Realignment

2 Corinthians 13:5-9The Message (MSG)

5-9 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we’d rather the test showed our failure than yours. We’re rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly do otherwise.

We don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.

re·a·lign·ment

1 the action of changing or restoring something to a different or former position or state."the scheme will require the realignment of local roads”g

The past week has been very busy.  I knew going into the January month that life was going to be on the fast track.  I knew that I was going to really need to be strong with juggling life and being the best wife and mom I could be.  After the weekend flew by, I realized that I didn’t do anything to really carve out time to spend with my kids or my husband.  I spent more time working on things that are important, but could have been pushed aside for the moment.  

Very quickly the voices in my head started chiseling away at my emotions.  They were stating that I had failed, I wasn’t good enough, and that I was a disappointment.  I actually started letting those voices win.  But then I had

to give myself grace.  I needed to be honest with myself.  Being honest with myself realigns my thoughts and actions.  

So realignment of my actions and thoughts is what I’m doing.  What do I need to adjust so that I am a wife that gives her utter attention to her husband after the kids go to bed?  What do I need to do to make sure my kids have my complete attention?  Where do I set boundaries?  Being honest with myself is going to help me move forward and be better for my family and others.  

Hearing this song tonight helped and I hope that helps you as well. 

The Voice of Truth - Casting Crowns

Be Blessed!

Seasons

John 15New Life Version (NLV)

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am the true Vine. My Father is the One Who cares for the Vine. 2 He takes away any branch in Me that does not give fruit. Any branch that gives fruit, He cuts it back so it will give more fruit. 3 You are made clean by the words I have spoken to you. 4 Get your life from Me and I will live in you. No branch can give fruit by itself. It has to get life from the vine. You are able to give fruit only when you have life from Me. 5 I am the Vine and you are the branches. Get your life from Me. Then I will live in you and you will give much fruit. You can do nothing without Me.

6 “If anyone does not get his life from Me, he is cut off like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you get your life from Me and My Words live in you, ask whatever you want. It will be done for you.

8 “When you give much fruit, My Father is honored. This shows you are My followers. 9 I have loved you just as My Father has loved Me. Stay in My love. 10 If you obey My teaching, you will live in My love. In this way, I have obeyed My Father’s teaching and live in His love. 11 I have told you these things so My joy may be in you and your joy may be full.

We all go through pruning seasons.  These seasons can be dark and stagnant.  In the midst of those seasons, we usually don’t see what HE is doing to mold our hearts.  We ask, “Why?”  The truth is, His vision for us is beyond our imagination.  “He cuts back so that it will give more fruit.”  

During those seasons, our survival tool is getting in the word and surrounding yourself with Him however you can.  “Get your life from me.”  He will “live in you”.  I listen to KLove and Way FM whenever I am in the car.  These are the songs that fill my heart.  You have to fuel your heart and mind with the good stuff.  Weed out the things that are not from Him.  

In time, you will be through that pruning season and you will “give much fruit”, in which He will be honored.  “STAY IN MY LOVE” and LISTEN TO WHAT HE IS TELLING YOU.  If you remember last week’s devotional, my phrases have changed from “have faith” to “holdfast” to “be faithful”.  What you can’t see on this screen is the pruning season I went through and the fruit that has come from that.  I will go through another pruning season in the future, that is inevitable.  However, I’m embracing this fruitful season.

What season are you in right now?  How are you living in that moment?  Reflect on those questions and truly ask HIM what HE wants you to hear and live during this time.  

Be blessed!

What's your word?

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.”  Hellen Keller

Over the last few years there have been seasons in which I have felt God giving me one word or small phrase to hold onto.  For example, about 2 years ago it was to “have faith” - 

Galatians 6:9 “Do not let yourselves get tired of doing good. If we do not give up, we will get what is coming to us at the right time.”   

Then it became “holdfast and trust” - Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives strength to the weak. And He gives power to him who has little strength. Even very young men get tired and become weak and strong young men trip and fall. But they who wait upon the Lord will get new strength. They will rise up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weak.”  

Now I feel that He is calling me to these 2 simple words, “Be Faithful”, which brings me back to 1 Thessalonians 5: 5-28, these are the verses I referenced last week.  The difference between “having faith” and “being faithful” can be difficult to weed through.  However, one shows possession and the other shows action.  I have entered a season in which He is wanting me to be active.  Do I know what that is?  No, but I know that if I listen hard enough, look with a clear vision, and keep pouring myself back into His word, it will be spoken.  This is a beautiful thing…”it cannot be seen or even touched”, it will be spoken within my heart.  

What is your word or phrase during this season?  What verses tie into it that help you better understand that season?  Find your word or phrase and then tie it to a verse.  Place that verse on your mirror in your bathroom.  Let it be one of the first things you see in the morning and one of the last you see at night.   

Be Blessed! 

The Mess Around Me

1 Thessalonians 5:5-6

5 For you are children of the light and of the day. We are not of darkness or of night. 6 Keep awake! Do not sleep like others. Watch and keep your minds awake to what is happening. 

1 Thessalonians 5:11New Life Version (NLV)

11 So comfort each other and make each other strong as you are already doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-16

14 We ask you, Christian brothers, speak to those who do not want to work. Comfort those who feel they cannot keep going on. Help the weak. Understand and be willing to wait for all men. 15 Do not let anyone pay back for the bad he received. But look for ways to do good to each other and to all people.

16 Be full of joy all the time. 17 Never stop praying. 18 In everything give thanks. This is what God wants you to do because of Christ Jesus. 

I feel like the older I get the more my eyes are opened to the world around me.  I see more messes in and around me.  As I scrape the surface of others’ stories around me, I see hurt, pain, anxiousness, and so much more.  As I dig deeper in my faith, I see a tangle of mess inside of me.  However, is it truly because I’m getting older, OR is it because I’m closer to God.  Is God opening my eyes to the mess around me so that I can pray for them?  Yes!  Is God wanting me to help others when they are needing strength and comfort?  Yes!  Is He wanting me to reach out to the needy and give what I can, whether it be a meal or money or just to listen?  Yes!  Is He wanting me to give Him my mess?  YES!

So, I could sit and worry about the messes around me, OR I can lift them up in prayer as I see them.  Then I can take what God places on my heart and put it into action.  Worrying about the messes doesn’t get anyone anywhere.  Stop and pray! 

If We're Honest (Lyric Video)-Francesca Battistelli

Be Blessed!  

The True Reason for the Season

Every year the hype gets bigger and starts earlier.  In fact, some stores have even stocked their shelves with Valentine's Day things, even before Christmas has been celebrated.  What is the reason for this season?  It is not to rush, fill up "to do" lists, or to fill up our minds with gift giving/receiving.  It is all about what is below...the birth of Christ. Take a moment to really read through this familiar text and soak in the words...

Luke 2:1-20New International Version (NIV)

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehemthe town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviorhas been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Be Blessed and Merry CHRISTmas!

Puzzle Pieces

2 Corinthians 9:15New Life Version (NLV)

15 Thank God for His great Gift.

Colossians 2:10New Life Version (NLV)

10 When you have Christ, you are complete. He is the head over all leaders and powers.

Romans 6:23New Life Version (NLV)

23 You get what is coming to you when you sin. It is death! But God’s free gift is life that lasts forever. It is given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:8New Life Version (NLV)

8 For by His loving-favor you have been saved from the punishment of sin through faith. It is not by anything you have done. It is a gift of God.

So many different things have been running through my mind this week.  How to weave them together may be a far stretch, but I will try.  Here are the headlines running through my head:

“Keep your eye on the prize.”

“He brings peace to our choas.”  

“Jesus is THE gift, and there is no other gift like Him.”

“In God We Trust”

Piecing the puzzle together…

This week Mackenzie, my daughter, has been home sick.  We watched Miracle on 34th Street, the 1994 version.  Towards the end of the movie, a dollar bill is presented, in trial, as a symbol that we believe and trust in God.  She handed me a dollar bill today with it circled.  

Do we truly trust God?  Do we let him take ultimate control of our chaos and take the backseat?  So often we are so focused on so many different things in life, some big goals/dreams, some simple, but mind consuming ideas/goals/dreams.  We need to keep our eyes on HIM.  He will provide peace to our chaos and give us the gift that we will never want to live without, grace through the death of Jesus on the cross.  

Don’t loose focus during this time of the year.  Make sure that you take the time to notice what HE is placing in front of you and praise Him for it.  For many of you, this season is harder than it has been in the past.  Give that hurt and grief to Him.  Receive His peace.  Some of us are rejoicing and enjoying life to the point we forget to praise Him for this season.  Regardless if you are coasting along or riding a bumpy road, let Him be the driver.  Trust His driving skills, because He already knows the road that is paved ahead for you.  

Enjoy Britt Nicole's "Have Your Way"

Be Blessed!  

Be the Encourager...

1 Kings 3:11-12New Life Version (NLV)

11 God said to him, “You have asked this, and have not asked for a long life for yourself. You have not asked for riches, or for the life of those who hate you. But you have asked for understanding to know what is right. Because you have asked this, 12 I have done what you said. See, I have given you a wise and understanding heart. No one has been like you before, and there will be no one like you in the future.

1 Thessalonians 5:11New Life Version (NLV)

11 So comfort each other and make each other strong as you are already doing.

Matthew 5:14-16The Message (MSG)

14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Be the encourager…

So many times in our day we have opportunities to be the encourager to others.  Why is it so hard at times?  When we are frustrated with a situation, upset with an outcome, tired, or just feeling discouraged ourselves, it can be hard.  The more that we let God mold our hearts, through reading the word and spending time with Him, he gives us understanding and help us become stronger to face such a dark world.  

I read a story once in a Max Lucado book titled God Came Near.  It was one that stays with me today.  He told of a time that he and his wife had no electricity due to a storm.  He goes into a closet that has all of the candles to retrieve them.  However, these candles are special, they talk.  As he grabs each one, they refuse to go out into the house and light up the darkness.  They each have an excuse listed below:

1st candle states he is not ready.  I need more preparation.  

2nd candle says that he is too busy meditating on the importance of being a light.

3rd says that he is not stable enough and is a “hot head”.

4th says that lighting the world is just not her gift.  Her gift is to sing to encourage the other candles to go out and be the light.   

The story ends with Max walking out with no candles to light up his dark house.  He then asks his wife where she purchased those candles.  She states that she bought them from a church that had closed across town.  Which makes sense, because those candles modeled what the members of the church were doing.  

So what are we doing to reflect His love and encourage others.  It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant.  It can be very simple.  So go out today and encourage others.  

Enjoy listening to 

Addison Road "This Little Light of Mine"

Be blessed!