Is It Time To Get Out Of GOD'S Way?

Have you ever had a situation arise where you found yourself upset and wanting things to be different? Well I had that happen on my Birthday. An unexpected issue arose before we were set to leave for my Birthday dream trip which had me very stressed. I almost didn't want to go. In the middle of it all I found myself alone in my car...I broke down. I began to sob and pray. I asked The LORD, (well more like begged and pleaded with HIM) to fix and completely heal the situation. 

I left on my trip and continued to pray about it. I read my Scriptures on the plane and wrote in my journal, trying to come to terms with what to do. Then JESUS filled me with Peace to just leave it alone and enjoy my trip. There was truly nothing I could do except give it to GOD. When we arrived home very late last night, I had a change of heart. This morning, after reading my Scriptures and Praying, I asked The LORD, "Please give me YOUR Words, Wisdom and Guidance on what to say and how to handle what YOU'VE placed in front of me...all of YOU and none of me. In JESUS' Name, Amen. I went downstairs and was flooded with words, tears, stories of my past mistakes and GOD'S Mercy, Love, Forgiveness, Grace, and Healing. So I continued to share how JESUS made the impossible possible. I listened. I prayed. I hugged. I allowed JESUS to show up and move hearts. 

Friends, I always talk about "no coincidences", but I need to remember that it also applies to areas that may not be ideal. There are lessons to learn, things to lay down, situations that The LORD is teaching to trust in HIM, call on HIM; allowing JESUS to move mountains of impossible. I may need to get out of HIS way, remembering that GOD is bigger than anything I face. 

So let me ask you, are you struggling with something? Are difficulties showing up out of no where? Join me in asking The LORD, "What do you want me to learn and how do you want to use me in this situation? Give me YOUR Wisdom to see, say and act the way YOU want me to, in JESUS' Name, Amen. I'm thankful for this bigger picture. I can often shrink GOD's plans down to my minimal understanding of what HE'S trying to do!

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts."~Isaiah 55:8-9

Jump on the #ThankfulTrain...what are you thankful for?

Are You Running in Circles?

Her tail began to wag furiously in anticipation; treats...her favorite highlight of the day. I opened the back door. She ran out thinking I was going to give it to her out there. But I quickly shut the door.

You see...I have a problem, I love to play jokes, whether it's on my hubby, kids, friends and yes even my piercing blue eyed, beautiful Siberian Husky, Allie.

She sat outside for a minute staring at me through the window and then quickly ran through the doggy door, into the living room and back into the kitchen. I promptly had the door open for her again. She ran right out. I closed the door. Back through the doggy door she came, circling back in to the all too familiar open back door. Slam. I was seriously curious to see how many times it would take her to catch on. We were all standing in the kitchen laughing. She ran back in and as I opened the door she stopped and stood next to me, waiting this time for me to go out first. The third time was the charm. She wasn't going to fall for it anymore.

How many times does it take you to learn a lesson? Are you continuing to run through the same door that's led you down the wrong path time and time again? As you crawl your way back through the small "doggy door" trying to start over again...do you find yourself running straight at the door you know will close on you? Without changing habits, you will never see different results. The Lord is always calling you to Him. He has given you an escape. He wants you to learn to seek Him before you go running in the wrong direction again. He wants to teach you to "wait on Him." He will open a door that no man can shut when you "allow" Him to go before you preparing the way.

Pray, seeking Him for the right path. Learn from your past mistakes. Don't continue to run in circles, never getting anywhere. Jesus wants to guide you to your true purpose, away from past sins that so easily entangle, attempting to drag you back in...a constant trick...a joke. You know the door will slam shut on that empty way of life. The Lord has sacrificed everything to show you a better way...a way out!

Today, call out to Him. Ask Jesus to guide you, heal you, forgive you. Ask Him to make ALL THINGS new; setting you free from the chains of bondage which have held you captive for far too long. Lay it all down. Ask Jesus into your life, your heart...setting you free. Ask Him to take you deeper in His love. He is your Savior. He stands with outstretched arms, waiting to embrace you and go before you on the journey He has prepared for you. A safe passage.

It's time to stop running in the wrong direction. You are loved! You were called for more!

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."~Romans 8:37


 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”
“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name."~Revelation 3:7-8

AND AGAIN...

"The key of the house of David
I will lay on his shoulder;
So he shall open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open."~Isaiah 22:22 

 "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."~Jeremiah 29:13

Are You Running Fast Enough?

The boy, no older than 2 years old ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. Laughter filled the air as he glanced several times over his shoulder to see if his dad was getting closer. In just a few short steps he closed the gap, stooping down, he scooped his child into his arms swinging him around and around. He gently set him down and began to walk away. The young toddler, realizing it was his turn to chase his dad, set his legs in motion, awkwardly trying to maintain his balance while increasing his speed. Faster and faster he went, until the pace was too much for his tired little legs. He launched forward, falling to his knees; his father immediately coming to his rescue.

I want to be just like this young child. I want to be running after Jesus so fast that my feet give out and I'm constantly falling to my knees.

"Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the Lord,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall, 
But those who wait on the Lord 
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles, 
They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint."~Isaiah 40:28-31

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."~Isaiah 40:28-31

IT LEAKED OVER EVERYTHING!

I changed plans, instead of a nice day relaxing on the beach after yoga, I decided to take a walk deep into the wetlands. I stopped and picked up my favorite tri-tip/veggie bowl, threw it in my bag and headed off down the trail. I walked for quite a while before stopping at a quiet location with benches. It was time to sit and eat, bird watch and write. As I pulled my bowl out, I realized the delicious teriyaki juices had seeped out, right through the paper bag and into my backpack. It poured all over my Bible and writing tablet...soaking in from the cover to the pages.

Absorbing in.
The good stuff.
The flavor.
The very thing that makes it good.

I was struck by the comparisons to my life's journey. As I made a choice to turn from my old empty life and walk toward Jesus, as I made a commitment to read The Bible at least 10 minutes every morning, to pray daily, changes began. Small at first. My attitude...I wasn't always expecting the worst in my day. I felt hopeful...the good words of God seeping in. Trials would come, but they were no longer my undoing. Day by day, 10 minutes stretched into 15, 20, 30 minutes; the sweetness, the craving for more truth, absorbing into the deep recesses of my emptiness. My words, my actions, my desires...they all began to change.

How can it be that simple? 

Reading and praying, "Yes JESUS, have YOUR WAY in my life!" The truth. The good stuff of Christ being absorbed. 

Just like my leaking teriyaki sauce, that covered everything in my backpack, Jesus' truth, words, forgiveness, grace, love, and light will sink deep into your heart when you open The Bible. Pray. Ask Jesus into your life. He comes like a flood...a wave of rushing water to the dry, parched soul.

If you are at a crossroads, stop and ask Jesus which way to go. He is, He has, the answer you've been looking for. He will pour out His love. ASK HIM! 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."~John 14:6

And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”~Mark 9:28-29

"Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you: I will make my words known to you."~Proverbs 1:23

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams."~Acts 2:17

WHEN CHANGE HURTS...

Ouch! I looked down and noticed my Hawaiian wooden bracelet with the beaded flowers was too tight. I pushed it further up and began rubbing the sore area. That's when I noticed the beautiful floral design had made a perfect imprint on my wrist. It looked very cool.

For hours it had been digging in, forming, shaping and molding it's image. I was unaware at first because it took time to wear it's way in. As it worked into the deeper layers, leaving it's mark, the pain increased, eventually drawing my attention to the area.

Often when the Lord is trying to work on areas in your life, it may feel the same way. When you first asked Jesus to come into your heart, changing, molding and shaping your life into His good and perfect image; you felt a joy and peace that may have brought you to tears. As time passed, the Lord slowly began to work from the inside; into the deep recesses of your hidden areas. The areas that needed to be healed, restored and renewed. Painful things may begin to arise. Jesus lovingly coaxes you to keep looking toward Him. Pray...read the Scriptures, sing/listen to songs of Praise; FILL UP...more of Him and less of you, right smack in the middle of it.

He is trying to bring you out of the bondage sin has placed on you, calling attention to certain areas. Right in the center of that pain, He is reshaping, reforming your life; removing all things that He has already suffered and died for. Jesus is reminding you to call on Him, allowing Him to take it out of you. The sting may feel unbearable at times. It's in that very moment that He reminds you to look toward His healing love...an all consuming refiners fire. The "old" you being made brand new. The person God created you to be.

In the midst of your trials, call on Jesus. Look to Him as though you search a dry, parched land for water. He is the living water. 
Jesus said: "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 
"but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14

Do not shrink back in the difficulties. Don't push away from the Lord...draw near to Him. Allow Jesus to change you. Cry out, "Lord, Jesus, come into my heart and make me more like You!" Right in the middle of your mess...He will bring healing, wisdom and peace as you yield to the Masters hand. He is doing a great and mighty work in you. Let Jesus imprint HIS IMAGE on your heart and soul. Call on HIM. 
"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:9

He is the Savior of the world and loves you with an everlasting eternal love. Let Go. God has great plans for you. 
"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39