Serious About Faith. Light-Hearted About Life.
Sometimes in ministry, there are moments so intense, it nearly paralyzes me.
You know what? Let me rephrase that.
Sometimes in LIFE, there are moments so intense, it nearly paralyzes me.
And I have experienced a few of those moments in the last few weeks. [Read more…]
My eyes are a little blurry and my throat feels tight. I feel my pulse quicken. The urge of feeling overwhelmed is slowly growing.
So many things on my list. So. Many. Things.
I am a sanguine. (No, that isn’t a personal insult.) My personality as a sanguine means I love interacting with people.
It also means that I sometimes suffer from what I like to call “Shiny Squirrel Syndrome.” [Read more…]
My face is red. My hands are shaking. My stomach hurts. Suddenly, my right eye literally starts to twitch.
I slam down my fork on the table.
“THAT’S IT! I. AM. TAKING. A. NAP.”
My husband calmly looks at me and lovingly responds, “Good. Enjoy your time. Take as long as you need.”
Well. THAT didn’t have the intended effect. But whatever. Bedtime for mama.
I used to think that rest was a sign of weakness. C’mon, I should be able to go on forever, right? Jesus will help me get there. Rest is for sissies. I am strong. I am not a coward. [Read more…]
As I sit here and type this post, I have a little one-dollar metal sign propped on the left hand side of my roll top desk.
It says, “Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.”
I have been in possession of this sign for probably close to a decade. I acquired it before I was hardcore following Jesus in the days when I lived and breathed on achieving. It was all about me and what I was doing.
It is probably no secret that I was borderline perfectionistic.
But as I started walking closer with Christ over six years ago (for real this time) He began to reveal the major flaw in my quest for perfection.
Perfection leaves no room for grace. [Read more…]
I always know that moment is coming, but yet it still surprises me when it shows up.
Sweat is running down my nose. I glance at the clock and wonder how much longer. My heart pounds. My muscles quiver.
It is the point of “almost done” in a super intense work out.
On my good days, I ask myself just how far I can go.
On my not-so-good days, I am glad that I went. [Read more…]
Not going to lie… Sometimes the events of this world make my hope begin to falter.
It is just too much. Things are falling apart at the seams and I am like “Seriously? Enough already. Come, Lord Jesus, come!”
But hey. We are still waiting.
It is ridiculous how the enemy of soul will do everything in his power to poke a hole in our hope. Our courage to keep on believing slowly leaks away like a deflated balloon a week after the birthday party.
“Why try? It’s not like things are changing…”
“See, your efforts mean nothing… it is just too hard.”
“Go on. You have worked hard enough. Live out your frustrations.”
“You know how to fix this. Do it.”
Lies. Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies!
But do you notice something about these lies? They aren’t blatant in-our-face lies like an arrow popping a balloon. They are an almost invisible pin-prick. Barely noticeable, but oh-so-capably of draining our courageous faith.
Sometimes, the only remaining element to our courageous faith is that deep well within our soul where hope is found.
That place that Jesus Christ gently whispers, “Just hold on to me.”
Scripture speaks to hope in numerous places:
“But in spite of this, there is still hope…” ~Ezra 10:2
“You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.” ~Job 11:18
“No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame…” ~Psalm 25:3
“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.” ~Psalm 25:21
“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” ~Psalm 33:20
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” ~Psalm 43:5
“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hopewill not be cut off.” ~Proverbs 23:18
“…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. ” ~Isaiah 40:31
“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.” ~Jeremiah 29:11
Friends, I could go on and one and one. So much of God’s word about HOPE. Courageous hope.
That hope that still flickers even when the rest of the world is pitch black.
On a scale of 1-10, where does your big picture hope fall? Please, I ask you to share below in the comments (and feel free to leave a prayer request as well if you need to!)
Think of the devastation the disciples felt after Christ’s death. They thought their beloved friend, teacher and leader was gone forever.
Hope was snuffed out.
Until that stone rolled away.
Today, we live in the moment after the stone and wait His return on the White Horse.
So no matter how deflated we might feel, regardless to the lies whispered in our end, that cross on the hill far away gives us hope.
Hope to keep going. Hope to try again. Hope to breath in and out again. Hope to run after Jesus with our courageous faith.
Hoping in Him,
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him…” ~Lamentations 3:25
Linking up today with my friend Kristin over at Three-word Wednesday and having a little Coffee for your Heart with Holley. Oh! And be sure to join our #EverydayJesus link-up community right here at 7 Days Time every Thursday!
I recently went through the hardest day of ministry since I answered this call over four years ago.
Actually, it was a very hard couple of weeks. Phone call after phone call, text after text, message after message– filled with tears and brokenness.
This particular day, I was just so sad about how fallen our world truly is. After several hours of walking with my friend though a very hard life experience, I did see the blessing that I was no overwhelmed by all the junk.
God was with us. And sometimes, in our darkest hour, He shows up in the most surprising ways.
In this instance, it was humor. [Read more…]
My heart was pounding. It was air-conditioned, and a temperate fall day but I was still sweating. My stomach was churning and my mouth was dry.
I was clad in white, hair done up, make-up applied meticulously.
The music began. And it was my turn. Just one step in front of the other.
This year, we celebrate five years of marriage.
I would love to tell you that I practically floated down the aisle on Cloud Nine, tasting a slice of heaven with each step towards the altar.
But really, I was terrified. I loved my almost-husband, was confident that God had chosen us for one another, but I was scared.
Did I really have the courage to say yes? [Read more…]
Here’s a riddle for you:
Most people want this, but often it is hard to find. When we get it, it isn’t enough. We have to act, because without action, it doesn’t exist.
The answer is courage.
Courage is so important that it is often woven throughout movies, stories and even our everyday life conversations. [Read more…]
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