Embracing the Moments

Another year has come upon us! Each year goes by so quickly it seems, and it almost feels as if the roller coaster of life has reached the top and we are running at full capacity on a down hill slope. It reminds me of the time I took my 6 year old, who is now 16, to see the Polar Express movie when it first came out. She did ok until the part where the boy and the old man were standing on top of the train. The train reached the top and all of a sudden it was going downhill at a high rate of speed. This scared my daughter so bad we had to get up and leave.

I don’t know about you, but at times, it feels as if that’s the way it is in life. We’ve had our face to the ground and have been pushing, pulling, building, declaring, and testifying all the way to the top, not even realizing we’ve made it to the top and all of a sudden there is a huge shift and it comes so quickly we don’t even know what to do with it and the feeling of free-falling starts.

I think we all go through these times that come upon us so suddenly. Then there are times when, if we stop, breathe and listen, we can sense a stirring, feel a wind in the air and if we are honest about it, we may even hesitate to embrace it. Embracing the change is what will give our hearts permission to step into it.

As I am embracing my current change or what I will call, unveiling, it’s my heart that wants to say, ‘bring it on…I can do this’. My mind says ‘no way, this is not the time’. But I find, as I embrace it and give myself over to it, things begin to shift in me and I begin to see and hear Him differently.

Psalm 139:23 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart”. For me, when I am going through these times, my most vulnerable prayer is this scripture. How can I embrace the change, let the shift take place in me, and come out the other side changed and victorious? The only way is to become vulnerable in His presence, let your heart be examined and allow the shaping and molding to begin, then step into a new level that God has for you.

My encouragement to you today is this: keep your eyes set ahead, your heart tuned to the frequency of Heaven, and be aware of what you see and feel. When the change or the shift comes embrace it, go with it, and give yourself permission to fall into it. Let Him take you to new places in Him. Let Him do a new thing in you and let Him make the necessary adjustments to the way you think, see, and hear…which will adjust the way you speak.

Embrace these times…they are intimate moments or seasons that He is calling you closer!

Just Breathe!

2015-03-30 06.45.07

I love sunrises!

I was sitting at my kitchen table one morning watching the sunrise mark another day’s beginning. As I watched I asked God, ‘why do I love sunrises so much’? I felt like I heard Him say…”With each sunrise is a new day and I don’t hold you in bondage to yesterday”. I was stunned by that simple thought. There is no way God is going to hold yesterday’s actions, thoughts or deeds over my head until I decide to change.

How many of us continually let yesterday dictate our today? How many times have we done or said something that we wished later on that we could take that back. How many of those times we participated in what our emotions were feeling instead of our heart?

I know as being a parent of 3 children it can sometimes be days of unending demand and by the end of the day I can tend to start snapping back and end up looking forward to bedtime. Yes, they are getting older now, but those days still exist sometimes.

Life has a way of demanding and pulling on us in numerous directions and we end up feeling like a ‘Stretch Armstrong’ doll. Almost everyday there is the pressure to, get to work, get the kids to school, deal with traffic, be abruptly cut off or given a dirty look because you’re not moving fast enough for another driver, do all the errands that need to be done, pay the bills, do the laundry, clean the house, go pick up the kids, help them with their seemingly endless stack of homework (even after being at school for 6-7 hours) but that’s whole ‘nother blog subject…lol. By the time homework is done, dinner is done, dishes have been washed and baths have been given, oh and a load of laundry thrown into the washer…you finally make it to getting the kiddo’s to bed (which takes 30 minutes alone), and you plop down on the couch, put your feet up and then finally….breathe!!

How many of you moms & dads can relate to that day? I’m sure many of you can! Let me encourage you by saying…You are doing an amazing job!!! Sometimes we just need to hear it.

If we are not careful our days can all run together and we forget to enjoy the moments that are so valuable and precious to us as individuals, but also as a family. It is so rewarding when you see all the input that has been given to your children actually come out in their actions. Simple things like, seeing a homeless person on the corner and all of a sudden from the back of the van I hear, “Mom, stop”, I hear rummaging and all of a sudden they stick their hand out the window and give that person a sandwich bag of wheat thins they didn’t finish eating with their lunch. Maybe it’s the time that they made a grumpy person smile just by doing something really silly. How about when they are just loving each other well!! The simple hug or hand on your shoulder.

We are meant for these moments. God desires us to enjoy the moment we are in and not get caught up in all the chores that need to be done. How much time do we give God or allow Him to just love on us? We can spend all day long doing what has been described above, but we might have such a struggle with just stopping to soak in His love and in His presence!

Early mornings are my treasure! I love waking up before everyone else, quietly moving myself downstairs, get my coffee, open the Bible and start reading about how much He loves me. Reading about how much He fights for me, how much He has given me to enjoy, how much He continues to show me my heart and encourages me to keep my gaze fixed on Him so I can become more and more like Him. All the while keeping a glance at the skies outside turn from dark to a slow light forming on the horizon and finally seeing the pink clouds and eventually that incredible brightness from the sun saying ‘Good Morning…it’s a brand new day’.

God is a good God and He is good all the time. He loves us with an everlasting love. No amount of love in the world can compare the the amount He loves me. His love brings hope, trust, wholeness, healing, faith, rest and so much more.

I encourage you to just stop and let Him love you! Forget what happened yesterday and look at today…it’s a new day!!

Psalm 73:25-26,28 – Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.