Tag: faith

It Snowed Today…

January 3rd, 2025

I hear you saying and… Well let me start by saying the sun was shining as I walked into the mall… by the time I left we had what the weather app calls snowsquall… I have lived in many places that get a lot of snow and have I never heard of this term before… It was like a blizzard in two seconds without warning…

I think life is a lot like a snow squall… One minute you are walking in sunshine loving life… then the next you are walking in your flip flops with basically a blizzard(yes, this was me today)… Not prepared for this drastic change in this thing we call life…I bet a moment came straight flying into your memory…

My first real memory of this was when I was in 5th grade… I woke up to my dad telling me my grandpa had died of a massive heart attack… I remember thinking “this can not be true… we literally just talked yesterday about where we were going for my birthday dinner…” In an instant I went from sunshine to a snowsquall out of no where… Unprepared with a chance of frost bite…

Maybe you have frostbite from your out of no where snowsquall moment… I remember being a little angry with God for taking my grandpa away… But… I watched my nana have joy among the loss of her husband… I wanted what she had… hope… The only hope we have which is Jesus… He is the light when you can not see in the dark… He is the one who brings you those boots you need when you only packed flipflops…. He is the one that will hold you as search for warmth… HE IS OUR HOPE…

Eventually the snowsquall ends and the warmth of the sun peeks out behind the clouds… Just enough so you can believe there are better tomorrows… Maybe you are in a sunshine season… May be you are in the middle of the wildest storm that came out of no where…. Each season is temporary… Jesus is permanent… HE IS THERE… If you would like to know this true hope I would love to share more… Please know I am praying you each of you in whatever season you may be in right now… You are seen by your Creator…
That Path Looks Scary…

December 1st, 2024

I remember thinking as I was taking a walk through the woods with a friend… The path was muddy and inclined… I was so worried about falling, or slipping… I even mentioned maybe we should turn around and head back… My sweet friend turned around and said, “it is worth the climb I promise…” We got up on the top and looked over the beautiful river as the sun was starting to peek out… And to think I almost missed it because I thought the path looked too scary…

Sometimes God calls us to a path that is full of mud, one that at times can seem scary… One that He is asking us to trust Him… There are many people I know right now walking this path… paths that seem like they are crawling through the mud not making much movement… One that seems the scariest of their life… One where they do not know where God is calling them to however they know He is calling them to trust Him up that scary path… I know there have been many seasons where I had to say “God I really do not understand this path you are calling me on, but I guess if you are calling me here I will follow even if it makes no sense to me or to those who are watching…”

Those seasons were where I became strong in Christ… Those are the seasons where I can look back and say look what you have done Lord… Do I wish at times God would of let me just walk on level ground… Yes… But if he had let me walk the less scary path I would of never taken His hand to climb the path that was messy so I could see His glory….

If you are on this scary path right now can I encourage you to take His hand…You may not know the ending… You may be struggling to trust God to lead you… You may be tired and sore… Remember though muscles become stronger after a hard hike… God will strengthen you….God will stay with you on this scary path… Hebrews 13:5 tells us “I will never leave you nor forsake you”… He is with you… Trust Him… He loves you… Praying for you if you are this path that may seem scary now….
It Was Just a Doritos Bag…

November 11th, 2024

That my pastor Zack told us he picked up during our church sermon a few weeks back…the Spirit stirred him to pick up this Doritos bag while walking on our Nation’s capital and throw it away…He stated sometimes God puts a stirring in our soul to go back and pick up a Doritos bag in obedience to our Maker…

Ok… I can hear some of you thinking…ok… and…. Can I be honest I have not been able to get this visual out of my head… Like what if our impact for the kingdom of God would be something as simple as a Doritos bag… Like can you imagine if we just stopped and listened to the small stirring in our life? Like saying hi how are you to stranger… If anything that may be able to make them be seen… The obedience in something small could lead to a huge ripple effect… Like today as I was walking in the National mall and I could not ignore the small pieces of trash…

I felt the stirring to pick it up just like Pastor Zack had shared… I walked it to the trashcan laughing to myself thinking “look to serve and not be served”.. Jesus said he had come to serve and not be served… A voice from behind said “I saw what you did… thank you…” I looked behind me, “me?” She said “yes, I normally bring a bag with me but I forgot today…” I smiled and shared with her the story my pastor shared… She smiled… We chatted a little more about God’s faithfulness and how truly blessed we are…

One small ripple… Pastor Zack if you’re reading this, your stirring has caused a small stirring in my soul to continue to look for those small moments… To talk to a stranger about God’s faithfulness…. Friends, can I challenge you to be still and listen to a stirring God maybe putting in your life… You never know what kind of Kingdom work the Lord is calling you to… We may never understand on this side of heaven why we are called to do small things… I do believe God will show us how the small things turned into big things… I think there may be a lot of Doritos bag’s stories… God sees you and loves you…. A stirring is Holy no matter how small….
So you didn’t grow up in a Christian home….

October 26th, 2024

Was the question I was asked as I shared with a woman how I got drunk for the first time at 15… My reply, “no I was, raised in Christian home”. “Then why did you do it?” was the follow up question… For a second the shame of my past started to suffocate me… Then I remembered it was finished at the cross…

Well…. I replied, ” I am a sinner. saved by grace… I was looking for validation… I wanted someone to just see me… I loved Jesus but my actions were not one of love for Jesus but love for self.. But God…

Fellow brothers and sisters in Christ let’s not lead with these types of questions… These questions made me almost forget what Jesus said on the cross “it is finished”… Ya’ll Christ finished it… My past is something that helped me fall even more in love with Jesus.

My poor decisions when I was young is what makes me so PASSIONATE about teaching the next generation may know the goodness of God… God is the God who give us rules and free will… This is why I look at my own daughters in the eyes and say hey this is what I did and I wish I would of truly believed what God said about me then and now…

I realize that through my past is what makes my present a testimony… maybe the question we should be leading with is, “tell me how God used that night to bring you where you are today…” Friends keep pressing forward… Keep being a light in the darkness… Keep listening to Jesus’ words on the cross “It is finished”
Broken….

August 23rd, 2024

What comes to mind when you hear this word… I think of a toy… one that we just toss in the trash because it is no longer good to play with… I think this image in my mind can go with how we go about life. If it is broken we throw it away without trying to fix it… We think broken means done… No hope to save it… We do not even look for a way to fix it before we throw it away….

In this world we live in there is a lie that says you better not show your brokenness…you just throw that thing away what is broken in your life… We think if we throw the broken thing away then it will all be better but most of the time in my own life experience just “throwing away” my brokenness or not dealing with it has caused even more brokenness to the point where I felt hopeless… But what if…

Broken was something beautiful… What if broken is the very thing we need to become solely dependent upon something bigger than ourselves….What if broken is what leads us to the feet of Jesus… Sometimes we have to be broken so He can make something beautiful…

In my own broken seasons of life a few years a go… I remember saying to God this is hopeless, I do not think there is a way this can be healed… I would lay on my bedroom floor weeping wondering if I would be broken forever… I wrestled with God in that seasons trying to sweep up what I thought was shattered… as I collected the broken to throw away He began to rebuild the walls on the foundation that was not broken…. Him… He was the foundation… My house was torn down to the foundation so he could build a safer more dependable home.

I had to be broken down so all I could do was crawl to God.. He began to restore… Parts I thought were solid in my life I see now were just ply wood… He laid bricks on the foundation… God is safe and kind… In my brokenness I learned his character and my gaze was refocused on Him.

If you are walking in broken, crawl to our Maker…. He will carry you through… When we get through that seasons we will be able to look back eventually and say look what God did… Your walk with broken will look different than others because God is so personal with each of us… I do know this He will never leave you nor forsake you…He is someone you can always count on to show up… Praying for you friends….
DO you really….

August 8th, 2024

Read your Bible every morning? That is what the teller at the bank asked me as I quoted something I had read that morning to encourage her. “I really need to start doing that… I am learning from you”. My reply, “I learned it from Jesus… He is the example, He woke up early before any of his disciples were awake to be with God. ” We talked a little more, said see you soon and I went to my van and my eyes welled up with tears as I thought about Jesus example…

Friends, Jesus woke up early to be alone with God… I believe Jesus did this because he knew he was going to be in the world (like we are every day) and He had to be ready for the battle… We live in the world… We can not live of it fellow Christians… Jesus walked this earth like we do… Jesus knew God’s Word… When Satan tempted Him in the desert Jesus quoted God’s truth back to defeat Satan’s lies…

Fellow Christian, how you can you live in this world and not of it if you are going into the world Spiritually hungry? God’s Word is food for our Soul… We consume the Word before the world because we can not go into battle hungry (kind of like when you walk into the grocery store hungry and end up filling your cart with everything that sounds good but you do not need.) How can we fight the lies of this world if we do not know the truth of God’s word? The world NEEDS God’s truth. We need God’s truth.God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

It is hard to wake up early. I get that 100%. It is a sacrifice of extra sleep or not getting as long of a workout in… I know and so does our Creator. Jesus is not asking us to do something he did not do.. He was the example of sacrifice. I know it will be hard at first however as you begin to feast on God’s word every day before the world, you will not feel defeated… You will begin to feel hope realizing earth is only a layover while we wait on the Lord. Your strength will be renewed. God’s word promises it…
Happy Mother’s Day

May 12th, 2024

There is a trend right now happening and it made my heart a little sad. There are a bunch of reels that are making it seem most moms do not want to be even around their kids. I call bull on this narrative. My gut tells me if moms say this they think it will protect them from the disappointment of high expectations they may have on this day. They want to be celebrated but maybe in years past they were let down by comparing what they got to the woman who got that crazy expensive purse.. What they got was up all night with a sick kid and some store bought flowers…

When watching these reels I laughed at first then my heart sank… What are these telling future women who want to be mom’s… Do not do it, you are better off with no kids, or hey just get ready for disappointment… Do not get me wrong I love alone time however I love family time more… Being a mom has given me new eyes to see the world around me. I see joy that I would miss in the small details of life… like raspberries on bellies get the deepest laughs, or how your teenager still runs to you with tears down her face that only a mom’s hug can fix.

I would hate for my kids to see these videos and think wow my mom wanted to be alone and not with me. My heart hurts because we can laugh we do not know the ripple effects these could cause in the future. These kiddos are going to be future parents, I want my girls to understand that parenting is hard but also so rewarding.

Motherhood is hard and rewarding. I LOVE motherhood. Yes it comes with heartache but more than that it comes with joy. The Bible talks a lot about parenthood. Psalm 127: 3 ” Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward”.

I hope all you mom’s out there know you are so loved by our Heavenly Father! I am praying for the mom who would do anything to have her children with her, I am praying for the mom who feels a lone, I am praying for the future mom who is waiting to become a mom. May we have lenses to see past the hard and see the reward. Happy Mother’s Day!

May today be a day where you feel God’s presence and His peace. Knowing he called you to this place. He is with you and loves you.
Dear Church Member Who Feels Alone…

April 22nd, 2024

I see you… I am you… You walk into church each Sunday hoping this week will feel a little different… That maybe just maybe someone will actually look into your eyes when they ask “how are you?” and actually listen to the answer…

You serve on the welcome team, the praise team, the clean up crew, children’s church hoping to maybe find your fit… You watch those around you making friendships and you wonder to yourself why can’t I have that Lord. Is there something wrong with me?

Dear Church Member who feels a lone… I see you… I am you… I am proud of you for showing up every week for Jesus and not for man… It does not make is easier but it makes it worth it when we show up for Jesus.

Maybe the loneliness feeling is what is drawing you closer to Jesus… Maybe where you are in this season is God’s calling in your life that you will see those who may need to be seen… Maybe he is using this so you can be still and know he is good… Maybe this season is calling you to total surrender to walk the hard and keep showing up… Maybe that life friend is the new family that you do not even know yet…

Dear Church Member who feels alone… I see you… Maybe God is using this so you can be the ripple of change to make sure everyone has a friend when they walk in each Sunday… You are not a lone my friend… Jesus tells us we are never alone… He is with us… Jesus is your best friend… He listens every time you talk… Keep going… The loneliness will fade because God always shows up… YOU ARE NOT A LONE. I pray you feel his presence and that your eyes will look out to see those who are you in this moment…
Seasons…

February 4th, 2024

That is the word that comes to mind when I think of this military life… There are seasons of deployments… Seasons of moving… Seasons of new… Seasons of old.. Seasons of lonely… Seasons of promotions… Seasons of I do not want to do another move….(I know life is seasons, for non military families too).

I have been doing this military spouse thing for 15 years… Most days I love this life other times I hate it because sometimes certain seasons can come with 10 minutes notice (If you are a military spouse I think I heard an amen). I have sat with other military wives as we are sitting in the season of being a “single parent” while our husbands are in their season of deployment, talking about the season of when they are home…

I am in the season of 7 months here and just kind of getting a groove. This season of being in a new place is always a lot of emotions right? Like ok Lord you called us here, why? Sometimes I peak into the last season of where we lived and think to myself that was the best season… My husband says to me you always say that… There are seasons when you realize God put people in your life there to help you… It is ok if that season has changed and it looks different…Like winter in Florida verse winter in Kansas… Same season different views on it…. Are you in a season right now? Maybe a hard season.. a happy season.. an unknown season..

King Solomon talks about there being a time for everything in Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8…”a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted….a time to mourn a time to dance…a time to speak..” (go read it all. I just chose a few lines) A lot of times we focus on the season and forget that it all comes in waves… God wants you to focus on him and not on the season and to understand HE is there through it all….

Seasons… They are the best and the worst for us mere humans… But God uses it all for growth…. Use this season you are in right now to focus on God and what he has for you in this moment.
“Lord, if it’s you”

June 6th, 2023

Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water” (Matthew 14:28 NIV). I mean imagine being Peter in this moment walking to our Savior Jesus. I imagine a smile on his face as he walking on the water, with his gaze fixed on Jesus. In that moment he probably felt unstoppable. But then… “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30 NIV).

Have you ever had a Peter on the water moment? You are stepping out of the boat to walk in God’s calling with your eyes fixed on the Creator, then you take your eyes off for not even a second and you are sinking and crying out “Lord, save me!” I know I have too many times to even count. I have prayed big prayers, God answers yes then a wind of doubt, anxiety, a hurtful comment come and I take my eyes off of Jesus and on to those things. I begin to sink….

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31 NIV).

Immediately……. that word is circled throughout my Bible. Immediately Jesus reached out his hand for Peter. Immediately…. Jesus saved Peter. He does that for us too friends, when we give our life to Jesus he immediately saves us from hell. Let that sink in for a moment…..

When I am on the glass water, not one wave I walk confidently with Jesus…. but when that wind comes I get so focused on the wind that I forget to just say Lord, help. I can spend days, weeks, or even months asking why instead of crying out help.

When I remember he immediately meets me in the waves that are swallowing me whole at times…. His peace covers me and the waves stop knocking me down. I hear Him “(fill in your name) You of little faith… why did you doubt? Why did you let a hiccup, hurtful comment, anxiety make you doubt what I have called you too? I was seriously right here. Why didn’t you let me grab your hand?” I have to humble myself often to just say, Jesus I am sorry. It is scary, but you are there even when I look away.

Where is God calling you? Are you being swallowed by the wind or are you saying Lord, save me……