in the mid of summer in Texas...lol) and all we could do was hang on to every word we read. We knew that even though we were lacking in finances and food, God would still provide all we needed. We may have not been able to see it but we had faith to believe it. God DID provide...everything and more than what we needed. And most of all we grew closer to Him. 

I was reading in Nehemiah 12 about the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. I would encourage you to read the story if you have the time. When Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down and burned with fire he mourned and fasted and prayed to God. He was in great despair for the people of Israel. God gave him favor with the King in his request to carry out the task of rebuilding the wall. It was not going to be an easy job but he was prepared. Nehemiah and the people of Israel endured many obstacles throughout the days of rebuilding. They had every opportunity to quit. They were laughed at and ridiculed, mocked and plotted against. The people began to tire and feared that the rebuilding would never be completed. Nehemiah endured personal attack. The enemy came to try and get him to compromise. They slandered and threatened him. Needless to say, Nehemiah endured and overcame. After 52 days the wall was completed. Nehemiah and the people of Israel did not see defeat but victory.

Just like Nehemiah, we have a purpose. We get up each day with a task in mind and that task is the great opportunity of fulfilling our God given purpose. But it won't always be easy. Things may get delayed, we might have to encourage ourselves, life may seem like it lay in ruin but we must get up and rebuild.

The greatest part to this story comes in Chapter 12 where the people have come together for the great celebration of the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. No matter their loss, they continued to look towards the great restoration of all that had been stripped from them. God saw the need and he sent the one with determination and perseverance to restore to them their hope through a wall.

We must rejoice in the blessings of God. Yes we may go through hard times, but it is the blessings in our life that continue to give us hope. We are exactly one week out from Thanksgiving day. I would like to challenge you in this wonderful season to reflect on the blessings of God in your life. Write down at least 25 things that you can thank God for every single day from this point on. When we begin our day in gratitude to Him we have already encouraged ourselves to walk the rest of our day out in confidence and excitement for the next great blessing. What can be greater than life itself! Each morning, get up and instead of thinking on the trials and hardships in our life, rebuild the wall of our faith by thanking Him for all He has done for us. Nehemiah 12:43 says that the people rejoiced because God had given them great joy, but they didn't stop there. "Their rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away."

You see, when we rejoice, others around us will want to as well. When they rejoice, we have rebuilt the wall by being an encouragement to one another. And most importantly, we have shown God the gratitude of our hearts and He loves when we love Him. Let this Thanksgiving be the beginning of hope and faith being rebuilt and promises being restored in your life. Be Blessed!

The Heart Speaks

"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him,

and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement

for every careless word that they have spoken.

For by your words you will be acquitted,

and by your words you will be condemned."

Matthew 12:34b-37

The words we speak are powerful and they also reveal the depths of our heart. Have you ever just sat and observed someone? You may or may not know them but we find ourselves watching intently their every move; listening to their every word. We listen to the way they speak and watch their reactions to unexpected situations. We do this with our children and their friends. We evaluate people to see if they are safe or can be trusted and often times may even pass judgement on them. 

This is what the Pharisees did to Jesus in Matthew 12. They followed him and criticized his every word. They judged his every action. But the response of Jesus is what I love about this particular chapter in Matthew. 

He responded like this: v7 "If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent."

Jesus was healing bodies, touching lives and and giving life, but religion attempted to halt the plan of God. So we find in Matthew 12:34 where Jesus addressed the Pharisees on their religious minds and spoke truth about the heart of man. "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

What was interesting to me though was the scripture that came before this particular verse. It says in Matthew 12:33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and it's fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by it's fruit."

The Message Bible refers to the trees as "healthy" or "diseased," so my question to God was, "what causes a tree to become diseased?" And this is what He revealed to me.

A tree has 2 root systems:

• Perennial Roots - which are those that are continual or recurrent, lasting for an indefinitely long time, they are enduring. (Which represents our personal relationship with God)
• Feeder Roots - these serve as the food supply; feeding another. (These represent those relationships that God places in our life for a season, no matter the length of the season)

The major functions of the feeder roots is the absorption of water and minerals. Under normal conditions feeder roots die and are replaced on a regular basis. Each season of our life may bring new relationships. God places us in one another's life to be an encouragement through that particular season. We feed Gods word to each other, building one another's faith in God.

Hebrews 10:25 says "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another---and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

So we know the purpose of the roots but what is it that causes the root to become diseased? There are many ways to injure tree roots and stress trees. Some injuries are unintentional and can not be avoided. The three biggest killers of trees are listed below. Bear with me as we dig deep into the spiritual meaning of each:

1) Soil Compaction - soil compaction restricts water and oxygen uptake by roots (ex: roads, parking lots, foot traffic, construction machinery, poor soil preparation) The spiritual meaning is Stuffing. I'm sure we have all either known a stuffer or we are guilty of being the one who stuffs. I was guilty of this one for years. I never knew just how to communicate exactly what I was feeling, I was afraid of saying the wrong thing, upsetting others, or just feeling like I didn't know enough to speak up. I stuffed it all away, deep, compacted until I spiritually suffocated and began to wither in my own relationship with God. You see, the soil didn't compact itself but it was the other surroundings that caused the tree to be restricted from the very thing it needed, water and oxygen. Water represents the Holy Spirit inside of us and the Oxygen is our lifeline to God.

2) Removal of soil/Changes in soil depth - this also reduces the amount of oxygen and water to the root if more soil is added. The removal of soil can expose and injure roots, change soil condition, and reduce water. What really stood out to me was the fact that by removing soil we end up exposing, and ultimately, injuring the roots. This is a picture of Misleading/Gossiping. Imagine the hurt and damage we cause others when we begin to uncover their faults. We injure the very opportunity that God has given us. Our words and judgement are like a disease that has been fed through the roots to the body. But what we don't realize is that we are not only poisoning a few of the feeder roots but we have injected just enough to travel through every root straight up into the body.

3) Over - and Under watering, improper fertilization - over watering causes the soil pores to fill with eater and restrict oxygen. Under watering does not provide sufficient water for proper root development (our growth is restricted). Over fertilization can injure roots and stress trees and under fertilization results in a lack of minerals essential to maintain a heathy tree. The bottom line: A Competition between the roots takes place. A fight for what little is left and therefore the tree slowly begins to die. We get so caught up in comparing ourselves to one another that we enter a massive competition that slowly but surely takes our attention off of God and onto each other. What happens in the end? We have lost both our relationship with God and those He placed in our life for a reason.

Root disease is not always easy to detect but we can become more familiar with its symptoms. There may be a change in outer appearance. A discoloration in the leaves occurs. Things such as mushrooms, conks, and white fungus begin to grow at the base near the roots and beneath the bark. What does all this mean? Why are we talking about trees? Because in Gods word He always referenced a tree to the people. Think of it this way: we have a good friend, stunning, beautiful, always takes good care of him/herself. Then one day, all of a sudden, they show up not at all in the appearance that we are used to seeing them in. Ok...so maybe they are just having a rough day. Then the following day, it's the same thing. Week after week this friend slowly takes a dive from their true character. What happened? What went wrong? Something happened in that persons life and the roots of their soul became diseased, which traveled throughout the entire body causing them to begin to die spiritually.

What can we do to save the tree? Once the tree is infected, it is difficult to control a root disease. The disease most likely entered the tree due to some form of stress or injury, but there is still hope. It may not be easy to restore the trees health but if the stress is eliminated, the trees vigor may be restored.

Vigor is the active or effective force ---- or in this case "God"
God is our exuberant and resilient strength and vitality. When we look at the word vitality, it means "the capacity for survival or the continuation of a meaningful or purposeful existence."

How great it is to know that with God we can be fully restored to our original purpose. Adequate watering and fertilization is a must though. This means we must consistently pray, read and study the word of God, and worship Him for all He has done in our life.

I know this was a lot of information but I am also grateful for the understanding that God reveals to us in His word. Isn't it amazing how God can liken us to a tree and bring full understanding of the things in our life that do not belong and the instruction of how we must continue to feed the roots of our life?

One last thing I must share with you. If the root system of a tree is severely damaged, tree removal may be recommended. A tree with structurally weakened roots can become a dangerous liability, especially during severe wind storms. We must know when its time to remove that which does not belong in our life, whether it be a person or thing.

John 15:1-4 says it like this:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

Allow God to cut away the things that do not belong; that only cause more stress in your life, and let Him continue to prune to areas that bear much fruit. When we remain in Him we are "...like a tree that is planted by the water that sends out it's roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; it's leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."  Jeremiah 17:8

We Must remain in Him and He will remain in us. Be blessed!

                                                                                                                                                                                

Pressing On

"Not that I have already obtained all this,

or have already been made perfect,

But I press on to take hold of that

for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

But one thing I do:

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize

for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 3:12-14

We are certainly not perfect human beings. I'm sure we've all made some wrong turns down the road. We get lost, find our way, make another wrong turn, think we've found the way out again, and finally realize we are driving in circles. To make matters worse, we are too embarrassed or proud to ask for directions. So we continue on our wrong path, seeking the right one, with no one to help us along the way, all because we felt we could arrive on our own understanding.  

Proverbs 3:5 says "Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding."

Sounds easy enough, huh? And yet, there are so many of us who think we have it all together, but deep down inside we are miserable and seeking for peace. I shared in a previous post last week something I had heard in church that immediately made me evaluate my own life and the way I viewed each and every day. The words from the pulpit where, " We must be faithful with where we are so God can move us to where He wants us to be." The verdict was in...and I stood guilty of becoming impatient with where I am in life.

It's so easy to get caught up in wanting to be at the finish line already. We want to skip the running part and just somehow arrive at our destiny. There's the excitement of wanting to see all that God has planned for us, but we can't become so eager to move forward when our current task is not yet completed. We will make it to the finish line at some point, but guess what? After we finish the race...there's another race already lined up and the training begins all over again. 

I went for a jog this morning. I love those moments because it's just me and God. I have my worship music set and as I run I find that it's in these moments that I can hear God the loudest. My heart pounds, not just because I'm out of breath (lol) but also because I can feel him strengthening me all over again and rebuilding endurance that I have lost in the time away from him. The more I run, the more I get tired and I just feel like giving up, but I can hear Him saying "Don't give up, don't give in, keep pressing on, keep going, you're almost home." And my head immediately looks straight forward towards my goal; my home, and before I know it, I'm there! What an amazing moment to know that God encouraged me all the way. He wants us to finish! He wants us to fulfill our purpose! And most of all He wants to run the race with us! 

We all have a race to run; a purpose to complete, but will we get up and prepare for that race? Going back to the word I heard in church on Sunday. I know God has great places He wants us to be and experience, and the one we are in now is one of those, but we can not move on to the next race until we have reached our current finish line. We must be faithful with where we are now. We must get up everyday ready to complete the thing God has put us in this place to complete. Who out there needs to be encouraged? Who in our life needs to be loved with the love of God? Who do we still need to bless? And where can we go to be a blessing? When we can find joy in doing great things for God and for others, we change lives and God can then move us to where He wants us to be. 

Don't give up on your purpose! Don't give up on the dreams that God has given you! I said it at the beginning and I'll say it again, "We are not perfect human beings," we make mistakes and we may take that wrong turn from time to time, but if we learn to stop and ask God for directions, He will show us the way back to the track and give us the endurance to complete the race. 

I will have to get up tomorrow and prepare to run all over again, but it remains a constant reminder to me of the purpose I have been placed here to do, and that is to be an encouragement to you of how much God loves you and wants lead you to that great finish line; the prize that He has for you. 

I love how the message bible reads, it says it like this:

"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: by no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beakoning us onward--to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back."  Philippians 3:12-14

Keep your eye on the goal, be faithful with where you are, don't look back, but look toward the future and walk in His ways...not our own. We are Pressing On and on the right track. 

God Is Always There

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The seasons of life come in the right time. They may not come when we want them to but they are always right on time; Gods timing. Everything happens in the proper seasons, but if we are not aware of the current season of our life we may find things to be in chaos or an uproar of events that can in time cause panic and delay of our purpose. What happens when we don't know the season of our life that we are in? How can we understand when a shifting takes place in our life? What do we do when something unexpected happens and our life is turned upside down? Was the sudden tragedy part of the plan? Was there any possible way to be prepared for the worst? Gods word say that "For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven."

Isaiah 55:8-9 explains it like this: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says The Lord. For as the heavens are higher than earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." 

So the seasons of both yours and my life have been predestined with a purpose; Gods Purpose for us each indiviually. I do not have the same purpose as you, neither you as I, but we both have a purpose and it shall be fulfilled. I said it before in another post and I'll say it again, things that happen in our life happen for a reason and those things which others may see as an obstacle or a disaster, I can only choose to see as an opportunity to take the worst and allow it to build strength and endurance to persevere through anything. 

The Lord had already placed Ecclesiastes 3 on my heart to share with you on yesterday, but as I was preparing dinner with my family tonight I decided to play some worship. There was a song I had heard before by Christian Artist Mandisa and as I was searching for that song I came across another of her songs that I knew immediately I had to share with you. I had never heard this particular song of hers and it spoke exactly of what God had already placed on my heart to share. Please take a moment to listen to it:

He Is With You - By Mandisa

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P3CVlv2dz3w

Struggles will come and life may seem unbearable at times by we must never forget that God is always with us. He sees our hurt and pain. But I also know that He will never give us more than we can handle. Seasons come and go, We walk out of one season and transition into another and the most important part of the seasons changing is the "transition". The transition means we made it out of whatever struggle we may have had to endure and we overcame with Gods strength and crossed over into a new season of our life.

Psalm 30:5 says "For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." 

We will make it through! When the storms of life come and try to shake us up, we must realize that even though the storm may get worse before it gets better and life feels like a hurricane, guess what?

You're still here. You survived and are still surviving, and after a storm it takes time to put the pieces back together. Some things get lost in the storm and others are found. Some things are rebuilt and others are left in ruin. But life goes on and you heal inside and out. And some of the greatest treasures of your life can be found in the rubble and disaster that a storm has left you. Treasures you may have never even realized or remembered were there. 

No matter what you have been through, are going through or may go through in life...He Is With You!

Even when we can't see or feel Him, God is always there! In our moments of hurt and frustration, in anger or despair, we may walk away form God, but He will never walk away from us. In every season run to Him...He Is With You! Be Blessed!

My Hearts Desires

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of you heart." Psalm 37:4

This has always been a favorite verse of mine for as long as I can remember. As a teenager I would doodle and write these words in almost every journal I owned. I clung to these words everyday and couldn't help but to share them with whoever I had the chance. It was always interesting to hear what other people thought or how they interpreted that verse for themselves. The majority of people would interpret it in this way:

"I believe the scripture is saying that as long as I love God and I delight (or take great pleasure) in Him, then He will promise to give me whatever I want."

I would usually stand there a moment and eventually respond with a "hmmmmm" and then say "ok". Not much to my response back then huh? Well, needless to say, my response has grown (greatly)... Lol

Don't get me wrong. I believe God always wants to bless His children, but I also know that being human we tend to take the selfish approach as well. The selfish definition of "delight" would be "to take great pleasure", which was the answer most given then and I'm sure even now most people would still define it in that way. But when we look at the way the word "delight" is defined in this verse it really means to "please greatly". So who are we really pleasing? Ourselves or God? You see, our desire should be to please God and so therefore, he blesses us with our hearts desires because the desires in our heart are already from Him. Many people immediately think that it just means whatever we desire we will receive. I desire to have a new car and "poof", God makes it happen. I desire a to win the lottery and "poof", we have all we could ever imagine. The desires of our heart should be those that God has placed inside of us. Let me share some examples:

When we give our lives to Christ and we become a born-again believer (meaning we die to our old way of living and choose to live our lives according to Gods word), we desire in our heart to please Him by obeying His word. We choose to please him everyday with the choices we make. We desire to fulfill our purpose that He has created us for.

Romans 8:28 says it like this..."And we know that all things work together for the good of them that love God, and are called according to His purpose."

He promises to work all things out for our good, but we must promise to love Him and live everyday according to His purpose for our life.

One way we can do this is found in Psalm 119:11
"Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."

We can "please Him greatly" by spending time everyday in daily devotion by reading His word and just talking to Him. I shared about prayer in a previous post and how people are sometimes afraid to talk to God because they just don't know what to say, but prayer is just your own personal conversation with Him. Many times I will find myself in the kitchen cooking, worship music playing and I'll just begin to tell Him thank you for all He has done for my family. It's not this elaborate, elegant, extensive prayer, but a few simple words of gratitude. God loves when we just take the time to love Him.

When we desire to please God with our words, actions, obedience and life altogether, He desires to bless us with our hearts desires because we honored Him first.

Matthew 6:33 says it best...
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto  you."

I can truly testify to God's word and say that if you "Delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart." Choose today to Honor Him in all you do.

There Is Always Hope

Job 14:7-9 

 “At least there is hope for a tree:

    If it is cut down, it will sprout again,

    and its new shoots will not fail.

8 

Its roots may grow old in the ground

    and its stump die in the soil,

9 

yet at the scent of water it will bud

    and put forth shoots like a plant.

Life has its ups and downs and for most of us, its the downs we remember the most. Why is it that the negative things in life seem to outweigh the positives? Is life really that miserable or could it be that we just make it out to seem that way? Can we agree that its easier to dwell on the hardships than to rejoice in the blessings? If you ever thought that your life just hit the worst of times, take a moment to  look into the life of Job. Just one chapter would be enough for me to realize that the things I go through is nothing compared to the testing and trials he had to endure. 

Job was distraught, discouraged and torn down and in his moment of "taking his case to God" and sharing with friends about his struggles, he found himself having to defend his words and even his own personal relationship with God. He was questioned about his own ability to see and feel God for himself. He was crying out and verbalizing his pain. At times it may have even sounded a bit whiny. So many questions about why he had to go through such turmoil. He knew where he stood with God but yet he still questioned why. Don't we all? But as I said in an earlier post, the things we go through, we may not understand at the time, but they are making us stronger. Our faith and endurance is being built up. 

In the middle of Job chapter 14 he speaks of a tree:

There is always hope for a tree. You can chop it down but it still has a chance to live again. Its roots can put out fresh sprouts. Even if the sprouts are old and gnarled and the stump lay dormant. At the first whiff of water it comes to life. And it puts forth shoots like a plant. Each day our spirits are chopped down. People pass us by and then return with an axe. They swing, question, discourage, tear down verbally, judge and look down upon you and I. But when we enter into the presence of God, at the first whiff of water (the Holy Spirit), our spirit comes back to life. We are restored. We begin to put forth shoots of hope and strength; perseverance and determination. We begin to grow again into an upright position. Our strength is renewed. We can not be detoured from the path God has for us. Even Job had hope for a life of restoration. The things taken from him would someday be restored even greater than what was lost. 

You see, with the tree, what appeared to be dead was not dead at all but just in need of restoration. When we think about our purpose in life and what God has created us to be and accomplish, we know there are great things to be done but it is the enemies tactics to sway or detour us from that path by telling us me will never complete the task, we are not worthy of our calling, and we are nothing in this life. The lies of the enemy is what strips away our ability to fulfill our purpose, but only if we choose to believe such lies. Trees are amazing creations. So many types, each with their own purpose, just like you and I. An orange tree can not and will not yield apples, so why is it that when we know we have a specific purpose, we allow others to tell us differently from what God has already revealed to us. We must walk into who God created us to be and not what man wants us to be. Our purpose in life is so much greater than the opinions of man. 

"There is always hope for a tree...", so when someone attempts to cut you down, run to the living water, be restored, and walk upright with your head held high and fulfill your God-given purpose.

Trusting God

Ever have one of those days that just seems to fall in the category of "Ugh!"? Let me start with an example. You wake up and you don't quite understand what going on inside of you. Your nose is running but stuffy all at the same time (how does that even happen?), your throat is on fire, head is splitting, stomachs just not right, then you step outside for the first time in the morning and there's that refreshing breeze that you didn't quite expect. Hmmmm...maybe today will be alright after all :) Then the rain comes! Where did that come from?! Its wet and yucky...let me not remind you that you already feel bad. So you can't breathe, your tired and life is the pits! Really...its all falling to shambles. There is nothing left to do but sulk in this awful day. Your life has officially fallen apart and all because you woke up with a runny nose! What happened?

Obviously this was the kind of morning I had but needless to say, my day did not fall apart and my life is still intact :) But isn't it funny how we allow the things we can not control to control our complete day? We choose to allow that little illness, or setback to do just that to our entire day...Set it back. I once had a friend who did just that. She seemed to surround herself with the negatives of her day and soon enough (probably before the sun could even attempt to rise) her day was predetermined by her negative thoughts of what could possibly get worse. On the other hand, I have this amazing friend who does not deny the fact that life does have its ups and downs but somehow (with Gods grace and strength) she always sees that silver lining; the sunshine peeking through the clouds; the calm after the storm.

Why is it that most of the time we can relate to the woman who only saw the bad in life? She never stood on spiritual lookout for the hidden treasures; the blessings of God. She always anticipated the worst. Life is not perfect but we must have the faith to look beyond our troubles and see that the sun is still there, its just temporarily out of sight. I am reminded of the things God showed me in my previous posts. He showed how the rain came to wash away that which did not belong. Come to think of it, too much sunlight and not enough cover would eventually cause the flowers to wilt and dry up. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. God knew that I needed rest today, and because I rested, my entire family was able to rest. God knew we needed to slow down and be still for a moment.

I remember a phrase a pastor once taught us..."Everything in our life is either God sent or God used. If He didn't send it, He will use it." It is so true too. I can 't even begin to tell you about the many times we have encountered a struggle, but because we endured and overcame we can say that we are much stronger today than before the struggle even hit. If we never went through anything in life how would we be able to encourage others that they can overcome if they just believe and trust God to see them through. The struggles we endure build endurance...the ability to withstand hardship or adversity. The struggles may never quit coming to try and take us out or press us down but one thing for sure is that as we endure and overcome, each new struggle becomes easier to get through because our spiritual endurance has been increased and strengthened.

In times of trouble I am always reminded of King David. If there is anyone in the bible that I admire for their perseverence in overcoming it is him. David was not perfect, he made mistakes, he doubted at times and many times he most likely could have thrown in the towel, but through his adversity he always remembered where his strength came from. This is only a small example of the desperation and the constant faith that he had in God...

Psalm 13
"How long Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
My heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord's praise,
for He has been good to me."

If it weren't for David's "but" (no pun intended) lol...where would he be. Yes he struggled, yes he doubted...who doesn't in the midst of a trial?
"BUT" he remembered the Lord. Through the struggle he was reminded of all the things God had already done for him. His faith was restored! He saw the silver lining...that ray of hope peeking from beyond the clouds. My heart desires to encourage you to keep the faith. When the world around you crumbles, look at the great things God has already done and have faith that He will pick up the pieces and assemble them where they need to be. Be encouraged!

Purposed by God

Our life IS on purpose. So many people seem to wander this earth, day by day, looking for the next meaningful moment; hoping for a breakthrough; wanting and longing for a instance of revelation. Everything inside of them cries out for clarity; for truth..."God, who am I?"..."What was I placed on this earth to do?"..."Why don't I fit in?"..."Who will ever see me for me and not for what they expect me to be?" Sounds like the yearnings of a teenager, but the true of the matter is that we all cry out in silence at some point in this lifetime and no one knows our pain. And often it seems even that they don't really care to know what troubles our heart and makes us doubt the very thing God purposely created us to be and do. I may not know what each one of you battles day after day. I may never see the hurt inside the depths of your soul but I do know one thing for sure...

God does!
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We are Purposed by God. He had a plan for you before you were even born. And the plan is good! To say that life brings hard times is an understatement. Life at times can bring the whirlwinds of chaos and destruction. We find that our world has been shaken, it seems that the enemy has won, and life can't get any worse...and guess what? Sometimes it does get worse, but will we give in to the enemies tactics? Do we allow him the victory? Is our God given purpose stripped from us? Or do we refuse to be tempted, tortured and tormented? I had to listen to the voice of God inside of me, even if it was a whisper, and get back up to finish the fight! It was in that moment that God showed me a picture of us, His children, and how we are seen through the eyes of our Heavenly Father. This is what He revealed to me one morning as I sat watching the rain fall outside of my window:

"You know what my heart anticipates after the storm? A rainbow...a new beginning. Today God reminds me and confirms to me once again that through this rain comes a new beginning. 

The rain comes to wash things away. I see a vision of a flower. When the rain falls, it may press upon and weigh the flower down, but it does not crush it. The weight of that rain may run down from the top of the flower to its roots so that it may retain each drop to make it stronger and cause growth. Its amazing Lord how something so heavy that causes me to bow would eventually make me grow in strength and fortitude. 

The rain is water from heaven...which is the spirit of God.

Rain also washes away the things that surround the flower (which is you and I) that does not belong. But even though the rain is strong enough to wash away that which does not belong, it still can not uproot the flower for we have been made strong. The rain is what keeps us strong in the place that we are planted by God, not by man.

In life a flower may become uprooted, but it is not at the hand of the rain or the spirit of God, but by the enemy. The enemy can attempt to remove us from the very place God planted us but because we were strengthened by the spirit of God (or His rain) He takes us and covers our roots with fresh soil, feeding and watering us once again, in a new place, in His garden...the safe place.

When we look at the plants we find that there are flowers, which are beautiful, meaningful, and planted on purpose. Then you have the wildflowers. They too are beautiful but they grow in open areas where there is nothing to cover or protect them. Lastly, you have the weeds. They have come to overshadow the rest. They desire to take over and devour both the flowers and wildflowers.

We are Gods flowers, on purpose and protected by the spirit. The wildflowers are those still in the world. They are beautiful in Gods eyes and God loves them but they are not protected or covered because they have not yet given their lives to Christ.

The weeds are the enemy...the ones who attempt to devour and take us down. But just as the gardener pulls the weeds away from the flowers, so does our heavenly father strip them away to wither and die.

Consider this too...A flower is eventually picked. There is a purpose in the flower being hand picked. The purpose is to bless someone else. The flower, when given, is appreciated, loved, treasured and cared for to the best of that individuals ability.

Yes the flower will eventually wither and die but when it does, its purpose feels fulfilled. The memory of that flower still lives on in so many different ways because it touched the life of someone else. That flower is remembered and treasured always."

You see...God picked you and I to touch lives. We are a bouquet gathered and put together in this world to bless others. We are Purposed by God to do great things and never should be allow the enemy to cripple us from fulfilling our God-given purpose. What is your purpose in life? Whether you know what it is or not, know one thing for sure...you do have a purpose because God has a plan for you!

Life On Purpose...

I often wonder what God has in store for us next. What will our life become and what journey will we go on next, good or bad. I do not see the length of the journey but I see the seasons along the road. Seasons of life that help us get through each moment of time, knowing that the storm may only last for a short time but sunshine of joy reveals itself in the morning. Life has those ups and downs, roller coasters of chaos, whirlwinds of desperation, and showers of refreshing. We may never know what lies ahead of us but one thing for sure is that with faith we will overcome, we will make it to the other  side, and we will survive whatever we may have to battle in life.

I heard a word this Sunday on Prayer. This topic can often make people feel uncomfortable. Maybe because they just might not know the words to say, or could it be because they have never prayed? Do we keep prayer private as to not offend anyone around? Have we been taught to pray only with those who believe as we do? Why do we refrain from openly praying for others? It is often the innocence of a child that can teach us the greatest of lessons when we fall short. Let me share an example to explain my thoughts. It was on a day that my daughters and I were walking with friends. One of their friends fell and scraped her knee. The adults of course checked on the child to make sure she was alright, but the eldest of my twin daughters was determined to see to it that she had all the help and care she needed. She walked with her until we came to a place to sit. Her determination to help at that point surpassed anything I would have even thought of. She waited for us to stop talking before she stated that we needed to pray for her friends knee. Of course we stopped and closed our eyes as we waited for her to finish her prayer. Wow! A child commanded silence in the most respectful way to pray for a friend. I had to question myself at that point. Why is it that when any of my friends share with me that they are struggling or hurting in some area of their life I don't immediately stop and offer to pray for that situation? Why do we shrink back and only offer to keep them in our prayers but we don't commit to pray right then and there for God to take control of that situation? Are we embarrassed? Do we worry about what others may think of us?

Prayer often becomes that moment where we tend to lay our requests out for God and hope that each one is answered and fulfilled with the least amount of work on our part. Our time with God becomes an asking session instead of a moment to just thank Him for all we do have. I am reminded of moments when we had no food, bills where not paid and utilities were off but we thanked Him for the home we had, the roof over our head, and the clothes on our back. He always made a way of provision for us. We never lacked and our faith was increased. He has never failed us.

The word from Sundays message hit home with me (as it always does) but one particular point he made was all I needed to hear to launch me into tomorrow. If you have to time please visit www.gojourneychurch.com and watch the complete message video from November 10th...but getting back to the statement made, the pastor spoke these words and I immediately knew what I needed to do for the rest of my life. I titled this post "Life on Purpose" for a reason. Those words were," Be faithful with where you are and with what you have now, then God will move you to where He wants you to be and with what He wants you to have." Many of us, and I put myself in there as well, have spent so many prayers complaining and questioning, wondering and waiting for the answers to all of our questions and we get so frustrated with God when we don't get to the place we desire in the time we want to be there. Our prayers were indeed answered but it just wasn't time yet. We can't understand why, but God knows the plans He has for us. There was one main thing I realized through the sermon though, and that is that we often don't take the time to appreciate where we are in life, no matter the current circumstances, because the truth is that we could be in a far worser place.  What we do with our today will determine what we will walk into tomorrow. Will we be faithful with what we have now or will we live miserably always dreaming of tomorrow.

I know there are great things ahead for all of us but for now every morning is a new day to appreciate the breath God placed in me and the ability to share with the world how great God is and how much He loves both you and I. He gave me a purpose on this earth just like He did for you and that is why our "Life is on Purpose". Be faithful with what you have today and God will move you into the greatness He has for your tomorrow.

I would love to close with a favorite verse of mine...

"For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  Ephesians 2:10

We all have a purpose. Live it and know that your purpose just might be to help change someone else's life through encouragement, and yes, prayer.